Antecedents of early career stage mentoring among Chinese employees

This study examined the mediating influence of protege‐initiated mentoring relationships on the relationship between personality and situational characteristics and mentoring received. Data were obtained from Hong Kong Chinese graduate employees (N=184) in their early career stage. Results of the regression analysis showed that protege‐initiated mentoring relationships mediated the relationship between the personality (extraversion) but not the situational (individual development culture and opportunities for interactions on the job) characteristics and mentoring received. In other words, extraversion was indirectly related to mentoring received through protege‐initiated mentoring relationships but individual development culture and opportunities for interactions on the job were directly related to mentoring received. Additionally, opportunities for interactions on the job indirectly influenced mentoring received through protege‐initiated mentoring relationships. Limitations of the study, implications of the findings and directions for future research are discussed. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Combining material characterization with single and multi-oxyanion adsorption for mechanistic study of chromate removal by cationic hydrogel

Cationic hydrogel with magnetic property was synthesized via radical polymerization and its removal capacity of chromate from contaminated water was found to be 200 mg/g. Using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) study, the mechanism of chromate removal by hydrogel was found to be non-specific adsorption, mainly due to ion exchange, as evidenced by the positively charged functional group, trimethyl ammonium –N+(CH3)3; in the monomer. Verifications were accordingly determined by testing different oxyanion adsorption onto the hydrogel. The results of the chromate adsorption experiments illustrated that the amount of chromate adsorbed was nearly equal to that of the chloride released from the hydrogel, which is part of the evidence for ion exchange. Single and multi-oxyanion adsorption experiments were also performed, and it was demonstrated that ion removal was species independent, but charge dependent, another characteristic of the ion exchange process. It was found that the same Langmuir model can be applied to best fit the findings of single and multi-oxyanion adsorption, which further indicates the mechanism of chromate removal is attributed to ion exchange. In view of the above, the background anions compete for adsorption sites with chromate, evidenced by inhibitive chromate removal in the presence of background electrolytes in the batch studies, further echoing the ion exchange mechanism.     

A multi-criteria geographic information systems approach for the measurement of vulnerability to climate change

A flexible procedure for the development of a multi-criteria composite index to measure relative vulnerability under future climate change scenarios is presented. The composite index is developed using the Weighted Ordered Weighted Average (WOWA) aggregation technique which enables the selection of different levels of trade-off, which controls the degree to which indicators are able to average out others. We explore this approach in an illustrative case study of the United States (US), using future projections of widely available indicators quantifying flood vulnerability under two scenarios of climate change. The results are mapped for two future time intervals for each climate scenario, highlighting areas that may exhibit higher future vulnerability to flooding events. Based on a Monte Carlo robustness analysis, we find that the WOWA aggregation technique can provide a more flexible and potentially robust option for the construction of vulnerability indices than traditionally used approaches such as Weighted Linear Combinations (WLC). This information was used to develop a proof-of-concept vulnerability assessment to climate change impacts for the US Army Corps of Engineers. Lessons learned in this study informed the climate change screening analysis currently under way.     

Economic impacts of storm surge and the cost-benefit analysis of a coastal spine as the surge mitigation strategy in Houston-Galveston area in the USA

Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change - Rapid population growth, urbanization, and concentration of valuable assets and strategic infrastructure in coastal regions make coastal...     

Moving from agenda to action: evaluating local climate change action plans

Climate change is conventionally recognised as a large-scale issue resolved through regional or national policy initiatives. However, little research has been done to directly evaluate local climate change action plans. This study examines 40 recently adopted local climate change action plans in the US and analyses how well they recognise the concepts of climate change and prepare for climate change mitigation and adaptation. The results indicate that local climate change action plans have a high level of ‘awareness’, moderate ‘analysis capabilities’ for climate change, and relatively limited ‘action approaches’ for climate change mitigation. The study also identifies specific factors influencing the quality of these local jurisdictional plans. Finally, it provides policy recommendations to improve planning for climate change at the local level.     

The impact of vegetation on sedimentary organic matter composition and PAH desorption

Relationships between sedimentary organic matter (SOM) composition and PAH desorption behavior were determined for vegetated and non-vegetated refinery distillate waste sediments. Sediments were fractionated into size, density, and humin fractions and analyzed for their organic matter content. Bulk sediment and humin fractions differed more in organic matter composition than size/density fractions. Vegetated humin and bulk sediments contained more polar organic carbon, black carbon, and modern (plant) carbon than non-vegetated sediment fractions. Desorption kinetics of phenanthrene, pyrene, chrysene, and C₃-phenanthrene/anthracenes from humin and bulk sediments were investigated using Tenax^® beads and a two-compartment, first-order kinetic model. PAH desorption from distillate waste sediments appeared to be controlled by the slow desorbing fractions of sediment; rate constants were similar to literature values for k_slow and k_{very slow}. After several decades of plant colonization and growth (Phragmites australis), vegetated sediment fractions more extensively desorbed PAHs and had faster desorption kinetics than non-vegetated sediment fractions.     

Health risk assessment of heavy metal variability in sachet water sold in Ado-Odo Ota,South-Western Nigeria

The sales of sachet water (SW), also known as “pure water” (PW), in Nigeria is a lucrative business. It serves many people, especially low-income earners, by providing a more affordable access to safe drinking water when compared with table water. However, some of the producers of SW do not effectively treat raw water before packaging them for sale. This study investigates the presence and concentrations of heavy metals, such as chromium (Cr), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), and zinc (Zn) in some samples of SW sold within Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria. Samples of SW from nine different producers were purchased for four consecutive weeks and analyzed to determine the concentrations of these heavy metals in them. Furthermore, health risk indicators, such as chronic daily intake (CDI) and health risk indices (HRI) for children and adults, were calculated separately. The metal concentrations were compared with allowable limits set by the World Health Organization (WHO), Nigerian Industrial Standard (NIS), and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA). High concentrations of Cr, Fe, and Al were found in all the nine samples and exceeded the maximum allowable limits (MAL) of all the standards considered. However, the concentrations of Zn, Mn, and Cu were within permissible limits. The HRIs of heavy metals were in the order of Cu > Fe > Zn > Mn > Al > Cr, but since the standard limits set for some metals were exceeded, proper and effective treatment is required to safeguard the health of consumers.