Cultural and individual differences in self‐rating behavior: an extension and refinement of the cultural relativity hypothesis

This study examined the relationships between culture, individual attributes, and self‐rating behavior among 1,786 university students in Canada, Hong Kong, Taiwan, mainland China, and Japan, and in doing so extended and refined the cultural relativity hypothesis. It explored the difference between vertical and horizontal individualists in self‐rating behavior, and examined the mediating effects of two individual attributes, self‐enhancement propensity and general self‐efficacy in the relationship between individualism and self‐rating behavior. The results confirmed that individualism is the cultural driver for self‐rating leniency, and that the individual‐level assessment of individualism is a stronger predictor of self‐rating leniency than are culture‐level differences. Vertical individualism was found to be positively related to self‐enhancement propensity, which in turn was positively related to self‐rating. Whereas, horizontal individualism was positively related to general self‐efficacy, which in turn had a positive relationship with self‐rating. We discuss the implications of the results for academic research and practical management. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Emotional social support and job burnout among high‐school teachers: is it all due to dispositional affectivity?

The authors investigated whether the relationship between the contents of emotional social support and job burnout among high‐school teachers is spurious because of the role of dispositional positive and negative affectivity. A national sample of 339 teachers was surveyed via a web‐based procedure. Hierarchical regression analyses did not support spuriousness; emotional social support was uniquely predictive of three dimensions of burnout controlling for affectivity. As positive emotional social support increased, emotional exhaustion and cynicism decreased, and professional efficacy increased. As negative emotional social support increased, emotional exhaustion and cynicism also increased. Commonality analyses based on the present data and data reported by K. L. Zellars and P. L. Perrewé (2001; Journal of Applied Psychology, 86, 459–467) provided additional support for the unique role of emotional social support on burnout, but these analyses suggest a greater role of affectivity than emotional social support. These findings have implications for research on burnout as well as the prevention of burnout among teachers. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Remediation of acid mine drainage leachate by a physicochemical and biological treatment‐train approach

Biological and physicochemical approaches were utilized in a treatment train for acid mine dis charge (AMD) waters. Anaerobic bioreactors, chemical precipitation reactors, and biopolymer chelation reactors, operated in static, semicontinuous, and continuous flow modes, removed significant quantities of metals and sulfates associated with AMD water. Static tests indicated accept able copper removal via precipitation by generation of hydrogen sulfide in anaerobic reactors. However, low pH affected the biopolymer coating in the chelation reactor, resulting in loss of bed surface. Corrections of AMD to pH > 7 resulted in some metal precipitationprior to biopolymer treatment. A series of static semicontinuous tests at pH 5.0 provided improved metal and sulfate removal. Copper (Cu⁺) was reduced to trace concentrations, while manganese (Mn⁺), although reduced, proved to be the most recalcitrant of the metals. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Growth performance and proximate profile of Telfairia occidentalis Hook F. (cucurbitaceae) grown in crude oil‒contaminated soil

In this study, the growth performance and nutritional quality of Telfairia occidentalis planted in soil polluted with varied levels of water‐soluble fraction (WSF) of crude oil (Bonny light) were evaluated to assess the effectiveness of organic nutrients (poultry manure and sawdust) in the phytore mediation of WSF‐contaminated soil. The results showed that WSF application delayed germination of vegetables. However, treatment of soils with organic nutrients enhanced the germination rate of vegetables, promoted greenish coloration of leafs and increased the levels of energy‐yielding macronutrients (carbohydrate, lipid, and protein). Also, soils supplemented with poultry manure gave the highest caloric values for all the percentages of WSF studied, followed by sawdust. Our findings suggest that the adverse effects of WSF on soil could be remediated through organic nutrient supplementation. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The effects of in situ chemical oxidation on microbiological processes: A review

The effects of in situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) on biological processes, as reported in the literature, were researched to determine if coupling ISCO with in situ bioremediation could be achieved in field and laboratory experiments. Literature was compiled concerning the effect of ISCO on microbial communities following addition of a chemical oxidant at a range of concentrations designed to treat a variety of subsurface contaminants. The results indicate that although microbial communities may potentially be adversely affected by chemical oxidation in the short term, a rebound of microbial biomass and/or bioremediation activity can be expected. Successfully coupling ISCO with bioremediation in field applications may be a cost‐effective method of achieving risk‐based site remediation goals. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Progress toward remediation of the Sydney Tar Ponds: A major Canadian PCB/PAH “superfund” site

