Measuring and understanding road safety performance at local territorial level

Road safety performance has traditionally been measured at national level, because the national authorities have assumed main responsibility for managing road safety of citizens. With the rise of EU governance, the role of national government has slightly decreased while the role of local authorities has been reinforced in many countries, creating a new playfield for policy actions. Assessing road safety performance at local territorial level may provide new inputs needed to trigger further improvements in road safety, as it brings about a higher accountability of policy makers and brings relevant issues closer to citizens. The measures and methods for such evaluation have now become broadly available and their application may bring a difference in current pace of road safety improvements. An example of the application of full Bayes spatio-temporal model on local road risk data is provided, illustrating the potential of local areal analysis for a better road safety management.     

The role of policy for the management of psychosocial risks at the workplace in the European Union

A number of significant developments towards the management of psychosocial risks have been achieved at the policy level in the European Union (EU) since the introduction of the 1989 European Commission Council Framework Directive 89/391/EEC on Safety and Health of Workers at Work on which a new EU risk prevention culture has since been established, combining legislation, social dialogue, best practices and building partnerships. However, it has been widely acknowledged that initiatives aiming to promote workers’ health have not had the impact anticipated both by experts and policy makers and the main reason for this has been the gap that exists between policy and practice. This paper discusses the findings from the PRIMA-EF project, a policy-orientated project, which focussed on the development of a European framework for psychosocial risk management at the workplace. In particular, the paper presents the results of an EU stakeholder survey and interviews with EU policy level experts to assess their awareness, understanding and evaluation of the impact of policy initiatives for psychosocial risk management.     

Environmental disaster education at the university level: an integrative approach

Because of the highly complex nature of chemical and nuclear accidents, efforts aimed at prevention, preparedness and response require the melding of many types of knowledge and the close collaboration of a wide range of professions. Nevertheless, the need for such integration and cooperation is not always strongly emphasized in university-level curricula. As a result, developing professionals have few opportunities to learn and practise unified models of environmental accident management. In an effort to foster a more integrative approach, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA, has launched the “Environmental Disasters” project. The project crosses disciplinary boundaries with respect to both curriculum and enrollment. In terms of curriculum, the project examines chemical and nuclear accidents from a multi-dimensional perspective, considering not only regulatory, scientific and policy issues, but also the public health, social, and psychological implications. In terms of enrollment, the project brings together students from the full range of fields that are involved with environmental accidents, including engineering, public health, public administration, social work, psychology, nursing, communications, medicine, and environmental studies. Emphasizing the need for a collaborative approach, students work in multi-disciplinary teams as they explore theory, case studies and current research. In addition, the student teams develop detailed plans for addressing the effects of a chemical or nuclear disaster. With environmental accidents representing an on-going threat to health and safety, the approach discussed in this article may provide a useful model for environmental disaster education at the university level.     

Evolution of road risk disparities at small-scale level: example of Belgium

PROBLEM: Road accident outcomes are traditionally analyzed at state or road network level due to a lack of aggregated data and suitable analytical methods. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate usefulness of a simple spatiotemporal modeling of road accident outcomes at small-scale geographical level. METHOD: Small-area spatiotemporal Bayesian models commonly used in epidemiological studies reveal the existence of spatial correlation in accident data and provide a mechanism to quantify its effect. The models were run for Belgium data for the period 2000-2005. Two different scale levels and two different exposure variables were considered under Bayesian hierarchical models of annual accident and fatal injury counts. The use of the conditional autoregressive (CAR) formulation of area specific relative risk and trend terms leads to more distinctive patterns of risk and its evolution. The Pearson correlation tests for relative risk rates and temporal trends allows researchers to determine the development of risk disparities in time. RESULTS: Analysis of spatial effects allowed the identification of clusters with similar risk outcomes pointing toward spatial structure in road accident outcomes and their background mechanisms. From the analysis of temporal trends, different developments in road accident and fatality rates in the three federated regions of Belgium came into light. Increasing spatial disparities in terms of fatal injury risk and decreasing spatial disparities in terms of accident risk with time were further identified. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: The application of a space-time model to accident and fatal injury counts at a small-scale level in Belgium allowed identification of several areas with outstandingly high accident (injury) records. This could allow more efficient redistribution of resources and more efficient road safety management in Belgium.     

基层应急体系现状调查分析

通过发放调查问卷和实地走访的形式,对基层应急体系存在的问题做出详细的分析,发现其应急预案体系、人员队伍及公众的培训教育、应急物资储备及应急管理社会参与程度都存在很多的不足,并提出完善预案体系、组织管理体系和推进应急队伍建设、应急物资建设、公众的教育培训和强化防灾应急演练及防灾减灾活动等相应的具体措施,从而全方位稳步推进基层应急体系的建设。     

