Organizational level as a moderator of the relationship between justice perceptions and work‐related reactions

In this study, we examined the role of organizational level as a moderator of the relationships of procedural and distributive justice with seven employee attitudes and behaviors. Based on social identity and resource allocation theories, we suggested an allocational model of authority in organizations. We posited that lower rank encourages a more process‐oriented perspective that emphasizes procedural concerns while higher rank imbues a more result‐oriented perspective that emphasizes distributive outcomes. We considered the cultural context that characterized work relationships in our sample of respondents from a Chinese state‐owned enterprise. Significant sets of interactions supported the predicted relationships of procedural justice with three outcomes at lower levels and distributive justice with four outcomes at higher levels. Implications and extensions of these findings are considered. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sources of productive efficiency: International comparison of iron and steel firms

Using a time-varying stochastic frontier model, this paper examines the technical efficiency of firms in the iron and steel industry to try to identify the factors contributing to the industry's efficiency growth. Industry observers and policymakers tend to cite most frequently three possible sources of efficiency growth: privatization; economies of scale; and vintage of equipment. Our study corroborates these factors. Based on our findings, which pertain to 52 iron and steel firms over the period of 1978–1997, privatization is likely to improve the efficiency of iron and steel firms to a great extent as evidenced in various industries. This study also provides systematic evidence that iron and steel production shows economies of scale. In addition, newer vintages of equipment are found to be closely correlated with higher levels of efficiency. This clearly indicates that investment in new plants and equipments is critical in pursuit of efficiency in the iron and steel industry.     

Association between fetal nuchal translucency thickness in first trimester and subsequent gestational hypertension and preeclampsia

Increased fetal nuchal translucency (NT) in the first trimester is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. Whether the increased NT is also associated with an increased frequency of pregnancy-associated hypertension (PAH) is not known. Seven hundred and seventy-nine pregnant women who received NT-based Down syndrome screening and delivered their babies at our hospital by September 2000 were enrolled into this study. Among these women, there are 46 cases of preeclampsia, 68 cases of gestational hypertension (GH); 665 women without any adverse pregnancy outcomes served as controls. Correlation analysis demonstrated that NT MoM (multiples of median) level had a positive association with maternal diastolic blood pressure at the time of admission for delivery (r = 0.104; p < 0.01). The severity of PAH was concordant with the stepwise increase of mean NT MoM level, which was 0.88 in control, 1.07 in gestational hypertension, and 1.13 in preeclampsia (p < 0.001). Using the 95th (1.52 MoM) and 90th (1.31 MoM) percentiles of NT thickness as cut-offs, the sensitivities and odds ratios of the women at risk for developing GH after 20 weeks of gestation were 8.8%, 19.1% and 1.98, 2.15 respectively, while for preeclampsia were 10.9%, 28.3% and 2.49, 3.58 respectively. It is concluded that the pathological changes in the placenta responsible for the development of PAH may also influence the physiological decrease of NT thickness in late first trimester. However, the sensitivity of fetal NT measurement in first trimester is not sufficient as a single marker for predicting the pregnant women at risk for subsequent PAH. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Radon concentrations in groundwater in Busan measured with a liquid scintillation counter method

In this paper, we present the first measurement of radon concentrations in drinking groundwater from private and public deep-bored wells located in the south-eastern area of Korea. The measurements were carried out on 439 samples by using a liquid scintillation method. The results show that the radon concentrations of the samples range from 0 to about 300 Bq l(-1). We find that Sasang ward shows the highest median value of radon concentration among 13 different wards, while Jung ward has the lowest. We find that the radon concentrations are highly dependent on the type of geological rock aquifers.     

Optimized contaminated land investigation at minimum overall cost to achieve fitness-for-purpose

A methodology for optimized contaminated land investigation (OCLI) is described that balances the uncertainty of measurements against the cost of taking the measurements and the financial losses that may arise from misclassification of the land. Uncertainty from the sources of both field sampling and chemical analysis is estimated using existing techniques, based on the taking of duplicated samples. The actual costs of sampling and analysis and the expected costs that could arise from either 'false positive' or 'false negative' classification of areas of land were estimated. A loss function was constructed that calculates the expectation of financial loss that will arise for a given uncertainty of measurement. The function shows a clear minimum value of cost at an optimal value of uncertainty. Application of this OCLI technique to two case studies demonstrated this minimum value. Below the optimum value of uncertainty, the costs increased due to higher measurement costs. Above the optimum, the costs increased due to increasing risk of factors such as unnecessary remediation or potential litigation over undetected contamination. Many areas for further development of OCLI are identified, but the technique is demonstrated as a useful new approach to judging fitness-for-purpose of such measurements.     

Potential source of asbestos in non-asbestos textile manufacturing company

Recently, a worker with lung carcinoma and a metastatic brain tumor was diagnosed as having a work-related disease. He had been employed in a non-asbestos textile company for 25 years. Consequently, to identify and explore possible causative agents for lung cancer in a non-asbestos textile manufacturing company and establish a causal relationship between exposure and lung cancer, an epidemiological investigative study was conducted and the work processes the worker was engaged in were examined. Air samples were taken from the workplace and during the drilling processes, and a suspected causative material was analyzed. The study revealed that the subject had been employed in the non-asbestos textile manufacturing company for 25 years from 1973 and his responsibilities included repairing spinning machines. In particular, the subject was involved in drilling B-bushings that were used to protect against gear abrasion in the spinning machines. An analysis of the B-bushings using a transmission electron microscope equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray analyzer indicated that they contained crocidolite asbestos fibers. Air samples obtained when drilling the B-bushings clearly indicated that the subject had most likely been exposed to crocidolite fibers when installing the B-bushings in the spinning machines. The frequency and duration of the work suggested that there would be a sufficient degree of exposure to crocidolite fibers to cause lung cancer. Except for smoking and asbestos exposure, no other chemical exposure was suspected for developing lung cancer in the workplace. Smoking appeared to be more of a potentiating risk factor in conjunction with the asbestos exposure. Accordingly, this case may provide significant evidence in identifying the cause of the mesothelioma or lung carcinoma found among workers in non-asbestos textile manufacturing companies elsewhere.     

Inhibition of oocyte development in Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes) exposed to di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate

Di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) is a widely used plasticizer known to be a suspected endocrine disrupter, but its precise effects on aquatic organisms are not yet known. When Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes) were exposed from the time of hatching to 3 months of age to an aqueous DEHP solution at nominal concentrations of 1, 10, and 50 microg/l, DEHP-treated female fish showed distinct reproductive effects as follows. First, blood vitellogenin levels in all treated test subjects markedly decreased. Second, Gonado Somatic Index (GSI) decreased to 33% and 38% of the control GSI in 10 microg/l and 50 microg/l treated female fish, respectively. Third, 54% of female fish in the control treatment had completely matured oocytes in their ovaries, but only 37%, 0% and 22% of female fish matured to the last stage in the 1, 10 and 50 microg/l treated test subjects, respectively. Unlike female fish, no change or adverse effects were observed in the male fish. In summary, DEHP hinders the development of reproductive organs in the female Japanese medaka. In this work, the possibility o f anti-estrogenic activity of DEHP is proposed as the cause.