Designing a sustainable facility to improve energy and environmental performance at the women's humane society

Susan Maxman Architects was selected to design a new facility for the Women's Humane Society. The project, located on a disturbed site in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, presented an environmental challenge as a large part of the site is wetlands and the site is home to a large PECO power line. This case study describes the process of designing a facility that incorporates the concerns of environmental responsibility. It will show how the decisions in the design of the built environment can very much influence the well-being of the natural environment. It describes the ways in which the client was convinced that it was of great benefit to create a facility that was energy-efficient and environmentally sensitive. The article also explores the successes and failures of this process. It discusses barriers that exist in comprehensively incorporating sustainable design principles in these facilities and shows how it is applicable for the development of other facilities.     

Data,data everywhere but not a byte to read: Managing monitoring information

The problem of managing scientific information for widespread availability and use can be overwhelming. At Oregon State University, the Quantitative Sciences Group has found a workable solution. The group has developed a Forest Science Data Bank (FSDB) to house data generated by scientists and collaborating researchers in the Andrews Long-Term Ecological Research program. Today the FSDB houses some 2400 data sets from over 350 existing ecological studies and adds about 20 new studies yearly. This paper describes what we have learned in setting up the FSDB as a facility that can be used by researchers who both deposit information in and retrieve information from the FSDB.     

Technical‐administrative task performance,leadership task performance,and contextual performance: considering the influence of team‐ and task‐related composition variables

The purpose of the present study was to examine how the mix of ability, experience, and personality impacts three types of team performance: technical‐administrative task performance, leadership task performance, and contextual performance. Relationships were tested using data collected from student management teams, who were required to plan and supervise the preparation and service of meals in a cafeteria‐style dining room patronized by university students, staff, and faculty. Results revealed that both team‐ and task‐related composition variables predicted leadership and contextual performance. Specifically, grade point average was significantly related to technical‐administrative task performance, and extraversion, neuroticism, and grade point average were related to leadership task performance. Agreeableness and restaurant experience predicted contextual performance. Surprisingly, conscientiousness did not account for significant variance in any of the three types of performance measured. The implications of these findings for the study of team performance in organizations are discussed. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Implementing gender policy in the water and sanitation sector

Using a case study approach, this article examines how the gender aspects of policy are implemented. It presents examples of gender policy implemented by different types of organizations, with particular emphasis on the water and sanitation sector. Implementing agencies include a UN agency, developing country governments, bilateral donors, and local and international NGOs. Observations from project implementation in the water and sanitation sector reveal the degree of effectiveness of the gender policies applied. Cases were chosen to provide interesting examples, rather than illustrate lessons that can be generalized. Much more research is needed before that can be done. The article also addresses project implementation strategy considerations, including how policies and implementation address women's needs, whether gender issues are treated separately or mainstreamed, and what factors are linked to successful implementation. Problems of coordination between different project implementation aspects/agents are endemic in the water and sanitation sector. Thus physical installation work is typically completed by engineers, while NGOs mostly deal with social aspects of projects, and the two groups often do not communicate effectively.     

Satellite-Derived Mean Fire Return Intervals As Indicators Of Change In Siberia (1995–2002)

Under current climate change scenarios, temperatures in Siberia are expected to increase, and consequently, fire is also expected to increase. Potential climate-induced change is difficult to assess in Siberia because ground-based fire data are not complete. This investigation introduces a method by which potential climate-induced change can be remotely evaluated. Mean fire return intervals are established for 58 ecosystems across Siberia using eight years of satellite-based area burned data (1995 to 2002). Mean fire return intervals should decrease under current climate change scenarios, however the results do not currently demonstrate consistent evidence of fire-induced change. The overall boreal forest mean fire return interval is lower than the published mean, inferring increased fire. Most notably, using satellite data to calculate mean fire return intervals in individual ecosystems for the entire population of fire is shown to be a viable method by which potential climate-induced land cover change can be evaluated.     

