Investigating the psychometric properties and assessment capabilities of the short version of the Health and Safety Executive’s Management Standards Indicator Tool

Abstract

Policies on psychosocial hazards at work are gaining importance. Subsequently, a number of indicators have been proposed to assess the phenomenon such as the Management Standards Indicator Tool (MSIT). This study focuses on the short-version of the MSIT and aims to evaluate the convergent and discriminant validities of the measures, explore whether these measures can be represented by a higher-order factor of work-related stress and to contribute towards better understanding of its concurrent validity. Data were obtained from 452 full-time managerial-grade employees working in a multinational manufacturing plant in Malta. The study shows that the original 25-item MSIT measures have convergent and discriminant validity issues. Following the removal of five items, the revised indicator demonstrated good construct validity and was well-represented by a higher order factor. Additionally, the second-order factor of the modified MSIT mediated the relationship between psychosocial safety climate and psychological well-being and slightly interacted with engagement to explain improved well-being in the mediational pathway. This study suggests that the modified MSIT is effective in assessing psychosocial factors in stress-management interventions. The MSIT has good prospects to be further adopted in the process of developing better policy and standards for the improvement of psychological conditions at work.     

基于科技视角与双周期模型的我国突发事件危机管理研究——以新型冠状病毒危机事件为例

2019年末爆发的新型冠状病毒是近年我国经历的一次波及范围广、影响巨大的突发性公共危机事件，科技发展与应用水平不足是触发此次危机事件的重要诱因。基于新型冠状病毒危机事件背景，构造了突发事件生命周期与管理周期的双周期曲线模型，探讨了不同危机管理阶段科学技术的重要作用，并在此基础上提出加速应急产业科技化发展、建立健全危机管理科技发展资金管理体系、完善危机管理科技人才队伍建设机制、进一步推动和加强国际科研合作的政策建议。     

When old meets young? Germany's population ageing and the current account

In a three-region New Keynesian life-cycle model calibrated to Germany, the Euro area (without Germany) and the rest of the world, we analyze the impact of population ageing on net foreign asset and current account developments. Using unsynchronized demographic trends by taking those of Germany as given and assuming constant population everywhere else, we are able to generate German current account surpluses of up to 15% of GDP during the first half of this century. However, projected demographic trends from 2000 to 2080 in OECD countries (and China in an additional analysis) are much more synchronized. Feeding these into our model suggests that the average annual German current account surplus from 2000 to 2018 that should be attributed to ageing reduces to around 2.83% (1.23%) of GDP, with a maximum at 4.3% (2.7%) in 2006 (when taking into account China), turning negative around 2035.     

Mispricing and trader positions in the S&P 500 index futures market

This study examines the effect of traders’ net positions on mispricing in the S&P 500 index futures market. We find that while positive mispricing is associated with hedgers’ net short and speculators’ net long positions, negative mispricing is related to hedgers’ net long and speculators’ net short positions. This relationship is stable for speculators across the pre- and post-2004 periods; however, it is dominant for hedgers particularly during the pre-2004 period. Contrary to the popular belief, our analysis finds no evidence that speculators are responsible for irrational movements in futures prices by enlarging the size of mispricing. Furthermore, a high magnitude of hedgers’ net positions signals the convergence of mispricing. We also found that according to a recent new disaggregation for trader positions, asset managers tend to delay the convergence of mispricing and hedge funds help shrink the size of mispricing. However, these relationships are not stronger than those implies by the hedger/speculator classification. These findings support the view that speculators’ positions are informative about the direction of index futures mispricing, while hedgers’ positions determine the convergence of mispricing.     

Institutional versus non-institutional credit to agricultural households in India: Evidence on impact from a national farmers’ survey

A goal of agricultural policy in India has been to reduce farmers’ dependence on informal credit. To that end, recent initiatives are focused explicitly on rural areas and have a positive impact on the flow of agricultural credit. Despite the significance of the above initiatives in enhancing the flow of institutional credit to agriculture, the links between institutional credit and net farm income and consumption expenditures in India are not very well documented. Using large, national farm household level data and IV 2SLS estimation methods, we investigate the role of institutional farm credit on farm income and farm household consumption expenditures. Findings show that, in India, formal credit does indeed play a critical role in increasing both net farm income and per capita monthly household expenditures of Indian farm families. Finally, we find that, in the presence of formal credit, social safety net programs like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) may have unintended consequences. In particular, MGNREGA reduces both net farm income and per capita monthly household consumption expenditures. On the other hand, in the presence of formal credit, the Public Distribution System may increase both net farm income and per capita monthly household consumption expenditures.     

