Employment commitment as a moderator of the maternal employment status/child behavior relationship

Research findings suggest that maternal employment exerts no consistent detrimental effects on children. In this study, the moderating role of employment commitment and child sex on the relationship between maternal employment status and child behavior is investigated. Mothers and teachers provided behavioral ratings for 185 elementary school children (M age = 9.42 years). Employment commitment moderated the influence of employment status on mothers' and teachers' ratings of children's attention problems and immaturity: Children whose mothers' employment status and commitment were not congruent were less attentive and more immature than those whose mothers' employment status and commitment were congruent. The statistical and applied significance of these results is suggested, as is the possibility that mother-child interactions mediate the manner in which incongruencies between employment status and employment commitment influence children's inattention-immaturity.     

The Role of Civic Environmentalism in the Pursuit of Sustainable Communities

This paper addresses public participation in sustainability initiatives and in the development of sustainable communities. In particular, it examines two models of public participation in environmental policy, referred to as 'information deficit models', and 'deliberative and inclusionary processes and procedures' (DIPS). The difference between the two models will be examined through the framework of the US discourse of 'civic environmentalism'. Using both examples and an analysis of recent literature, a distinction between 'narrow focus' and 'broad focus' civic environmentalism will be presented. It is argued that 'information deficit models' of public participation usually associated with 'narrow focus' civic environmentalism can successfully contribute to the 'environmental' aspects of sustainable communities. The paper concludes that DIPS and the greater sharing of control by citizens, non-governmental organizations and local governments offered by 'broad focus' civic environmentalism, are far more likely to result in a greater social capital, and a holistic appreciation of the inextricable links between environmental, social and economic characteristics of sustainable communities.     

Predicting employee aggression against coworkers,subordinates and supervisors: the roles of person behaviors and perceived workplace factors

Predictors of employee aggression against coworkers, subordinates, and supervisors were studied in a sample of 136 men employed full‐time. Person behaviors (history of aggression, amount of alcohol consumed) predicted aggression against a coworker. In contrast, aggression against a supervisor was predicted by two perceived workplace factors (procedural justice, workplace surveillance). However, neither person behaviors nor perceived workplace factors predicted aggression against a subordinate. In addition, person behaviors and perceived workplace factors interacted to predict aggression. First, procedural justice interacted with amount of alcohol consumed in predicting both aggression against a coworker and aggression against a subordinate. Secondly, both job security and procedural justice interacted with history of aggression in predicting aggression against a subordinate. Finally, job security and amount of alcohol consumed interacted to predict aggression against a subordinate. Results suggest that both the understanding and prediction of employee aggression will be enhanced by taking into account the target of employee aggression, and by including both perceived workplace factors and person behaviors as predictor variables. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Moving beyond the conceptual: specificity in regional climate change adaptation actions for biodiversity in South East Queensland,Australia

While many scientific assessments have been recommending general strategies for biodiversity conservation under climate change, translation of these recommendations into specific actions and practice has been limited. Focusing on two biomes, rainforest and wetlands in biodiverse South East Queensland, Australia, we demonstrate how general principles can be translated into specific actions for stakeholders and responsible agencies. We synthesize research that is contextualizing protection of refugia and habitat connectivity, establishing baseline data sets to detect change and developing strategic conservation planning scenarios to adjust reserve boundaries or situate new reserves. This has been achieved by coupling spatial information on biological assets (i.e. ecosystems and species) with future climate scenarios and process models to anticipate movement of critical habitats. Conservation planning software is also being used to prioritize investment to meet specific objectives. This approach is enabling us to identify at-risk biological assets, opportunities to ameliorate threats and obstacles to delivering regional adaptation actions. A larger total reserved area is needed, with proactive planning to capture areas further inland and along watercourses. Major obstacles include conflict between urbanization and priorities for habitat conservation and the need for greater levels of investment for monitoring programmes and to protect landward shifted wetlands on private land.     

Determination of fecal contamination indicator sterols in an Australian water supply system

This paper reports a reconnaissance survey of the concentrations of sterol compounds (as indicators of fecal contamination) in a large water supply system in southeast Australia comprising a network of rivers, channels, and drains. Levels of coprostanol and cholestanol were determined in surface water and bottom sediment using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis across 17 strategic sampling sites and over 12 months. Clear differences in the levels of fecal contamination were observed among sites. Four sites routinely contained high levels of the fecal indicator sterols indicated from surface water and sediment sample analysis. Coprostanol concentrations at each location varied from 0 ng/L at the reference site to 11,327 ng/L in a surface water sample of a drain directly downstream of a knackery. The majority of the sites contained coprostanol in the range of 500 to 800 ng/L. Since no fecal-associated sterol compounds were detected at the external reference sites, these were assumed to be free from fecal contamination. Sewage water discharge and/or substantial water runoff maybe the principal factors contributing to fecal contamination of the supply drains and channels.     

