A study of climate change and anthropogenic impacts in West Africa

BACKGROUND, AIM AND SCOPE: During the last decades ecological conditions in West Africa have dramatically changed. Very evident is the climate change, which has resulted in a southward shift of the climate zones, e.g. a spread of the desert (Sahara) into the Sahelian zone. After the drought period of the early 1970s and 1980s, livestock density increased resulting in an intensification of grazing pressure. This anthropogenous phenomenon leads to similar landscape changes as those caused by the climate. Only very few investigations exist on vegetation dynamics, climate changes and land use changes for the Sudanian zone. The paper presents data on changes of precipitation, of land use, of the geographical range of species, and of the composition of the flora, which have to be regarded as proofs of the sahelisation of large areas of the Sudanian zone. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Area of investigation: Burkina Faso. Precipitation data analysis: precipitation data from 67 stations; time series analysis and geo-statistical spatial interpolation. Analysis of land use change: Landsat satellite MSS and ETM+ data, acquired for two different dates between 1972 and 2001 analyzed by the software ERDAS/IMAGINE version 8.6 and ArcView 3.2 with the Spatial Analyst extension. Intensive ground truthing (160 training areas). Inventory of the flora: based on the data of the Herbarium Senckenbergianum (FR) in Frankfurt, Germany, and of the herbarium of the university of Ouagadougou (OUA), Burkina Faso, as well as on various investigations on the vegetation of Burkina Faso carried out in the years 1990 to 2005 by the team of the senior author. Life form analysis of the flora: based on the inventory of permanent plots. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Precipitation: Remarkable latitudinal shift of isohyets towards the South translates to a general reduction of average rainfall in great parts of the country. The last decade (1990-1999) shows some improvement, however, the more humid conditions of the 1950's and 1960's are not yet established again. Landcover change: In the study region the extent of arable fields and young fallows increased during the last 30 years from 580 km(2) in 1972 to 2870 km(2) in 2001. This means an average land cover conversion rate of 0.9% per year for the 6 departments considered. Change of the distribution of Sahelian and Sudanian species: Several species, mentioned in older literature as strictly Sahelian, today also occur in the Sudanian zone. Parallel to the spread of former strictly Sahelian species into the Sudanian zone, some former Sahelo-Sudanian species have withdrawn from the Sahel. Changes of the life form spectra of the flora: Considering their life form spectra, the flora of heavily grazed and of protected areas in the Sudanian zone show great differences. On areas intensively grazed the percentage of therophytes is evidently higher than on protected areas. Just the opposite is true for the phanerophytes. Their percentage is higher on the protected area than on the grazed zones. At the first glance, it is obvious to link the changes in flora and vegetation with the climate changes that have occurred during the last five decades (decrease of annual precipitation). However, not only climatic conditions have changed, but also population has increased, the percentage of land intensively used for agriculture and pasturing has increased and the time for soil regeneration today is much shorter than it was some decades ago. Thus, the landscape of the Sudanian zone has become a more Sahelian character. A comparison of the flora of an intensively used area of the Sudanian zone with that of a protected area shows a remarkable change in the life form spectra. The spectrum of the intensively used area is almost identical with that of the typical Sahelian flora. This comparison shows that the anthropogenic influence plays a greater role in the sahelisation of the Sudanian zone than the climate change. CONCLUSION: Climate change and anthropogenic influence both, lead to a sahelisation of landscape and flora. Thus in many parts of the Sudanian zone of West Africa sahelisation phenomena will remain and even increase independently from the reestablishment of the more humid climate conditions of the 1950ies. RECOMMENDATIONS AND PERSPECTIVES: In order to maintain some parts of the characteristic Sudanian landscape with its characteristic flora and vegetation, the number and size of protected areas should be augmented. For all protected areas it has to be ensured, that protection is reality, i.e. respected an understood by local people, not only fiction. As long as the enlargement of intensively used areas continues the sahelisation of flora, vegetation and landscape will continue too.     

Development of a new scale to measure subjective career success: A mixed‐methods study

Career success is a main focus of career scholars as well as organizational stakeholders. Historically, career success has been conceptualized and measured in an objective manner, mainly as salary, rank, or number of promotions. However, the changing nature of work has also necessitated a change in the way many employees view success, adding a more subjective component. Although there has been theoretical discussion and calls to develop a comprehensive measure of subjective career success, no contemporary comprehensive quantitative measure exists. The goal of this study was to create and validate a measure of subjective career success, titled the Subjective Career Success Inventory (SCSI). The SCSI includes 24 items that address subjective career success via eight dimensions. The scale was developed and validated through four phases of data collection, beginning with interviews and focus groups, followed by item sorting tasks, then item refinement through confirmatory factor analysis, and finally convergent and discriminant validity quantitative analysis. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The undermining effect revisited: The salience of everyday verbal rewards and self‐determined motivation

