Root causes of hydrocarbon leaks on offshore petroleum installations

Hydrocarbon leaks on offshore installations may result in severe consequences to personnel, to the environment and to assets. In order to prevent such leaks, it is crucial to understand their root causes. The objective of this paper is to study the circumstances of hydrocarbon leaks on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS). In the study, all reported hydrocarbon leaks from process inventories on all offshore installations on the NCS, with an initial leak rate higher than 0.1 kg/s in the period 2008–2014, have been considered. This includes 78 hydrocarbon leaks, of which about 60% have occurred during manual intervention on normally pressurized systems. The dominating activity when leaks occur is preventive maintenance. A significant fraction of the leaks occur during the preparation for maintenance; such a preparation is typically carried out during the night shift. About half of the leaks are associated with wellhead area and manifolds, separation and compression systems. A substantial fraction of the leaks can be associated with verification faults, dominated by the failure to comply with procedural requirements that are needed to carry out independent verification.     

论环境教育法制建设与环境保护社会治理

加强环境法制教育有利于提升公众的环境保护理念,促进环保社会治理。日本和我国台湾地区在环境教育法律依据、教育内容、教育职责、教育制度等方面的经验可供我们借鉴。在我国大陆开展环境教育法制建设,须强调政府的主导作用,强调党、政府、社会、公民和市场关系的制度化,解决组织主体、参与主体和经费保障等关键问题,符合实际并发挥实际作用。在党内法规方面,要制定与国家立法相衔接的环境保护党内法规和其他规范性文件;在国家立法的建设方面,制定专门了《环境教育法》或者《环境教育条例》,按照十八届四中全会决定要求,把全民普法和守法作为依法治国的长期基础性工作,明确中央和地方政府、企业、学校、社会组织和公民个体的环境宣传教育权利和义务,把环境宣传教育作为基础性工作纳入国民经济和社会发展计划,完善环境信息公开、社会监督、行政监督和司法监督等制度和机制,采取有针对性和可接受的宣教方法与机制,促进环境保护宣传教育制度得以运行。     

Practicing for and performance on drivers license tests in relation to gender differences in crash involvement among novice drivers

PROBLEM: Young male novice drivers are overrepresented in injury motor-vehicle crashes compared to females in the same category. This difference in crash involvement is often assumed to include factors such as overestimation, risk acceptance, and sensation seeking, but it can also be related to acquisition of knowledge, skills, insight, and driving experience. Therefore, this study explored possible gender differences among 18-24-year-olds in Sweden regarding practicing as learners, outcome of the driver's tests, and crash involvement during the first year after licensure. METHOD: Data for 2005 from different sources (e.g., questionnaires, license test, and crash statistics) were examined. It was not possible to follow individual subjects through all stages or in all analyses. Nevertheless, the study design did enable scrutinization and discussion of gender differences between younger inexperienced drivers with respect to education and training, license test results, and initial period of licensure. RESULTS: Males and females assimilated tuition in different ways. Females studied more theory, pursued training in a more structured manner, practiced more elements of driving in several different environments, and participated more extensively in driving school instruction. National statistics showed that females did better on the written test but not on the driving test. Males were involved in 1.9 more injury crashes per 1,000 drivers than females during their first year of licensed driving. The proportional distribution of crash types was the same for both sexes during the first period as novice drivers, but the circumstances surrounding the accidents varied (e.g., males were involved in more night crashes). IMPACT ON TRAFFIC SAFETY: More structured training while learning appears to be one of the reasons why females initially do better than males as novice drivers. Therefore, in the future, driver education should focus not only on matters such as the amount of time spent on training and preconditioning, but also on the importance of the organization and content of the learning process.     

Practical Recommendations to Help Students Bridge the Research–Implementation Gap and Promote Conservation

Seasoned conservation researchers often struggle to bridge the research–implementation gap and promote the translation of their work into meaningful conservation actions. Graduate students face the same problems and must contend with obstacles such as limited opportunities for relevant interdisciplinary training and a lack of institutional support for application of research results. However, students also have a crucial set of opportunities (e.g., access to academic resources outside their degree programs and opportunities to design research projects promoting collaboration with stakeholders) at their disposal to address these problems. On the basis of results of breakout discussions at a symposium on the human dimensions of the ocean, a review of the literature, and our own experiences, we devised recommendations on how graduate students can create resources within their academic institutions, institutionalize resources, and engage with stakeholders to promote real‐world conservation outcomes. Within their academic institutions, graduate students should foster links to practitioners and promote knowledge and skill sharing among students. To institutionalize resources, students should cultivate student leaders and faculty sponsors, systematically document their program activities, and engage in strategic planning to promote the sustainability of their efforts. While conducting research, students should create connections to and engage actively with stakeholders in their relevant study areas and disseminate research results both to stakeholders and the broader public. Our recommendations can serve as a template for graduate students wishing to bridge the research–implementation gap, both during their current studies and in their future careers as conservation researchers and practitioners. Recomendaciones Prácticas para Ayudar a Estudiantes a Vencer la Brecha entre Investigación e Implementación y Promover la Conservación     