Investigation of potential gene flow limitation of behavioral adaptation in an aridlands spider

Summary This study investigates the possibility that gene flow underlies the apparently maladaptive behavior of a riparian woodland population of the desert spider Agelenopsis aperta with respect to territorial, foraging, and antipredatory behaviors. I found that other local populations of A. aperta in the vicinity of the riparian woodland habitat are prey-limited and exhibit an aridlands phenotype (high aggressiveness in competitive interactions over energy-based territories and a lack of discrimination among potential prey types). The riparian woodland population deviates from surrounding populations in the area in that prey are abundant and this population shows a mixture of aridlands and riparian (low aggressiveness towards conspecifics and discrimination of prey profitability) phenotypes. Electrophoretic analyses of population subdivision in the area indicate that significant levels of gene flow have occurred, at least, sometime in the past. Drift fence analyses of spider movement futher indicate that there is marked unidirectional movement of spiders each year from the more arid habitats into the riparian woodland. Experimental manipulation of gene flow and predation pressure demonstrates that gene flow restricts adaptation in this habitat: one generation of predation pressure in the absence of gene flow is sufficient to cause a marked shift in spider behavior towards the expected riparian phenotype.     

Adverse perinatal outcome in patients screen-positive for neural tube defects and fetal down syndrome

An association between various abnormal mid-trimester maternal serum analyte values and adverse perinatal outcome has been reported. From an original sample of 14 857 women, we observed five women who were ‘screen-positive’ for both neural tube defects [maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (MSAFP) ≥2·5 multiples of the median] and Down syndrome [risk ≥1/274 using MSAFP, maternal serum unconjugated oestriol (MSuE3), maternal serum human chorionic gonadotropin (MShCG), and maternal age]. The four patients who elected to undergo amniocentesis all demonstrated both normal karyotype and normal amniotic fluid AFP levels. All five cases were associated with intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) and abnormal pregnancy outcomes. Two cases exhibiting severe IUGR on ultrasound examination were terminated at 19·1 and 21·2 weeks, respectively; the former also exhibited fetal calcifications and positive maternal serology for toxoplasmosis. In another case, fetal demise occurred at 36 weeks' gestation in a patient who had been treated for syphilis in the second trimester. Neither infection was confirmed in fetal tissue studies. Though resulting in live births, the remaining two cases required operative deliveries; emergency Caesarean sections for fetal distress were performed at 38 and 32 weeks, respectively, the latter case being associated with severe pre-eclampsia. We conclude that elevated mid-trimester MSAFP levels concurrent with maternal serum analyte values associated with increased risk for fetal Down syndrome may presage a poor perinatal outcome, particularly IUGR and possibly congenital infection.     

Spatial and temporal trends of precipitation chemistry in the United States, 1985-2002

A Seasonal Kendall Trend (SKT) test was applied to precipitation-weighted concentration data from 164 National Atmospheric Deposition Program National Trends Network (NADP/NTN) sites operational from 1985 to 2002. Analyses were performed on concentrations of ammonium, sulfate, nitrate, dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN, sum of nitrogen from nitrate and ammonium), and earth crustal cations (ECC, sum of calcium, magnesium, and potassium). Over the 18-year period, statistically significant (p< or =0.10) increases in ammonium concentrations occurred at 93 sites (58%), while just three sites had statistically significant ammonium decreases. Central and northern Midwestern states had the largest ammonium increases. The generally higher ammonium concentrations were accompanied by significant sulfate decreases (139 sites, 85%), and only one significant increase which occurred in Texas. In the west central United States there were significant nitrate increases (45 sites, 27%), while in the northeastern United States there were significant decreases (25 sites, 15%). Significant DIN decreases were observed in the northeastern United States (11 sites, 7%); elsewhere there were significant increases at 75 sites (46%). ECC decreased significantly at 65 sites (40%), predominantly in the central and southern United States, and increased at 11 sites (7%). The concentrations of sulfate, nitrate, and ammonium in precipitation have changed markedly over the time period studied. Such trends indicate changes in the mix of gases and particles scavenged by precipitation, possibly reflecting changes in emissions, atmospheric chemical transformations, and weather patterns.