Transformational change: governance interventions for climate change adaptation from a continuous change perspective

Although transformational change is a rather new topic in climate change adaptation literature, it has been studied in organisational theory for over 30 years. This paper argues that governance scholars can learn much from organisation theory, more specifically regarding the conceptualisation of change and intervention strategies. We reconceptualise the divide between transformational change and incremental change by questioning the feasibility of changes that are concurrently in-depth, large scale, and quick; and the assumption that incremental change is necessarily slow and can only result in superficial changes. To go beyond this dichotomy, we introduce the conceptualisation of continuous transformational change. Resulting intervention strategies include (1) providing basic conditions for enabling small in-depth wins; (2) amplifying small wins through sensemaking, coupling, and integrating; and (3) unblocking stagnations by confronting social and cognitive fixations with counterintuitive interventions. These interventions necessitate a modest leadership. Governing transformational change thus requires transformation of the governance systems themselves.     

浅谈应急心理干预对事故影响的作用

随着大工业的发展，其所带来的重大事故或自然灾害导致的事故后果常常可以和战争相提并论，其后果影响给与人们带来的心理恐慌和应急时产生的心理危机已经影响人们的正常生活，并逐渐被人们重视。因此心理危机干预已经逐渐成为抢险救灾的一个当然的组成部分，心理干预技术已经是成熟的，在国际上已经普遍被采用。当突发事故发生或当遇到突发事件伤害时，克服紧张情绪，沉着冷静并学会如何与人沟通，解决各种应急事件导致的心理障碍是非常重要的任务。     

The future of humanitarian action: mapping the implications of Iraq and other recent crises

In late 2003 the Feinstein International Famine Center, in partnership with institutions in London, Geneva and Washington, organised a series of consultations on the future of humanitarian action post-Iraq. This article is based on those discussions. A number of recurring concerns are elaborated, ranging from the perception of humanitarianism as a Northern-driven and Northern-controlled enterprise, through the politicisation of security and the devaluation of the protective power of emblems, to the very nature of how the crisis in Iraq is perceived. The article explores the implications of such issues for humanitarian workers and their institutions. It concludes by framing an agenda for action by the humanitarian sector.     

Accounting for the Impact of Conservation on Human Well‐Being

Conservationists are increasingly engaging with the concept of human well‐being to improve the design and evaluation of their interventions. Since the convening of the influential Sarkozy Commission in 2009, development researchers have been refining conceptualizations and frameworks to understand and measure human well‐being and are starting to converge on a common understanding of how best to do this. In conservation, the term human well‐being is in widespread use, but there is a need for guidance on operationalizing it to measure the impacts of conservation interventions on people. We present a framework for understanding human well‐being, which could be particularly useful in conservation. The framework includes 3 conditions; meeting needs, pursuing goals, and experiencing a satisfactory quality of life. We outline some of the complexities involved in evaluating the well‐being effects of conservation interventions, with the understanding that well‐being varies between people and over time and with the priorities of the evaluator. Key challenges for research into the well‐being impacts of conservation interventions include the need to build up a collection of case studies so as to draw out generalizable lessons; harness the potential of modern technology to support well‐being research; and contextualize evaluations of conservation impacts on well‐being spatially and temporally within the wider landscape of social change. Pathways through the smog of confusion around the term well‐being exist, and existing frameworks such as the Well‐being in Developing Countries approach can help conservationists negotiate the challenges of operationalizing the concept. Conservationists have the opportunity to benefit from the recent flurry of research in the development field so as to carry out more nuanced and locally relevant evaluations of the effects of their interventions on human well‐being. Consideración del Impacto de la Conservación sobre el Bienestar Humano     

我国水务企业核心竞争力的探讨

我国的水务市场正处于快速发展阶段,本土水务企业的发展面临着巨大的竞争压力。本文通过对企业核心竞争力理论的梳理,结合我国特殊国情和发达国家水务企业的发展经验,对我国水务企业核心竞争力的构成进行了探讨,并指出在现阶段,水务企业的运营与服务能力、各类资源的整合能力、技术创新能力以及政策与市场的应变能力是决定水务企业竞争优势的主要构成要素。     

Reducing Musculoskeletal Discomfort: Effects of an Office Ergonomics Workplace and Training Intervention

Effects of an office ergonomics workplace and training intervention on workers’ knowledge and self-reported musculoskeletal pain and discomfort were investigated. An instructional systems design process was used to develop an office ergonomics training program and the evaluation tools used to measure the effectiveness of the training program on workers’ office ergonomics knowledge and skills. It was hypothesized that the training and workplace intervention would allow the worker to more effectively use their workplace through increased office ergonomics knowledge and skills. Following the intervention, there was a significant increase in workers’ office ergonomics knowledge and awareness. Self-reported work-related musculoskeletal disorders significantly decreased for the group who had a workplace change and received ergonomic training relative to a workplace change-only group and a no intervention control group.     

