When controversial businesses meet dialogic communication: Insights from public relations practitioners in the oil and gas industry

This study investigated how public relations practitioners understand and practice dialogic communication in the controversial oil and gas industry. Guided by theoretical works of dialogic theory of public relations, the dialogic ladder, and negative spaces of dialogue, in-depth interviews were conducted with 21 practitioners who held public relations/communication positions serving the oil and gas industry in Canada. The findings suggest some points of alignment between practitioners’ understanding of dialogic public relations and the related theoretical orientation. Practitioners reported predominantly using an interpersonal approach for shallow dialogue followed by mediated and procedural approaches with different stakeholders in practice. Interviewees also shared the unique challenges they face in practicing dialogic communication due to the controversies surrounding the industry. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Routine deaths: fatal accidents in the oil industry

This paper is a study in the relatively neglected field of the Sociology of Accidents and is concerned with fatalities in the UK Offshore Oil Industry. The purpose of the paper is to demonstrate the social and organizational causes of these accidents. Common sense and expert opinion both present industrial accidents as products of extra organizational abnormality but evidence from this research locates the causes of accidents in work organization and dependence on bureaucratic rationality. In particular it is shown that the hazardous situations in which the accidents occurred were themselves largely the products of two aspects of the formal organization of work, the 'speed-up’and the practice of ‘sub-contracting’. It is demonstrated that the common sense equation of the‘normal’and the‘routine’inhibited recognition of the organization causes of these accidents. Finally it is argued that, since there is little support for the view that the accident were produced by unique working conditions in the offshore industry, it is therefore likely that the causes of accidents in this industry will be found to exist in other industries.     

Socioenvironmental factors and development policy: Understanding opposition and support for offshore oil

One of the difficulties of integrating environmental variables into sociological analyses is that societies have a dualistic relationship with the biophysical environment. Humans are like other species in depending on the environment, yet humans are also unique among all species in the potential for altering and sometimes evading environmental constraints. A second and related difficulty results from the degree to which humans incorporate the environment into their everyday views of reality; the process often seems so automatic that the biophysical realities can be forgotten, taken for granted, or ignored, both by residents and by those who study them. This problem is particularly significant for studies that fail to be sufficiently comparative to be able to observe significant variations in environmental and technological factors. The problem is illustrated with a study that deals with a relatively traditional social-psychological dependent variable—attitudes toward a proposed development. The focus is on the apparent paradox of a form of industrial development that has been welcomed with open arms in one area of the country while virtually opening armed warfare in another, namely drilling for offshore oil. To explain the marked differences across regions, it is necessary to understand the influence of biophysical and technological variables, as well as the social and historical differences across the regions. Implications for further research are discussed.An earlier version was prepared for presentation at the 1991 annual meeting of the International Association for Impact Assessment, Urbana, Illinois.     

Working in verticalized platform vessel: an ergonomic approach in the oil industry

In this paper we point some aspects of workers activities in offshore units in the oil industry. These units became more verticalized and have a greater number of operating systems. Our goal is to present the main difficulties that workers face in these units.     

The social organization of multinational corporations: Canadian subsidiaries in the oil industry*

Dans cette communication, basée sur une étude des filiales canadiennes des industries du pétrole, nous essayons de contribuer à une sociologie économique des sociétés multinationales en examinant quatre principes d'organisation qui sont essentiels à leur succès économiques: financement interne, technologie à l'échelle nationale, utilisation de la main d'?uvre locale et mise en collectivité des contrats d'entreprise. Les investissements étrangers faits directement à l'industrie sont alors examinés dans ce contexte. Si les droits de propriétéétrangers ont eu, dans le passé, des effets avantageux comme point de départ financier et continuent àêtre utiles au point de vue technique, il n'en reste pas moins vrai que ceux-ci engendrent actuellement la cooptation des entrepreneurs canadiens et I'expropriation du surplus économique. L'industrie pourrait être canadianisée avec un minimum de désorganisation économique. Based on a study of Canadian oil subsidiaries, this paper attempts to contribute to an economic sociology of multinational corporations by examining four organizational principles basic to their economic success: internalized financing, transnational technology, local mobilization of manpower, and the collectivization of entrepreneurs hip. Direct foreign investment in the industry is then examined in this context. Although formerly beneficial as a financial starting mechanism, and of continuing benefit for technological access, foreign ownership now perpetuates cooptation of Canadian entrepreneurship and expropriation of economic surplus. The industry could be Canadianized with surprisingly little economic dislocation.     

