Environmental management systems: Opportunities for improved environmental and business strategy?

Less than four years after publication of ISO 14001, thousands of organizations worldwide have adopted the standard. In this article, researchers working with the National Database on Environmental Management Systems (NDEMS) review some preliminary data on organizations' experiences with EMS adoption and implementation. Their findings indicate that, although organizations may face hurdles in implementing EMSs, the majority believes the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

METHODOLOGY OF DELINEATING WELLHEAD PROTECTION ZONES IN CRYSTALLINE BEDROCK IN MAINE1

ABSTRACT: Delineation of contributing areas for wellhead protection around supply wells drilled into bedrock in Maine, USA, is currently achieved by assigning a fixed radius circle around the well. This project develops a methodology that incorporates hydrogeologic processes and ground water modeling (MODFLOW) and accounts for variable data availability to estimate the areas that contribute water to 26 bedrock supply wells. Outcrop fracture mapping and lineament analysis are used to characterize the fracture system. Multiple simulations are constructed of each site using ranges of values for recharge, hydraulic conductivity, and anisotropy. Uncertainty in the delineation process is accounted for by portraying the delineated areas as confidence zones that are constructed by overlapping the capture zones from the multiple simulations. The results are variable and depend on the ability to characterize a site in a way that can be easily modeled. Sites with complex hydrogeology tend to have larger contributing areas that reflect the greater uncertainty in the parameters. The majority of the sites, however, produce reasonable results that provide a much more accurate depiction of the area likely to contribute to a bedrock well than the fixed radius circle.     

Concentration and composition of atmospheric aerosols from the 1995 SEAVS experiment and a review of the closure between chemical and gravimetric measurements

We summarize the results from the various measurements and the inter-sampler comparisons from Southeastern Aerosol and Visibility Study (SEAVS), a study with one of its objectives to test for closure among chemical, gravimetric and optical measurements of atmospheric aerosol particles. Sulfate and organics are the dominant components of the SEAVS fine particles (nominally, particles with aerodynamic diameter < or = 2.5 microns) but between 28 and 42% (range over various samplers) of the gravimetrically measured total fine particle concentration is unidentified by the chemical measurements. Estimates of water associated with inorganic components and measurement imprecision do not totally explain the observed difference between gravimetric and chemical measurements. We examine the theoretical and empirical basis for assumptions commonly made in the published literature to extrapolate total fine particle concentration on the basis of chemical measurements of ions, carbon and elements. We then explore the more general question of closure using the SEAVS data as well as data from other, similar studies reported in the literature. In so combining the SEAVS measurements with other similar studies, we find a strong association between organic carbon and the unidentified component, that is, the fraction of the total fine particle concentration not identified by chemical measurements. We offer several tenable hypotheses for the relationship between the organic and unidentified components that deserve to be tested in future work. Specifically, we hypothesize that (1) errors in the sampling and analysis of organic carbon; (2) estimates of organic mass from measurements of organic carbon; and/or (3) water absorption by organics may all contribute to the observed relationship.     

Emerging trends in mining industry partnerships

The article analyzes mining company partnerships in terms of four main counterparts, namely: the sovereign, owners and financial backers, the workforce, and local communities. The main characteristics of mining partnerships under the four aspects are discussed. Taxation and financial aspects are also considered. Case studies from the British coal industry and examples from Latin America are part of the article. Downsizing and labour relations are also discussed, as well as indigenous peoples' issues. The article concludes that, successful minerals companies in the future will be those that work with communities, applying the highest standards of social responsibility. This includes safety, environmental management and good business ethics.     

Life on a hot dry beach: behavioural,physiological, and ultrastructural adaptations of the littorinid gastropod <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cenchritis</Emphasis> (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Tectarius</Emphasis>) <Emphasis Type="Italic">muricatus</Emphasis>

The distribution and abundance of the littorinid gastropod Cenchritis (Tectarius) muricatus were determined on an exposed shore at Lee Stocking Island, Bahamas in July/August 1995 and June 1999. Activity patterns were observed on two occasions shortly before a hurricane passed near the island in 1995. C. muricatus extended from the low water mark to 3.6 m vertical height above it. Highest densities (20/m²) were found just above the high tide mark but the animal remained relatively abundant (8/m²) at the highest point. Small animals were only found at high shore levels. With the exception of animals very near to the water's edge C. muricatus was inactive by day and on dry nights. Many individuals of the high shore populations became active at night during periods of high humidity and rainfall, moving distances of up to 4 m overnight. At lower levels, extensive pairing and copulation was associated with these periods of rainfall. Abundance changed dramatically after the passage of the hurricane. At the level of maximum abundance numbers were reduced from 20/m² to 2.8/m². Long-term experimental studies of water loss rate and haemolymph concentration showed that both water loss rate and increase in haemolymph concentration are greatest in the early period of desiccation. The concentration of the blood after 20 weeks is 250% of the original and the water lost is of the order of 22.5%. After an initial increase there appears to be evidence of regulation of haemolymph concentration possibly by exchange with free water in the shell itself. The considerable reserve capacity in tolerance is no doubt in part due to the structure and functioning of the kidney. Adaptive features of the excretory system identified from ultrastructural examination include the replacement of podocyte-containing filtration chambers in the auricle by extracellular tubules permeating the walls of both auricle and ventricle, which suggests a reduction in the rate of primary urine formation. This is also indicated by a reduced surface area of the nephridial gland, which resorbs organic solutes from the urine. Excretory cells contain single large vacuoles in which arise large multi-layered concretions composed of phospholipids and calcium salts typical of prosobranchs in which excretory products may be stored for long periods.     

The interactive effects of procedural justice and exchange ideology on supervisor-rated commitment

Matched data collected from 143 employees and their immediate supervisors of a private sector organization indicated that employee perceptions of procedural justice were only related to supervisor-rated affective commitment among employees with a strong exchange ideology. That is, individuals motivated by a fair exchange exhibited fewer affective commitment behaviors when they viewed the environment as unfair than when they perceived it to be fair. Individuals comparatively indifferent to a fair exchange did not alter their affective commitment behaviors regardless of the level of perceived environmental fairness. These results illustrate the importance of considering individual differences in exchange ideology when attempting to alter the work environment for the purpose of increasing commitment. Implications for research and management practice are presented. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Discriminating among organizational politics,justice, and support

The discriminant validity of perceptions of organizational politics, organizational support, and procedural and distributive justice was examined as the distinctions between these variables have been blurred in past research. Results from a sample of 418 full‐time employees provided evidence of discriminant validity for these variables. First, structural equation modelling was used to isolate the best structural representation of these four variables. Then, six theoretically relevant predictors (i.e., leader–member exchange, centralization, formalization, co‐worker cooperation, role conflict, and locus of control) were examined in an effort to provide further conceptual separation. Five of the six antecedents distinguished among politics, justice, and support. Suggestions for additional research that can shed light on the distinctions and similarities of these variables are offered based on the results of this study. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.