Disaster in the South Paciic: Impact of tropical cyclone "Nomu" on the Solomon Islands, May 1986

Tropical Cyclone "Namu" struck the Pacific nation of the Solomon Islands during 18-20th May 1986. It was sthe most serious natural disaster in the Solomons in lining memory. Nearly a third of the total population of 267,000 were diriven from their homes and 150 people were killed, with damage estimates beginning in AUD 25 million. It has been estimated by the Solomon Islands Ministry of Economic Planning that it will take seven years for the economy to recover. This paper discusses the major events of the disaster episode by employing the Powell and Rayner model of "disaster-time." Factors relating to current disaster Planning and management within the Solomon Islands are outlined. The paper also highlights assistance provided by Australla during the Post-impact sequence and illustrates the type of general disaster preparatory support which Australia provides to South pacific.     

Improving the safety of distracted pedestrians with in-ground flashing lights. A railway crossing field study

Introduction: Current signage at intersections is designed for attentive pedestrians who are looking ahead. Such signage may not be sufficient when distracted by smartphones. Illuminated in-ground LED lights at crossings are an innovative solution to alert distracted pedestrians. Method: We conducted a field study at a railway crossing equipped with in-ground lights to assess whether distracted pedestrians (N = 34, Mean age 33.6 ± 8.6 years) could detect these lights and how this impacted on their visual scanning and crossing behaviour. This involved a 2 × 3 repeated measures design exploring the impact of the presence (treatment) or absence (control) of in-ground lights (treatment) at a crossing, and a distractor task presented through a mobile device (none, visual, and audio) on eye movements recorded using an eye tracker, and verbal reporting of when participants detected the lights. Results: Participants engaged in the distraction tasks as evidenced by their accuracy and reaction times in all conditions. With both the audio and visual distraction tasks, participants looked at the in-ground LEDs and detected their activation as accurately as when not distracted (95%). While most participants detected the lights at their activation, visual distraction resulted in 10% of the detections occurring as participants entered the rail corridor, suggesting effectiveness in gaining pedestrians’ attention. Further, participants were significantly less likely to check for trains when visually distracted (70%), a 10% reduction compared to the no or audio distractor conditions (80% and 78% respectively). The introduction of the in-ground lights resulted in appropriate scanning of the rail tracks (77% and 78% for the visual and auditory distractor tasks respectively) similar to that of non-distracted participants for the crossing without lights (80%). Conclusions: Our findings indicate that illuminated in-ground lights could be useful in attracting the attention of distracted pedestrians at railway level crossings, and possibly at other road intersections. Practical Applications: Illuminated in-ground lights can be installed at rail and road intersections with known pedestrian distraction as a countermeasure. Further research is necessary to understand their long-term effects.     

我国农村室内空气污染干预状况综述

概述了1994-2006年国内外对我国农村室内空气污染干预的研究成果,从中总结了改炉改灶、健康教育与行为干预、开发和使用清洁能源、社会动员等4项干预措施.其中,使用改良炉灶和清洁能源可直接而有效地改善室内空气质量; 健康教育、行为干预与社会动员通过帮助人们改变不良的生活方式达到改善室内空气质量的目的,这些措施在我国农村室内空气污染干预中取得了很好的效果.建议结合我国各地实际,采用综合干预措施控制农村室内空气污染.     

Occupational injury and accident research: A comprehensive review

In this paper, a comprehensive review of the concepts of occupational injury and accident causation and prevention is presented. Starting with hazard identification, the issues on risk assessment, accident causation, and intervention strategies are discussed progressively. The distinctiveness and overlaps in accident and injury research are highlighted. Both empirical research in terms of hypotheses tested and theoretical research such as accident causation models are compared and contrasted. Finally, based on the critical appraisal of the comprehensive review, future research directions on occupational injury research are delineated.