Disobedient Things. The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Accounting for Disaster

actor-network theory capitalization confidence in obedience Deepwater HorizonAnalysis of the Deepwater Horizon disaster and the accumulatory decline of BP demonstrates both the analytical efficacy of the capital-as-power (CasP) approach to value theory, and the irreducible role of objects in the process of accumulation. Rather than productivity per se, accumulation depends on control of productivity. Owners’ control is over both the human and non-human components of systems of production, which transcend the standard categories of culture/politics/economics/technology. Capitalization translates the irreducible social order, things and all, that bear on accumulation into commensurable units of capital. The decline of BP in the wake of the disaster expressed the market’s falling confidence in the obedience of the entities that bear on its profits, including the things that comprise its productive capacity

Disobedient Things: The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Accounting for Disaster

capital accumulation crisis things valueAnalysis of the Deepwater Horizon disaster and the accumulative decline of BP demonstrate both the analytical efficacy of the capital-as-power approach to value theory, and the irreducible role of objects in the process of accumulation. Rather than productivity per se, accumulation depends on (1) control of productivity, and (2) the evaluation of control. Capital-as-power focuses on capitalization as an expression of the evaluation by owners of their own power. In this article, I argue that the power of owners translated into capital values is power over both the human and non-human components of systems of production. Power is actualized through entities defined as cultural and political, as well as economic. Capitalization translates into the commensurable financial units of capital the irreducible social order—including objects—that bears on accumulation. The decline of BP’s capital valuation in the wake of the disaster expressed the market’s falling confidence in the expertise, experience and equipment that comprised the company’s productive capacity

New human resource management systems in non-based-knowledge firms: Applications for decision making on the business performance

The aim of this paper is double. First, it provides a conceptual framework and modelling of the relationship between human resource management (HRM) systems and non-based-knowledge firms. Second, using survey data on 1.518 Catalan firms (in Spain, with capital in Barcelona), the paper: 1) identify two system of HRM (in progress HRM system and non-HRM developed system); 2) build a causal model of determinants of HRM systems; and 3) describe the association links between in progress HRM system and firm's performance. Using factor and cluster analysis, we find that only one-third of firms use in progress HRM system. Using logit binomial analysis, we find that features which are structural, technological, strategic, organisational and performance-related explain the adoption of in progress HRM system. Finally, using association analysis, we find that firms that adopt in progress HRM system: 1) are more internationalised and show greater ability to adapt to the changing environment, to innovate and to collaborate; 2) focus on product/service differentiation strategy enhancing quality; 3) apply a greater degree of new forms of work organization; 4) have more technological equipment and use IT more intensively; and 5) invest more in training their employees, than firms with non-HRM system developed

THE DRIVERS OF PRODUCTIVITY

This paper will try to demonstrate that productivity is the basis of all productive systems, which are viewed as transformers of utility and value, since the search for maximum productive efficiency is necessary to reduce production costs and thus produce value. After presenting a coherent frame of reference, we shall examine the drivers of productivity and then move on to discuss the consequences of the continual growth in productivity and the non-economic aspects linked to the gradual improvement in productivit

Occupational injuries among construction workers at the Chep Lap Kok Airport construction site, Hong Kong : analysis of accident rates, and the association between injuries, error types and their contributing factors : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Aviation at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

Accidents on construction sites are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in Hong Kong. This study investigated the likely causes of occupational injuries that were present among the construction workers during the construction of the new Chep Lap Kok (CLK) Airport in Hong Kong. In order to accumulate the requisite information, 1648 accident investigation reports in a four-year period (1993-1996) were reviewed. The first part of the study described the pattern and magnitude of occupational injuries among the CLK construction workers and compared the accident rates of the CLK workers with those of the construction industry as a whole in Hong Kong. The study examined the effects of the workplace infrastructure at CLK in order to explain why this site presented fewer work place injuries and accidents than other workplaces. The second part of the research used these injury and accident occurrences as the basis to construct the causes of accidents and injuries within an error causation classification system. The results showed that at CLK, the commonest workplace injury was contusion & crushing which appeared to be due to mistakes made through lapses in memory often caused by pressure of work being imposed on the employee. This section also indicated what types of errors were most closely associated with what kinds of injuries and what conditions were most likely to trigger these types of events. Among the major associations were links between contusion and crushing and violation error, perceptual error; between memory lapse and work pressure, equipment deficiencies, poor working environment, fatigue, and between violation error and work pressure. The research suggested that work pressure was an important contributing factor to construction injury and it increased the prevalence of a human error type namely, memory lapse many fold. The outcomes from this study provide important new information on the causes and types of errors which have led to occupational injuries among construction workers in Hong Kong. A better understanding of the human factors-based causes of accidents and injuries in the construction industry and an inculcation of a safety culture on construction sites are critically important in the reduction of the rate of construction accidents and improvement of workers' human performance. The results should assist the construction industry in the designing accident prevention training and education strategies, estimating human error probabilities, and the monitoring organizational safety performance

Transforming Lives: An Evaluation of CRS Integrated Watershed Management Programs in Ethiopia

This is an evaluation of Catholic Relief Services' (CRS) Integrated Watershed Management (IWM) activities in Ethiopia. WASH was integral to these projects, though it was not the only focus. The six major components of the IWM projects were natural resource management; agricultural support and agro-enterprise development; multiple uses of water; sanitation, hygiene and health education and disease prevention; savings and internal lending communities and income generation activities; and gender and partnership arrangements. The evaluation finds that the program made significant positive changes in the lives and livelihoods of rural households. However, budgeting, beneficiary targeting, and planning for sustainability and phase-out could have been improved

The strategic role of agriculture in a development system of exploitation of territorial resources

The great difficulties Italy is facing with in order to overcame the crisis that began in 2008, lead us to reconsider the development models which have determined it. In the present context of increasing competitiveness, inducted by the globalization process, to avoid being marginalized or given up, Italian socio-economic systems need to think out models of differentiated development on a local level and based on the exploitation of territorial resources. In this context, taking into consideration that 92% of national surface is classified as rural, it is indispensable to think up models of development whose main reference point is agriculture. Agriculture is indeed the fulcrum of agribusiness system that counts for 15% of national wealth and it is the productive activity which more than others set the characteristics of a territory. It takes on both the role of producer of goods and promoter of a socio, cultural and environmental context able to put together the different territorial entities, making them operating as a system. It is therefore evident that agriculture is not a separate sector but an entity strictly integrated with the other components of the socio-economic system and thanks to this it is able to play a fundamental role for the territorial development. In this paper it is highlighted how the creation of an economic model revolving around the concept of “identity”, through the exploitation of territorial resources, if well organized and supported by incisive political actions can be an occasion of economic recovery. Identity and uniqueness can be the right answer to the homologation and standardization of globalization. The aim of the paper is to underline how agriculture operating in an integrated way with tourism, handcraft and the other territorial activities is strategic to develop and carry out a development model where the territory is the landmark

Globalization, Health Sector Reform, Gender and Reproductive Health

Explores the interrelationships between globalization and health sector reforms, and how changes in macro-economic and social policies affect women's reproductive health and rights