DHM and serious games: a case-study oil and gas laboratories

The aim in this paper is to present a research on the application of serious games for the design of laboratories in the oil and gas industries. The focus is in human virtual representation acquired from 3D scanning, human interaction, workspace layout and equipment designed considering ergonomics standards. The laboratory studies were simulated in Unity3D platform, which allows the users to control the DHM1 on the dynamic virtual scenario, in order to simulate work activities. This methodology can change the design process by improving the level of interaction between final users, managers and human factor teams. That helps to better visualize future work settings and improve the level of participation between all stakeholders.     

Corporate social responsibility and the oil industry: Theory and perspective fuel a longitudinal view

To gain an in-depth theoretically-grounded understanding of managing corporate social responsibility (CSR), the current study offers four key propositions for CSR theory development: (1) Living corporate social responsibility from the inside out, (2) Earning trust of the public and the media, (3) Giving back as a community citizen, and (4) Accepting that we’re all in this together, but still unique. Also offered are five best practices for public relations in the oil industry. All emerged during in-depth interviews with three senior public relations managers of a leading independent US oil company; executives who have navigated CSR decision making and practices through nearly five decades (1966-2010) at different points in time. In the wake of two massive 2010 oil spill crises in North American waters that garnered extensive media attention, findings are particularly relevant for advancing CSR theory and for providing complex insider perspectives less traveled in the public relations literature.     

Using practical ergonomic evaluations in the restaurant industry to enhance safety and comfort: a case study

Restaurant employees must deal with loud noise, busy environments, difficult customers, heavy, awkward, sharp, and hot objects, repetitive motions, and stress on various joints, all of which can lead to fatigue, sudden accidents, and longterm musculoskeletal injury. The goal of this case study was to assess the risk of injuries and accidents from conducting various tasks in the restaurant, specifically carrying/lifting, table management, and polishing silverware. The nine participants were servers at a local country club restaurant. Physical workload was measured by a scale of physical exertion. Cognitive workload was assessed, as well as cumulative trauma disorder risk. Overall results show that there is sufficient risk in some of the tasks to warrant concern. Specific results are discussed, as well as recommendations for improved safety.     

Gut reactions to matters of the heart: reflections on rationality, irrationality and sexuality

The aim of this paper is to analyse tensions between the concepts of rationality and irrationality as they are deployed in modern discourses around heterosexuality. These discourses, we argue, are profoundly gendered and often contradictory. On the one hand, the pursuit of sexual pleasure is seen as a rational life goal, to be integrated into consciously constructed and commodified lifestyles and identity choices. On the other, sexuality is still seen as 'special’ and spontaneous – an intractable inner drive which is not amenable to rational management. We seek to trace the genealogy of these discourses, arguing that heterosexual relations have been subject to increased rationalisation from the nineteenth century onwards: a process we call‘the Taylorisation of sex'. In the process, rational sex has been defined largely in masculine terms. We consider whether this has changed and whether there has been a shift to‘post-Fordist’ forms of sexuality permitting greater diversity and flexibility. We conclude, however, that there has been no radical break, but rather an intensification of pre-existing trends in which sex, and increasingly emotions as well, continue to be subject to rational management while always threatening to exceed the bounds of manageability.     

Human factors engineering in oil and gas--a review of industry guidance

Oil and gas exploration and production activities are carried out in hazardous environments in many parts of the world. Recent events in the Gulf of Mexico highlight those risks and underline the importance of considering human factors during facility design. Ergonomic factors such as machinery design, facility and accommodation layout and the organization of work activities have been systematically considered over the past twenty years on a limited number of offshore facility design projects to a) minimize the occupational risks to personnel, b) support operations and maintenance tasks and c) improve personnel wellbeing. During this period, several regulators and industry bodies such as the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM), the UK's Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Oil and Gas Producers (OGP), and Norway's Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) have developed specific HFE design standards and guidance documents for the application of Human Factors Engineering (HFE) to the design and operation of Oil and Gas projects. However, despite the existence of these guidance and recommended design practise documents, and documented proof of their value in enhancing crew safety and efficiency, HFE is still not well understood across the industry and application across projects is inconsistent. This paper summarizes the key Oil and Gas industry bodies' HFE guidance documents, identifies recurring themes and current trends in the use of these standards, provides examples of where and how these HFE standards have been used on past major offshore facility design projects, and suggests criteria for selecting the appropriate HFE strategy and tasks for future major oil and gas projects. It also provides a short history of the application of HFE to the offshore industry, beginning with the use of ASTM F 1166 to a major operator's Deepwater Gulf of Mexico facility in 1990 and the application of HFE to diverse world regions. This latter point highlights the need to consider user populations when selecting HFE design criteria, an aspect strongly emphasized in current industry guidance.     

