Measurement techniques for organizational safety causal models: Characterization and suggestions for enhancements

Through a review of literature from diverse disciplines with actual and potential application to causal modeling of organizational safety risk, this paper explores issues regarding measurement techniques in a quantitative safety analysis context. The interdependencies of modeling perspectives, constructs, and measures are indentified, leading to (a) characterization and classification of measurement techniques, (b) suggestions on the selection of appropriate measurement methods for different types of model constructs including individual-level, global, configural, and shared, and (c) discussion of the modeling implications of interactions between measurement, constructs, and causal paths. A multi-dimensional perspective is offered through combinations of different “measurement methods” and “measurement bases”. A Bayesian approach is also proposed to operationalize the multi-dimensional measurements. Examples are provided to help explain the roles of these measurements in capturing the relation between organizational factors and safety performance. This paper is a product of research which has the primary purpose of extending Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) modeling frameworks to include the effects of organizational factors as the fundamental causes of accidents and incidents.     

Examining Community Perceptions of Energy Systems Development: The Role of Communication and Sense of Place

An increasing demand for the development and implementation of low carbon energy systems has furthered the need to understand the factors that influence a community's support for or opposition to local energy developments. Carbon dioxide capture and geological storage (CCS) is one such energy system where it is widely acknowledged that public perceptions and acceptance of CCS technologies are critical to their implementation. CCS refers to the capture of carbon dioxide emissions from industrial sources and the long-term storage of these emissions in stable underground reservoirs. This case study examines how place attachment and community networks factored into resident's perceptions of a proposed CCS project that was ultimately canceled due to local opposition. Participants were concerned about preserving shared places, spaces, and interactions that were valued by community members. Results demonstrate the need to ascertain how locally affected populations view CCS or other energy developments, especially with regard to their ideas about community, sense of place (ties to area and local relationships), and how they communicate about those factors. Such factors are important given the initiative to develop low carbon energy systems in rural areas.     

SAPS处理酸性矿山废水的模拟应用研究

根据硫酸盐还原菌(SRB)的生物矿化原理设计了一套连续碱度产生系统(SAPS)反应器,以市政污水处理厂的活性污泥为SRB提供源,南方常见的香芋柄为有机物碳源,选用石灰石为反应器中碱度层填充物,进行实验室模拟SAPS处理酸性矿山废水(AMD)的应用研究,实验结果表明,SAPS处理酸性矿山废水的方法是具有技术可行的:SRB利用有机碳源生长代谢,产生碱度、还原SO42-和降解COD。最终废水pH从进水4.0左右上升到出水7.0左右;出水COD降低到约200 mg/L; SO42-还原为各种硫化物,其还原率约为61%;不同金属离子在有机层和碱度层发生反应产生沉淀,其中Fe2+、Cu2+和Zn2+的去除效率分别约为76%、78.5%和82%,而主要靠物理吸附作用的Mn2+去除率较低;初次模拟SAPS运行到56 d时,系统最终因有机碳源不足而各项指标不再改变。     

Semi-natural habitats in the European boreal region: Caught in the socio-ecological extinction vortex?

We propose to consider semi-natural habitats—hotspots for biodiversity—being caught in a socio-ecological extinction vortex, similar to the phenomenon described for species threatened with extinction. These habitats are essentially socioecological systems, in which socioeconomic drivers are interlinked with ecological processes. We identify four highly interlinked and mutually reinforcing socio-economic processes, pertaining to the importance of semi-natural habitats for (i) agricultural production, (ii) policy, research and development; (iii) vocational education in the fields of agricultural sciences and (iv) public’s experiences with semi-natural habitats. Evidence from six countries in the boreal region demonstrates that recent slowing down or even reversal of two processes are insufficient to stop the extinction vortex phenomenon. We suggest research directions to ascertain the phenomenon, monitor its development and develop proactive actions to weaken the vortex. It is highly plausible that interventions directed at most, if not all, of the key vortex processes are needed to reverse the overall deteriorating trends of a socio-ecological system.     

