The passion bug: How and when do leaders inspire work passion?

Drawing from signaling theory, we propose a work passion transfer model where leaders' passion is transmitted to employees through the former's leadership style and is contingent on employees' perceived importance of performance to self-esteem (IPSE). Data from 201 supervisor–employee dyads from the health-care industry show that leaders' harmonious passion led to employees' harmonious passion through charismatic leadership, whereas contingent reward leadership accounted for the transfer of obsessive passion; IPSE did not play a moderating role for either form of passion. Results from a supplementary study further reveal that the link between leadership and employee passion operated through employees' perception of leader passion and that employees' IPSE accentuated for the relationship between perceived leader obsessive passion and employees' obsessive passion. This study advances research in work passion, leadership, and signaling theory and provides important implications for managerial practice.     

Characteristics that make trophy hunting of giant pandas inconceivable

In November 1928, Theodore Jr. and Kermit Roosevelt led an expedition to China with the expressed purpose of being the first Westerners to kill the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). The expedition lasted 8 months and resulted in the brothers shooting a giant panda in the mountains of Sichuan Province. Given the concurrent attention in the popular press describing this celebrated expedition, the giant panda was poised to be trophy hunted much like other large mammals around the world. Today, however, the killing of giant pandas, even for the generation of conservation revenue, is unthinkable for reasons related to the species itself and the context, in time and space, in which the species was popularized in the West. We found that the giant panda's status as a conservation symbol, exceptional charisma and gentle disposition, rarity, value as a nonconsumptive ecotourism attraction, and endemism are integral to the explanation of why the species is not trophy hunted. We compared these intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics with 20 of the most common trophy-hunted mammals to determine whether the principles applying to giant pandas are generalizable to other species. Although certain characteristics of the 20 trophy-hunted mammals aligned with the giant panda, many did not. Charisma, economic value, and endemism, in particular, were comparatively unique to the giant panda. Our analysis suggests that, at present, exceptional characteristics may be necessary for certain mammals to be excepted from trophy hunting. However, because discourse relating to the role of trophy hunting in supporting conservation outcomes is dynamic in both science and society, we suspect these valuations will also change in future.     

Positioning human heritage at the center of conservation practice

Conservation projects subscribing to a community-based paradigm have predominated in the 21st century. We examined the context in which the phrase was coined and traced its growth over time. Community-based conservation first appeared in the literature in the early 1990s; but grew little until after the 5th World Parks Congress in 2003. Thereafter, publications describing community-based conservation approaches increased exponentially. The conference theme was Benefits Beyond Boundaries, and its goal was to provide an economic model based on revenue accrued from conservation fundraising and ecotourism to support ecosystems, wildlife, and people, particularly in the Global South. Such models tended not to incorporate, as a core principle, the heritage of local human communities. Human heritage varies substantially over time and space making generalization of conservation principles across scales challenging. Pitfalls that have grown out of the community-based conservation approaches in the Global South include fortress conservation, conservation militarism, consumptive and nonconsumptive ecotourism, and whiz-bang solutions. We propose 10 tenets in a human heritage-centered conservation framework (e.g., engage in conservation practices using local languages, thoughtfully propose and apply solutions consistent with human heritage, provide clear professional development pathways for individuals from local communities, and promote alternative revenue-generating programs centered in local communities, among others). Progressive philosophies can derive from authentic and ethical integration of local communities in conservation practice.     