Operating the production calculus: ordering a production system in the print industry

The topic of shop-floor work has been extensively examined within sociology. However, the organizational structures within which this work takes place have, in the most part, been taken as unexamined givens. Yet, their operation is also the shop-floor work of some people. This paper examines the way in which the stable organizational structures within which shop-floor work takes place are achieved. It is based upon a fieldwork investigation of a large commercial printer and focuses upon the collaborative work of those who are involved in scheduling the production of a job and their use of 'the production calculus' in planning the work of the site. The print industry is undergoing considerable technological change and scheduling technologies have been developed to automate this work. However, there has been little take up of these technologies and the paper also considers how the characteristics of operating the production calculus in practice may account for this.     

Discrimination on nonwage margins: safety in the West Virginia coal industry, 1906-1925

Most discrimination studies analyze wage differentials. This paper more stringently examines the market's ability to limit the impact of discrimination. It tests for safety discrimination in the absence of piece-rate wage differentials in a turn-of-the-century labor market unconstrained by antidiscrimination law and extensive regulation. A new method, comparisons of ethnic fatality-experience profiles, captures the impact of the workers' experience on their ability to avoid danger, as well as racial differences in exposure to danger. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that blacks were not victims of safety discrimination in the labor market.     

浅谈如何做好燃气安全监管工作

随着市场经济的不断推进,行业垄断的格局被逐渐打破,多元化的经济成分融人,给燃气市场的发展带来了新的活力,同时也促进了社会各行业的经济发展,使人们的生产、生活质量得到很大提高.     

A right to live: girl workers in the Bangladeshi garment industry

According to a survey conducted in 1989, there are 772 approved and registered garment factories in Bangladesh. These factories employ approximately 300,000 individuals, 90% of whom are women. A more recent estimate in a Bangladeshi newspaper, however, posits that up to five million people are directly or indirectly dependent upon the garment industry. Many of the women who work in Bangladesh's garment factories are under age 15 years. In some countries, such as the US, the employment of such young individuals constitutes a violation of child labor laws. Therefore, under the Harkin Bill, the US will no longer import garments produced by children younger than age 15 years. Many garment workers under age 15 years have already been put out of work or will soon be terminated. The authors explain that while the intent of the Harkin Bill may be to protect children, it is difficult to adopt the moral high ground in a poor country like Bangladesh. Regardless of one's age in Bangladesh, having a job may be the only way to survive. No job often means no food or shelter. The authors discuss women in the garment industry, one girl's case, alternative employment opportunities, and the future.     

The significance of feminist infrastructure: #MeToo in the construction industry and the green industry in Sweden

To better understand the interplay between digital activism and feminist infrastructure, this study investigates #MeToo activism in the Swedish construction industry and green industry. Both are industries in transition characterized by a dissonance between formal incentives, that encourage women and others to work in environments previously dominated by white men, and the informal power structures hosting a toxic masculinity. Based on media texts and interviews with key persons from the industries, the article situates #MeToo in a local context and shows how it was embedded in a supportive social, cultural, and technical infrastructure. In both industries, at the time of #MeToo this feminist infrastructure was already in place consisting of: an awareness of the problem of sexual harassment and abuse, knowledge of feminist explanatory models, established feminist online networks, and a supportive feminist culture, which together with widespread digital and feminist literacy became instrumental in the organization of the movement. Social media connected activists and created a critical mass by supporting the uniting of conflicting identity positions around shared differences. The established feminist infrastructure meant that the #MeToo activism, by articulating a widespread affective dissonance, pushed open doors that were already half open and forced them wide. This can explain some of the movement's success in Sweden.     

Formalization of grievance procedures: A multi-firm and industry study

This study examines how two aspects of formalization of grievance procedures affect grievance procedure effectiveness: written versus oral presentation of grievance and the level of union and management authorized to resolve grievances at the first step. Several demographic variables were controlled for: size of bargaining unit, percentage of organization represented, number of grievances filed, and industry. A sample of 46 firms, representing a broad cross-section of unionized companies in the private sector, was obtained with the help of the American Arbitration Association. Results indicate that more formal grievance procedures (e.g., written presentation) are positively related to resolution rates at the first step. The number of grievances field and the size of the bargaining unit were positively related to total resolution rates prior to arbitration. We thank the American Arbitration Association for making this study possible.     

建筑业劳务用工制度改革初探

建筑业用工制度改革的目的在于建立能够满足弹性需求的劳务队伍.针对目前成建制劳务用工模式尚处于起步阶段的现状,现阶段劳务用工组织形式改革的重点应当是大力收编、改造非成建制劳务队伍,发展、壮大建筑劳务分包企业,推广建立成建制的劳务用工模式.