Employment and structural impacts of material efficiency strategies: results from five case studies

In order to come up with a sound assessment of the effects of material efficiency innovations on growth, employment and competitiveness, different economic mechanisms have to be considered. From a methodological point of view, the analysis must be able to account for technology specific aspects. The employment impacts of five innovations are analyzed: plastic and paper recycling, increased life span of automobiles, car sharing, and bio-based products. Time horizons for all strategies are scenarios until 2020.The economic impacts are context specific with regard to innovation, technology and country. The economic impacts highlight substantial structural adjustments. The overall economic net impact on employment tends to be neutral to positive. Stronger positive economic impacts result if first mover advantages can be established.     

Cognitive processes in procedural justice judgments: The role of ease‐of‐retrieval,uncertainty, and experience

In a field experiment with 517 job applicants, the processes underlying the formation of procedural justice judgments were investigated. It was hypothesized that procedural justice judgments may be based not only on content information (e.g., “What are fair aspects of the selection procedure?”), but also on the felt ease or difficulty with which this content information can be retrieved from memory (ease‐of‐retrieval; e.g., “How easily can I recall fair aspects of the selection procedure?”). Evaluations of the company's online application procedure show that job candidates based procedural justice judgments on content information or on ease‐of‐retrieval, depending on their uncertainty regarding the online application procedure as well as their prior experiences with online applications. Specifically, experienced applicants who felt certain based their judgments on ease‐of‐retrieval, whereas all other applicants based their judgments on content information. Implications for research on the formation of justice judgments as well as practical applications are discussed. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Flood-pulse and riverscape dynamics in a braided glacial river

River ecosystems are increasingly viewed as dynamic riverscapes; their extent, composition, and configuration vary in response to the pulsing of discharge. Although compositional and configurational shifts in riverscapes are thought to control ecosystem processes and biodiversity, attempts to quantify riverscape dynamics of braided rivers are scarce. We measured monthly changes in the length, spatial arrangement, and age distribution of clear (groundwater-fed) and turbid-water (glacial-fed) channels during two annual cycles in a braided glacial river. Biological data from concurrent studies were used to assess the effects of seasonal changes in the size and pattern of the riverscape on local zoobenthic density, standing crop of epilithic algae, and spatiotemporal distribution of the hyporheos. The hydrological processes involved in the expansion-contraction cycle of the riverscape resulted in a complex, albeit predictable, pattern of change in the proportion and spatial arrangement of clear and turbid channels. On average, 30% of the riverscape was renewed at monthly intervals. Surface hydrological connectivity and the length of turbid channels increased logarithmically with increasing discharge. The length of clear channels increased up to a threshold discharge of 1.5 m3/s, above which surface flooding resulted in the contraction and fragmentation of clear water bodies. Turbid channels exhibited a unimodal age distribution, whereas clear channels had two cohorts that appeared during the expansion and contraction phases. The renewal pattern and configuration of the riverscape changed little between years despite differences in discharge and the occurrence of several rainfall-induced spates. The density of benthic invertebrate communities in the main channel decreased with increasing size of aquatic habitats indicating that local zoobenthic density was affected by dilution-concentration effects. The disproportionate increase in the proportion of glacial-fed habitats during summer high flows limited the standing crop of epilithic algae in this braided river. The spatial arrangement of inhospitable glacial-fed habitats probably impeded the colonization of newly created suitable habitats by invertebrates with poor dispersal capacities. Quantification of riverscape dynamics is critical to understanding how changes in size, composition, and configuration of braided rivers affect biodiversity, bioproduction, and ecosystem processes.     

Effects of metal-contaminated soil on the performance of young trees growing in model ecosystems under field conditions

Young Populus tremula, Salix viminalis, Betula pendula and Picea abies trees were grown together in large open-top chambers. The treatments were: without or with (Cu/Zn/Cd/Pb=640/3000/10/90 mg kg-1) metal contamination in the topsoil, irrigation pH 3.5 or 5.5, and acidic or calcareous subsoil. Growth, metal allocation to foliage and wood, as well as leaf gas exchange were measured. Biomass was reduced in P. tremula and B. pendula by the metal-contaminated topsoil relative to uncontaminated topsoil, whereas in P. tremula photosynthesis and transpiration were decreased. These effects were related to the elevated foliar Zn accumulation in P. tremula. S. viminalis showed a significant reduction in growth and an increased Zn and Cd accumulation on acidic vs. calcareous subsoil. Acidic irrigation produced only a few significant effects. P. abies showed the lowest metal uptake and no growth response to metal contamination.