Evaluation of an occupational stress intervention in a public agency

Only in several controlled studies have organizational or situational stressors (in contrast to individuals) been targeted for change in order to reduce occupational stress. This study evaluates the impact of an intervention which was based on organizational development, action research and Karasek's job strain model. Employee committees conducted problem diagnosis, action planning, and action taking in two departments in a public agency. Waiting list control departments and pre- post- and follow-up assessment were utilized. Results indicated a mixed impact of the intervention in one department, but a negligible or negative impact in the other. Obstacles to the effective implementation of the intervention strategy are discussed. These included a limited focus for the committees (department-wide rather than agency-wide), the negative impact of a major agency reorganization, and the lack of a more formal management and labour commitment to maintaining the stress reduction and organizational change process.     

Helper contributions to reproductive success in the splendid fairy-wren (Malurus splendens)

Summary In Malurus splendens, helpers were present in 65% of 226 group-years with at least one helper female in 37% of group-years. Most females helped for only one year, while many males did so for at least two years. Most were offspring of one or both present breeders, and in 53% of helper-years, helped both parents. For 159 helpers of known age and parentage, the mean coefficient of relatedness to the offspring was 0.47. Novice females with or without helpers produced fewer fledglings per season than females with one year breeding experience and the same level of help. Helpers did not affect production of fledglings per year by females with one year of experience. Females with two or more years experience and at least two helpers produced more fledglings than equivalent birds with one or no helpers. Experience and helpers have little effect on production of fledglings per nest but they lead to more females renesting after a first brood has been raised. Fewer than 20% of novices renest after fledging one brood, while for females with at least two years experience, the percent renesting after success is 40% with no help, 56% with one helper and 69% with 2 or more helpers. Experienced females begin their first clutch earlier than novices, and helpers reduce the time to renest after success from 66 days for an experienced female with no helpers to 50 days for females with at least two years experience and two or more helpers. Breeding females with helpers survive better (76%) than those with no helpers (55%), and helpers thus gain future indirect fitness. Despite their close relatedness to breeders and offspring, in only 19% of group-years did helpers increase their indirect fitness from an increase in productivity.     

“Philandering” — a mixed mating strategy in the splendid fairy-wren Malurus splendens

Summary In a population of the splendid fairy-wren Malurus splendens, we describe 202 intrusions by solitary adult males in full breeding plumage into the territories of conspecifics. Intrusions were not secretive and although silent they involved conspicuous flight above the vegetation and several characteristic display elements, including petal-carrying. Fifteen intrusions were observed in the 2 months before eggs were laid, but the rest occurred during the period of nest-building and egg-laying when the breeding female was presumed to be fertile, and were by males from adjacent territories. A high level of extra-pair fertilization has previously been determined in this species and we interpret many of these intrusions as attempts by males to obtain extra-pair copulations (EPC); we call this activity philandering. The costs and benefits of EPC for males and females are discussed and the promiscuous mating strategy of M. splendens is contrasted with the persistent social pairing in stable groups of this long-lived cooperatively breeding species.Offprint requests to: I. Rowley     

过去10年来世界各地21世纪地方议程中的 住区经验：方法与汲取的教训

本文评述联合国人类住区中心推动21世纪地方议程的经验.它依据促进21世纪地方议程举措的两个最主要的人类住区方案，即可持续城市方案(SCP)和落实21世纪地方议程方案过程中所取得的经验，对构成参与城市规划和管理的一个共同框架的几个不同阶段做了解释.本文还提出了在全世界40个城市所汲取的几点重要教训.     

Analysis of polymeric quaternary ammonium salts as found in cosmetics by metachromatic polyelectrolyte titration

Metachromatic polyelectrolyte titration was investigated as a means of analyzing polymeric quaternary ammonium salts (polyquaterniums) of relatively low charge density used as ingredients in cosmetics. They are of possible toxicological concern, but little is known of their environmental fate and behavior. With o-toluidine blue as the indicator, determination of the concentration of a range of polyquaterniums of commercial importance and cosmetic origin was possible. Using a visual endpoint, normalities as low as 3 × 10^?5 N could be determined, while with a spectrophotometric endpoint, the technique was effective to approximately 3 × 10^?6 N. The concentrations (g L^?1) to which these normalities correspond depend on the charge density of the polymer. Polyquaterniums are frequently used in association with anionic surfactants in cosmetic formulations and the presence of an anionic surfactant even in excess did not affect results although the color change was less stable. Titration in the presence of prepared humic acid was also possible.     

Steel slag carbonation in a flow-through reactor system: The role of fluid-flux

Steel production is currently the largest industrial source of atmospheric CO₂. As annual steel production continues to grow, the need for effective methods of reducing its carbon footprint increases correspondingly. The carbonation of the calcium-bearing phases in steel slag generated during basic oxygen furnace (BOF) steel production, in particular its major constituent, larnite {Ca₂SiO₄}, which is a structural analogue of olivine {(MgFe)₂SiO₄}, the main mineral subjected to natural carbonation in peridotites, offers the potential to offset some of these emissions. However, the controls on the nature and efficiency of steel slag carbonation are yet to be completely understood. Experiments were conducted exposing steel slag grains to a CO₂-H₂O mixture in both batch and flow-through reactors to investigate the impact of temperature, fluid flux, and reaction gradient on the dissolution and carbonation of steel slag. The results of these experiments show that dissolution and carbonation of BOF steel slag are more efficient in a flow-through reactor than in the batch reactors used in most previous studies. Moreover, they show that fluid flux needs to be optimized in addition to grain size, pressure, and temperature, in order to maximize the efficiency of carbonation. Based on these results, a two-stage reactor consisting of a high and a low fluid-flux chamber is proposed for CO₂ sequestration by steel slag carbonation, allowing dissolution of the slag and precipitation of calcium carbonate to occur within a single flow-through system.     

Beyond Counting Climate Consensus

Several studies have been using quantified consensus within climate science as an argument to foster climate policy. Recent efforts to communicate such scientific consensus attained a high public profile but it is doubtful if they can be regarded successful. We argue that repeated efforts to shore up the scientific consensus on minimalist claims such as “humans cause global warming” are distractions from more urgent matters of knowledge, values, policy framing and public engagement. Such efforts to force policy progress through communicating scientific consensus misunderstand the relationship between scientific knowledge, publics and policymakers. More important is to focus on genuinely controversial issues within climate policy debates where expertise might play a facilitating role. Mobilizing expertise in policy debates calls for judgment, context and attention to diversity, rather than deferring to formal quantifications of narrowly scientific claims.