The relationship between demographic/educational parameters and perceptions,knowledge and earthquake mitigation in Israel

Perceptions, knowledge and mitigation are factors that might play a role in preventing injury and loss of life during a major earthquake.² Little is known about the relationships between different demographic and educational parameters and these factors. A national representative sample of 495 adults was investigated in order to determine the relationship between demographic and educational parameters in terms of the perceived threat, perceived coping, knowledge and mitigation of earthquakes in Israel. Compared to females, males perceived the threat of earthquakes to be lower (t=3.183, p=0.002), manifested higher levels of perceived coping (t=2.55, p=0.011), and had higher levels of earthquake related knowledge (t=2.047, p=0.041). We conclude that there are gender differences in perceptions and knowledge regarding earthquakes.     

开源与教育

开源教育对于学校和学生均具有明显的获益。我国开源教育发展了数年时间，政府和众多开源企业也一直在摸索一条适合我国开源教育的道路，但整体看来，发展较慢。本文分析了开源在我国的发展情况，结合高等教育，通过与国外发展的对比，指出了开源在我国、在教育领域发展缓慢的主要因素，并就此提出了建议措施。     

Coastwatch UK—a public participation survey

Education and public participation are recognized as important elements of coastal zone management. The current paper describes the Uk’s largest public participation survey concerned with coastal issues. Coastwatch UK involves thousands of volunteers in an annual survey of the coastline. The project has several aims—primarily to provide an insight into the major problems and threats to the coastline and, through the involvement of volunteers, to raise public awareness and aid environmental education at all levels.     

Graham Scholars Program: sustainability education through an interdisciplinary international case study

A course for upper division undergraduate students was developed in response to a request for a cross-disciplinary course in environmental sustainability with an emphasis on an international issue. The topic selected for the course focused on the energy needs for Chile and a proposal for five hydropower projects on the Baker and Pascua Rivers in the Patagonia area. Collaborations between the University of Michigan (USA) and the University of Concepción (Chile) to develop the course led to a plan to offer a parallel course at both universities, with the students of both courses participating in a site visit to Patagonia. The courses were structured to enhance learning through interdisciplinary team-based activities. The courses were taught in a seminar format, with invited lecturers to provide background information on technical, environmental, economic, social, and political issues surrounding hydropower development in general and the proposed projects in particular. The students combined this information with insights obtained during the site visit to prepare a variety of course products, notably an assessment of the concerns of the various affected stakeholder groups. Assessment of the course outcomes is discussed.     

Educational initiative of Osaka University in sustainability science: mobilizing science and technology towards sustainability

One of the most important and yet difficult challenges that modern societies face is how to mobilize science and technology (S&T) to minimize the impact of human activities on the Earth’s life support systems. As the establishment of inter-disciplinary education programs is necessary to design a unified vision towards understanding the complexity of human nature, the Research Institute for Sustainability Science (RISS) launched a new program on sustainability science in April 2008. The program expects to address the issue of how to use knowledge more effectively to understand the dynamic interactions between nature and human society. This paper first offers an overview of international and Japanese initiatives on sustainability education in which we highlight the uniqueness of the attempt by the Integrated Research System for Sustainability Science (IR3S). The paper then introduces the RISS program for sustainability science, addressing the principles and curriculum design of the program. The paper discusses the main problems and constraints faced when developing the program, such as institutional barriers in building a curriculum and obtaining cooperation from faculty. To challenge these barriers and limitations, the RISS uses the program as a platform to disseminate the idea of sustainability science across the university. This attempt helps us to obtain the continuing cooperation necessary to improve and maintain the program.

Study abroad in support of education for sustainability: a New Zealand case study

This article presents a case study of an existing study abroad program to New Zealand interested in infusing sustainability themes into the curriculum. The review of the program is set in the context of United Nations Education for Sustainable Development goals and the role of sustainability in institutions of higher education. The author was an invited external observer and suggests that study abroad programs in support of sustainability education provide transformative learning experiences that invest in the well being of both people and places. Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.