Applying the zoo model to conservation of threatened exceptional plant species

Maintaining a living plant collection is the most common method of ex situ conservation for plant species that cannot be seed banked (i.e., exceptional species). Viability of living collections, and their value for future conservation efforts, can be limited without coordinated efforts to track and manage individuals across institutions. Using a pedigree-focused approach, the zoological community has established an inter-institutional infrastructure to support long-term viability of captive animal populations. We assessed the ability of this coordinated metacollection infrastructure to support the conservation of 4 plant species curated in living collections at multiple botanic gardens around the world. Limitations in current practices include the inability to compile, share, and analyze plant collections data at the individual level, as well as difficulty in tracking original provenance of ex situ material. The coordinated metacollection framework used by zoos can be adopted by the botanical community to improve conservation outcomes by minimizing the loss of genetic diversity in collections. We suggest actions to improve ex situ conservation of exceptional plant species, including developing a central database to aggregate data and track unique individuals of priority threatened species among institutions and adapting a pedigree-based population management tool that incorporates life-history aspects unique to plants. If approached collaboratively across regional, national, and global scales, these actions could transform ex situ conservation of threatened plant species.     

Circumpolar status of Arctic ptarmigan: Population dynamics and trends

Rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta) and willow ptarmigan (L. lagopus) are Arctic birds with a circumpolar distribution but there is limited knowledge about their status and trends across their circumpolar distribution. Here, we compiled information from 90 ptarmigan study sites from 7 Arctic countries, where almost half of the sites are still monitored. Rock ptarmigan showed an overall negative trend on Iceland and Greenland, while Svalbard and Newfoundland had positive trends, and no significant trends in Alaska. For willow ptarmigan, there was a negative trend in mid-Sweden and eastern Russia, while northern Fennoscandia, North America and Newfoundland had no significant trends. Both species displayed some periods with population cycles (short 3–6 years and long 9–12 years), but cyclicity changed through time for both species. We propose that simple, cost-efficient systematic surveys that capture the main feature of ptarmigan population dynamics can form the basis for citizen science efforts in order to fill knowledge gaps for the many regions that lack systematic ptarmigan monitoring programs.

     

Understanding interactions between urban development policies and GHG emissions: A case study in Stockholm Region

Human-induced urban growth and sprawl have implications for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that may not be included in conventional GHG accounting methods. Improved understanding of this issue requires use of interactive, spatial-explicit social–ecological systems modeling. This paper develops a comprehensive approach to modeling GHG emissions from urban developments, considering Stockholm County, Sweden as a case study. GHG projections to 2040 with a social–ecological system model yield overall greater emissions than simple extrapolations in official climate action planning. The most pronounced difference in emissions (39% higher) from energy use single-residence buildings resulting from urban sprawl. And this difference is not accounted for in the simple extrapolations. Scenario results indicate that a zoning policy, restricting urban development in certain areas, can mitigate 72% of the total emission effects of the model-projected urban sprawl. The study outcomes include a decision support interface for communicating results and policy implications with policymakers.

     

Point Sampling Digital Imagery with ‘Samplepoint’

Measuring percent occurrence of objects from digital images can save time and expense relative to conventional field measurements. However, the accuracy of image analysis had, until now, not reached the level of the best conventional field measurements. Additionally, most image-analysis software programs require advanced user training to successfully analyze images. Here we present a new software program, ‘SamplePoint,’ that provides the user a single-pixel sample point and the ability to view and identify the pixel context. We found SamplePoint to allow accuracy comparable with the most accurate field-methods for ground-cover measurements. Expert use of the program requires minimal training and its ease of use allows rapid measurements from image data. We recommend SamplePoint for calibrating the threshold-detection level of image-analysis software or for making direct measurements of percent occurrence from digital images.     

Comparative Metal Distribution in Hair of Pakistani and Libyan Population and Source Identification by Multivariate Analysis

