Photodegradation of TCDD in soil containing organic solvents

Studies were conducted to understand 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) behaviour in the near surface zone in relation to the operating conditions: UV-intensity, temperature and exposure modes. Comparisons have been made between Oriel lamp exposure tests and sunlight exposure tests. Under Oriel lamp exposure, the convective transport of TCDD, which depends on operating temperature, was the limiting factor in the cleanup process. The product differences between Oriel exposure tests and sunlight exposure tests probably result from the difference of UV-intensities.     

The State of the Mammal Community of Boreal Forest Ecosystems in the Vicinity of a Nickel-Smelting Plant

The effect of industrial air pollution on natural small mammal populations has been studied in the northern taiga subzone of the boreal forest zone. The results of long-term monitoring have been used to demonstrate the possibility of predicting changes in the main population and community characteristics of the animal species studied as dependent on the degree of anthropogenic impact.     

OBSERVATIONS ON PHYTOPLANKTON PRODUCTIVITY IN RELATION TO HYDROGRAPHY IN THE NORTHERN ADRIATIC

This work, carried out within the framework of the PRISMA II project, aims at evaluating the effects of the Po River flow on primary productivity, measured by C with in situ sample incubations. A total of four cruises was carried out in late winter and early summer (1996-1998) along transects from the coast offshore. In both seasons, the highest primary productivity was found in the most oligohaline stations. The effects of the Po River inputs were therefore clearly evident in the westernmost area, both in high productivity values and in the shape of productivity profiles. In late winter, extensive blooms of Skeletonema costatum and Pseudo-nitzschia delicatissima resulted in productivity values that were sometimes higher than in early summer. In early summer 1996, greatly reduced river flow clearly influenced productivity which was much lower than in 1997.     

Violating the psychological contract: Not the exception but the norm

The occurrence and impact of psychological contract violations were studied among graduate management alumni (N = 128) who were surveyed twice, once at graduation (immediately following recruitment) and then two years later. Psychological contracts, reciprocal obligations in employment developed during and after recruitment, were reported by a majority of respondents (54.8 per cent) as having been violated by their employers. The impact of violations are examined using both quantitative and qualitative data. Occurrence of violations correlated positively with turnover and negatively with trust, satisfaction and intentions to remain.     

Marsh Frog (Rana ridibunda Pall.) in Cooling Ponds in the Middle Urals

Environmental conditions in cooling ponds of thermal power plants are favorable for marsh frogs. Their populations inhabiting Verkhne-Tagil and Reftinskoe reservoirs differ in some traits, such as size and age composition, growth rate after metamorphosis, spawning type, fecundity, and characteristics of larval development. Differentiation in body size manifests itself at the early stages of terrestrial life and progresses at later stages. As a consequence, larger individuals may reach maturity and participate in reproduction at an earlier age.     

Prioritization of Sustainable Groundwater Management Needs: The Case of the Israel's Stressed Coastal Aquifer

On-going population growth and resulting domestic demand for water require rapid and effective decision-making as regards groundwater management and control of the various sources of salinization and pollution in Coastal aquifers. Sustainability of water resources for utilization by future generations must therefore be a high priority, not only for the purpose of fulfilling needs for water usage but also for bringing people into harmony with their ambient natural environment.The objective of this paper is to propose an empirical approach for prioritization of the needs involved for sustainable aquifer management. The approach involves a schematic format to:(1) develop a global understanding of an aquifer's hydrological and environmental properties in order to delineate appropriate eco-hydrological scenarios and recommend corresponding operational management activities; and(2) emphasize the importance of educating and increasing the awareness of the population involved as to the need for and viability of socially acceptable measures for sustainable management of groundwater and other resources.The psychologist Abraham Maslow utilized a pyramid to illustrate that until people's most basic needs were fulfilled, higher levels of needs would remain irrelevant. This paper postulates a comparable pyramid prioritizing hydrological needs required for progressing towards sustainable groundwater resources. Two sub-regions of Israel's Coastal aquifer in the Sharon region have been presented as representative areas, each characterized by different stress of exploitation. In assessing these sub-regions situation, specific measures have been recommended for achieving and/or maintaining sustainable groundwater resources in light of the ambient environment, and the level of the population on the pyramidal hierarchy of groundwater needs.     

