An Assessment of the Valuation Methods Used to Calculate the Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare (ISEW), Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI), and Sustainable Net Benefit Index (SNBI)

For some time now, ecological economists have been putting forward a ‘threshold hypothesis’ – the notion that when macroeconomic systems expand beyond a certain size, the additional cost of growth exceeds the flow of additional benefits. In order to support their belief, ecological economists have developed a number of similar indexes to measure and compare the benefits and costs of growth (e.g., the Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare and the Genuine Progress Indicator). In virtually every instance where an index of this type has been calculated for a particular country, the movement of the index appears to reinforce the existence of the threshold hypothesis. Of late, a number of observers have expressed concerns about whether these alternative indexes reflect concrete reality or the prejudices of ecological economists. In view of these concerns, this paper closely examines the valuation methods used in the calculation the Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare, the Genuine Progress Indicator, and the Sustainable Net Benefit Index. It is argued that a consistent and more robust set of valuation techniques is required in order for these alternative indexes to gain broad acceptability.*Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.     

The application of the psychological contract to workplace safety

INTRODUCTION: Psychological contracts of safety are conceptualized as the beliefs of individuals about reciprocal safety obligations inferred from implicit or explicit promises. Although the literature on psychological contracts is growing, the existence of psychological contracts in relation to safety has not been established. The research sought to identify psychological contracts in the conversations of employees about safety, by demonstrating reciprocity in relation to employer and employee safety obligations. The identified safety obligations were used to develop a measure of psychological contracts of safety. METHOD: The participants were 131 employees attending safety training sessions in retail and manufacturing organizations. Non-participant observation was used to collect the data during safety training sessions. Content analysis was used to analyze the data. Categories for coding were established through identification of language markers that demonstrated contingencies or other implied obligations. RESULTS: Direct evidence of reciprocity between employer safety obligations and employee safety obligations was found in statements from the participants demonstrating psychological contracts. A comprehensive list of perceived employer and employee safety obligations was compiled and developed into a measure of psychological contracts of safety. A small sample of 33 safety personnel was used to validate the safety obligations. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Implications of these findings for safety and psychological contract research are discussed.     

我国非煤矿山安全生产现状、研究与发展

对我国非煤矿山的安全生产现状进行了系统调查,探讨了我国非煤矿山在21世纪开采条件的不利变化以及潜在的事故隐患,提出了确保非煤矿山的安全生产亟待开展的研究课题以及长远安全科技发展规划。     

Measuring implicit psychological constructs in organizational behavior: An example using psychological capital

Implicit psychological constructs are effective predictors of behavioral outcomes but are rarely used in organizational settings because of real or imagined problems with measurement validity and administration. To address these concerns, we present a means of assessing implicit constructs quickly and easily by using psychological capital as an example. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Developing and validating a scientific model for exploring safe work practices in interdisciplinary teams

Health research literature on quality and safety in recent years has pointed to a need to explore the characteristics of interdisciplinary team work unique to the health care sector and the particular organization. The literature also has identified a need for scientific models that explore and integrate existing findings concerning team dynamics. In this article, I attempt to address these concerns by developing and validating a scientific model for exploring safe work practices of interdisciplinary OR teams. Specifically, existing health research literature on quality and safety is reviewed to identify and incorporate various team-related aspects into dimensions of the proposed model. To further validate the model, I conduct an ethnographic study of safe work practices within an interdisciplinary OR setting. I find that safe work practices can be viewed as a product of the individual’s and team’s ability to draw on and combine explicit and tacit knowledge repertoires, which again is a product of the particular inner and outer structural conditions of a system. While the findings add their own unique distinctiveness to the scientific model, the findings also compare to the existing aspects and dimensions of the model. I conclude that the fit of the empirical data to the model improves the validity of the model, and also the potential application of the model in ethnographic research within different medical and/or team settings.     

可燃固体表面火蔓延行为研究进展与展望

固体可燃物表面火蔓延是森林火灾、建筑火灾以及工业火灾中普遍存在的燃烧现象,是火灾研究的基础问题。对固体可燃物表面火蔓延行为进行分类,评述国内外的固体可燃物表面火蔓延行为研究现状和目前存在的主要问题。总结固体可燃物表面火蔓延试验研究的技术手段,对比分析不同因素对建立固体可燃物表面火蔓延行为理论模型的影响。这些因素包括环境流场、化学反应动力学、热解气体组分和炭化过程等。概要介绍固体可燃物表面火蔓延计算模拟的优势。最后指出固体可燃物火蔓延行为研究的发展趋势,并提出未来若干重点研究方向。     

消防灭火系统中人的因素的定量研究

基于人机工程学研究思路,把消防灭火系统中人的因素分解为可用度、可信度和固有能力,筛选出温度和工作时间作为影响因子,利用层次分析法和线性回归法确定了消防灭火人力系统的可信度和固有能力,结合某消防支队训练统计数据对此研究方法进行了实例分析.结果表明,温度和工作时间对人力系统存在明显影响,相比之下,工作时间的影响较大,但消防灭火系统人的因素的决定因子是人力系统的固有能力,即灭火人员的业务能力、身体素质、心理素质和火场作风.此方法的提出对于消防灭火战斗效能评估、灭火力量组织和配置有着重要意义.     

以风险预控为核心的安全管理体系理论研究与应用

以系统安全理论的观点和方法,通过建立人机环境系统物理模型,剖析两类危险有害因素诱发事故的机理,阐述危险有害因素在生产系统中不同影响程度和情况.将生产系统划分为本质安全型、风险型、危险型和危机型四种形式,并与之对应将安全管理分为本质安全管理、风险预控管理、隐患排查治理和应急响应管理四个等级.进而提出推行“以风险预控为核心、以隐患排查治理为基础、以应急响应为补充、以本质安全为目标”的“四位一体”安全管理模式.     

Reflections on 40 years of Disasters, 1977–2017

This reflection, based on a keynote address to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of Disasters on 14 September 2017, begins by considering some of the prevailing assumptions that existed at the time of the journal's creation. Next is a summary of significant milestones during the past 40 years, covering major global trends, changing disaster impacts, and key developments in disaster risk management. Contrasting approaches in the first and fourth decade of the journal's history are then followed by examples of changes in terminology in the disaster field as an indication of shifting values. The paper goes on to explore the context of 2017, with observations of problem areas such as the loss of knowledge, failures to tackle the root causes of disasters, shortfalls in international assistance, and some negative attitudes. It closes by evaluating some current positive occurrences, including a reduction in casualties, sharing of experience, technological advances, and dramatic improvements in disaster warning.     

Fieldwork after conflict: contextualising the challenges of access and data quality

Despite sustained scholarly interest in post‐conflict states, there has not been a thorough review and analysis of associated methodology and the challenges of conducting research in these contexts. Addressing this gap, this paper directs attention to the particular effects of these settings on access and data quality and their ramifications for the resulting scholarship. It assesses the intrinsic challenges of performing fieldwork in these environments, drawing on both relevant social science literature and the authors’ experiences of carrying out research in Afghanistan and Timor‐Leste. The study demonstrates that the post‐conflict environment moulds research design and, consequently, influences how questions are answered as well as the questions asked. Moreover, it highlights ways to mitigate these issues. This work is of relevance to scholars planning to engage in field research and to researchers reflecting upon their work, as well as to policymakers who are considering undertaking programmes or commissioning research in post‐conflict areas.