River basin governance enabling pathways for sustainable management: A comparative study between Australia,Brazil, China and France

Successful river basin governance is challenged by actor engagement in the various stages of planning and management. A governance approach for determining priorities for actors for sustainable management was developed, based on a river basin diagnostic framework consisting of four social-institutional and four biophysical indicators. It was applied in river basins in Australia, Brazil, China and France. Actors diagnosed current and target capacity for these indicators, and estimated synergistic influences of interacting indicators. The results reveal different priorities and transformative pathways to achieve basin plan outcomes, specific to each basin and actor groups. Priorities include biodiversity for the Murray-Darling, local water management needs for the São Francisco and Yellow rivers, and improved decision-making for the Adour-Garonne. This novel approach challenges entrenched views about key issues and actor engagement roles in co-implementation of the basin plan under existing prevailing governance models, with implications for engagement and international collaboration on basin governance.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13280-021-01699-4.     

A functional perspective on the analysis of land use and land cover data in ecology

Assessments of large-scale changes in habitat are a priority for management and conservation. Traditional approaches use land use and land cover data (LULC) that focus mostly on “structural” properties of landscapes, rather than “functional” properties related to specific ecological processes. Here, we contend that designing functional analyses of LULC can provide important and complementary information to traditional, structural analyses. We substantiate this perspective with an example of functional changes in habitat due to industrial anthropogenic footprints in Alberta’s boreal forest, where there has been little overall forest loss (~ 6% structural change), but high levels of functional change (up to 93% functional change) for species’ habitat, biodiversity, and wildfire ignition. We discuss the methods needed to achieve functional LULC analyses, when they are most appropriate to add to structural assessments, and conclude by providing recommendations for analyses of LULC in a future of increasingly high-resolution, dynamic remote sensing data.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s13280-020-01434-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Towards an ecological solution to the folivore paradox: patch depletion as an indicator of within-group scramble competition in red colobus monkeys (Piliocolobus tephrosceles)

A number of socioecological models assume that within-group food competition is either weak or absent among folivorous primates. This assumption is made because their food resources are presumed to be superabundant and evenly dispersed. However, recent evidence increasingly suggests that folivore group size is food-limited, that the primates prefer patchily distributed high-quality foods, and display some of the expected responses to within-group scramble competition. To investigate this apparent contradiction between theoretical models and recent empirical data, we examined the foraging behaviour of red colobus monkeys (Piliocolobus tephrosceles) in Kibale National Park, Uganda. We found that red colobus monkeys foraged in a manner that suggests they deplete patches of preferred foods: intake rate slowed significantly during patch occupancy while movement rate, an index of foraging effort, increased. Furthermore, patch occupancy was related to the size of the feeding group and the size of the patch. These results suggest that within-group scramble competition occurs, may limit folivore group size, and should be considered in models of folivore behavioural ecology.     

Knowledge co-production in practice: Enabling environmental management systems for ports through participatory research in the Dutch Wadden Sea

Coastal zone management is inconceivable without the mobilization and integration of different types of knowledge – that is, without knowledge co-production practices. This article applies the concept of knowledge co-production to analyze the process of emergence, standardization, and enculturation of environmental management systems (EMSs) within port communities in the Dutch Wadden Sea. Moreover, it is a report from the field in which we reflect on the participatory practices conducted to facilitate the knowledge arrangements required to develop EMSs for a group of ports. The article concludes that this type of knowledge arrangement and co-production practices (involving different types of actors and knowledge) might become mandatory in the near future to stabilize the EMS phenomenon in the practices of ports.     

Process and technological aspects of municipal solid waste gasification. A review

The paper proposes a critical assessment of municipal solid waste gasification today, starting from basic aspects of the process (process types and steps, operating and performance parameters) and arriving to a comparative analysis of the reactors (fixed bed, fluidized bed, entrained bed, vertical shaft, moving grate furnace, rotary kiln, plasma reactor) as well as of the possible plant configurations (heat gasifier and power gasifier) and the environmental performances of the main commercially available gasifiers for municipal solid wastes. The analysis indicates that gasification is a technically viable option for the solid waste conversion, including residual waste from separate collection of municipal solid waste. It is able to meet existing emission limits and can have a remarkable effect on reduction of landfill disposal option.     

重大危险源企业级应急救援信息系统的研究

以某大型危险化学品储运企业为背景,对重大危险源应急救援信息系统进行研究,首先对重大危险源应急救援过程中各种信息需求进行分析,将信息分为基础信息、预防信息和救援信息3个方面;然后在单机和网络两种版本硬件结构比较的基础上,以工艺参数传感器、泄漏传感器、火灾报警器、应急设备控制器等主要设备为基础构建了单机版的硬件结构;最后,采用C/S软件结构,运用组件式GIS技术,从系统的总体结构、数据库结构以及功能设计等几个方面对应急救援信息系统进行了研究。