The stakeholder analysis for SEA of Chinese foreign direct investment: the case of ‘One Belt,One Road’ initiative in Pakistan

This paper reports on a stakeholder analysis conducted for Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) on Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI), taking the ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative (OBOR) in Pakistan as a case study. Based on a three-level framework of stakeholder analysis – identification, investigation and communication, the study aims to develop an understanding of stakeholders’ characteristics, examine social network functions, and make recommendations for Chinese FDI in Pakistan for reducing environmental and social challenges and for seizing the opportunities noted by stakeholders in particular. Results suggest that stakeholders have a positive attitude towards Chinese FDI in Pakistan. Air quality and water consumption were identified as the top two challenges on Chinese FDI. Generally speaking, opportunities of investment were seen to be more important than challenges, such as increasing energy reserves, water quality improvement and social-economic development. Based on the results, it is suggested that SEA can help to generate a win–win strategy for both countries.     

Incorporating end-user models and associated uncertainties to investigate multiple stakeholder preferences in system design

The essence of systems engineering lies in enabling rational decision-making that is consistent with the preferences of the system’s stakeholders. Modern approaches, such as value-driven design, attempt to convey the true preferences of the stakeholder using mathematical formulations like value models. A critical step to the formation of value models is the identification of the stakeholders. A primary stakeholder must be identified and then it must be determined how the other stakeholders’ preferences impact the preference of the primary, if they do at all. This paper looks at three stakeholders of an electric vehicle system, all of which could be considered the primary stakeholder dependent on the situation. Novel customer, commercial, and government-oriented value models are created. To understand the impact of customers on the primary stakeholder’s designs, an end-user value-based demand model is developed and a method for integrating end-user preferences into the manufacturer’s value model is demonstrated. Uncertainties associated with the end-users, including those associated with the economy, are quantified and incorporated into a value-based design framework through Monte Carlo simulations. Possible stakeholder risk attitudes are discussed and a rational decision-making strategy to maximize stakeholder’s system value under uncertainty is presented. The resulting designs and the influences of the multiple stakeholders are discussed, showing that the identification and incorporation of the important stakeholders are critical to the systems engineering process and value-based design in particular.     

Talking about automated vehicles: What do levels of automation do?

Automated vehicles have become a popular topic of conversation. Initially, these conversations were limited to technology developers, innovators and engineers, as they worked to progressed the various technologies and systems that are required to create automated vehicles. Then, over time, these conversations extended to other communities; lawyers, insurers, planners, policymakers, social scientists, and various publics all began hearing, and talking about automated vehicles – also known as ‘driverless’, ‘self-driving’, and ‘autonomous’ vehicles. Levels of automation emerged as a way to depict gradations or categories of autonomy, with tasks divided between those for the machine and those for humans. In this paper, we critically reflect upon the dominance of levels of automation – up to seven sequential ‘steps’ - proposed by a number of industry organisations. Focusing on the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Standard J3016, we signal the intended and unintended performative effects of these levels. We argue that current discourses on automated vehicles have been underpinned by a techno-centric, expert-dominated logic, and point to the benefits of more dispersed, geographically contingent, and socio-technical perspectives in re-framing the dominant discourse and allowing for more nuanced spatial and temporal understandings on future systems of (automated) mobility.     

Government policies and attitudes to social media use among users in Turkey: The role of awareness of policies,political involvement,online trust,and party identification

Few research studies have examined the impact of government policies toward social media on individuals’ attitudes to social media use, particularly when these policies aim to denounce and control social media platforms, as was the case in Turkey in 2013–2016. A conceptual model, based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 2005) [1], was proposed to investigate the mediating role of awareness of government policies, degree of political involvement, online trust, and the moderating role of party identification in predicting the attitudes to social media use. Data were collected through a survey of 653 social media users in Istanbul, Turkey (mean age = 31.76, SD = 10.96; 40 % women, 83 % Turkish ethnicity) in September 2015. Using PLS-SEM modelling, the awareness of government policies, the degree of political involvement, and the online trust were found to partially mediate the relationship between the frequency of social media use and the attitudes to social media use for the users of Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram, while the moderating role of party identification was not significant in this model. The results provide additional support for the role of social context and past behaviors in predicting the attitudes and future intentions in the use of digital communication technologies.     

