Editorial

Abstract

Defining and measuring sustainability is a major challenge. This article argues these limitations need not stop us from trying to identify and value the possible impacts of what we are doing, or are thinking about doing, over time periods much longer than the lives of our investments, or even of the lives of those of us living today. Sustainability is a relative concept that must be applied in an environment undergoing multiple changes, changes that are occurring over different temporal and spatial scales. We depend on our water resource systems for our survival and welfare. Yet no one expects them to be restored to, or survive in, their most productive pristine states in the face of increasing development pressures for land in their watersheds and for water in their streams, rivers, lakes, and aquifers. A continuing task of water resource planners and managers is to identify the multiple impacts and tradeoffs resulting from what we who are living today may wish to do for ourselves and our immediate children and what we can only guess our yet-to-be-born descendants may wish us to do, or not do, for them in some distant future. This task must involve professionals from other disciplines in a context much broader than just water management. Once these impacts and tradeoffs are identified, it is then up to the political process to make choices when they are in conflict. All of us need to be a part of this decision-making process.     

Robust quantification of the exposure to operational risk: Bringing economic sense to economic capital

Operational risk is commonly analyzed in terms of the distribution of aggregate yearly losses. Risk measures can then be computed as statistics of this distribution that focus on the region of extreme losses. Assuming independence among the operational risk events and between the likelihood that they occur and their magnitude, separate models are made for the frequency and for the severity of the losses. These are then combined to estimate the distribution of aggregate losses. While the detailed form of the frequency distribution does not significantly affect the risk analysis, the choice of model for the severity often has a significant impact on operational risk measures. For heavy-tailed distributions these measures are dominated by extreme losses, whose probability cannot be reliably extrapolated from the available data. With limited empirical evidence, it is difficult to distinguish among alternative models that produce very different values of the risk measures. Furthermore, the estimates obtained can be unstable and overly sensitive to the presence or absence of single extreme events. Setting a bound on the maximum amount that can be lost in a single event reduces the dependence on the distributional assumptions and improves the robustness and stability of the risk measures, while preserving their sensitivity to changes in the risk profile. This bound should be determined by expert assessment on the basis of economic arguments and validated by the regulator, so that it can be used as a control parameter in the risk analysis.     

Evaluation of a workplace technology for mental health assessment: A meaning-making process

This paper describes the results of a summative evaluation conducted to explore the usability and acceptability of an automated telephone-based technology, designed and developed as a screening tool for mental health disorders in the workplace. The system screens employees for symptoms and subsequently provides educational information and referrals to improve mental health and enhance productivity. The qualitative evaluation was a sub-study of a larger randomized controlled trial (RCT). We conducted in-depth interviews with 15 individuals who participated in the RCT and had used the system. A phenomenological theoretical framework was utilized to analyze the narrative data. Results indicated that participants had mostly positive experience with the system and perceived it as a confidential program that allowed them to reflect on their symptoms without inhibition, fear of judgment or embarrassment. We also learned that asking mere questions about mental health symptoms can be a positive, instructive and possibly a restorative experience. There is a likelihood that for many participants, exposure to questions about their emotional and mental distress validated their feelings about their symptoms and was sufficiently compelling to promote help-seeking behavior. This evaluation study demonstrates that computers can be utilized in the workplace as effective screening and educational tools to improve employees’ mental health.     

Internet pornography exposure and risky sexual behavior among adult males in the United States

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) continue to pose a threat to the public health in the United States. Many sexual behaviors increase an individual’s risk of STI contraction. Chief among these are having unprotected sex, having sex with multiple partners, and either paying for sex or having sex for pay. The present study used General Social Survey (GSS) data from 2000, 2002, and 2004 to explore the association between exposure to internet pornography and these STI risk behaviors among adult US males. After controlling for demographic and individual difference covariates, internet pornography consumption was positively associated with having sex with multiple partners, engaging in paid sex, and having had extramarital sex. Internet pornography consumption was unrelated to having unprotected sex. Subsequent GSSs have not asked participants about exposure to internet pornography. As the GSS is the only ongoing, full-probability, national survey assessing social beliefs and behaviors, the present report provides unique insight into the risky sexual behavior patterns of adult male internet pornography consumers in the United States.     

TROPHI: development of a tool to measure complex,multi-factorial patient handling interventions

Patient handling interventions are complex and multi-factorial. It has been difficult to make comparisons across different strategies due to the lack of a comprehensive outcome measurement method. The Tool for Risk Outstanding in Patient Handling Interventions (TROPHI) was developed to address this gap by measuring outcomes and comparing performance across interventions. Focus groups were held with expert patient handling practitioners (n = 36) in four European countries (Finland, Italy, Portugal and the UK) to identify preferred outcomes to be measured for interventions. A systematic literature review identified 598 outcome measures; these were critically appraised and the most appropriate measurement tool was selected for each outcome. TROPHI was evaluated in the four EU countries (eight sites) and by an expert panel (n = 16) from the European Panel of Patient Handling Ergonomics for usability and practical application. This final stage added external validity to the research by exploring transferability potential and presenting the data and analysis to allow respondent (participant) validation.