Self‐determination theory suggests that some rewards can undermine autonomous motivation and related positive outcomes. Key to this undermining is the extent to which rewards are perceived as salient in a given situation; when this is the case, individuals tend to attribute their behavior to the incentive, and the intrinsic value of the task is undermined. The role of salience has yet to be explicitly tested with respect to work motivation; we know little about whether undermining occurs in relation to verbal rewards, which characterize everyday work. We examine this in a field‐based quantitative diary study of 58 employees reporting 287 critical incidents of motivated behavior. When considering simple direct effects, the undermining effect was not supported; highly salient verbal rewards associated positively with introjected and external motivation, but at no cost to autonomous motivation. However, moderator analysis found support for the undermining effect for complex tasks; highly salient verbal rewards associated positively with external motivation while associating negatively with intrinsic and identified motivation. The findings suggest that verbal reward salience is an important characteristic of verbal reward perceptions and that salient verbal rewards are not advisable for more complex tasks but can have a valuable motivational impact for simple tasks. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

二次电池电极材料环境影响计算系统

以生命周期评价理论为基础,建立了电极材料电化学性能与环境影响的内在量化关联关系分析方法。基于Java语言,设计和编写了二次电池电极材料环境影响综合计算系统,协调考虑了二次电池的循环特性、电化学特征等,实现了环境影响评价过程中对材料质量需求的便捷计算,进而实现了整个评价操作过程的综合化、软件化和信息化,提高了评价效率。选用LiFePO_4/C,LiFe_(0.98)Ti_(0.02)PO_4/C,LiFe_(0.98)Mn_(0.02)PO_4/C和FeF_3(H_2O)_3/C 4种正极材料基于此系统进行了实例应用。     

Idiosyncratic deals in contemporary organizations: A qualitative and meta‐analytical review

Idiosyncratic deals (i‐deals) research focuses on the emergence of customized work arrangements employees negotiate with their employers. This article provides a critical review and synthesis of i‐deals research, combining a qualitative review of i‐deals theory and research with a supplementary meta‐analysis of 23 empirical studies (k = 27 samples, N = 8110 individuals). The qualitative review examines the conceptualization and measurement of i‐deals and identifies patterns and gaps in i‐deals research, while the quantitative meta‐analysis tests the moderating effect of societal cultures on the predictors and consequences of ideals investigated to date. In each section, attention is given to strengths and weaknesses of current approaches to i‐deals theory and research. Future research directions are identified with particular emphasis on the largely unexamined role of i‐deals from a multilevel perspective. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

复杂工业系统中班组人因失误分析

在复杂工业系统中 ,人因可靠性分析 (HRA)是预防和减少人因失误的有效方法。人在复杂工业系统中的生产活动 ,往往是由组织中班组成员集体完成的 ,完整的HRA必须充分考虑班组人误的产生。班组人误的产生有其自身的规律 ,如何合理地定义人员行为形成因子 (PSFs)是班组人因失误分析的难点 ,也是班组人因失误分析的重要手段 ,被广泛应用在核电厂 ,航空和造船工业领域的事故分析中。笔者详细分析和探讨了班组人因失误的定义、产生过程及相关的人的行为形成因子 ,以期能使大规模工业系统中的人因失误分析更加合理和完善。     

Handedness, Hand Roles, and Hand Injuries at Work

Hand injuries form a significant proportion of all workplace injuries. They are costly to treat, and lead to significant loss of time at work. This paper has two parts. First, there is a review of the literature that discusses prevalence of hand injury, and the significance of hand roles and handedness in industrial injuries. The second part represents an initial attempt to document the roles of the two hands in a particular industry, the metal manufacturing industry. The purpose of this survey of 30 different work stations in seven different industrial plants was to see whether there is a significant bias in terms of movement requirements for one or the other hand, leading to a possible differential risk of injury for the left and right hands. Overall, there was no clear bias favoring the right hand in activities assigned to the hands in seven different movement categories (MTM). However, the location of emergency controls favored the right hand unequivocally. The implications of biases favoring the left/right hand for safety of machine operation are discussed in the light of current findings on left/right hand performance in right- and lefthanders.     

芳纶1313纤维的特点及其在个体防护服装领域的应用

对芳纶1313纤维的发展历程、性能特点、生产加工、产品应用等各个方面进行了详细的阐述。芳纶1313纤维是一种性能优异的阻燃耐热纤维,在安全生产领域有着广阔的应用前景。自问世以来历经半个多世纪的发展,其在安全生产领域的应用价值已经得到广泛的认可。由于芳纶1313纤维具备一系列的突出优点,同时也存在某些缺陷,因此建议扬长避短,充分发挥这种纤维的种种优点,同时通过纤维改性、改进和优化生产工艺等方法,充分发挥其在安全生产领域的应用,使之产生应有的社会效益和经济效益。     

我国安全生产行政执法统计指标体系研究与应用

我国安全生产行政执法统计指标体系自施行以来,一直存在统计指标体系过于繁杂、部分统计指标较笼统,未充分体现安全生产重点工作及其成效等问题,创新改革安全生产行政执法统计制度具有重要的理论意义和实用价值。通过梳理安全生产行政执法统计指标体系演变脉络,在实地调研和现场访谈的基础上,基于PDCA理论提出以执法人员-执法对象-执法行为“三位一体”的安全生产行政执法统计指标体系,明确包含执法力量、执法对象、执法检查和事故查处等方面的综合评价指标,并在实践中得以应用和检验,为全面分析安全生产执法效能拓展空间,统计制度的后续修订和安全生产综合分析工作奠定基础。