Improving Risk Management: From Lame Excuses to Principled Practice

The three classic pillars of risk analysis are risk assessment (how big is the risk and how sure can we be?), risk management (what shall we do about it?), and risk communication (what shall we say about it, to whom, when, and how?). We propose two complements as important parts of these three bases: risk attribution (who or what addressable conditions actually caused an accident or loss?) and learning from experience about risk reduction (what works, and how well?). Failures in complex systems usually evoke blame, often with insufficient attention to root causes of failure, including some aspects of the situation, design decisions, or social norms and culture. Focusing on blame, however, can inhibit effective learning, instead eliciting excuses to deflect attention and perceived culpability. Productive understanding of what went wrong, and how to do better, thus requires moving past recrimination and excuses. This article identifies common blame‐shifting “lame excuses” for poor risk management. These generally contribute little to effective improvements and may leave real risks and preventable causes unaddressed. We propose principles from risk and decision sciences and organizational design to improve results. These start with organizational leadership. More specifically, they include: deliberate testing and learning—especially from near‐misses and accident precursors; careful causal analysis of accidents; risk quantification; candid expression of uncertainties about costs and benefits of risk‐reduction options; optimization of tradeoffs between gathering additional information and immediate action; promotion of safety culture; and mindful allocation of people, responsibilities, and resources to reduce risks. We propose that these principles provide sound foundations for improving successful risk management.     

项目化高职文秘职业英语口语课程开发研究

目前高职大量课程不能完全适应社会的需要、学生技能下降、就业困难等问题层出不穷。按项目流程改革课程体系,从课程开发、课程模式、课程内容与手段、课程评估多方面入手,建立起以项目带动、工作流程、系统化的课程,构建项目化教学体系是高职课改的关键。文章以《文秘职业实用口语》为例进行研究。     

From non-cultural to intercultural principles: a proposal for English classes in Brazilian public schools

This article focuses on English language teaching in Brazilian public schools, based on experiences in primary and secondary education, as well as in Teaching Practicum courses at a university. Through these experiences, the article critiques the overemphasis on grammar and the lack of an intercultural approach. The author engages the reader with a theoretical discussion regarding the connection between language and culture and the possibilities for the implementation of intercultural principles. The article closes with some reflections on what intercultural language learning looks like in practice.     

多语际语言语音习得中的质性案例研究

语言迁移现象既发生在母语与第一外语学习过程中,也同样发生在学习第二外语的过程中,并且因此而变得复杂有趣。多种语言本身的独特性和差异性,使多语际语言基础对第一、第二外语语音学习过程产生了相互影响和作用。本研究以西班牙大学生和中国西班牙语专业大学生为研究对象,通过对比研究中文普通话、英语和西班牙语在语音方面的特点,探索母语、第一外语、第二外语之间的相互关系,及其对语音学习所产生的作用和影响,为多语际语音习得与外语教学提供有价值的借鉴和经验。     

新时期高等学校学风建设问题

良好的学风是高校培养高素质人才的基础和保障,随着学校规模的进一步扩大,高等教育体制改革不断深入,学风建设问题也越来越引起人们的关注。就新时期高校学风存在的问题进行了分析,并提出了加强学风建设的几点建议。     

马克思主义生态观与高校生态文明教育

马克思主义生态观是关于人与自然之间辩证关系的总体看法和根本观点,包含着人与自然、人与社会、人与人、人与自我和谐的重要主题,这对我国高校开展生态文明教育具有重要的理论指导。高校生态文明教育应以马克思主义生态观为指导,同时遵循科学性、综合性、实践性、发展性等原则,以确保教育目标实现。     

大学英语听力学习现状及策略使用调查研究——以湖南四所本科院校为实例

英语听力的提高一直是大学英语教学的重点和难点，随着英语四、六级考试的改革，对英语听说能力的要求变得更高。本研究通过问卷调查的形式，对湖南四所本科院校400名非英语专业大学生的听力现状及学习策略使用情况进行调查分析。调查发现非英语专业大学生对听力策略的使用处于中低等频率水平，听力教学应予以更正确积极的引导，以期使大学英语听力的教与学获得优化。     

工学结合的《水泥粉磨设备操作》课程标准开发

通过深入用人单位调研,明确了职业岗位的典型工作任务和职业岗位对人才的能力素质要求,以典型工作任务为载体将课程划分成多个相互联系的学习情境,将专业能力、方法能力和社会能力的培养贯穿于各个学习情境的教学中。     

幼儿教师专业学习的思维转向及策略

幼儿教师专业学习的品质既影响其专业发展的进程，也关乎其专业实践的效能。然而，当前幼儿教师专业学习的状况不容乐观，知识学习的浅层化、经验累积的碎片化、技能训练的片面化不仅制约着幼儿教师专业学习的品质，也内在地要求幼儿教师专业学习的思维转向，实现知识学习的深层化、经验累积的整体性和技能训练的全面性，并能够有效解决专业实践中的实际问题。     

TOO CLOSE IN OR TOO FAR OUT — LEARNING TO HOLD THE ROLE OF OBSERVER: TUTORS' INTRODUCTION TO A SOCIAL WORK STUDENT'S REFLECTIONS ON HER EXPERIENCE OF LEARNING THROUGH CHILD OBSERVATION

In this and a second linked paper (Natasha Quitak ‘Difficulties in Holding the Role of the Observer’), social work tutors and a former student examine the learning which can come from the experience of infant and child observation in social work qualifying training. The ability to hold the role of observer is an essential skill for social work which can to a large extent be learned. It involves finding a distance close enough to experience the feelings involved in the child's relationships but far enough out to be able to think about them. Difficulties in managing the anxieties involved in the task may be linked to students' own familial and cultural patterns of relating. Attachment theory and psychodynamic thinking provide the theoretical underpinning for learning.

This first paper is written from the perspective of the social work tutor.