Using nitric acid-perchloric acid wet digestion based FAAS method ten selected metals (Cd, Co, Cr, Fe, K, Mn, Na, Ni, Pb and Zn) were determined in the scalp hair of male Pakistani and Libyan donors (n = 62), between 3–54 years age and residing in typical urban areas. The study was taken up to identify sources of metal distribution in two diverse population segments exposed to different environments. Sodium emerged with the highest mean hair concentration of 511.0 μg/g and 496.9 μg/g for Libyan and Pakistani donors respectively, followed by K, at 266.2 μg/g and 242.4 μg/g for the two donor categories. Cadmium showed the lowest mean hair concentration for both Pakistani (0.380 μg/g) and Libyan (0.530 μg/g) donors. Levels of Na, K, Pb, Cr and Cd were higher in hair of Libyan donors compared with Pakistani counterparts which showed higher comparative levels of Zn, Fe, Co, Ni and Mn. Strong metal-to-metal correlations were found between Na–K (r = 0.638) and Cd–Co (r = 0.574) for Pakistani donors, while for Libyan donors, Na–K (r = 0.680) and Fe–Mn (r = 0.624) correlations emerged as strongly significant. Only K was found to have a strong positive correlation (r = 0.611) with age for Pakistani donors while this correlation was significantly negative (r = −0.500) for Libyan donors, probably arising from individual food habits. Other metals showed no viable relationship with age. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Cluster Analysis (CA) of the data evidenced food, industrial emissions and automobile emissions as possible sources of metal distribution. The results of the present study are compared with those reported for subjects from other regions of the world.     

Little Egrets (Egretta Garzetta) and Trace-Metal Contamination in Wetlands of China

The rapidly developing Asian countries may face threatening environmental contamination, that however remains largely unassessed. We studied persistent trace elements in three wetlands, Poyang Lake, relatively unpolluted, and Tai Lake, and Pearl River Delta, selected as hotspots of pollution in Central China. We adopted as indicator the Little Egret, a widespread colonial waterbird, and during 1999 and 2000 we collected and analysed the same samples as for a parallel study we conducted in Pakistan, e.g. eggs, body feathers of chicks, prey spontaneously regurgitated by the chicks, and sediments at the areas most used by foraging egrets. The levels of trace-metals at our three study areas were similar, or within the range, of those found in the few other studies for East Asia, with few exceptions. The concentrations of the various elements were below the threshold that may affect the survival or reproduction of the birds, and even the highest concentrations relative to background, i.e. Se in eggs, and Hg in feathers at Pearl Delta, do not pose toxic hazards. In sediments, the levels of trace elements were lower than the critical levels assumed for contaminated soil, except for alarming high levels of As at Poyang. These results do not confirm our expectation, that Poyang was relatively uncontaminated, while Tai and Pearl were polluted. Although trace metal concentration differed significantly among the three study areas, these differences were minor and were not consistent among elements and samples. The bioaccumulation ratios from sediments through prey, feather and egg, were consistent with our previous findings for Pakistan. Only Hg exhibited high bioaccumulation, while Se and Zn had low accumulation, and the other elements no accumulation. This reasserts that feathers of predators such as egrets, may be more sensitive indicators of environmental contamination for the elements subject to bioaccumulation, whereas the sediments or the organisms low in the food chain are better indicators for the other elements.     

Fruit Stones from Industrial Waste for the Removal of Lead Ions from Polluted Water

Lead, one of the earliest metals recognized and used by humans, has a long history of beneficial use. However, it is now recognized as toxic and as posing a widespread threat to humans and wildlife. Treatment of lead from polluted water and wastewater has received a great deal of attention. Adsorption is one of the most common technologies for the treatment of lead-polluted water. This technique was evaluated here, with the goal of identifying innovative, low-cost adsorbent. This study presents experiments undertaken to determine the suitable conditions for the use of peach and apricot stones, produced from food industries as solid waste, as adsorbents for the removal of lead from aqueous solution. Chemical stability of adsorbents, effect of pH, adsorbents dose, adsorption time and equilibrium concentration were studied. The results reveal that adsorption of lead ions onto peach stone was stronger than onto apricot stone up to 3.36% at 3 h adsorption time. Suitable equilibrium time for the adsorption was 3–5 h (% Pb adsorption 93% for apricot and 97.64% for peach). The effective adsorption range for pH in the range was 7–8. Application of Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models show high adsorption maximum and binding energies for using these adsorbents for the removal of lead ions from contaminated water and wastewater.