Communicating future water needs to an at-risk population: lessons learned following defeat of the Applewhite Dam and Reservoir Project in San Antonio,Texas

San Antonio, Texas, the seventh largest city in the United States, has experienced steady population growth, since the “boom” of the 1960s. Projected water shortages due to this growth were realized as early as the 1970s by city leaders and south-central Texas regional development decision makers. To reduce dependence on the already over-taxed, Edwards aquifer, a solution, the Applewhite Dam and Reservoir Project, was developed with wide acceptance by federal, state, and city leaders who regarded the project as a necessary measure for regional growth and development. However, opposition by taxpayer and environmental groups led to referendums of 1991 and 1994 in which voters blocked construction of the dam and reservoir leaving the city with limited options for water provision. This case study investigated the factors which led to a clear mismatch in communication between decision makers—those who were aware of the actual and quantifiable risk to the region in terms of reduced water supplies—and the general public, a population that did not have complete and/or adequate knowledge of their actual risk regarding future water shortages, nor, of solutions being developed, such as the Applewhite project. The findings from this case study indicate that when municipal leadership fails to adequately communicate risk regarding resource shortage to an affected public, as well as, openly planned solutions, that voters are likely to underestimate future impacts of water shortages, heed last-minute opposition, and reject long-standing, publicly proposed projects. The intent of this research is not to support either side in the Applewhite controversy, but to shed perspective on the process of adequately and effectively communicating future water needs to an at-risk population. Decision makers in cities across the United States who are faced with solving problems of limited resources needed by a large populace may be informed by the results of this research.     

企业财务预算管理中存在的问题及解决对策

财务预算管理在企业日常经营决策和未来发展中处于核心地位。实际工作中,财务预算管理却存在概念不清、领导重视不够,预算编制缺乏战略指导,预算执行过程缺乏监督控制、执行结果缺乏考核与激励,人员素质低等问题。针对这些问题,企业应采取的对策是:领导重视并亲自抓财务预算管理工作,树立以市场为导向、以企业发展战略和规划为指导的财务预算管理理念,设置相应财务预算管理工作组织,建立职责分工明确的企业财务预算管理机制,提高财务预算人员的综合素质,建立和完善财务信息系统。     

家庭托育点管理实践及启示：政策工具的视角

家庭托育点的规范化对婴幼儿健康成长至关重要。通过文献收集和访谈获得既往管理举措和当前试点政策,运用政策工具进行分析和总结,探究管理家庭托育点的背景、对象和措施。结果表明：家庭托育点因经济优势而被纳入管理,现有征求意见稿管理对象偏向小规模邻托,但试点和市场偏向较大收托规模;消防审查依托既有消防验收,师资准入要求偏低,质量监管依靠政府。管理建议：应根据收托规模区分小型和大型家庭托育点开展试点;完善三方协同的管理架构,设定专门空间环境要求,提高师资准入要求,建立综合质量监管。     

高校管理要树立以人为本的理念

以人为本是高校最重要的管理理念,是高校科学发展观的本质和核心。坚持以教师为本、以学生为本是高校管理的时代特征和必然要求。具体体现在高校管理中就是要坚持"以教师为主导,以学生为中心"。     

Deconstructing Deconstruction from Its Birth

Deconstruction has swept the academic circle since its birth. However, this paper attempts to point out ineluctable paradoxes beyond Deconstruction's capability to resolve in terms of its birth.     

北京地名管理中的片区地名问题

随着城市的发展,大量沿街商铺的涌现,门牌设置出现了同一座楼房楼下为道路门牌系统,楼上为小区门牌系统的混乱状况,如何处理片区地名的命名成为地名规划工作中的棘手问题。本文指出城市片区地名起到的作用、引发的问题,深入剖析其中原因,并提出建议,为今后地名规划工作和城市生活提供帮助。     

国有企业实施战略人力资源管理的思考

介绍战略人力资源管理的内涵,探讨国有企业实施战略人力资源管理的必要性,并提出实施的主要方法和措施,倡导通过完善企业人力资源管理体系促进企业战略目标的实现。     

吉林省体育社团发展现状与对策研究

通过对吉林省三种类型体育社团的典型代表进行访问调查,从五个方面探讨了吉林省体育社团发展的现状和存在的问题,并给出了解决对策。     

农科类本科生毕业论文规范化管理探析

文章分析了农科类毕业论文的特点和存在的问题,认为要提高毕业论文质量,必须调整毕业论文的时间,提高对毕业论文重要性的认识,加大毕业论文经费的投入,界定指导教师的职责,健全毕业论文工作的监督检查制度。     

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.