Car driver attitudes,perceptions of social norms and aggressive driving behaviour towards cyclists

The interaction of car drivers and cyclists is one of the main causes of cycle incidents. The role of attitudes and social norms in shaping car drivers’ aggressive behaviour towards cyclists, is not well understood and merits investigation. A sample of 276 drivers completed an online questionnaire concerning their attitudes towards cyclists, attitudes towards risky driving, perception of social norms concerning aggressive driving towards cyclists, and the frequency with which they engage in such aggressive driving behaviours. The results showed that attitudes towards cyclists, as well as social norm perceptions concerning aggressive driving towards cyclists, were associated with aggressive driving towards cyclists. Negative attitudes towards cyclists were more pronounced in non-cyclists than cyclists and their association with aggressive driving behaviour was stronger in cyclists than non-cyclists. The perception of social norms concerning aggressive driving towards cyclists had a stronger association with aggressive driving in non-cyclists than cyclists. Attitudes towards risk taking did not affect aggressive driving towards cyclists. These findings can inform campaigns that aim to improve cyclist and car driver interaction on the roads, making them safer to use for cyclists.     

Building on the past to help prepare the workforce for the future with automated vehicles: A systematic review of automated passenger vehicle deployment timelines

A variety of stakeholders have put forth automated vehicle (AV) deployment timeline predictions over the past decade. To synthesize these predictions, we performed a systematic literature review of past and current AV deployment timeline predictions in the United States from different stakeholder groups, including private stakeholders, government organizations, and research organizations. Our analysis revealed that none of the AV mass deployment timelines from any stakeholder group have been met. It also shows discrepancies between timelines put forth by private and public stakeholders, with the private sector being more optimistic in their predictions. Accurate timelines are needed so regulators are able to create appropriate public policies and comprehensive budgets, and private stakeholders can make better informed decisions. More specifically, the mass deployment of AVs is anticipated to affect many transportation-related jobs which reinforces the importance of accurate AV deployment timelines to prepare the workers who may be displaced and for the development of workforce education and training initiatives.     

Community engagement and social licence to operate

Achieving ‘a social licence to operate’ is important for organisations with long time horizons, high exposure to global markets and with a wide range of interested stakeholders. Community engagement is critical to achieve a social licence to operate, but its capacity to influence social licence is not well understood. Using case studies from forestry in New Brunswick, Canada and Tasmania, Australia, this article considers what social licence is, how community engagement plays a role in achieving social licence and how an alternative conceptualisation of social licence may improve the influence of community engagement in achieving a social licence to operate. Social licence is often conceived of as a single licence granted by a ‘community’. We argue that social licence is better conceptualised as a continuum of multiple licences achieved across various levels of society. Viewed in this way, we can consider what is needed to achieve social licences at given points along that continuum, and identify the strengths and weaknesses of specific engagement techniques in achieving particular social licences.     

国际自动机工程师学会标准化治理模式研究及其对我国团体标准化工作的启示

培育发展团体标准是我国标准化工作改革的重要举措,在国家政策和市场创新需求的双重驱动下,近两年我国团体标准迎来高速发展,但由于起步较晚,我国社团组织在标准化治理方面仍存在不足。社团标准在美国发展成熟,国际自动机工程师学会经过100多年发展,在团体标准制度及机制建设、运营模式方面积累了丰富的经验,本文通过研究其标准化工作治理模式,旨在为我国社团组织开展团体标准化工作提供借鉴。     

Quality Dimensions of Intellectual Capital in Serbian Fruit Industry

The aim of this research was to analyze intellectual capital in Serbian fruit companies with respect to size, fruit sector, and certification status. Representatives from 75 companies were interviewed. Survey data were analyzed through 56 items, grouped into three sub-categories of intellectual capital: human capital, structural capital, and relational capital. This study provides insight into how the fruit industry in a developing country perceives intellectual capital and demonstrates the use of developed models from other industries in the food industry. The novelty of this approach was the dimension reduction of intellectual capital factors into two distinct directions, namely, ‘customer quality’ and ‘stakeholder quality’, confirming quality as a dominant basis for both customers and stakeholders. Micro companies and non-certified companies are focused on customers, while medium-sized and certified companies are focused on satisfying requirements from all stakeholders. This study provides insight for engineering managers engaged in using intellectual capital models in the food/fruit industry. The presented model explores the potential of intellectual capital in determining quality improvement opportunities and improving company performance.     

