Choosing how to intervene: Factors affecting the use of process and outcome control in third party dispute resolution

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of three situational variables-time pressure to resolve the dispute, expectation of future relations between disputants and range of impact of the settlement on future conflicts—on a third party's style of managing a dispute. These variables were systematically manipulated in two different case scenarios and presented to respondents in questionnaire form. It was hypothesized that these variables would differentially affect the parties' willingness to exert control over the outcome of the conflict and the process by which the parties attempted to achieve resolution. The predisposition of the respondents to adopt one of four specific third party styles (adversarial intervention, inequisitorial intervention, mediation and providing impetus) was also measured, to determine both overall preference for each style and preference as a function of the independent variables. The results demonstrate that respondents were significantly more likely to employ outcome control strategies when they were under time pressure, when the disputants would not be likely to work together in the future, and when the settlement would have broad impact on the resolution of other disputes. Differences for the two case scenarios were also noted. The disposition to use process control was stronger when the third party did not expect the disputants to interact in the future; the results for time pressure were less clear. Finally, expressed preferences for particular third party styles were consistent with the main effects noted for outcome control, and ambiguous with regard to the effects for process control. Respondents said that they clearly preferred mediation as a third party style, but it is not clear that the parties truly understood mediation versus other forms of dispute management. Implications are drawn for further examination of those factors which predispose managers to use outcome or process control in dispute intervention.     

MATHEMATICAL MODELING OF GULF COAST ESTUARIES1

The environmental pollution problems prevalent in gulf coast estuaries are a cause of great concern to those in water quality management. This paper outlines the dominant characteristics which affect the properties of these estuaries including geography, tide and current effects, wind effects, salinity and density regime, nature and level of waste discharge, low inflow levels, dredging effects and present quality levels. Two basic levels of analytical modeling which are useful in water quality management are presented. The first is a relatively crude completely mixed estuarine model which permits economical evaluation of varying parameters. The second is a very general steady state model which permits analysis of stratified systems. The ESTPOL computer language designed to simplify the use of the steady state model is described. The practical use of the analytical models as management tools for the solution of Texas Estuarine quality problems is demonstrated.     

Water-induced erosion potentiality and vulnerability assessment in Kangsabati river basin,eastern India

Environment, Development and Sustainability - The large-scale water-induced erosion is one of the most determining elements on land degradation in subtropical monsoon-dominated region. From this...     

Global phylogeography of the fissiparous sea-star genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Coscinasterias</Emphasis>

The fissiparous starfish genus Coscinasterias (Verrill) is represented in shallow waters around many of the world's continents. This wide distribution could be explained by dispersal, vicariance, or translocation associated with shipping, and represents an excellent system for marine biogeographic research. We conducted a global phylogeographic analysis of 42 Coscinasterias mtDNA cytochrome oxidase 1 sequences (15 haplotypes) from 18 sites, including representatives of all four recognised species. Phylogenetic analysis yielded a robust phylogeny, with strong support for the monophyly of the genus (90% bootstrap support) and of each separate species (99-100%). Haplotypes exhibited strong phylogeographic structure, with robust mtDNA clades often associated with distinct land masses. A general lack of genetic differentiation within sites may reflect fissiparity. However, shared haplotypes over larger distances (e.g. across Japan), and the presence of related haplotypes on adjacent land masses (e.g. Tasmania, New Zealand; 1.6-1.8%) suggest that long-distance dispersal is an important biogeographical process for Coscinasterias. The 4.0-4.4% divergence between Japanese and South African sister groups may relate to transequatorial dispersal around the onset of the Pleistocene. Divergent Atlantic and Mediterranean populations of C. tenuispina (maximum 1.5%) may deserve subspecific recognition, and high divergences within Australian C. muricata (maximum 8.0%) suggest a species complex.     

Arsenic in groundwater in six districts of West Bengal,India

Arsenic in groundwater above the WHO maximum permissible limit of 0.05 mg l^–1 has been found in six districts of West Bengal covering an area of 34 000 km² with a population of 30 million. At present, 37 administrative blocks by the side of the River Ganga and adjoining areas are affected. Areas affected by arsenic contamination in groundwater are all located in the upper delta plain, and are mostly in the abandoned meander belt. More than 800 000 people from 312 villages/wards are drinking arsenic contaminated water and amongst them at least 175 000 people show arsenical skin lesions. Thousands of tube-well water in these six districts have been analysed for arsenic species. Hair, nails, scales, urine, liver tissue analyses show elevated concentrations of arsenic in people drinking arsenic-contaminated water for a longer period. The source of the arsenic is geological. Bore-hole sediment analyses show high arsenic concentrations in only few soil layers which is found to be associated with iron-pyrites. Various social problems arise due to arsenical skin lesions in these districts. Malnutrition, poor socio-economic conditions, illiteracy, food habits and intake of arsenic-contaminated water for many years have aggravated the arsenic toxicity. In all these districts, major water demands are met from groundwater and the geochemical reaction, caused by high withdrawal of water may be the cause of arsenic leaching from the source. If alternative water resources are not utilised, a good percentage of the 30 million people of these six districts may suffer from arsenic toxicity in the near future.     

