What's the difference between reengineering and tqem?

Reengineering has become the latest corporate management buzzword, replacing, in many cases, total quality management as the panacea for industrial ills. How different are reengineering and total quality management (TQM), if at all, and how does each apply to environmental management? In this article the authors examine the concepts of reengineering and TQM as they apply to environmental management.     

Longitudinal changes in bone lead concentration: implications for modelling of human bone lead metabolism

In this study, 539 occupationally exposed subjects received in vivo bone lead measurements using 109Cd excited K X-ray fluorescence (109Cd K XRF). Of these subjects, 327 had previously been measured five years earlier. Measurements were made from both tibia and calcaneus samples, taken to reflect cortical and trabecular bone, respectively. Changes in tibia lead concentration related negatively to initial tibia lead concentration and positively to both lead exposure between the measurement dates and initial calcaneus lead concentration. This finding confirmed and strengthened the interpretation of an earlier study involving fewer subjects. With the larger data set it was possible to examine subgroups of subjects. This showed that people aged less than 40 years had a shorter half-life for the release of lead from the tibia (4.9, 95% CI 3.6-7.8 years) than did those older than 40 (13.8, 95% CI 9.7-23.8 years). Similarly, less intensely exposed subjects (lifetime average blood lead < or = 25 micrograms dL-1) had a shorter tibia lead half-life (6.2, 95% CI 4.7-9.0 years) than those with a lifetime average blood lead > 25 micrograms dL-1 (14.7, 95% CI 9.7-29.9 years). Age and measures of lead exposure were strongly correlated; nevertheless, age matched subgroups with high and low intensity exposures showed clearance rates that were significantly different at the 10% level, with the lower exposure intensity again being associated with the faster clearance. These findings imply that current models of human lead metabolism should be examined with a view to adjusting them to account for kinetic rates varying with age and probably also with exposure level.     

Decreased lipid storage in juvenile Atlantic cod (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Gadus morhua</Emphasis>) during settlement in cold-water eelgrass habitat

We characterized the prey field and the lipid classes/fatty acids in the flesh of age 0 juvenile cod (Gadus morhua) during their late-summer/fall arrival and settlement into eelgrass (Zostera marina) in coastal Newfoundland. Examination of available prey demonstrated a high abundance of small zooplankton (Acartia, Microsetella and Oithona sp.) with no larger Calanus sp. prey. Breakpoint analysis showed significant changes in the accumulation of relative (mg g⁻¹ wet weight) and absolute (μg fish⁻¹) amounts of lipid with standard length at the time of settlement (~60 mm standard length). Settling juvenile cod showed an alternate lipid utilization strategy where they catabolized phospholipids (PL) to a greater extent than triacylgylcerols (TAG). Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) content in cod flesh decreased as fish grew indicating that nearshore zooplankton quality was not optimal for PL formation. The dramatic reduction in cod PL was likely due to both catabolism of muscle and a lack of dietary PUFA suitable for PL synthesis. However, juvenile cod continued to grow, leading to decreased lipid stores and suggesting that cod settling into eelgrass are under intense selection pressure for growth prior to the onset of winter, possibly as a means of escaping gape-limited predation. These data contrast better-studied freshwater and estuarine systems in which lipid storage is critical for successful overwintering.     

可持续建筑业的社会责任:国际劳工组织的观点

本文调查了可持续建筑业的社会形势,特别是发展中国家的可持续建筑业,一个有社会责任感的建筑产业,就是一个在保护劳工免受负面影响的同时努力加强正面影响作用的产业,这要求遵守劳动标准,正如“国际劳工组织(ILO)协定“和国家立法所表达的那样,志愿行动已经做出了积极的贡献,但是严格的计划将要求每一个人依照相同的游戏规则,要做到如此,全体利益相关者确定的统一行动是十分必要的,一个新的“社会责任感建设投资“行动,由国际劳工组织发起,它将把政府代表,雇主,工人和其他主要建筑利益相关者聚在一起,其目的是要制定战略和行动计划,以加强建筑作业中关键劳动标准的贯彻,以及推动建筑部门的生产性就业.     

Effectiveness and driver acceptance of the Honda belt reminder system

OBJECTIVE: Prior research suggests that vehicle-based seat belt reminder systems can produce moderate increases in belt use rates. However, these findings were based on a limited set of Ford vehicles in one geographic location. As more vehicles with reminder systems enter the market, it is important to determine their effectiveness as well as acceptance by consumers. The present study investigated the effectiveness of Honda's belt reminder system. METHODS: Driver belt use was observed unobtrusively as drivers brought their Honda vehicles to dealerships for service. Drivers also were asked to complete a mail-in survey designed to elicit their experience with the system. RESULTS: Belt use was significantly higher among drivers of vehicles with belt reminders compared with drivers of vehicles without reminders (90 vs. 84 percent). Use rates in vehicles with reminders were higher among both male and female drivers and in all vehicle types observed. Drivers of the Honda vehicles with belt reminders viewed the system very favorably, and nearly 90 percent said they would want one in their next vehicle. The reminder was perceived to be most effective by part-time belt users; 81 percent of part-time users said they now use belts more often, compared with 32 percent of respondents who said they always use belts and 18 percent who use belts occasionally. CONCLUSION: Belt reminders in Honda as well as Ford vehicles are increasing. Although the increase is moderate (5.6 percentage points), on a national level it could have prevented at least 736 driver deaths in 2004.     

A case of mosaicism involving an unstable 13/14 Robertsonian translocation

Prenatal diagnosis of mosaicism involving an apparently unstable 13/14 Robertsonian trans-location is reported. This illustrates the difficulties encountered in counselling when mosaicism is ascertained prenatally. Other reported examples of apparently unstable Robertsonian translocations are discussed.     

Testing the ability of males and females to respond to altered songs in the dueting green lacewing, Chrysoperla plorabunda (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae)

Green lacewings in the carnea group of Chrysoperla engage in species-specific heterosexual duets using low-frequency substrate-borne signals. Within each species, both sexes sing nearly identical songs. Songs are the principal barriers to hybridization between sympatric species in the complex. Here, we investigated the responsiveness of males and females of Chrysoperla plorabunda to synthesized, prerecorded songs that differed from the species mean in the period between repeated volleys of abdominal vibration. We tested 15–16 males and 15–16 females using playbacks of two signals that gradually increased or decreased in volley period, starting at the species mean. We found that (1) duets during courtship are accurate, interactive, and adjustable by each participant; (2) in staged duets, both sexes respond best to song tempos near the mean volley period of their population, but can nonetheless maintain duets with signals of nearly twice, or half, the normal volley period; (3) individuals fine-tune their adjustments to signals of different volley periods by changing their own volley duration and latent period, or less often by inserting extra volleys or skipping every other volley; (4) males are significantly better at matching signals of changing tempo than females; and (5) the range of song responsiveness of C. plorabunda does not overlap the natural range of volley periods found in Chrysoperla adamsi, an acoustically similar sibling species, thus reaffirming strong behavioral isolation. In sum, the precise, almost unbreakable heterosexual duets characteristic of song species of the carnea group result from tight mutual feedback between partners. Effective reproductive isolation between species can be based on song differences alone.     

The role of academia in regional sustainability initiatives: Wales

This paper demonstrates the relative non-engagement of universities in regional sustainability initiatives through a case study of Cardiff University in Wales. It is argued that the turbulent and often complicated political and administrative context along with divergent goals and performance targets means that synergies are less readily achieved. A case study of automotive industry alternative technology new cluster development is given to illustrate the arguments. In so doing, the paper presents the view that we need to move beyond mere optimism in order to address fundamental underlying issues.