Effects of application blanks and employment equity on applicant reactions and job pursuit intentions

In the present study, 136 undergraduate commerce students participated in a simulation of the job application process by completing one of two application blanks (discriminatory versus non-discriminatory), that did or did not include a statement about the organization's commitment to employment equity. The results indicated that subjects who completed the application blank without the discriminatory questions had significantly more positive reactions of organization attractiveness, job application success, motivation to pursue employment with the organization, job acceptance intention, fairness of the organization's treatment of its employees, and likelihood of recommending the organization to friends in comparison to subjects who completed the application blank with discriminatory questions. In addition, subjects who believed the organization had an employment equity program were more positive about their motivation to pursue employment with the organization, job acceptance intention, the fairness of the organization's treatment of its employees, and the likelihood of recommending the organization to friends. The research and practical implications of these findings for recruitment and selection are discussed.     

CONSIDERATIONS OF SCALE IN WATER QUALITY MONITORING AND DATA ANALYSIS1

ABSTRACT: An assumption of scale is inherent in any environmental monitoring exercise. The temporal or spatial scale of interest defines the statistical model which would be most appropriate for a given system and thus affects both sampling design and data analysis. Two monitoring objectives which are strongly tied to scale are the estimation of average conditions and the evaluation of trends. For both of these objectives, the time or spatial scale of interest strongly influences whether a given set of observations should be regarded as independent or serially correlated and affects the importance of serial correlation in choosing statistical methods. In particular serial correlation has a much different effect on the estimation of long-term means than it does on the estimation of specific-period means. For estimating trends, a distinction between serial correlation and trend is scale dependent. An explicit consideration of scale in monitoring system design and data analysis is, therefore, most important for producing meaningful statistical information.     

Culture and the environment on the Cape Verde Islands

The Cape Verde Islands originally supported a limited island ecology which, since the arrival of settlers 500 years ago, has been steadily altered or destroyed. Today, deforestation and overfarming, combined with the natural conditions of aridity and strong winds, have rendered the islands barren and eroded. The current government of the Republic of Cape Verde is attempting to alter traditional attitudes and customs of environmental neglect and mismanagement, while at the same time striving to restore or create self-sustaining ecosystems. The introduction of plants, animals, and physical structures enhancing soil and water conservation may create a more viable total ecosystem than existed before humans arrived.     

A comparison of traditional,cluster and Zürich-Montpellier analyses of infaunal pelecypod associations from two adjacent sediment beds

A Zürich-Montpellier analysis provided more detailed information about pelecypod associations in two sediment beds than either a traditional subjective approach or a cluster analysis based on Jaccard's coefficient. The Zürich-Montpellier test separated till and sand pelecypod associations, and indicated distinguishing species and atypical samples. Species distinguishing the till association were Cardita ventricosa, Yoldia myalis, Semele rubropicta, Venerupis kennerlyi, Clinocardium nuttallii, Nuculana minuta and Macoma incongrua. Species distinguishing the sand were Macoma elimata, Compsomyax subdiaphana, Yoldia ensifera, Macoma calcarea, M. lipara, M. brota, Yoldia limatula and Macoma alaskana. Two samples contained species from both associations plus some species rare elsewhere. Combined R-and Q-type grouping procedures, of which the Zürich-Montpellier approach is an example, are useful in evaluating benthic faunal similarities, but the suitability of various forms of the procedure needs further study.Supported by the Defense Research Board of Canada, Grant No. 9520-23. Based on a thesis submitted by J. D. Popham to the University of Victoria in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of B.Sc. (Honours).     

Site fidelity and homing behavior in juvenile loggerhead sea turtles (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Caretta caretta</Emphasis>)

To investigate site fidelity and homing behavior in juvenile loggerheads ( Caretta caretta, L.), a mark-recapture study spanning four years (1998–2001) was conducted in Core Sound, N.C., USA. Each year of the study, approximately half of the turtles captured were tagged and released near the capture sites ( n=207), while the remaining turtles were displaced 15–20 km and released ( n=198). Loggerheads in both groups were recaptured in equal proportions near the original capture sites and many individuals were also recaptured in subsequent years. These data imply that juvenile loggerheads often returned to their capture sites following displacement, because if turtles dispersed randomly or remained near their release sites, then fewer displaced turtles should have been caught again. Moreover, because turtles migrate out of North Carolina sounds each winter, turtles recaptured at the same locations in different years evidently returned to specific sites following long migrations. To further investigate homing behavior, a small number of displaced turtles ( n=28) were tracked using radio telemetry following their release. Although transmitters detached from most turtles within a few days, analyses of initial headings showed strong orientation in the direction of the capture site. In addition, four turtles successfully tracked for longer periods of time all returned rapidly to the vicinity of the capture location and remained in the area. Taken together, the results of this study indicate that juvenile loggerheads exhibit fidelity to specific areas during summer months and possess the navigational abilities to home to these areas following forced displacements and long-distance migrations.     