Union commitment: Conceptual changes in the German context

This study examined the concept of union commitment in a German sample utilizing research predominantly developed and tested in Anglo-American countries (U.S.A., Canada, South Africa). Due to cultural and structural differences in the context of German unions it was assumed that the structure and level of commitment should also be different from those in the countries tested and that the instrument may have to be adjusted. Gordon and Ladd's Union Commitment scale was translated and tested on 194 West-German trade union members. Five major structural differences between German, Canadian, U.S.-American and South African unions were identified. Those are, for example, in Germany closed-shop agreements are forbidden, a high degree of centralization exists, the existence and form of labor courts and legally binding participation, the influence of workers council and the well protected situation of German workers. The data were factor-analyzed and revealed four factors. A comparison of the item structures showed that the German sample put a much stronger emphasis on the factor 1: Union Instrumentality and less emphasis on factor 4: Union Loyalty than the previously examined samples where union loyalty always emerged as the strongest factor. The other factors were identified as: factor 2: Prounion Behavioral Intentions and factor 3: Union Trust. The results are discussed in relation to structural differences that may have led to findings in the German sample.     

政府环境报告基层实施:现状、问题及其对策

政府环境报告基层实施是利用县级人大与公众直接联系的"基层"优势加强对政府环境责任监督的有效手段。实践中,报告主体及对象级别各异,报告内容繁简不一,总体情况为越是基层贯彻实施政府环境报告的力度越弱,存在报告形式不明确、信息公开不到位、常态化监督机制和政府责任缺失等问题。因此,必须在认清立法目的的基础上合理运用法律解释明确报告的法律属性,规范报告内容、扩大公开范围,利用"基层"优势与公众加强联系,并在准确定位环保法的前提下构建人大监督的刚性约束。     

The role of local communities in chemical accident prevention and preparedness

Since the adoption of community right-to-know programs in the US there has been an increase in the number of groups known as local emergency planning committees. These committees have matured in focus over the intervening years since the Bhopal incident and even more so since the events of September 11, 2001. There is a strong recognition that local communities working very closely with chemical handling facilities in their areas can directly and meaningfully reduce the threat of a chemical release incident, regardless of cause. Likewise, through similar means they can better prepare themselves to respond should an incident occur. Especially as regards modern concepts of process chemical safety and facility security, local communities can be of great assistance to smaller facilities that do not otherwise necessarily have the resources to accomplish these tasks. As the vulnerabilities of a facility to accident or intentional act, the impacts of these events and the ability of communities to react are all a function of local conditions, it is clear that these local efforts can be more meaningful than large-scale national efforts. While national legislation is certainly helpful to the process of bringing people together, it is the local relationships that produce results.     

北京市火灾关联规则分析

利用关联规则挖掘算法及Clementine挖掘工具定量分析了火灾统计中起火场所、火灾原因和起火时间(月份、时间区间)之间的关联性.在采用关联规则表征参数的基础上,引入规则平均直接财产损失(人员死亡)比和规则总直接财产损失(人员死亡)比来表示不同规则损失的大小.以北京市2000-2006年火灾统计数据为例,对其火灾发生和人员死亡数据库进行挖掘,得到起火场所、火灾原因及起火时间(月份、时间区间)之间的1-项集、2-项集和3-项集关联规则.不同起火场所、时间区间、月份和火灾原因下得出的火灾发生频率和损失分析结论可为消防管理部门有针对性地采取消防监督管理措施和有效提高消防执勤战备提供指导.     

Social support,autonomy, and hierarchical level as moderators of the role characteristics-outcome relationship

Although previous theory suggests that social support, job autonomy, and hierarchical level moderate role characteristics-employee outcome relationships, the strength of these moderating effects among 2046 bank employees was practically zero. These theoretical moderators and three role characteristics (conflict, ambiguity, and overload) did have direct relationships with the outcomes (job satisfaction and job search intent), as summarized by canonical correlation. Recommendations for future research are offered.     

Synthesis and recommendations of the economic evaluation of OHS interventions at the company level conference

PROBLEM: In today's economic environment, enterprises may not be able to fund every new project aimed at promoting health and safety in the workplace. Company level economic evaluation of interventions can provide guidance in sound business decision-making. The Economic Evaluation of Occupational Health and Safety Interventions at the Company Level Meeting brought together members of the global occupational safety and health community interested in encouraging the use of economic knowledge and tools to evaluate economic gains from occupational health and safety interventions. DISCUSSION: Discussions of the six models presented explored similarities, reliability, and potential use by corporate enterprises, small and medium enterprises, developing and transitioning nations, and economic theorists. Each group provided specific projects that could be pursued to advance knowledge in the area of economic evaluation at the company level. CONCLUSION: This conference established pathway to incorporate economic evaluation of health and safety interventions or programs at the workplace.     

