Environmental Reporting by the Fortune 50 Firms

/ The extent and use of industry-reported environmental data are increasing, warranting an in-depth analysis of this information. This paper reviews the environmental reporting guidelines issued by several business and nonprofit organizations and evaluates the environmental reports published by the Fortune 50 companies, half of which publish reports. After describing the history of environmental reporting and the content of the guidelines, a comparative evaluation is made to indicate the types of companies producing reports, the topics reported, the intended audiences, the scope and depth of the material reported, and the effectiveness of the reports as communication devices. These reports are mechanisms to enhance a firm's image, public relations, and marketing and are aimed largely at concerned individuals, affected communities, and investors. Significant differences in the content and the depth of reports are seen as firms report on topics that are perceived by the public as high risks. The most complete reports are published by industries with poor or controversial public images, e.g., the chemical and timber industries. Still, no report provided information that was sufficient for comprehensive or comparative analyses of environmental performance. Recommendations are provided to increase the quality and effectiveness of environmental reporting.KEY WORDS: Communication; Environmental management; Performance reporting; Reporting; Stakeholder     

航空维修人为差错的行为特点分析及对策

主要从行为科学的基本理论出发，通过对航空维修人为差错的统计分析，寻求人为差错的行为类型、特点及预防人为差错的基本对策     

PRECISE WATER VELOCITY MEASUREMENTS USING PHOTOGRAMMETRIC TECHNIQUES1

ABSTRACT Necessary input parameters for studying mixing zone characteristics of thermal plumes are horizontal surface and subsurface water velocities. Using time lapse aerial photography and analytical photogrammetric techniques, movements of drogues in an effluent plume were traced. From these traces accurate velocity vectors were obtained. Photographic coordinates of drogue images were measured using a glass scale. From the photo coordinates and the results of a ground control survey, an analytical solution was made for positions of drogues in the water at known intervals of time. Drogue positions were mapped for selected exposures thereby providing a visual display of velocity vectors in the study area. A rigorous error analysis was performed to determine the validity of the computed results.     

Reconstructing human contributions to accidents: the new view on error and performance

PROBLEM: How can human contributions to accidents be reconstructed? Investigators can easily take the position a of retrospective outsider, looking back on a sequence of events that seems to lead to an inevitable outcome, and pointing out where people went wrong. This does not explain much, however, and may not help prevent recurrence. METHOD AND RESULTS: This paper examines how investigators can reconstruct the role that people contribute to accidents in light of what has recently become known as the new view of human error. The commitment of the new view is to move controversial human assessments and actions back into the flow of events of which they were part and which helped bring them forth, to see why assessments and actions made sense to people at the time. The second half of the paper addresses one way in which investigators can begin to reconstruct people's unfolding mindsets. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: In an era where a large portion of accidents are attributed to human error, it is critical to understand why people did what they did, rather than judging them for not doing what we now know they should have done. This paper helps investigators avoid the traps of hindsight by presenting a method with which investigators can begin to see how people's actions and assessments actually made sense at the time.     

MASS LOAD ESTIMATION ERRORS UTILIZING GRAB SAMPLING STRATEGIES IN A KARST WATERSHED1

ABSTRACT: Developing a mass load estimation method appropriate for a given stream and constituent is difficult due to inconsistencies in hydrologic and constituent characteristics. The difficulty may be increased in flashy flow conditions such as karst. Many projects undertaken are constrained by budget and manpower and do not have the luxury of sophisticated sampling strategies. The objectives of this study were to: (1) examine two grab sampling strategies with varying sampling intervals and determine the error in mass load estimates, and (2) determine the error that can be expected when a grab sample is collected at a time of day when the diurnal variation is most divergent from the daily mean. Results show grab sampling with continuous flow to be a viable data collection method for estimating mass load in the study watershed. Comparing weekly, biweekly, and monthly grab sampling, monthly sampling produces the best results with this method. However, the time of day the sample is collected is important. Failure to account for diurnal variability when collecting a grab sample may produce unacceptable error in mass load estimates. The best time to collect a sample is when the diurnal cycle is nearest the daily mean.     

大空间火灾实验中温度测量的误差分析

在大空间火灾实验中，由于测温系统的庞大和复杂，导致影响温度测量的误差因素增多。该文主要从热电偶测温误差理论分析入手，讨论全尺寸火灾实验温度测量误差的因素和大小，阐述了大空间烟气温度测量的误差引入方式和减少误差的措施，并对一组大空间内火灾机械排烟实验的温度数据进行了误差分析。     

一种人因可靠性分析(HRA)方法

从控制论角度说明人因可靠性分析方法，在分析现有两代人因可靠性分析方法不足的基础上，结合控制论，提出了一种新的人因可靠性分析方法的构想。     

建筑物火灾疏散中人的失误研究

火灾是人类所面临的最为严重的灾害之一。通过建筑物火灾现场勘察表明 ,造成火灾中人员伤害的重要原因之一是火灾现场疏散人员行为的失误。而火灾现场疏散人员行为的失误是一个极为复杂的问题 ,它既与影响疏散中人的行为因素有关 ,又与火灾疏散中人的认知模式有关。因此 ,笔者基于行为学的基本原理和建筑物火灾的特点 ,定义了建筑物火灾中人失误的内涵 ,对建筑物火灾中疏散人员失误的机理和分类进行了分析 ,建立了相应的模型 ,讨论了减少建筑物火灾中疏散人员失误的措施 ,并着重讨论了火灾疏散教育和培训的内容和形式。     

人的可靠性分析:历史、需求和进展

人的可靠性分析 (HRA)是人机工程、安全科学极为关注的问题。近年来 ,该领域的理论研究和应用技术发展很快 ,尤其将认知科学与人的失误的研究相结合 ,从失误模型到计算方法都更加与现实情景相吻合。笔者介绍了HRA的发展历史和相关的第一代HRA计算方法及其特点 ,并且就HRA在我国核电领域中的应用状况和前景进行了探讨 ,重点介绍了国际原子能机构赞助的中国核电厂操纵员可靠性研究项目 ,其成果对于进一步完善安全管理和提高我国核电厂人员可靠性提供了科学的依据和借鉴经验。     

SOURCES OF VARIABILITY IN PHOSPHORUS AND CHLOROPHYLL AND THEIR EFFECTS ON USE OF LAKE SURVEY DATA1

Summer lake survey measurements of total phosphorus (TP) and chlorophyll a (CHLa) from 188 reserviors and natural lakes in the midwest were analyzed to determine the magnitude of major sources of variability. Median variance among replicate samples collected at the same location and time was about 7-8 percent of the mean for both TP and CHLa. Median observed temporal variability within summers was 27 percent of the mean for TP and 45 percent of the mean for CHLa. Median values of year-to-year variance in average TP and CHLa were 22 percent and 31 percent of the mean, respectively. A range of approximately two orders of magnitude was observed among individual estimates of variance in each of these categories. The magnitude of observed temporal variability was affected only slightly by variance among replicate samples on individual days and was weakly correlated with the length of time during which samples were collected from individual lakes. Observed temporal variation was similar between reservoirs and natural lakes when variances were calculated with logtransformed data. The magnitude of temporal and year-to-year variance can severely limit the power of statistical comparisons of TP and CHLa means, but has less effect on establishing relative rankings of lake means, Sources and relative magnitude of variability are important in the use of TP and CHLa data in regression models and in the planning of lake surveys and subsequent data analysis.