When control becomes a liability rather than an asset: Comparing home and office days among part‐time teleworkers

Past research has mainly examined differences between employees working under conventional versus teleworking arrangements or high‐intensity versus low‐intensity teleworking. Yet because many workers combine days worked from the office with days worked from home (part‐time telework), it may be more appropriate to examine within‐individual variation in office versus home days. Accordingly, we compare diary data from 77 employees on three home days and three office days. This setup enables us to contribute to the theoretical debate on the duality of control and accountability. Specifically, by comparing job locations (home versus office), we identify conditions under which job control (worktime control) is more likely to act as an asset or as a liability. Results suggest that ability to concentrate is higher and need for recovery is lower, on home days than on office days. However, on home days, generally high level of worktime control amplifies the association between job demands and need for recovery—whereas this association is reversed when worktime control is generally moderate. No similar differences are observed on office days. Finally, whereas employees experiencing high job demands are more able to concentrate during home days than during office days, worktime control has no differential effect in this respect. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dechlorination ability of municipal waste incineration fly ash for polychlorinated phenols

Pathways of pentachlorophenol dechlorination have been investigated on municipal waste incineration fly ash at 200 degrees C under nitrogen atmosphere. Thermodynamic calculations have been carried out for these dechlorination conditions using the method of total Gibbs energy minimization for the whole system consisting of gaseous components, i.e., chlorinated phenols, phenol, hydrogen chloride and the Cu3Cl3 trimer and of solid Cu2O and CuCl2 components. The effects of water, temperature and of the amounts of the reaction components on the thermodynamic equilibrium have been discussed and the experimental results compared with the calculated thermodynamic data.     

Distribution of mercury in different environmental compartments in the aquatic ecosystem of the coastal zone of the Southern Baltic Sea

The aim of this study was to characterize mercury (Hg) contamination in the coastal waters of the Southern Baltic Sea, and to investigate transformations of Hg in the initial links of the marine food chain. Concentrations of Hg in water, particulate matter, plankton and macrophytes at various stations in the coastal zone (a bay with restricted water exchange, near an industrial city, river mouths, and the open sea) were measured in 2006–2008. Hg concentrations observed in the Southern Baltic varied greatly, showing the highest average values in all environmental compartments near the river mouths. In shallow, sheltered parts of the gulf, where water exchange is restricted, Hg concentrations in the water and in macrophytes were elevated relative to those in the coastal zone of the deeper part of the bay and in the open Baltic. Distance to the river mouth, terrestrial runoff, and quantity and quality of organic matter were more important than seasonal variations in controlling Hg and HgSPM concentrations in water samples. Mercury concentrations in the surface microlayer at the air/sea interface were over 10 times higher than those in the bulk surface water. Concentrations of Hg in macrophytes in the winter were significantly higher than those in the warm seasons (spring, summer, autumn). This was probably the combined effect of higher availability of Hg in porewaters and leaf growth inhibition.     

Aminolysis and aminoglycolysis of waste poly(ethylene terephthalate)

This paper describes the chemical degradation of waste poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) with polyamines or triethanolamine, the characteristics of the products, and a search for ways to use these products. Solvolysis of the polymer ester bonds was caused by diethylenetriamine, triethylenetetramine, and their mixtures, as well as mixtures of triethylenetetramine and p-phenylenediamine or triethanolamine. Products of aminolysis or aminoglycolysis of PET obtained in reactions performed at 200–210°C (with a molar ratio of the recurrent polymer unit to amine of 1 : 2) have been characterized using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Viscosity and hydroxyl number measurements have been done for PET/triethanolamine products. Substances from aminolytical reactions with polyamines were tested as hardeners for liquid epoxy resins, and the product of polymer aminoglycolysis with triethanolamine was tested as an epoxy resin hardener, e.g., for water-borne paints, and a polyol component for rigid polyurethane foams. The compositions of epoxy resin hardeners have been characterized using DSC and rheometry. Comparative analyses of the hardened epoxy materials have been done on the basis of glass temperature and mechanical properties data, as well as some specific properties of the coating materials and rigid polyurethane foams. Received: September 15, 2000 / Accepted: September 21, 2000     

Varying levels of female promiscuity in four <Emphasis Type="Italic">Apodemus</Emphasis> mice species

Sexual selection in most vertebrates is based on the evolution of fitness optimization strategies such as multiple-male mating (MMM). Several ecological correlates of MMM have been identified in bird and fish populations; however, only few studies have documented the effects of environmental change on promiscuity in mammals. In this study, the 127 pregnant females from four central European and ecologically diverse species of field mice (genus Apodemus) were studied to assess the role of ecological factors that may have shaped the evolution of particular mating systems. MMM was found in all analyzed species: in Apodemus uralensis and Apodemus flavicollis, up to two males could be identified as the fathers of a particular litter, while three males sired 9.1% of analyzed litters of Apodemus sylvaticus and 20.6% of Apodemus agrarius. Furthermore, there were obvious differences between species in relative testes size and the proportion of multiple sired litters during those seasons when the opportunity for multiple mating was high. The species with the smallest testes and the least promiscuous was A. uralensis (only 43.5% of multiple sired litters), while the species with the biggest testes and the most promiscuous was A. agrarius (69.2%). MMM was significantly associated with higher litter size in A. flavicollis, and the probability of MMM strongly increased with season in A. agrarius and with abundance in A. uralensis. These results indicate that ecological factors are associated with MMM rates in Apodemus field mice and more research is needed to fully understand the evolution of mating strategies at different levels of biological resolution.     

