How structural mitigation shapes risk perception and affects decision‐making

This paper reviews the relationships between risk perception and structural measures in an Australian context in three respects: (i) opinions about authorities’ ability to mitigate flood risks; (ii) the role of flood experience in shaping views on risk; and (iii) perspectives on the ways in which structural measures shape decision‐making pertaining to protective action. The main finding of this analysis is that the study participants do not suffer from the ‘levee paradox'. Most take precautionary steps to guard against residual flood risk. Such actions, however, do not mean that there is a lack of trust in structural measures to reduce significant flood risk. The majority of the respondents agreed about the necessity of engineering structures to mitigate inherent flood risk. This support, though, does not extend to their management. Losses during major flooding in southeast Queensland, Australia, in 2010–11 were attributed primarily by residents to operational decisions concerning dam water releases.     

Urban earthquake hazard: perceived seismic risk and preparedness in Dhaka City,Bangladesh

Bangladesh is vulnerable to seismic events. Experts suspect that if an earthquake with a 7.0 magnitude occurred in large cities of Bangladesh, there would be a major human tragedy due to the structural failure of many buildings. The primary objectives of this paper are to examine seismic risk perception among residents of Dhaka City and investigate their levels of earthquake preparedness. A questionnaire survey conducted among 444 residents of the city provided the major source of data for the paper. The survey results suggest that an overwhelming majority of the respondents were not prepared for a major earthquake, which is anticipated to occur in Dhaka. Multivariate analysis of survey data reveals that value of residential unit and respondent educational levels appear as the most significant determinants of preparedness status of the respondents. This study recommends increasing earthquake awareness and preparedness among residents of Dhaka City.     

环境风险感知的心理测量范式研究述评

环境风险感知研究是近年来环境风险领域研究的一个新的热点.该领域的研究反映了公众对环境风险及环境风险管理的偏好和价值观.将该方面的研究纳入环境风险管理的决策过程是有效实施环境风险管理的基础.阐述了环境风险感知的内涵,着重阐述了心理测量范式的假设、流程和因子分析描述,总结了该方法在环境风险感知领域的国内外研究状况及其意义和存在的缺陷,并在此基础上对心理测量范式在环境风险感知领域的研究前景进行了展望,提出了需要进一步研究的问题.     

Hazard and Risk Perception among Young Novice Drivers

Young novice drivers are overrepresented in road accidents. Although they quickly acquire the skills needed to control a motor vehicle, it takes much longer for novice drivers to develop the higher-order perceptual and cognitive skills necessary to safely interact with the driving environment. The aim of this paper is to propose a model of the processes mediating behavior around traffic hazards and to critically review the literature on novice drivers within the framework provided by the model. Compared to experienced drivers, novice drivers detect hazards less quickly and efficiently and perceived them less holistically. The detection of hazards is proposed to provide the requisite information for risk perception, the process which includes assessing both the level of risk posed by a hazard and one's ability to deal with the hazard effectively. Research indicates that young drivers underestimate the risk of an accident in a variety of hazardous situations. At the same time, they overestimate their own driving skill. Young drivers are also more willing to accept risk while driving than experienced drivers. These factors are likely to contribute to young novice drivers overrepresentation in accidents. Opportunities for further research are discussed.     

Pollution perception: A challenge for intergenerational equity

In this article we extend the recent literature on overlapping generations and pollution by allowing generations to perceive the level of pollution differently than the actual level of pollution. We call this pollution perception. Pollution perception can visualize itself as either a concern for the flow of pollution only, or for the stock, or a combination of both. We derive this extension based on empirical evidence from recent advances in behavioural economics.Pollution perception has not only significant consequences for the steady state levels of pollution and capital, but we also find a qualitative change in the dynamics from similar models without pollution perception [A. John, R. Pecchenino, An overlapping generations model of growth and the environment, Econ. J. 104 (1994) 1393–1410]. Specifically, we derive optimal non-linear dynamics through complex eigenvalues and Hopf or Flip bifurcations for a large set of parameters. This leads to violations of two standard criteria of sustainability, suggesting that pollution perception can be another source of intergenerational inequity.     

