Breaking rules for the right reasons? An investigation of pro‐social rule breaking

Pro‐social rule breaking (PSRB) is a form of constructive deviance characterized by volitional rule breaking in the interest of the organization or its stakeholders. Over the course of three studies, we developed a generalizable measure of PSRB and placed it in a nomological network with personality, workplace perceptions, counterproductive behaviors, and task and contextual performance ratings made by supervisors and coworkers. Results indicate that PSRB is negatively related to task performance ratings across both sources despite its pro‐social motivation intended to help the organization. Potential directions for future research concerning reactions to constructive deviance are discussed. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spodoptera exigua: mating disruption, measurement of airborne concentration of pheromone, and use of specialist receptor cell responses for comparison to female pheromone emission

Field experiments were conducted to evaluate Shin-Etsu Yoto-con-S 'rope' pheromone dispensers applied at different site densities in cotton to determine efficacy in disrupting sexual communication and mating of beet armyworm moths, Spodoptera exigua (Hübner); obtain atmospheric measurements of the disruptant pheromone components in and away from treated areas; and relate this information to estimates of the concentration of pheromone in the near vicinity of a calling virgin female moth. The number of pheromone-dispensing sites/ha ranged from 25 with 20 ropes/site up to a total of 247 sites with 2 ropes each. A total of 112 g pheromone of a 70:30 blend of (Z,E)-9,12-tetradecadien-l- ol acetate (ZETA) and (Z)-tetradecen-1-ol (Z9-14:OH) was applied/ha. As few as 25 sites/ha effectively disrupted sexual communication by 91%, as measured by reductions of moth captures in traps baited with pheromone lures, and mating by beet armyworm females by 94% for at least 10 weeks post-treatment. The results compared favorably to an earlier large-scale field experiment in which beet armyworm larval populations were reduced 95% using 500 pheromone-dispensing sites/ha (two ropes/site) and 160 g total pheromone/ha. The airborne concentration of ZETA and Z9-14:OH measured within the pheromone-treated plots that disrupted mating was 1.5 x 10(-13) M and 1.2 x 10(-13) M, respectively. The airborne concentration of ZETA and Z9-14:OH in the vicinity of a female was estimated (by excision and electrophysiological methods) to range between 2.1 x 10(-11) M and 2.4 x 10(-12) M, respectively, in a 1.6 km/h (1 mph) wind speed. Thus, the average ZETA concentration in the treated plots was about 140 times less than that expected from a single female; the average Z9-14:OH in the treated plots was about 20 times less. The data support an argument that disruption of mating by beet armyworm resulted from an imbalance in sensory input because mating was almost completely disrupted in all of the plots for at least 10 weeks with a mixture of ZETA:Z9-14:OH that differed significantly with that from excised female sex pheromone glands. Estimates of these parameters provide a benchmark for the requisite pheromone concentration in the atmosphere to achieve a high level of mating disruption for beet armyworm and possibly other insect pest species.     

Sources and transformations of nitrogen compounds along the Lower Jordan River

The Lower Jordan River is located in the semiarid area of the Jordan Valley, along the border between Israel and Jordan. The implementation of the water sections of the peace treaty between Israel and Jordan and the countries' commitment to improve the ecological sustainability of the river system require a better understanding of the riverine environment. This paper investigates the sources and transformations of nitrogen compounds in the Lower Jordan River by applying a combination of physical, chemical, isotopic, and mathematical techniques. The source waters of the Lower Jordan River contain sewage, which contributes high ammonium loads to the river. Ammonium concentrations decrease from 20 to 0-5 mg N L(-1) along the first 20 km of the Lower Jordan River, while nitrate concentrations increase from nearly zero to 10-15 mg N L(-1), and delta(15)N (NO(3)) values increase from less than 5 per thousand to 15-20 per thousand. Our data analysis indicates that intensive nitrification occurs along the river, between 5 and 12 km from the Sea of Galilee, while further downstream nitrate concentration increases mostly due to an external subsurface water source that enters the river.     