Political transition and emergent forest‐conservation issues in Myanmar

Political and economic transitions have had substantial impacts on forest conservation. Where transitions are underway or anticipated, historical precedent and methods for systematically assessing future trends should be used to anticipate likely threats to forest conservation and design appropriate and prescient policy measures to counteract them. Myanmar is transitioning from an authoritarian, centralized state with a highly regulated economy to a more decentralized and economically liberal democracy and is working to end a long‐running civil war. With these transitions in mind, we used a horizon‐scanning approach to assess the 40 emerging issues most affecting Myanmar's forests, including internal conflict, land‐tenure insecurity, large‐scale agricultural development, demise of state timber enterprises, shortfalls in government revenue and capacity, and opening of new deforestation frontiers with new roads, mines, and hydroelectric dams. Averting these threats will require, for example, overhauling governance models, building capacity, improving infrastructure‐ and energy‐project planning, and reforming land‐tenure and environmental‐protection laws. Although challenges to conservation in Myanmar are daunting, the political transition offers an opportunity for conservationists and researchers to help shape a future that enhances Myanmar's social, economic, and environmental potential while learning and applying lessons from other countries. Our approach and results are relevant to other countries undergoing similar transitions.     

Genotype-specific responses of fluctuating asymmetry and of preadult survival to the effects of lead and temperature stress in Drosophila melanogaster

Although fluctuating asymmetry (FA) increases with exposure to certain types of environmental stressors such as temperature extremes, relatively little is known about the effects of interaction (e.g., synergism) between known sources of environmental stress on FA. Knowledge of such interaction effects, and of the magnitude of genotype-by-environment interaction, are of fundamental importance toward predicting the usefulness of FA as a bioindicator of environmental pollution. We tested for synergistic effects on FA between elevated temperature and exposure to lead, and examined FA responses simultaneously in four genetic strains of Drosophila melanogaster known to differ in their degree of developmental instability, and presumably in their buffering capacity. In the absence of heavy metal, bristle FA increased with temperature, but in the presence of lead, FA at high temperature (30 (degrees)C) was reduced to levels similar, or below, that at lower temperature (25 (degrees)C). This temperature by lead interaction was statistically significant, but paradoxical in that the disruptive effects of temperature appeared to be attenuated in the presence of the heavy metal. In no case was there a significant effect of lead on bristle FAs, despite documented assimilation of heavy metal by flies, and in no case was the genotype by environment interaction significant. Whereas lead treatment did not influence survival, survival was reduced at the high temperature, but significantly so only in one genetic strain (Oregon-R). There was no relationship between survival and FA across stress treatments within lines. Thus, any disproportionate stress-induced mortality in developmentally unstable classes (developmental selection) was unlikely to bias the FA results. Our results underscore the need for independent replication of significant findings before FA-based biomonitoring can be responsibly and effectively implemented. The results call for caution in using FA as a biomarker of stress, because stress factors may interact in complex and unpredictable ways, which could result in erroneous conclusions about real levels of stress present in field populations, under the unduly simplistic assumption that stress factors will act additively to increase FA.     

Dehalogenation potential of municipal waste incineration fly ash

BACKGROUND, AIMS AND SCOPE: It is well known that the fly ash from filters of municipal waste incinerators (MWI-FA) shows dehalogenation properties after heating it to 240-450 degrees C. However, this property is not general, and fly ash samples do not possess dehalogenation ability at all in many cases. Fly ash has a very variable composition, and the state of the fly ash matter therefore plays the decisive role. In the present paper, the function of important components responsible for the dehalogenation activity of MWI-FA is analysed and compared with the model fly ash. METHODS: With the aim of accounting for the dehalogenation activity of MWI-FA, the following studies of hexachlorobenzene (HCB) dechlorination were performed: The role of copper in dehalogenation experiments was evaluated for five types of metallic copper. The gasification of carbon in MWI-FA was studied in the 250-350 degrees C temperature range. Five different kinds of carbon were used, combined with conventional Cu(o) and activated nanosize copper powder. The dechlorination experiments were also carried out with Cu(II) compounds such as CuO, Cu(OH)2, CuCl2 and CuSO4. The results were discussed from the standpoint of thermodynamics of potential reactions. Based on these results, the model of fly ash was proposed, containing silica gel, metallic copper and carbon. The dechlorination ability of MWI-FA and the model fly ash are compared under oxygen-deficient atmosphere. CONCLUSIONS: The results show that, under given experimental conditions, copper acts in the dechlorination as a stoichiometric agent rather than as a catalyst. The increased surface activity of copper enhances its dechlorination activity. It was found further that the presence of copper leads to a decrease in the temperature of carbon gasification. The cyclic valence change from Cu(o) to Cu+ or Cu2+ is a prerequisite for the dehalogenation to take place. RECOMMENDATION AND OUTLOOK: Thermodynamic analysis of the dechlorination effect, as well as the comparison of dechlorination pathways on MWI-FA and model fly ash, can provide a deeper understanding of the studied reaction.