Study on Assessing Economic Vulnerability of Small Island Regions

The main purpose of this study is to assess economic vulnerability of small island development regions as part of their sustainability constraints. By combining economic and environmental time series data, we assessed a composite index of economic vulnerability which is constructed from three exogenous variables, namely economic exposure, economic remoteness, and economic impact of environmental and natural disasters. We used the Amami Islands, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan as the case studies for this paper.The results indicated that using a gross island products based valuation index, Kikaijima is the most vulnerable island in the Amami Islands with a composite economic vulnerability index (CEVI) value of 0.678, while by using a per capita based index, Okinoerabujima is considered the most vulnerable island with a CEVI value of 0.680. From the results we also revealed that smaller islands have relative higher vulnerability than the bigger one, which also confirms some previous country-level vulnerability studies.However, it is matter of fact that some islands that have relatively high vulnerability also have good economic performance as shown by their per capita income. In this regard, it can be argued that the success of these small islands could have been achieved in spite of and not because of their inherent vulnerability conditions as an indicator of sustainability constraint. Regarding these findings, we also examined a comparison between vulnerability results and the preliminary concept of an island's resilience in order to capture another perspective on sustainability assessment in a small island region.     

Attitudes towards sex selection for non-medical reasons: a review

Early non-invasive fetal sexing is widely available over the Internet, leading to concerns about its possible use for sex selection. The aim of this review is to summarise the results of surveys describing lay attitudes towards sex selection for non-medical reasons to help address or inform such concerns. A search of electronic databases and key journals was supplemented by an Internet search and citation-tracking. Twenty-one quantitative studies were identified. Most were conducted in the US, with five recent studies in the UK and Germany. Most studies found that, overall, people were not in favour of sex selection. However, this varied from 94 to 18%. People may hold more negative attitudes when the method of sex selection is specified, particularly if this involves termination of pregnancy (TOP). Attitudes towards the general availability of sex selection are less negative than those towards personal use. Attitudes were consistently negative in German surveys. Little is known of such attitudes outside the US, the UK and Germany, and how such attitudes may change as new sex selection technologies become available. Studies of use of early non-invasive fetal sexing for sex selection for non-medical reasons are needed to assess the extent to which concerns about usage are justified and to assist in debates on how these might be most appropriately addressed. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Barriers Beyond the Partners: Bureaucratic and Political Constraints to Implementing Joint Forest Management in Tamil Nadu,India

Whereas past research has treated co-management of common pool resources as if villagers and project implementing authorities were the only relevant actors, numerous external factors beyond the control of these two partners create barriers to successful co-management. This paper draws on discussions with Forest Department officials to examine the influence of these forces on the outcomes of Joint Forest Management (JFM) in Tamil Nadu, India. An empirical inquiry into the operational aspects of JFM indicates the important roles of political parties, powerful people, and other state institutions and functionaries as well as the flow of foreign funding. Further, the strong demand by local people for socio-economic development interventions as opposed to improvement of degraded forests belittles the role of the Forest Department relative to other departments. Numerous other conditioning factors and relationships are explored. The authors call for reforms in public governance to allow better participation of all the actors involved for this participatory management approach to succeed and sustain.     

Biological productivity of bogs in the middle taiga subzone of Western Siberia

New experimental data on biological productivity of plant communities in oligotrophic and mesotrophic bogs of the middle taiga subzone over the past five years are presented. The relationship between net primary production and the stock of live phytomass is estimated. The stock of necromass in oligotrophic bog ecosystems increases from west to east, while the stock of live phytomass and net primary production decrease.