Electric vehicle industry sustainable development with a stakeholder engagement system

Electric vehicles emerge as the possible strategy for decarbonization and green transportation due to social demand. Researchers have made multiple efforts and initiatives as the demand surge for sustainable development in the electric vehicle industry. This study analyzes the relevant research of the industry, thereby explores electric vehicle industry development trends with a scientometrics-based data evaluation system, where three key topics are detected: “Vehicle Exhaust Emissions”, “Climate Change”, and “Integration”. The results are visualized in the view of clusters, timeline, and time zone to explore the dynamic direction and future trends of the industry. Further trend detection and forward-looking analysis suggest the significance of stakeholders and their interconnection. In response to the significant challenges in sustainable development, this study proposes the stakeholder engagement system in a comprehensive perspective. The system firstly reveals the driving forces behind the industry development, that is how different motivation and strategies orientate the industry towards sustainability. Then, it furtherly analyzes the commitments and efforts needed from multiple stakeholders, through policy implications, leading factors on demand side, and technology innovation requirements on supply side. The stakeholder engagement system may contribute to stakeholder synergy and resource optimization hence for electric vehicle industry sustainable development and novel ideas to other relevant research fields.     

Agent-based organizational modelling for analysis of safety culture at an air navigation service provider

Assessment of safety culture is done predominantly by questionnaire-based studies, which tend to reveal attitudes on immaterial characteristics (values, beliefs, norms). There is a need for a better understanding of the implications of the material aspects of an organization (structures, processes, etc.) for safety culture and their interactions with the immaterial characteristics. This paper presents a new agent-based organizational modelling approach for integrated and systematic evaluation of material and immaterial characteristics of socio-technical organizations in safety culture analysis. It uniquely considers both the formal organization and the value- and belief-driven behaviour of individuals in the organization. Results are presented of a model for safety occurrence reporting at an air navigation service provider. Model predictions consistent with questionnaire-based results are achieved. A sensitivity analysis provides insight in organizational factors that strongly influence safety culture indicators. The modelling approach can be used in combination with attitude-focused safety culture research, towards an integrated evaluation of material and immaterial characteristics of socio-technical organizations. By using this approach an organization is able to gain a deeper understanding of causes of diverse problems and inefficiencies both in the formal organization and in the behaviour of organizational agents, and to systematically identify and evaluate improvement options.     

United Nations Environment Programme's approach to integrated assessment of trade-related policies: evolution and recent progress

Over the last decade the Economics and Trade Branch (ETB) of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has worked to enhance national capacities to undertake integrated assessment of trade-related policies. This article describes the evolution of the approach adopted by UNEP towards achieving greater integration on three key levels: ‘substantively’ by using quantitative and qualitative tools that generate insight into the interrelationships among environmental, social and economic impacts of public policies; ‘policy-wise’ by establishing more direct linkages between the planning and decision-making processes; and ‘process-wise’ by promoting interministerial co-ordination and multi-stakeholder participation and involvement. There is also a shift towards taking a more proactive approach to designing trade policies that will help reduce poverty in an environmentally sound way.     

The cognitive construct of design conversation

The study provides an overview of architectural designers’ cognitive behaviour in a conceptual phase of design like studio tutorials. This involves formulating a Cognitive Interaction Matrix that preserves the dialectical and interactional characteristics of design conversation protocol being examined. The matrix facilitates the process of encoding, segmenting, tabulating and analysing design tutorial conversations based on a rich taxonomy of cognitive activities. Through the framework of aggregating ‘Formulate’, ‘Evaluate’ and ‘Move’ activities and relevant cognitive attributes across conversational protocols, the study found certain differences in the patterns, frequency and intensity of Cognitive Actions’ distribution recorded between tutors and students who had participated in the observed studio tutorials. Further examination of the ‘Formulate’, ‘Evaluate’ and ‘Move’ actions in terms of Cognitive Organisation and Transformational factors suggests the possibility of deriving and distinguishing the cognitive constructs between tutors and students’ design conversations.     

