Bereavement and mourning after a shipping disaster: The case for intervention

This paper describes the help given by the social services department of a shipping company to bereaved families following a shipping disaster. In the absence of clear, factual and prompt information from an authoritative source, there is a tendency for bereaved individuals to deny their loss and thereby delay the process of mourning and eventual recovery. Appropriate intervention and support can help to overcome this tendency as was seen in the Madasa case.     

农户兼业阶段性分化探析

当前农户兼业的阶段性分化其本质是农户之间兼业进程的不统一,进而导致了严重的农村社会分化问题。本文利用江苏省苏北地区农户调研数据分析了当前农户兼业阶段性分化的现状及其带来的社会后果,利用似不相关双变量Probit模型分析了农户兼业阶段性分化的原因,得出了阻碍农户兼业发展的主要制约因素。结果显示,家庭人力资本稀缺是农户实现兼业生产的主要制约因素,农户无法进行非农工作主要是受到家庭人口规模小、老龄化严重的限制,这一部分农户家庭生活水平低,面临严重的"贫困陷阱"。政府直接干预土地流转使部分农户被动退出了农业生产,形式上实现了农户兼业进程的统一,但损害了农户的土地权益,造成农村土地产权不稳定,降低了农户自发性退农倾向,妨碍了土地市场的进一步发展,因此实质上对农户兼业进程起到了阻碍作用。此外,由于土地承包经营证书对承包经营权权能、地块四至等信息界定不清晰,对农户兼业进程的发展没有刺激作用。综合以上结论可知,土地产权以及农户家庭人力资本是导致当前农户阶段性分化的主要原因。政府不应对农村土地市场进行直接干预,而应通过完善农村社保体系、扶持农户非农就业、加快新一轮土地确权发证工作以促进土地市场与农户兼业进程的发展,在市场机制为主、政府调控为辅的环境下合理实现土地的集中与农业规模经营。     

Arts as a vehicle for community building and post‐disaster development

Use of the arts in international aid is common in an ad hoc form, but it has not been systematically theorised or evaluated. The arts have the potential to be a culturally contextualised and sustainable intervention for adults and children in the aftermath of war or disaster. On the micro level, the arts are a method to enable the retrieval and reprocessing of traumatic memories that are often encoded in images rather than in words. On a macro level, they can help to reconstruct a group narrative of a disaster as well as mobilise people back into control of their lives. This paper researches a long‐term project using arts in Sri Lanka following the civil war and tsunami. A central finding is the need to understand arts within their cultural context, and their usefulness in strengthening the voices and problem‐solving capacities of the victims of the disaster.     

政府干预农地流转:农户收入及资源配置效率

本文基于江苏省苏北地区灌云县和金湖县的农户调研,采用内生性处理回归模型考察政府干预下土地流转对不同类型农户收入的影响,并从农户土地和劳动力资源配置效率的角度解释农户收入变化的根源。研究结果表明,政府干预下土地流转对不同类型农户收入的影响效应有很大差异,农户土地转入后收入增加了161.2%,转出户收入并未显著增加;从农户资源配置角度考察,发现农户转入土地后农业生产效率显著提高,转出土地后农业生产率降低;农户土地转出后非农工作时间和工作报酬并未显著增加,表明转出户并未提高非农劳动力资源配置效率。同时,本文比较政府主导和农户自发两种类型农地流转对农户收入和资源配置效率的影响差异。结果发现,相对于自发土地流转的农户,政府主导下农户转入更大面积土地,并显著提高了单位面积土地生产效率和家庭收入水平;而政府干预土地转出不利于农户土地和劳动力资源配置效率及收入水平的提高。基于以上分析,本文认为政府干预降低了土地流转交易费用,有利于转入户扩大土地面积,实现规模经济效益,进而增加转入户收入;然而,政府干预下转出户资源配置面临较大约束,配置效率和收入都未能实现最大化。因此,政府在完善农地流转服务政策的同时,应当尊重农户土地流转意愿,使得农户土地流转符合家庭资源配置收入最大化目标。同时,要通过非农就业培训、发展非农经济,吸纳更多劳动力转移到非农业领域,进一步促进农村土地流转和规模经营,优化农村土地和劳动力资源配置效率,持续增加农民收入。     

Prompting safety-belt use in the context of a belt-use law: the flash-for life revisited

PROBLEM: Safety-belt use reduces motor vehicle crash-related morbidity and mortality, yet an estimated 18% of drivers do not consistently buckle up (NHTSA, 2005). In 1985, Geller and colleagues developed an interpersonal Flash-for-Life prompt that increased belt use among 22% of 1,087 unbuckled drivers (Geller, Bruff, & Nimmer, 1985). METHOD: The Flash-for-Life intervention was re-introduced at a large university with high safety-belt use (i.e., 80%). College students stood at parking-lot entrance/exits and "flashed" signs with the message, "Please Buckle Up, I Care" to unbuckled drivers. RESULTS: Of 427 unbuckled drivers observed, 30% of these complied with the prompt. Male drivers were significantly more likely to comply with prompts delivered by females. DISCUSSION: Compliance was higher than in the 1985 study, indicating a high baseline rate of safety-belt use does not negate potential beneficial influence of a prompting intervention. This intervention is particularly effective with college-aged males, a sub-group of the driving population least likely to buckle-up. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: A simple behavioral prompt could be used at most industrial complexes to increase safety-belt use among vehicle occupants who are not buckled-up.     