职业健康与安全风险认知研究进展及分析

为了解和掌握国内外职业健康与安全（OHS）风险认知的研究进展,检索截至2017年12月31日美国工程索引（EI）、Web of Science数据库、中国知网、万方数据资源系统、维普中文科技期刊全文数据库收录的职业健康与安全风险认知研究论文。研究结果表明:国外OHS风险认知研究较成熟,相关研究成果涉及各行各业;我国OHS风险认知研究起步较晚、成果较少,仅涉及建筑、采矿、化工等行业领域。进一步对956篇文献开展深入分析,总结OHS风险认知的测量、OHS风险认知的影响因素、OHS风险认知的影响结果、OHS风险认知的差异4个主题研究进展。在分析结果基础上,结合行业实际情况,对今后OHS风险认知发展提出4点建议,并进一步讨论OHS风险认知研究的未来发展方向。     

The unusual suspects? Perception of underlying causes of anthropogenic climate change in coastal communities in Cambodia and Tanzania

Public perception of the underlying causes of anthropogenic climate change is a complex and subjective issue that is critical to effective risk communication. This issue is important to scientists and policymakers because of the role of individual perceptions in influencing their protective behaviour towards risk (e.g., the adoption of climate risk reduction and mitigation strategies). This cross-sectional study elucidated people's perceptions of the underlying causes of human-induced climate change in coastal communities in Cambodia and Tanzania. The multinomial logistic regression model was based on a geographically and demographically stratified national sample of 3,706 individuals conducted between March and September 2013. The distribution of the fundamental causes of anthropogenic climate change in the pooled sample was deforestation (29%), overpopulation – births and immigration (18%), greenhouse gas emissions (12%), illegal resource extraction (14%), and God's will and transgressing cultural norms (26%). Few people in both countries believed that, the usual suspect, greenhouse gas emission was the fundamental cause of anthropogenic climate change. The number of poor rural residents who indicated that deforestation was the major underlying cause of climate change was approximately three times more than members of the same sub-group who noted that greenhouse gas emissions were the underlying cause of climate change. People who had tertiary education were less likely to consider God's will and transgressing cultural norms as the underlying cause of anthropogenic climate change rather than attributing it to greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, it is imperative to mainstream climate change into educational curricula in both countries.     

Effect Of Reagent (Dye) Addition In Wet Chemical Method Of Sulfur Dioxide Determination In Ambient Air

For measurement of sulfur dioxide (SO₂) in ambient air, the United States Environment Protection Agency (US EPA) had recommended the PRA dye-based colorimetric method as a reference technique. The method has been developed and applied in many countries for a longtime; however information regarding the sensitivity of the method with respect to sampling and analysis conditions is not available. Collaborative studies conducted in some of the South East Asian countries indicated substantial variations (of the order of 50%) in the measured concentrations against the true values. It was observed that dye used for color development plays an important role and even a slight variation in the way the dye solution is prepared can cause substantial variation in the measured SO₂ concentration. Because a major objective of air quality measurements is to relate air pollution concentration to the effects of air pollution, it is important that the method used should yield accurate levels of the pollutant, so that appropriate management plans can be devised and implemented effectively. In the present investigation, therefore, the role of dye used in SO₂ monitoring method has been highlighted. Different makes of dyes prepared in different modes were used to study the variation in the measured SO₂ concentration levels. Specifications of all the dyes were also tested. Need for use of certified reference material (CRM) for SO₂ has also been emphasized.     

Taking Environmental Action: The Role of Local Composition, Context, and Collective

This article explores individual and community action taken in response to perceived environmental risks by investigating the determinants of environmental action across a range of action types. A conceptual framework is first presented, which provides a foundation for investigating the role of local compositional (i.e., individual characteristics), contextual (i.e., neighborhood environment), and collective (i.e., social networks) factors in environmental action. To test the utility of the conceptual framework, a quantitative survey was administered to a random sample of households (n = 512) in Hamilton, Canada. The results suggest that the predictors of environmental action vary by action type (i.e., personal change, individual civic action, and cooperative civic action), and that factors related to perceived environmental exposure and social capital generally play a stronger, more consistent role in civic environmental action than sociodemographic or neighborhood factors. The results underscore the role of social connection in responses to perceived environmental risks.     

自然环境条件下精密器材的失效机理及其对策研究

研究了精密器材在各种自然环境条件下的失效机理,改善其“内包装”微环境条件,避免精密器材由于受到各种自然环境因素的影响而造成损坏或失效,确保精密器材的性能和各项技术指标始终处于完好状态,对于提高精密器材储存的经济效益和军事效益,具有十分重要的意义。