Into the urban wild: Collection of wild urban plants for food and medicine in Kampala,Uganda

In sub-Saharan Africa, many people depend on natural resources for their livelihoods. While urbanisation causes landscape changes, little is known of how this process affects the use of wild plant resources by urban populations. This study contributes to addressing this knowledge gap by exploring the prevalence and determinants of urban collectors of wild plants in Kampala, Uganda. During February to August 2015, 93 structured interviews were conducted in inner, outer, and peri-urban areas of the city. The findings in this study show that urban wild plants are used by almost half (47%) of the respondents, mainly for medicinal purposes but also as a complement to diets. The findings further indicate that residents with lower income, of younger age (<51 years old), and predominantly living in peri-urban areas are more likely to be urban collectors. Seasonality appears to be of greater importance in collection of food plants than of medicinal plants. Overall, these findings indicate that wild plants occupy an important role in the livelihoods and traditions of Kampala’s residents, and we argue that this should be taken into account in urban planning projects.     

安全预控措施在港口装卸经营生产中的作用

合理的安全预控是保障港口装卸生产的重要条件。各级安全管理人员要深入基层和生产一线,履行工作职责,在加强调查研究的基础上,强化生产现场监管、及时发现问题,并提出整改措施,真正做到严抓细管,防范事故的发生。     

高速铁路应急调度协同处置流程结构化分析方法研究

高速铁路应急调度处置流程的结构化分析,对于提升应急调度处置效率和质量,推动应急调度智能化进程具有重要意义。针对结构化分析需求,提出一种基于铁路规章的应急调度处置流程分解与重构方法,以图形化方式重构应急调度处置流程,并基于随机Petri网理论建立高速铁路应急调度协同处置流程模型,给出多工种协同的SPN模型建立与等价化简、性能分析的方法,通过计算识别处置流程风险控制点和关键环节,选取场景“运行途中司机发现晃车”建模并分析,分析结果符合现场实际情况,表明该结构化分析方法能够从信息传递和处置流程角度提示风险控制点和关键环节,为多工种协同的应急调度指挥工作提供决策参考。     

社会信息处理视域下创意实施激发员工创造力的机制研究：渠道效用感知的调节效应

基于社会信息处理理论，探讨企业管理者创意实施对员工后续创造力的影响效应、作用机制及边界条件。结合问卷调查与客观数据，最终得到270个有效样本。研究发现：创意实施能够有效激发员工后续创造力；心理安全感在创意实施与员工后续创造力关系中发挥中介作用；渠道效用感知调节创意实施与心理安全感之间的关系，当员工感知到的渠道效用处于较高水平时，创意实施积极预测员工心理安全感；渠道效用感知调节创意实施通过心理安全感影响员工后续创造力的间接效应，当员工感知到的渠道效用处于较高水平时，该间接效应更显著。     

A new direction for the net neutrality debate

In recent years, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) has become a microcosm of the political battles in Congress. The Democratic-controlled Wheeler Commission entitled its Net Neutrality Order “Protecting and Promoting the Open Internet.” Not to be outdone, the Republican-controlled Pai Commission that overturned that Order entitled its own “Restoring `Internet Freedom.” And like Congressional pronouncements, Commissioners look to grab headlines with dramatic statements of impending doom if their policies are not enacted. We show that the untold societal damage that both sides claim have relatively little to no factual support. Outmoded distinctions between information and telecommunications services exacerbate the situation because a good deal of regulatory history is built on them. As a potential way forward toward reliance on theoretically-sound, evidence-based decision-making, the authors recommend moving away from the silo mentality of focusing on whether particular services are information services or telecommunications services (e.g., Broadband Internet Access Service (BIAS)) toward a focus on packet transmission across broadband networks. Such an approach would facilitate fresh perspectives with the objective of more collaborative, less confrontational regulatory decision-making.