关于提升基层环境监察执法能力的思考

在坚持尊重自然、顺应自然、保护自然的新形势下,加强基层环境监察工作尤为重要。本文简要分析了当前基层环境监察执法中存在的问题,并结合实际对基层环境监察执法能力的有效提升策略进行了探讨,以期提供参考与借鉴。     

Daily performance at work: feeling recovered in the morning as a predictor of day‐level job performance

This study examined the state of being recovered in the morning (i.e., feeling physically and mentally refreshed) as a predictor of daily job performance and daily compensatory effort at work. Ninety‐nine employees from public service organizations completed a general survey and two daily surveys on pocket computers over the course of one workweek. Hierarchical linear modeling showed that being recovered in the morning was positively related to daily task performance, personal initiative, and organizational citizenship behavior and negatively related to daily compensatory effort at work. Relationships between the state of being recovered and day‐specific job performance were moderated by job control. For persons with a high level of job control, the relationship between being recovered and daily performance was stronger. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analyzing the relationships between travel mode indicators and the number of passenger transport fatalities at the city level

Objective: A number of efforts have been conducted on travel behavior and transport fatalities at the neighborhood or street level, and they have identified different factors such as roadway characteristics, personal indicators, and design indicators related to transport safety. However, only a limited number of studies have considered the relationship between travel behavior indicators and the number of transport fatalities at the city level. Therefore, this study explores this relationship and how to fill the mentioned gap in current knowledge.

Method: A generalized linear model (GLM) estimates the relationships between different travel mode indicators (e.g., length of motorway per inhabitants, number of motorcycles per inhabitant, percentage of daily trips on foot and by bicycle, percentage of daily trips by public transport) and the number of passenger transport fatalities. Because this city-level model is developed using data sets from different cities all over the world, the impacts of gross domestic product (GDP) are also included in the model.

Conclusions: Overall, the results imply that the percentage of daily trips by public transport, the percentage of daily trips on foot and by bicycle, and the GDP per inhabitant have negative relationships with the number of passenger transport fatalities, whereas motorway length and the number of motorcycles have positive relationships with the number of passenger transport fatalities.     

Work-home conflict among nurses and engineers: Mediating the impact of role stress on burnout and satisfaction at work

Using structural equation modeling, this paper compares a more traditional, unmediated model of work-based role stress and its consequences on job satisfaction and burnout to two models in which the role stress-affective work outcome relationship is mediated (partially and completely) by work-home conflict across two samples of public sector professionals: engineers and nurses. The findings indicate that a model in which role conflict and overload have both direct and indirect effects—via work-home conflict—on job burnout and satisfaction (‘Partial Mediation’ model) achieves a better overall ‘fit’ than two alternative models. Furthermore, the findings suggest that while the two groups perceive many aspects of the work-home relationship differently, for both groups, work-based role conflict is an important antecedent of work-home conflict, and increased burnout an important direct consequence of work-home conflict. Finally, on the basis of the findings, the authors conclude that perspectives which view the work and non-work realms as independent must be reconsidered, and that the nature of the work-home relationship may, to a great extent, be contingent upon the way different occupational groups perceive their work situations.     

国务院办公厅关于加强基层应急队伍建设的意见

各省、自治区、直辖市人民政府,国务院各部委、各直属机构：基层应急队伍是我国应急体系的重要组成部分,是防范和应对突发事件的重要力量。多年来,我国基层应急队伍不断发展,在应急工作中发挥着越来越重要的作用。但是,各地基层应急队伍建设中还存在着组织管理不规范、任务不明确、进展不平衡等问题。为贯彻落实突发事件应对法,进一步加强基层应急队伍建设,经国务院同意,提出如下意见：     

工会主席任期届满未换届期间能否被解除劳动合同

王某于1998年3月24日到某制品公司从事总务工作.2000年9月1日,双方签订了劳动合同,合同期限自2000年9月1日至2005年9月1日.2000年6月5日，王某经批复担任单位的工会主席一职（专职工会主席），任期5年。2005年8月29日，用人单位向王某下达了《解除劳动合同通知书》，宣布自2005年8月51日起与王某解除劳动合同。王某在工作期间月平均工资为2570元。2005年9月14日，王某向当地劳动争议仲裁委申请仲裁，请求：     

Enhancing the effectiveness of graduated driver licensing legislation

PROBLEM: Many states have enacted graduated driver licensing (GDL) systems in an effort to reduce the very high crash rates of young beginning drivers. This article addresses how to achieve the maximum benefit from GDL by ensuring compliance with protective restrictions. ENHANCING GDL THROUGH SYSTEM STRUCTURE: The major crash reductions due to GDL systems result from the protective restrictions during the initial two levels, which isolate novice drivers from the highest risk driving situations. Accordingly, GDL systems should include protective restrictions that adequately control the greatest dangers facing young drivers: multiple teen passengers and night driving before midnight. ENCOURAGING COMPLIANCE THROUGH SYSTEM STRUCTURE: Including protective restrictions that are supported by parents and teens will encourage compliance. Furthermore, linking a teen's advancement through GDL to demonstrated responsible driving will likely encourage compliance more than threatening punishment for violations. ENCOURAGING COMPLIANCE THROUGH ENFORCEMENT: Parents are in a prime position to enforce most GDL restrictions, but there is some evidence they do not enforce those restrictions that they consider too extreme. Little is currently known about the involvement of law enforcement in GDL systems, but there is potential for high visibility law enforcement activities to encourage compliance with restrictions. IMPACT ON RESEARCH, PRACTICE, AND POLICY: There is a need for better designed GDL systems in many states; more research is needed to examine compliance with restrictions and to evaluate enforcement efforts by parents and law enforcement.