The Muggah Creek estuary in Sydney, Nova Scotia, received liquid and solid wastes from a steel mill and its associated coke ovens for approximately 100 years. This resulted in pollution of soils and sediments with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), heavy metals, and other pollutants, including those in untreated domestic wastewaters. The Canadian federal and Nova Scotia provincial governments organized the Sydney Tar Ponds Agency (STPA) to develop a remediation approach for the Coke Ovens site soils and Sydney Tar Ponds sediments. The STPA developed a remediation approach for the Sydney Tar Ponds sediments, involving solidification/stabilization (S/S) through mixing cement and other materials into the sediments, and then capping them as a waste pile. High‐density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic sheeting vertical barriers are proposed to be used to divert groundwater and surface water from entering into the S/S‐treated sediments and to collect any water and associated pollutants released from the S/S‐treated sediments. The Coke Ovens site soils are proposed to be landfarmed to reduce some of the PAHs and other pollutants and then capped with a layer of soil. This remediation program is estimated to cost on the order of $400 million (CAN). This article presents a review of the significant potential problems with the STPA proposed remediation strategy of the Sydney Tar Ponds sediments and Coke Ovens site soils. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Radiogenic Lead Isotopes and Time Stratigraphy in the Hudson River, New York

Radionuclide, radiogenic lead isotope and trace metal analyses on fine-grained sediment cores collected along 160 km of the upper and tidal Hudson River were used to examine temporal trends of contaminant loadings and to develop radiogenic lead isotopes both as a stratigraphic tool and as tracers for resolving decadal particle transport fluxes. Very large inputs of Cd, Sb, Pb, and Cr are evident in the sediment record, potentially from a single manufacturing facility. The total range in radiogenic lead isotope ratios observed in well-dated cores collected about 24 km downstream of the plant is large (e.g., maximum difference in ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb is 10%), characterized by four major shifts occurring in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. The upper Hudson signals in Cd and radiogenic lead isotopes were still evident in sediments collected 160 km downstream in the tidal Hudson. The large magnitude and abrupt shifts in radiogenic lead isotope ratios as a function of depth provide sensitive temporal constraints that complement information derived from radionuclide analyses to significantly improve the precision of dating assignments. Application of a simple dilution model to data from paired cores suggests much larger sediment inputs in one section of the river than previously reported, suggesting particle influxes to the Hudson have been underestimated.     

Assessing the Collection of Urban Solid Wastes: A Step Towards Municipality Benchmarking

The assessment of collection systems for municipal wastes is becoming an issue of increasing importance among local authorities. This paper contributes to this task by addressing and discussing a set of parameters that are characterizing certain aspects of the efficiency and effectiveness of the waste collection process. Case-study area for testing this set is the Thessaloniki Urban Area in Northern Greece. Specifically, a set of four evaluation indicators is initially discussed and quantified for each of the 14 considered municipalities, while the multiple-criteria decision support method of Analytical Hierarchy Process is finally applied to globally rank the municipalities. As a result, a classification of all examined municipalities is derived and various conclusions are drawn on certain efficiency and effectiveness aspects of waste collection systems.     

Superfund site remediation by landfilling—overview of landfill design,operation, closure,and postclosure issues

This article discusses the appropriateness of using landfills as part of remediating hazardous chemical and Superfund sites, with particular emphasis on providing for true long‐term public health and environmental protection from the wastes and contaminated soils that are placed in the landfills. On‐site landfilling or capping of existing wastes is typically the least expensive approach for gaining some remediation of existing hazardous chemical/Superfund sites. The issues of the deficiencies in US EPA and state landfilling approaches discussed herein are also applicable to the landfilling of municipal and industrial solid “nonhazardous” wastes. These deficiencies were presented in part as “Problems with Landfills for Superfund Site Remediation” at the US EPA National Superfund Technical Assistance Grant Workshop held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in February 2003. They are based on the author's experience in investigating the properties of landfill liners and the characteristics of today's landfills, relative to their ability to prevent groundwater pollution and to cause other environmental impacts. Discussed are issues related to both solid and hazardous waste landfills and approaches for improving the ability of landfills to contain wastes and monitor for leachate escape from the landfill for as long as the wastes in the landfill will be a threat. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Electroremediation: A study of the influence of buffering behavior in contaminated soils

This article presents the results of an experimental study conducted to evaluate the behavior of two types of andisol soils found in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. The soils were evaluated in relation to their buffering capacity when confronted with acid and alkaline fronts generated during electroremediation treatment. The study was conducted using a cell, which established a continuous flow of distilled water through electrode chambers to remove H⁺ and OH^? generated during electrolysis. The results indicate that the soils had sufficient buffer capacity to support variations in pH independent of the maintenance of flow of solution in the electrode chambers. Although the mechanism of migration was not affected, the flow of water favored the movement of ions by diffusion monitoring of the electrolytic current allowed for a real‐time parameter to act as an indicator of the quantity of ions available in regions near the electrodes. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.