Assessing the Impacts of Long-Range Sulfur and Nitrogen Deposition on Arctic and Sub-Arctic Ecosystems

For more than a decade, anthropogenic sulfur (S) and nitrogen (N) deposition has been identified as a key pollutant in the Arctic. In this study new critical loads of acidity (S and N) were estimated for terrestrial ecosystems north of 60° latitude by applying the Simple Mass Balance (SMB) model using two critical chemical criteria (Al/Bc = 1 and ANC_le = 0). Critical loads were exceeded in large areas of northern Europe and the Norilsk region in western Siberia during the 1990s, with the more stringent criterion (ANC_le = 0) showing the larger area of exceedance. However, modeled deposition estimates indicate that mean concentrations of sulfur oxides and total S deposition within the Arctic almost halved between 1990 and 2000. The modeled exceeded area is much reduced when currently agreed emission reductions are applied, and almost disappears under the implementation of maximum technically feasible reductions by 2020. In northern North America there was no exceedance under any of the deposition scenarios applied. Modeled N deposition was less than 5 kg ha⁻¹ y⁻¹ almost across the entire study area for all scenarios; and therefore empirical critical loads for the eutrophying impact of nitrogen are unlikely to be exceeded. The reduction in critical load exceedances is supported by observed improvements in surface water quality, whereas the observed extensive damage of terrestrial vegetation around the mining and smelter complexes in the area is mainly caused by direct impacts of air pollution and metals.     

Acidification at Plastic Lake,Ontario: Has 20 Years Made a Difference?

In response to reduced sulphur emissions, there has been a large decrease in sulphate (; −0.97 μeq l⁻¹ year⁻¹) and hydrogen (−1.18 μeq l⁻¹ year⁻¹) ion concentration in bulk precipitation between 1980 and 2000 at Plastic Lake in central Ontario. The benefit of this large reduction in deposition on stream water chemistry was assessed using the gauged outflow from a conifer-forested catchment (PC1; 23.3 ha), which is influenced by a small wetland located immediately upstream of the outflow. Sulphate concentrations declined, but not significantly due to large inter-annual variation in concentration. Between 1980 and 2000, there were significant increases in dissolved organic carbon, ammonium and potassium concentration likely reflecting increased mineralisation in the wetland. Calcium concentrations in PC1 decreased during the two decade period (−2.24 μeq l⁻¹ year⁻¹), as a consequence there was no improvement in stream pH and the Ca:Al ratio in PC1 continued to decline. A similar response was noted in an upland-draining sub-catchment of PC1-08 that has been monitored since 1987. Despite large reductions in deposition and almost complete retention of nitrogen in soil, there has been no improvement (in terms of pH) in stream water at PC1 due to a combination of soil acidification and climatic (droughts, increased mineralisation) perturbations.     

Conceptual development of a harmonised method for tracking change and evaluating policy in the agri-environment: The Agri-environmental Footprint Index

An aggregated farm-level index, the Agri-environmental Footprint Index (AFI), based on multiple criteria methods and representing a harmonised approach to evaluation of EU agri-environmental schemes is described. The Index uses a common framework for the design and evaluation of policy that can be customised to locally relevant agri-environmental issues and circumstances. Evaluation can be strictly policy-focused, or broader and more holistic in that context-relevant assessment criteria that are not necessarily considered in the evaluated policy can nevertheless be incorporated. The Index structure is flexible, and can respond to diverse local needs. The process of Index construction is interactive, engaging farmers and other relevant stakeholders in a transparent decision-making process that can ensure acceptance of the outcome, help to forge an improved understanding of local agri-environmental priorities and potentially increase awareness of the critical role of farmers in environmental management. The structure of the AFI facilitates post-evaluation analysis of relative performance in different dimensions of the agri-environment, permitting identification of current strengths and weaknesses, and enabling future improvement in policy design. Quantification of the environmental impact of agriculture beyond the stated aims of policy using an ‘unweighted’ form of the AFI has potential as the basis of an ongoing system of environmental audit within a specified agricultural context.