Practitioner Summary: Patient handling interventions are complex and multi-factorial and it has been difficult to make comparisons due to the lack of a comprehensive outcome measurement method. The Tool for Risk Outstanding in Patient Handling Interventions (TROPHI) was developed to address this gap by measuring outcomes to compare performance across interventions.     

Accident history,risk perception and traffic safe behaviour

Abstract

This study clarifies the associations between accident history, perception of the riskiness of road travel and traffic safety behaviours by taking into account the number and severity of accidents experienced. A sample of 525 road users in Cameroon answered a questionnaire comprising items on perception of risk, safe behaviour and personal accident history. Participants who reported involvement in more than three accidents or involvement in a severe accident perceived road travel as less risky and also reported behaving less safely compared with those involved in fewer, or less severe accidents. The results have practical implications for the prevention of traffic accidents.

Practitioner Summary: The associations between accident history, perceived risk of road travel and safe behaviour were investigated using self-report questionnaire data. Participants involved in more than three accidents, or in severe accidents, perceived road travel as less risky and also reported more unsafe behaviour compared with those involved in fewer, or less severe accidents. Campaigns targeting people with a less serious, less extensive accident history should aim to increase awareness of hazards and the potential severity of their consequences, as well as emphasising how easy it is to take the recommended preventive actions. Campaigns targeting those involved in more frequent accidents, and survivors of serious accidents, should address feelings of invulnerability and helplessness.     

A method for predicting the risk of virtual crashes in a simulated driving task using behavioural and subjective drowsiness measures

Abstract

This study proposed a procedure for predicting the point in time with high risk of virtual crash using a control chart methodology for behavioural measures during a simulated driving task. Tracking error, human back pressure, sitting pressure and horizontal and vertical neck bending angles were measured during the simulated driving task. The time with a high risk of a virtual crash occurred in 9 out of 10 participants. The time interval between the successfully detected point in time with high risk of virtual crash and the point in time of virtual crash ranged from 80 to 324 s. The proposed procedure for predicting the point in time with a high risk of a crash is promising for warning drivers of the state of high risk of crash.

Practitioner Summary: Many fatal crashes occur due to drowsy driving. We proposed a method to predict the point in time with high risk of virtual crash before such a virtual crash occurs. This is done using behavioural measures during a simulated driving task. The effectiveness of the method is also demonstrated.     

The influence of equivocality in purchasing tasks on the selection of transaction channels in online auctions

Online auctions are one of the most active business models used in electronic commerce. Previous researchers address issues of online auction behaviour focusing on the factors influencing bidding intentions, but how bidders choose transaction channels to complete the consumption process is not examined before. This study conducts an experiment to manipulate the equivocality of purchasing task. Results show that when purchasing a product with higher task equivocality, bidders tend to choose a communication channel with higher information richness, and select a payment and product delivery channel with lower risk. When purchasing a product with lower task equivocality, bidders tend to select a communication channel with lower information richness, and tolerate higher risk to complete the payment and product delivery process.     

Denotation and connotation in the human – computer interface: The ‘Save as …’ command

This paper presents a semiotic technique as a means of exploring meaning and understanding in interface design and use. This is examined through a study of the interaction between the ‘file’ metaphor and ‘save as’ command metaphor. The behaviour of these (from a functional or computational basis) do not exactly match, or map onto, the meaning of the metaphor. We examine both the denotation of a term to the user, i.e. its literal meaning to that person, and the term's connotations, i.e. any other meanings associated with the term. We suggest that the technique applied is useful in predicting future problems with understanding the use of metaphor at the interface and with designing appropriate signification for human-computer interaction. Variation in connotation was expected but a more fundamental difference in denotation was also uncovered. Moreover, the results clearly demonstrate that consistency in the denotation of a term is critical in achieving a good user understanding of the command.     

A mobility constraint model to infer sensor behaviour in forest fire risk monitoring

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) play an important role in forest fire risk monitoring. Various applications are in operation. However, the use of mobile sensors in forest risk monitoring remains largely unexplored. Our research contributes to fill this gap by designing a model which abstracts mobility constraints within different types of contexts for the inference of mobile sensor behaviour. This behaviour is focused on achieving a suitable spatial coverage of the WSN when monitoring forest fire risk. The proposed mobility constraint model makes use of a Bayesian network approach and consists of three components: (1) a context typology describing different contexts in which a WSN monitors a dynamic phenomenon; (2) a context graph encoding probabilistic dependencies among variables of interest; and (3) contextual rules encoding expert knowledge and application requirements needed for the inference of sensor behaviour. As an illustration, the model is used to simulate the behaviour of a mobile WSN to obtain a suitable spatial coverage in low and high fire risk scenarios. It is shown that the implemented Bayesian network within the mobility constraint model can successfully infer behaviour such as sleeping sensors, moving sensors, or deploying more sensors to enhance spatial coverage. Furthermore, the mobility constraint model contributes towards mobile sensing in which the mobile sensor behaviour is driven by constraints on the state of the phenomenon and the sensing system.