Temporal and spatial trends of PCBs,DDTs, HCHs,and HCB in Swedish marine biota 1969–2012

In the 1960s, the Baltic Sea was severely polluted by organic contaminants such as PCBs, HCHs, HCB, and DDTs. Elevated concentrations caused severe adverse effects in Baltic biota. Since then, these substances have been monitored temporally and spatially in Baltic biota, primarily in herring (Clupea harengus) and in guillemot (Uria aalge) egg, but also in cod (Gadus morhua), perch (Perca fluviatilis), eelpout (Zoarces viviparous), and blue mussel (Mytilus edulis). These chemicals were banned in Sweden in the late 1970s/early 1980s. Since the start of monitoring, overall significant decreases of about 70–90 % have been observed. However, concentrations are still higher in the Baltic Sea than in, for example, the North Sea. CB-118 and DDE exceed the suggested target concentrations (24 µg kg^?1 lipid weight and 5 µg kg^?1 wet weight, respectively) at certain sites in some of the monitored species, showing that concentrations may still be too high to protect the most sensitive organisms.     

Recent Recovery of Lake Water Quality in Southern Québec Following Reductions in Sulfur Emissions

Since 1985, monitoring activities have been conducted in a networkof 43 lakes comprising the Québec portion of the Long-Range Transport of Airborne Pollutants (LRTAP) program. The results to date indicate that Québec lakes generally are responding positively to the generalized decline in precipitation sulfate (SO₄ ^2-), with 40 of the 43 lakes now showing steep declines in SO₄ ^2- concentrations. The drop in SO₄ ^2- was associated with a significant decrease in Ca²⁺ concentrations in 77% of the lakes (67% for Mg²⁺ concentrations). Overall, the acid-neutralizing capacity was increasing in 19 lakes and decreasing only in three, while 21 lakes showed no temporal trends. Compared with previous trend studies of the LRTAP-Québec network for the period of 1985–1993, the longer period (1985–1999) shows a clear improvement, with the proportion of lakes that were acidifying changing from 24 to 7% and with the proportion of lakes that were recovering changing from 16 to 35%. These observations suggest that the recent drop in SO₄ ^2- deposition in the northeastern U.S. and eastern Canada was significant enough to allow chemical recovery for a significant proportion of Québec lakes.     

Build back better: implementation in Victorian bushfire reconstruction

The ‘build back better’ (BBB) concept signals an opportunity to decrease the vulnerability of communities to future disasters during post‐disaster reconstruction and recovery. The 2009 Victorian bushfires in Australia serve as a case study for this assessment of the application of core BBB principles and their outcomes. The results show that several BBB measures were successfully implemented in Victoria and are relevant for any post‐disaster reconstruction effort. The BBB initiatives taken in Victoria include: land‐use planning determined by hazard risk‐based zoning; enforcement of structural design improvements; facilitated permit procedures; regular consultations with stakeholders; and programmes conducted for social and economic recovery. Lessons from the Victorian recovery urge the avoidance of construction in high‐risk zones; fairness and representativeness in community consultations; adequate support for economic recovery; the advance establishment of recovery frameworks; and empowerment of local councils.     

The impact of a large‐scale traumatic event on individual and organizational outcomes: exploring employee and company reactions to September 11, 2001

Much of the literature on stress and organizational outcomes has focused on organizational factors and has ignored extraorganizational stressors that lead to perceived stress. However, research in other fields and recent studies in management suggests that acute‐extraorganizational stressors, such as traumatic events, may have potentially negative and costly implications for organizations. This study tests a theoretical model of traumatic stress and considers the relationship between strain from an acute‐extraorganizational stressor, the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, and absenteeism. Using a sample of 108 MBA and MPA students, this study suggests that strain caused by an acute‐extraorganizational stressor can have important consequences for organizations. Namely, employees who report more strain from a traumatic life event are more likely to be absent from work in the weeks following the event. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The role of symbolic capital in stakeholder disputes: decision-making concerning intractable wastes

This paper examines almost 30 years of disputation concerning the disposal of the world's largest stockpile of the toxic organochlorine, hexachlorbenzene. It describes the study of a chemicals company in its attempt to manage the disposal of the toxic waste in a collaborative fashion with government, environmentalists and the local community. The study describes the new processes and structures specifically designed to address the decision-making and the issues of stakeholder perception and identity construction which have influenced the outcomes. Decision-making in such disputes is often theorized from the perspective of the emergence of highly individualized and reflexive risk communities and changing modes and expectations of corporate responsibility as a result of detraditionalization. We argue that the stakeholder interaction in this study reflects competing discourses in which corporate actors prioritize the building and maintaining of identity and symbolic capital rather than an active collaboration to solve the ongoing issue of the waste. As well, issues of access to expert knowledge highlight the relationship between conditions of uncertainty, technoscientific expertise and identity. The events of the study highlight the challenges faced by contemporary technoscientific corporations such as chemicals companies as they must deliver on requirements of transparency and openness, while maintaining technoscientific capacity and strong internal identity. We conclude that the study demonstrates the co-existence of social processes of individualization and detraditionalization with quasi-traditions which maintain authority, thus challenging the radical distinctions made in the literature between modernity and late or reflexive modernity.