Parental investment and the secondary sex ratio in northern elephant seals

Summary Data on northern elephant seals, Mirounga angustirostris, bearing on sex ratio theory were collected at Año Nuevo, California, and other Californian and Mexican Islands, during the period 1967 to 1988. The mass of males exceeded that of females by 7–8% at birth and at weaning. The sex ratio was biased to males at birth (51.2%) and was near unity at weaning (49.6% males). The sex ratio did not vary as a function of maternal age or maternal mass except in 6-year-old females, who produced significantly more males. Although sons cost more to rear in energetic terms than daughters, and mothers were more successful weaning the latter, the sex of the pup reared exerted no significant effect on the mother's reproductive performance the following year or on her subsequent survival. These data suggest that parents invest equally in sons and daughters when investment is measured in terms of future reproduction (Fisher 1930) and provide no support for the theory of adaptive shifts in sex ratio (Trivers and Willard 1973). The small sex difference in mass due to maternal effort reflects the fact that females fast during lactation and all energy transferred is from limited body stores. Because of these circumstances, selection for superior condition at the end of the period of parental investment may act more strongly on pups, who have the opportunity to steal milk, than on their mothers.     

Quantitative and qualitative observations on Laminaria dentigera and other subtidal kelps of southern Kodiak Island,Alaska

Observations were made and quantitative samples of non-canopy kelps were collected, using SCUBA, at 9 subtidal sites off southern Kodiak Island in May, 1976. At a 10th site, only observations were made. The most abundant species in the quadrats were Laminaria dentigera, L. yezoensis, Pleurophycus gardneri, Agarum cribrosum, and Alaria marginata. We found fertile plants of all these species. L. dentigera dominated at all sampled sites except one within a bed of Nereocystis luetkeana, where P. gardneri was dominant. L. yezoensis was dominant at the site which was visited but not sampled. The average wet weight of non-canopy kelps in the 55 samples was 12 kg m^-2, and the quadrat range was 2 to 35 kg m^-2. The reported ranges of P. gardneri and Alaria marginata are extended westward from Montague Island (147°22W) to Bumble Bay, Kodiak Island (154°43W), where A. marginata was found at a depth of 8.5 m.     

Evaluation of a gradient sampling design for environmental impact assessment

Before-After Control Impact (BACI) sampling designsare commonly used in environmental impact assessmentand are considered the most effective for detectingchanges due to anthropogenic disturbances. Thesedesigns handle local spatial variability throughrandomized placement of samples into a treatmentstratum and a control stratum. When a contaminantdisperses with distance from a point source it issuggested that a gradient design will be moresensitive to change than randomized placement ofsamples. This requires allocating samples according todistance, rather than by random placement withinrandomly placed blocks. In this paper gradient versusrandom sampling designs were compared using data froman oil field in the North Sea. The gradient samplingdesign was more powerful than a randomized CI sampling design.     

Assessing health consequences in an environmental impact assessment: The case of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

In this article a comprehensive approach for the evaluation of possible health effects in an environmental impact assessment (EIA) is described, illustrated with the example of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. Unlike many EIAs, we estimated quantitatively the impact of aircraft-related pollution in terms of the number of affected people for aircraft noise annoyance, odour annoyance and hypertension. In addition, an analysis of health registry data on cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and a short survey on annoyance and risk perception were carried out. The scope of a health impact assessment depends on the situation, available knowledge and data, concern in the population about the impact and the number of people concerned. It is important to pay attention to the perception of risks and concerns from all parties involved. Moreover, the results demonstrate that far more people outside the area for which standards apply were affected than inside.     

The fate and persistence of trifluoroacetic and chloroacetic acids in pond waters

The environmental fate of trichloro-, dichloro-, and monochloroacetic acids, and trifluoroacetic acid was investigated using field aquatic microcosms and laboratory sediment-water systems. Trifluoroacetic acid was extremely persistent and showed no degradation during a one-year field study, though it appeared to undergo transient partitioning within an unknown pond phase as the temperature of the surroundings was reduced. Of the three chloroacetic acids, trichloro had the longest residence time (induction and decay) (approximately 40 d), dichloro the shortest (approximately 4 d), and monochloro an intermediate residence time (approximately 14 d). Laboratory studies suggest that the biodegradation of trichloro-, dichloro-, and monochloroacetic acids leads primarily to the formation of chloride and oxalic, glyoxalic, and glycolic acids, respectively.