The reciprocal nature of trust: a longitudinal study of interacting teams

This research develops and investigates the concept of reciprocal trust between interacting teams. Reciprocal trust is defined as the trust that results when a party observes the actions of another and reconsiders one's trust‐related attitudes and subsequent behaviors based on those observations. Twenty‐four teams of systems analysis and design students were involved in a 6‐week controlled field study focused on the development of an information systems project. Each team was responsible for both developing a system (development role) and for supervising the development of a system by another team (management role). Risk‐taking actions exhibited by one team in an interacting pair were found to predict the other team's trustworthiness perceptions and subsequent trust. The level of trust formed in turn predicted the team's subsequent risk‐taking behaviors with respect to the other team. This pattern of reciprocal trust repeated itself as the teams continued to interact over the duration of the project, thus supporting our model of reciprocal trust. Findings also indicate that trust and trust formation can occur at the team level. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Control of molecular weight distribution of the biopolymer pullulan produced byAureobasidium pullulans

The influence of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphate source, along with concentration, was determined for effect on the weight average molecular weight, molecular weight distribution, and yield of pullulan produced byAureobasidium pullulans NRRL-Y 6220. Batch systems, scale-up batch, and continuous fermentations of 1 L and 10 L were also evaluated as were processing variables, including solvents, and extraction conditions. Products with weight average molecular weight from 1.0 × 10⁵ to 4.0 × 10⁶ were produced in 100-g quantities by varying fermentation conditions such as constituents of the culture medium, pH, and length of incubation. Three sets of culture conditions were defined for the formation of low (<5.0×10⁵), medium (1.0–2.0×10⁶), and high (>2.0×10⁶) weight average molecular weight polymer. These defined molecular weight fractions of pullulan were used in further studies in producing films and fibers.     

Preferences for alternative risk management policies at the United States major nuclear weapons legacy sites

A survey of 1351 people who lived within 50 miles of one of six US Department of Energy nuclear weapon sites showed that the vast majority of residents prefer strong public health surveillance and land use controls. The sample was stratified so that the same number of responses was obtained at each site. The strongest correlates of wanting the DOE to restrict on-site activities and maintain and expand its surveillance programs were worries about DOE activities on the site, as well as how those activities could damage the off-site environment. Notably, the exceptions, that is, those who demanded less from the DOE and were not particularly worried about the DOE's activities, tended to live near the site, many worked there or knew people who did, and had high socio-economic status, and trusted the DOE. The findings are mostly, but not entirely, consistent with expectations drawn from the risk perception and organizational trust literatures. The challenge is how to establish a stewardship program that represents a consensus among state and local government, community advisory boards and the public that remediation can go on at the same time that some waste is managed on-site until suitable technologies can be safely deployed, which at some sites means 100 years or in perpetuity.     

Effects of access to preen gland secretions on mallard plumage

Preen glands exist in almost every bird species and several non-exclusive functions have been proposed for this gland and the oils that it produces. One function generally admitted is that the oily secretions of the preen gland would provide a waterproofing layer when spread over feathers. Alternatively, several authors have proposed that plumage waterproofness is mostly due to the spatial micro-structure of feathers. The purpose of this study was to examine, by manipulating the access to the preen gland, the effect of the preen oil on the plumage waterproofness and condition. To explore this question, we carried out two independent experiments where we temporarily blocked access to the preen gland secretions with a removable mechanism in one group of captive mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), whilst a second group of birds had access to gland secretions. In a long-term experiment (3 months of treatment) and a short-term experiment (10 days), we measured plumage water retention and condition. After 3 months without access to preen glands, we found a significant decrease of plumage condition and an associated increase in plumage water retention. Moreover, we found a significant correlation between plumage condition and water retention ability. In contrast, after 10 days of treatment, no significant effect was found on plumage condition and water retention. Our study shows that preen oil acts to maintain plumage condition and suggests that feather microstructure is essential to maintain plumage waterproofness.     

Implementing comprehensive plans: indicators for a task-sheet based performance evaluation process

Evaluation in spatial planning aims to raise effectiveness of plans as well as efficiency in planning processes. Given that research regarding evaluation of performance and especially plan implementation is sparse, this study presents a minimal set of indicators for a task-sheet based performance evaluation approach for Swiss cantonal comprehensive plans. Thematic task-sheets are a promising characteristic of cantonal comprehensive plans. They translate the comprehensive planning strategy into concrete evaluable tasks. The presented indicators allow assessing procedural efficiency of coordination and implementation of planning tasks (performance). We argue that if task-sheets comply with certain plan quality characteristics, a task-sheet based performance evaluation approach can support the effectiveness of plans and promote the objectives of the planning strategy. We point out plan content and characteristics necessary for effective execution of our approach. As a result, our findings can serve as a framework for designing evaluation processes for comprehensive planning documents beyond Switzerland.