Case study: Management system verification using responsible care® at Rohm & Haas: Lessons learned

In this article, Rohm & Haas' Responsible Care® implementation strategy and management system verification (MSV) experiences are detailed. Recommendations on how to strengthen the verification process are provided.     

External relational attributions: Attributing cause to others' relationships

I present an attributional approach to understanding how people perceive and respond to the effects of others' relationships in the workplace by suggesting that people perceive others' relationships to be causal sources of workplace outcomes. Specifically, I suggest that individuals' responses to negative outcomes at work can be better understood by differentiating between two types of external attributional explanations: external relational attributions and external nonrelational attributions. This research focuses on the conceptual development of external relational attributions, which are defined as those attributional explanations made for outcomes or behaviors experienced or observed by a focal individual that locate the cause of an outcome within the relationship between two others (people, groups, organizations, or any combination), not including the focal individual. Further, I propose situational antecedents and behavioral outcomes of external relational attributions, with an emphasis on individuals' behaviors toward others' relationships. Lastly, I highlight the advantages of considering the role of others' relationships when applying attribution theory to a variety of organizational phenomena and present directions for future research.     

Differences in acoustic directionality among vocalizations of the male red-winged blackbird (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Agelaius pheoniceus</Emphasis>) are related to function in communication

Studies of animal acoustic communication have found that the frequency and temporal structure of acoustic signals can be shaped by selection for efficient communication. The directionality of acoustic radiation may also be adapted for communication, but we know relatively little about how directionality varies with signal function, sender morphology, and the environment in which the sound is transmitted. We tested the hypothesis that the directionality of a vocalization is adapted to its function in communication. This hypothesis predicts that vocalizations that are directed to multiple conspecifics (e.g., advertisements and alarms) will be relatively omnidirectional because this will maximize the number of neighbors and mates that receive the signal, and that vocalizations directed to particular individuals will be relatively directional because this will maximize detection of the signal by the targeted receiver and minimize eavesdropping. To test these predictions, we measured the directionality and amplitude of red-winged blackbird (Agelaius pheoniceus) vocalizations in the field by recording vocalizations simultaneously on eight calibrated microphones encircling the bird. We found significant variation in directionality among vocalizations. Supporting our predictions, we found that the most omnidirectional vocalizations were those used to alert conspecifics to danger, and the most directional vocalizations are those used during courtship and solicitation of copulation, when the costs of eavesdropping are likely to be high. These results suggest that the directionality of red-winged blackbird vocalizations is shaped by selection for effective communication. This study is the first to provide statistical support for the hypothesis that directionality is related to the function of a signal in communication.     

Making the CERCLA Criteria Analysis of Remedial Alternatives More Objective

This article shows how decision analysis techniques assisted decision makers in the critical RI/FS task of technology selection at a specific Superfund site. Each remediation alternative's performance was quantified by creating a set of objective evaluation measures tied to the criteria mandated in the comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980. The evaluation measure scores were input into a quantitative decision analysis model used to rank alternatives based on their performance relative to the CERCLA criteria, and to provide insight to the sensitivity of the results to changes in decision maker preferences or technology performance. The model is designed to reflect the site decision maker's preferences and the site-specific characteristics within the framework of the nine CERCLA criteria. This model will give Superfund site decision makers an objective and transparent framework to evaluate remedial technologies.     

Impending Recovery of Kirtland's Warbler: Case Study in the Effectiveness of the Endangered Species Act

Dendroica kirtlandii ). This particular recovery program actually began before passage of the federal ESA, when biologists alerted the Michigan Department of Natural Resources of the perilously low population of this bird, which only breeds under jack pine (Pinus banksiana) trees in Michigan. By the time an ESA Recovery Team was formed for this bird in 1975 (the first such team created under the ESA), a legacy of consensus and interagency cooperation was well established. This has led to successful efforts at habitat management and control of its nest parasite, the brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater). While the Kirtland's warbler is not yet recovered, its population is near an all-time high, and its recovery is possible within the next decade. When (and if) this happens, it will be clearly attributable to this successful model of federalism for natural resources management.     

Two-site kinetic modeling of bacteriophages transport through columns of saturated dune sand

Breakthrough curves, on a semi-log scale, from tests in porous media with block-input of viruses, bacteria, protozoa and colloidal particles often exhibit a typical skewness: a rather slowly rising limb and a smooth transition of a declining limb to a very long tail. One-site kinetic models fail to fit the rising and declining limbs together with the tail satisfactorily. Inclusion of an equilibrium adsorption site does not seem to improve simulation results. This was encountered in the simulation of breakthrough curves from a recent field study on the removal of bacteriophages MS2 and PRD1 by passage through dune sand. In the present study, results of laboratory experiments for the study of this issue are presented. Breakthrough curves of salt and bacteriophages MS2, PRDI, and phiX174 in 1 D column experiments have been measured. One- and two-site kinetic models have been applied to fit and predict breakthrough curves from column experiments. The two-site model fitted all breakthrough curves very satisfactorily, accounting for the skewness of the rising limb as well as for the smooth transition of the declining limb to the tail of the breakthrough curve. The one-site model does not follow the curvature of the breakthrough tail, leading to an overestimation of the inactivation rate coefficient for attached viruses. Interaction with kinetic site 1 is characterized by relatively fast attachment and slow detachment, whereas attachment to and detachment from kinetic site 2 is fast. Inactivation of viruses and interaction with kinetic site 2 provide only a minor contribution to removal. Virus removal is mainly determined by the attachment to site 1. Bacteriophage phiX174 attached more than MS2 and PRD1, which can be explained by the greater electrostatic repulsion that MS2 and PRD1 experience compared to the less negatively charged phiX174.