基于协整和因果分析的我国安全生产宏观政策干预研究

为进一步分析我国安全生产政策的实施效果及存在问题,根据政策时效干预度量化模型,采用协检验、格兰杰因果检验和脉冲响应分析等计量方法对1978-2006年我国特别重大事故发生趋势与政策时效干预力度关系进行量化分析,得出特别重人事故的发生与政策时效干预力度问存在长期均衡关系,且在10%的显著水平下,特别重大事故的发生是政策时效干预力度加强的格兰杰原因.同时分析表明,目前我国安全生产政策干预表现出两大缺点:被动性和滞后性.因此,应逐步开展生产安全事故宏观预警与政策模拟等研究,为提高安全生产宏观政策干预的主动性和前瞻性提供技术支持.     

Mitigating urban sprawl effects: a collaborative tree and shade intervention in Phoenix,Arizona, USA

Communities in Phoenix are confronted with numerous challenges that adversely affect human health and safety, with disproportionate impacts on low-income communities. While some challenges are being addressed at the city level, new alliances at the neighbourhood level are initiating community development programmes and projects. This article reports on an intervention study carried out in collaboration with community representatives, city staff, and non-profit organisations to mitigate adverse effects of urban sprawl in the Sky Harbour Neighbourhood in Phoenix. Participatory research was conducted to design and test a tree and shade intervention. Challenges associated with navigating community desires and broader principles of sustainable development are discussed. The study offers a replicable and adaptable intervention research design aimed at empowering communities to meet urban challenges.     

Improving construction site safety through leader-based verbal safety communication

Background

The construction industry is one of the most injury-prone industries, in which production is usually prioritized over safety in daily on-site communication. Workers have an informal and oral culture of risk, in which safety is rarely openly expressed. This paper tests the effect of increasing leader-based on-site verbal safety communication on the level of safety and safety climate at construction sites. Method: A pre-post intervention-control design with five construction work gangs is carried out. Foremen in two intervention groups are coached and given bi-weekly feedback about their daily verbal safety communications with their workers. Foremen-worker verbal safety exchanges (experience sampling method, n = 1,693 interviews), construction site safety level (correct vs. incorrect, n = 22,077 single observations), and safety climate (seven dimensions, n = 105 questionnaires) are measured over a period of up to 42 weeks. Results: Baseline measurements in the two intervention and three control groups reveal that foremen speak with their workers several times a day. Workers perceive safety as part of their verbal communication with their foremen in only 6-16% of exchanges, and the levels of safety at the sites range from 70-87% (correct observations). Measurements from baseline to follow-up in the two intervention groups reveal that safety communication between foremen and workers increases significantly in one of the groups (factor 7.1 increase), and a significant yet smaller increase is found when the two intervention groups are combined (factor 4.6). Significant increases in the level of safety are seen in both intervention groups (7% and 12% increases, respectively), particularly in regards to 'access ways' and 'railings and coverings' (39% and 84% increases, respectively). Increases in safety climate are seen in only one of the intervention groups with respect to their 'attention to safety.' No significant trend changes are seen in the three control groups on any of the three measures. Conclusions: Coaching construction site foremen to include safety in their daily verbal exchanges with workers has a significantly positive and lasting effect on the level of safety, which is a proximal estimate for work-related accidents. It is recommended that future studies include coaching and feedback at all organizational levels and for all involved parties in the construction process. Building client regulations could assign the task of coaching to the client appointed safety coordinators or a manager/supervisor, and studies should measure longitudinal effects of coaching by following foremen and their work gangs from site to site.     

Integrating Top-Down with Bottom-Up Conservation Policy in Africa

Abstract:  Developed nations intervened in conservation policy across Africa during the 20th century to address needs to protect species and biodiversity that were based on their own perceptions and priorities. In the 21st century, conservationists in Africa have revised these perceptions and begun the process of identifying conservation priorities from an African perspective and in consideration of Africans' priorities. Although foreign conservation interveners struggled to identify mechanisms to which local people would respond, African conservationists are now demonstrating how to integrate the continent's unique socioeconomic circumstances into efforts to protect biodiversity. In Africa effective conservation policy must include the generation of wealth, reduction of disease and hunger, and support of traditional land-use practices.     

Health benefits valuation of regulatory intervention for air pollution control in thermal power plants in Delhi,India

This study estimates minimum marginal health benefits (morbidity reduction only) of air pollution control and total health benefits arising from regulatory intervention regarding the adoption of the World Bank emission guidelines (WBEG) for thermal power plants (TPPs) in Delhi. The Industrial Source Complex-Short-Term Version–3 (ISCST3) model has been used to estimate the contribution to air pollution from TPPs. The household health production function (avertive behaviour) has been used to value health benefits of air pollution control. The study revealed that the ambient air pollution due to TPPs is reduced by between 62.17% to 83.45% by adopting the WBEG. Annual marginal benefit due to reduction in exposure to air pollution by 1 μg m^?3 is estimated to be US$0.353 per person. Total annual health benefits for adopting the WBEG for TPPs are estimated at US$235.19 million. This study provides a novel methodology to evaluate health benefits of regulatory intervention.