Individual and combined effect of mercury and manganese on phenol and proline content in leaf and stem of mungbean seedlings

Mungbean (Vigna radiata L. Wilczelk cv. Pusa Baisakhi seedlings were raised in individual (0, 1, 10, 100 and 1000 ppm) and combined solutions (1 : 1, 10: 1, 1: 0 ppm Hg : Mn) of mercury and manganese for 6 days. Phenol and proline were found to accumulate in leaves in response to treatment with heavy metals. The magnitude of accumulation correlated with concentration of metals. However, a reverse trend was noticed in stem for phenol. Accumulation of phenol in response to heavy metal treatment was organ specific and occurred at higher rate in plant parts, which faced the stress mostly. However, accumulation of proline helped the plant to survive stress situation. In combined solutions, amelioration of mercurial toxicity by manganese was recorded.     

Importance of heterotrophic planktonic communities in a mussel culture environment: the Grande Entrée lagoon,Magdalen Islands (Québec,Canada)

Mussel culture in coastal environments relies on the availability of food of sufficient quality and quantity. Both to determine this availability and to examine impacts that this aquaculture practice may have on the environment, it is important to have good knowledge of the type of plankton communities present in aquaculture sites. It is usually thought that phytoplankton make up the bulk of mussel diet in many of these sites. Here we show that the Grande-Entrée lagoon [Magdalen Islands, Gulf of St Lawrence (GSL), Canada], where commercial mussel culture has been on-going since 1980, differs from this pattern. Heterotrophic protists dominate for most of the summer-early fall season (apart from short diatom bursts), with a high average biomass of 160 mg C m⁻³. The dominance of small-sized phytoplankton cells (notably green algae), low nutrient concentrations (e.g. 0.3 μM NO₃⁻ on average) and high biomass of heterotrophic protists (mostly naked ciliates and tintinnids) all point to the importance of the microbial food web in this shallow marine environment. Sustained cultivation of suspended mussels in the lagoon suggests that these heterotrophic protists could be an important source of food for the mussels, supplementing the small amount of phytoplankton present.     

Ecological Impact of Introduced Crayfish on Benthic Fishes in a British Lowland River

Pacifastacus leniusculus (Dana), a native crayfish of western North America, was introduced into the U.K. in 1976. Our study examined some interactions between P. leniusculus and benthic fish in a British lowland river, the River Great Ouse. In a river survey an inverse correlation was found between the abundance of crayfish and the two dominant benthic fishes, bullhead (Cottus gobio L.) and stone loach (   Noemacheilus barbatulus [L.]) in six riffles. The benthic fishes were least abundant in the riffle nearest the original site of crayfish introduction and gradually increased in abundance both up and down river as crayfish abundance decreased. The hypotheses that crayfish compete with bullheads and stone loach for shelter and prey on fish were tested by laboratory experiments in an outdoor artificial stream (6 × 2 m) with recirculating water and 12 artificial shelters on the bottom. In competition experiments 12 fish of one species were alternatively kept alone and with 12 crayfish for 3-day cycles lasting a total of 12 days. The results showed that crayfish out-competed both fish species for shelter. Predation was measured by keeping 24 fish of each species alone and with 36 crayfish for 10 days respectively in the artificial stream. The mortalities of both fish species were significantly higher when crayfish were present. The loss of fish could be partly due to predation because crayfish guts contained the remains of some lost fish and they were observed preying on both fishes in a tank. In the river crayfish lived at high densities reaching ≥ to 20 m⁻² in riffles, and they continued to disperse. This may lead to a great reduction in benthic fish abundance if not local extinctions.     

Estimation of the net air-sea flux of ammonia over the southern bight of the North Sea

Measurements of airborne gaseous ammonia and total dissolved ammonium in sea water determined on cruises on the North Sea have been used to calculate net fluxes of ammonia between air and sea. The system is finely balanced with the majority of net fluxes from air to sea, but some periods occur when the sea becomes a net source of ammonia in air. Examination of the field data suggests that the main factor determining the direction of flux is the airborne ammonia concentration, which when elevated causes ammonia deposition to the sea. It is calculated that ammonia deposition to the southern bight of the North Sea (below 56°N) amounts to 7.6 x 103 tonnes N per year, about one-half of an earlier upper limit estimate. Comparison with studies from the Pacific Ocean, in which the sea acts as a source of atmospheric ammonia, reveals that the major differences arise from much higher concentrations of airborne ammonia in the North Sea atmosphere caused by advection from adjacent land.