The differential effect of organizational induction process on early work role adjustment

Early work role adjustment is hypothesized to be a function of previous work experiences, early organizational experiences, and personality differences. Formal collective induction into an organization was compared with informal individual induction. Induction mode was the dominant variable which predicted adjustment four months after employment. Formal collective induction contributed to higher job satisfaction and lower work/family conflict. The mode of induction did not affect team cohesion, role conflict, role ambiguity, or perceived worker influence in the workplace. Self-monitoring, a personality variable, contributed to the prediction of work/family conflict. Inducation mode did not interact with other independent variables in predicting job satisfaction or work/family conflict.     

Plant communities in relation to flooding and soil contamination in a lowland Rhine River floodplain

Using canonical correspondence analysis (CCA), relationships were investigated between plant species composition and flooding characteristics, heavy metal contamination and soil properties in a lowland floodplain of the Rhine River. Floodplain elevation and yearly average flooding duration turned out to be more important for explaining variation in plant species composition than soil heavy metal contamination. Nevertheless, plant species richness and diversity showed a significant decrease with the level of contamination. As single heavy metal concentrations seemed mostly too low for causing phytotoxic effects in plants, this trend is possibly explained by additive effects of multiple contaminants or by the concomitant influences of contamination and non-chemical stressors like flooding. These results suggest that impacts of soil contamination on plants in floodplains could be larger than expected from mere soil concentrations. In general, these findings emphasize the relevance of analyzing effects of toxic substances in concert with the effects of other relevant stressors.     

Analysis of underlying causes of investigated loss of containment incidents in Dutch Seveso plants using the Storybuilder method

In the Netherlands there are around 400 “Seveso” sites that fall under the Dutch Major Hazards Decree (BRZO) 1999. Between 2006 and 2010 the Dutch Labour Inspectorate's Directorate for Major Hazard Control completed investigations of 118 loss of containment incidents involving hazardous substances from this group. On the basis of investigation reports the incidents were entered in a tailor-made tool called Storybuilder developed for the Dutch Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment for identifying the dominant patterns of technical safety barrier failures, barrier task failures and underlying management causes associated with the resulting loss of control events. The model is a bow-tie structure with six lines of defence, three on either side of the central loss of containment event. In the first line of defence, failures in the safety barriers leading to loss of control events were primarily equipment condition failures, pre start-up and safeguarding failures and process deviations such as pressure and flow failures. These deviations, which should have been recovered while still within the safe envelope of operation, were missed primarily because of inadequate indication signals that the deviations have occurred. Through failures of subsequent lines of defence they are developing into serious incidents. Overall, task failures are principally failures to provide adequate technical safety barriers and failures to operate provided barriers appropriately. Underlying management delivery failures were mainly found in equipment specifications and provisions, procedures and competence. The competence delivery system is especially important for identifying equipment condition, equipment isolation for maintenance, pre-start-up status and process deviations. Human errors associated with operating barriers were identified in fifty per cent of cases, were mostly mistakes and feature primarily in failure to prevent deviations and subsequently recover them. Loss of control associated with loss of containment was primarily due to the containment being bypassed (72% of incidents) and less to material strength failures (28%). Transfer pipework, connections in process plant and relief valves are the most frequent release points and the dominant release material is extremely flammable. It is concluded that the analysis of a large number of incidents in Storybuilder can support the quantification of underlying causes and provide evidence of where the weak points exist in major hazard control in the prevention of major accidents.     

Towards safety,hygiene and environmental (SHE) management in African small and medium companies

Although Safety, Health and Environment (SHE) principles are adhered to in companies of developed countries, the application in developing countries is at its infant stage, as shown by the present article where the authors surveyed SHE Practice in 242 companies of 8 West-African countries.     

A combined coastal protection,realignment and wetland restoration scheme in the southern Baltic: planning process,public information and participation

Markgrafenheide-Hütelmoor covers a total area of 1000 ha (about 490 ha are coastal moor) and a coastline of about 6 km. This touristy area belongs to the city of Rostock in Germany. As response to sea level rise and heavy coastal erosion, the small seaside resort Markgrafenheide received a comprehensive storm surge protection until 2006. Subsequently, the adjacent Hütelmoor was flooded with the aim to restore it as a brackish coastal moor. Coastal protection measures at the Baltic Sea coastline were abandoned to enable natural dynamics, a coastal realignment and salt water intrusions. The entire process until full implementation took 14 years and was associated with very problematic public participation and a strong local polarization. Based on a literature and media review, two surveys, and expert interviews we retrospectively document and analyse the planning process with focus on public information, perception and participation. The local population and holidaymakers did not perceive coastal changes and if, did not associate them with climate change. Interviewees remembered single storm surges, but felt save from it and sea level rise was not perceived as a threat. 89% said that they feel insufficiently informed about the combined coastal protection wetland restoration measure, but did not use the offered information possibilities. 81% had their information from newspapers and freely distributed advertisers. It seems that insufficient information was the major reason for the problems with local acceptance and public participation. The media played a dominating role. The decline of traditional newspapers and the growths of free advertisers seemed to have a negative impact on quality of information and favoured a polarization. Additionally, we discuss local specifics like the cultural background (GDR history), traditions, frustration and the relatively old population and their role in public participation. We strongly promote a pro-active and long-term information and public relation strategy.     

Governance reform,external support,and environmental regulation enforcement in rural China: The case of Guangdong province

This paper examines how configurations of external support factors have evolved alongside governance reform in recent years and how these evolving configurations have affected regulatory enforcement in four counties in Guangdong Province in China. Based on in-depth interviews with leading officials in the local environmental protection bureaus (EPBs), we show that there have been increases in government and societal support for local EPBs in their regulatory work, thanks partly to a number of recent governance reform efforts, but many problems have remained. Based on a questionnaire survey of enforcement officials, we examine how the perceptions of government and societal support are related to EPB officials’ self-perception of effectiveness. It is found that both local government support and societal support have an influence on enforcement officials’ self-assessment of effectiveness, but the relationships varied considerably depending on various dimensions of effectiveness and the patterns of interactions between government and societal support.     

The transition in Dutch water management

Over the past decades, the Dutch people have been confronted with severe water-related problems, which are the result of an unsustainable water system, arising from human interventions in the physical infrastructure of the water system and the water management style. The claims of housing, industry, infrastructure and agriculture have resulted in increasing pressure on the water system. The continuous subsidence of soil and climate change has put pressure on the land. Hence, the nature and magnitude of water-related problems have changed. Longitudinal research of relevant national policy documents reveals that the water management regime has changed its water management style over the past 30 years from a technocratic scientific style towards an integral and participatory style. We have investigated if the historical development in Dutch Water management can be characterized as a transition. Based on longitudinal research through an integrated systems analysis, document research and expert interviews, we have reconstructed the historical narrative by using the transition concepts of multi-level and multi-phase. This research indicates that the shift in Dutch Water management can be characterized as a transition. This transition is currently in the take-off stage and near the acceleration stage. This is a crucial stage as long as the considerable gap between the strategic macro-vision and the practical implementation at the micro-level remains. As long as these levels are not compatible (modulation), the transition will not be completed successfully. Transition management as multi-level governance model should therefore be adopted to facilitate the modulation.