团体标准化发展的国内外比较研究

《深化标准化工作改革方案》中提出,要培育发展团体标准,培育若干具有一定知名度和影响力的团体标准制定机构。为了剖析团体标准的发展情况,探寻我国团体标准化工作与国际先进水平的差距,本文以国际上具有影响力的标准制定组织IEEE、ASTM和ASME为参照对象,选取了全国团体标准信息平台上的典型社会团体进行比对分析。从整体比对分析发现,我国团体标准发展速度快。开展团体标准化工作的社会团体数量居于全球前列,但社会团体整体实力较弱,缺乏有国际影响力的社会团体。由于起步较晚,我国团体标准总数不高,要在总量上赶上美国、欧洲,实现市场自主制定标准有效供给,还有很长的路要走。从社会团体角度比对分析发现,我国社会团体成立时间较短,相比于国外很多"百年老店"的协学会,还是新学徒。其会员数量少、缺乏国际会员。其标准化组织机构不健全;标准制定机构数量少、机构规模小;标准管理机构大而笼统、分工不细致,不能实现对团体标准化工作的科学、全面的管理。其团体标准化工作机制不完善;公开透明的意识没有得以全面落实;申诉制度和知识产权制度几乎为零。从团体标准角度比对分析发现,单个社会团体制定标准的数量依然很低。由于会员地域和语言的局限性,我国团体标准还未能实现全球范围的传播,团体标准国际竞争力不强。我国团体标准实施的比率较低等。在此基础上,提出了我国团体标准发展的建议。     

What do we expect from robots? Social representations,attitudes and evaluations of robots in daily life

To foresee the potential acceptance, rejection and adaptation of robots in societies, it is necessary to overcome deterministic and linear assumptions and explore the plurality of meanings that shape our relationships with these emerging technologies. With this goal in mind, this study investigates the social representation of robots and its interconnection with attitudes and images, in a convenience sample of young adults in Italy (N = 422). Participants were asked to complete a self-report questionnaire consisting of a free-association task to the word stimulus “robot”, the Robot Attitude Scale, the acceptance of robots in different domains of life and a measure of mind perceptions of robots. The social representation of robots was articulated around three key semantic dimensions opposing: (1) ‘distant/detached’ vs ‘close/integrated’ views; (2) ‘ideal’ vs ‘material’ aspects; (3) assimilation with ‘ICTs’ vs with electric and mechanic ‘devices.’ These three dichotomies defined different positions connected with general attitudes, domain-specific evaluations of robots, and their level of perceived proximity with human beings. In particular, the view of robots as more concrete and integrated objects was related to positive attitudes and acceptance across all considered domains (i.e. Dull/Dirty, Education/Care and Health/Emergency dimensions). In contrast, more distant views were related to negative attitudes. Our study provides insights into how diverse positions could favour or hinder the introduction of robots in different spheres of everyday life.     

Assessing the readiness of municipalities for digital process innovation

Pre-adoption phases of innovation are understudied in the innovation literature. This article addresses pre-adoption phases of innovation by running a prospective analysis. We assess the readiness of municipalities for the adoption of a digital tool that brings about process innovation concerning stakeholder management. Through an online survey, we elicit the public managers’ attitudes and their adoption expectation towards the tool. By drawing on insights from Diffusion of Innovation Theory and Theory of Planned Behaviour, we investigate which attributes of innovation along with managerial, organisational and environmental factors, contribute to a favourable attitude and an increased likelihood of innovation adoption. Our analysis reveals that while the perceived attributes of innovation such as its relative advantage and compatibility are major determinants of attitude formation and adoption expectation, pro-digitalisation beliefs, innovation-oriented organisational culture and environmental context factors such as high population and rates of new residential growth are critical in translation of positive attitudes to increased likelihood of adoption. Hence, in addition to perceived attributes of innovation and managerial characteristics, our findings also highlight the importance of organisational and environmental factors to the adoption expectation, and thus provide a more nuanced understanding of pre-adoption phases of innovation.     

