An empirical examination of personal learning within the context of teams

Using a sample of 588 employees in 59 work teams, we tested a model that situates personal learning within the context of teams, viewing it as a joint function of teams' leadership climate (i.e., transformational leadership) and task characteristics (i.e., task routineness and task interdependence). Consistent with our hypotheses, we found that the positive relationships between transformational leadership climate and the two dimensions of personal learning (relational job learning and personal skill development) were moderated by the nature of the teams' tasks. Specifically, transformational leadership climate was more strongly associated with personal learning for members of teams working on tasks that were less routine, rather than more routine. However, no significant moderation was found for leadership climate and task interdependence. Our findings underscore the importance of taking into account the contextual conditions within which leadership influence occurs while also demonstrating the potential role that leaders can play in promoting employees' personal learning. Overall, our study bolsters theories that conceptualize adult learning as a transaction between people and their social environments and points to a practical need to match leadership styles with team task characteristics to unleash transformational leadership effects. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Phosphorus removal and recovery: state of the science and challenges

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Phosphorus is one of the main nutrients required for all life. Phosphorus as phosphate form plays an important role in different cellular processes....     

Prevalence and predictors of occupational asthma among workers in detergent and cleaning products industry and its impact on quality of life in El Asher Men Ramadan,Egypt

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Cleaning products are mixtures of many chemical ingredients that are known to contain sensitizers, disinfectants, and fragrances, as well as strong...     

The Impact of Income Inequality on Carbon Emissions in Asian Countries: Non-Parametric Panel Data Analysis

Environmental Modeling & Assessment - Widening income inequality and environmental degradation are two of the most important problems that threat the sustainable development. For that, this...     

Bottom-up and climatic forcing on the worldwide population of leatherback turtles

Nesting populations of leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) in the Atlantic and western Indian Oceans are increasing or stable while those in the Pacific are declining. It has been suggested that leatherbacks in the eastern Pacific may be resource limited due to environmental variability derived from the El Ni?o Southern Oscillation (ENSO), but this has yet to be tested. Here we explored bottom-up forcing and the responding reproductive output of nesting leatherbacks worldwide. We achieved this through an extensive review of leatherback nesting and migration data and by analyzing the spatial, temporal, and quantitative nature of resources as indicated by net primary production at post-nesting female migration and foraging areas. Leatherbacks in the eastern Pacific were the smallest in body size and had the lowest reproductive output due to less productive and inconsistent resources within their migration and foraging areas. This derived from natural interannual and multidecadal climate variability together with an influence of anthropogenic climate warming that is possibly affecting these natural cycles. The reproductive output of leatherbacks in the Atlantic and western Indian Oceans was nearly twice that of turtles in the eastern Pacific. The inconsistent nature of the Pacific Ocean may also render western Pacific leatherbacks susceptible to a more variable reproductive output; however, it appears that egg harvesting on nesting beaches is their major threat. We suggest that the eastern Pacific leatherback population is more sensitive to anthropogenic mortality due to recruitment rates that are lower and more variable, thus accounting for much of the population differences compared to Atlantic and western Indian turtles.     

Investigation of surfactant-enhanced dissolution of entrapped nonaqueous phase liquid chemicals in a two-dimensional groundwater flow field.

Because of their low solubility, waste chemicals in the form of nonaqueous phase liquids (NAPLs) that are entrapped in subsurface formations act as long-term sources of groundwater contamination. In the design of remediation schemes that use surfactants, it is necessary to estimate the mass transfer rate coefficients under multi-dimensional flow fields that exit at field sites. In this study, we investigate mass transfer under a two-dimensional flow field to obtain an understanding of the basic mechanisms of surfactant-enhanced dissolution and to quantify the mass transfer rates. Enhanced dissolution experiments in a two-dimensional test cell were conducted to measure rates of mass depletion from entrapped NAPLs to a flowing aqueous phase containing a surfactant. In situ measurement of transient saturation changes using a gamma attenuation system revealed dissolution patterns that are affected by the dimensionality of the groundwater flow field. Numerical modeling of local flow fields that changed with time, due to depletion of NAPL sources, enabled the examination of the basic mechanisms of NAPL dissolution in complex groundwater systems. Through nonlinear regression analysis, mass transfer rates were correlated to porous media properties, NAPL saturation and aqueous phase velocity. Results from the experiments and numerical analyses were used to identify deficiencies in existing methods of analysis that uses assumptions of one-dimensional flow, homogeneity of aquifer properties, local equilibrium and idealized transient mass transfer.     

The Distribution and Sources of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Surface Sediments Along the Egyptian Mediterranean Coast

Coastal marine sediment samples were collected from 31 sampling stations along the Egyptian Mediterranean Sea coast. All sediment samples were analyzed to determine aliphatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as well as total organic carbon (TOC) contents and grain size analysis. Total concentrations of 16 EPA-PAHs in the sediments were varied from 88 to 6338 ng g⁻¹ with an average value of 154 ng g⁻¹ (dry weight). However, the concentrations of total aliphatic were varied from 1.3 to 69.9 ng g⁻¹ with an average value of 15.6 ng g⁻¹ (dry weight). The highest contents of PAHs were found in the Eastern harbor (6338 ng g⁻¹), Manzala (5206 ng g⁻¹) and El-Jamil East (4895 ng g⁻¹) locations. Good correlations observed between a certain numbers of PAH concentrations allowed to identify its origin. The average total organic carbon (TOC) percent was varied from 0.91 to 4.54%. Higher concentration of total pyrolytic hydrocarbons (∑COMB) than total fossil hydrocarbons (∑PHE) declared that atmospheric fall-out is the significant source of PAHs to marine sediments of the Egyptian Mediterranean coast. The selected marked compounds, a principal component analysis (PCA) and special PAHs compound ratios (phenanthrene/anthracene vs fluoranthene/pyrene; ∑COMB/∑EPA-PAHs) suggest the pyrogenic origins, especially traffic exhausts, are the dominant sources of PAHs in most locations. Interferences of rather petrogenic and pyrolytic PAH contaminations were noticed in the harbors due to petroleum products deliveries and fuel combustion emissions from the ships staying alongside the quays.     

Nano-sized Prussian blue immobilized costless agro-industrial waste for the removal of cesium-137 ions

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - For human health and safety, it is of great importance to develop innovative materials with a vast capacity for powerful removal of radioactive ions...