Stakeholder’s opinion of public participation in Thai environmental and health impact assessment

This paper evaluates the efficacy of public participation in the EHIA (environmental and health impact assessment) process of Thailand based on the opinions of 53 interviewees from various stakeholder groups in relation to certain public participation criteria. The evaluation revealed that public participation in Thai EHIA was partially effective. The project proponents provide an opportunity to anybody interested in the project to get involved from the scoping stage onwards. However, the important decisions are already made before the public can get involved. In addition, government officers and non-governmental organizations appear to be able to influence outcomes of public hearings more concretely than the project-affected people due to the highly technical nature of the discussions. The stakeholders were questioned whether their concerns were taken seriously during the decision-making process. In our conclusions, we make three major recommendations to enhance the public participation process and practice in Thai EHIA, based upon: (1) stakeholder analysis, (2) public participation in EHIA guideline revision, and (3) validation the authenticity of the concerns raised by stakeholders.     

Analysis of Categorical Response in Small Sample Experiments

Statistical design of experiments (DOE) is widely used today for process and product characterization and optimization. Owing to cost and time considerations, sometimes only a minimum number of experimental runs can be conducted, with added challenges in analysis when the experimental outcomes cannot be measured on a continuous scale and are expressed only in qualitative terms such as ‘excellent’, ‘satisfactory’ and ‘poor’: such outcomes are variously described as ‘categorical’, ‘attribute’, ‘qualitative’, ‘discrete’ or ‘counted’ in nature. This paper offers practical techniques of handling small experiments with such non‐standard DOE response data which are otherwise impossible to analyze by standard statistical software. The suggested procedures, built upon what is called a Likelihood Transfer Function (LTF), do not require complex data analysis but would yield results consistent with the constraints of experimental conditions as well as the objectives of stakeholders. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The politics of green transformations,edited by Ian Scoones,Melissa Leach and Peter Newell

Abstract

Stakeholder engagement in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Health Impact Assessment (HIA) provides opportunities for inclusive environmental decision-making contributing to the attainment of agreement about the potential environmental and health impacts of a plan. A case evaluation of stakeholder engagement was carried out to assess its effect in terms of consensus-building. The case consisted in two health impact scoping workshops engaging 20 stakeholders: policy-makers, experts and residents. A Participatory Action Research approach was adopted. Methods included observation, semi-structured questionnaires and interviews. Analysis methods consisted of several coding rounds, in-depth reading and discussion of Atlas.ti output reports, as well as studying questionnaire results. Participants reported a broadening of perspectives on health in relation to the environment and attainment of shared perspectives. Still, meaningful differences remained, indicating that joint learning experiences, trust and mutual respect created a ‘sense of consensus’ rather than a joint view on the issues at stake. To avoid disappointment and conflict in later project development, explicit acknowledgment and acceptance of disagreements should be included as a ground rule in future stakeholder engagement processes.     

Evaluating the green corporate social responsibility of manufacturing corporations from a green industry law perspective

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) refers to corporations exhibiting ethical behaviours towards societal members. This responsibility should be demonstrated towards all stakeholders rather than only stockholders. Corporations should be responsible for the effects that their actions have on stakeholders by assuming a fair and responsible attitude and valuing sustainable development. Corporations that affect their stakeholders must assume their responsibilities by focusing on sustainable development and exhibiting a fair attitude; for example, providing staff members with a positive work environment, introducing green products, sustaining environmental quality, offering satisfactory after-sales services and maintaining positive interaction with the community. Relevant studies that have integrated green production (GP) with CSR evaluation were scarce in the past. Moreover, previous studies regarding standard criteria for CSR evaluation have involved a major shortcoming, in that a majority of these studies have assumed mutual independence and no influencing and causal relationships among CSR criteria. The present study focused on GP and employed a novel decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory method to evaluate and investigate green corporate social responsibility (GCSR) indicators. In addition, the degrees of influence and the causal relationships among GCSR indicators were explored.