The complexities of perceived and empirical reality on environmental performance: Industrial case studies in China, Lithuania and Poland

The culture of a company is often cited as the basis for how well that company performs both economically and environmentally. This can also lead to the development and adoption of generic management approaches that fail to adequately acknowledge the existence of multiple cultures within the organization or the potential disjuncture between how performance is perceived by personnel and any attempts to measure that performance in an ‘objective’ manner. This failure to respond to the complexity of multiple cultures and perceived performance and the instigation of over‐arching management systems can discourage constructive dissent and hinder the related capacity for innovation and improvement. This paper draws upon research into the level of congruence between perceived and objective measures of environmental performance in thirteen factories from the heavy industrial sector in China and Eastern Europe. It presents findings that suggest managerial interactions, both laterally and vertically, are mediated by socio‐cultural networks within and between family, community and workplace, resulting in a high level of unbounded complexity that influences the alignment between perceived and objective environmental realities. Aplinkos apsaugos veiksmingumo suvokimo ir empirinės realybės neatitiktis: Kinijos, Lietuvos ir Lenkijos įmonių pavyzdžiai Santrauka. Įmonės kultūra dažnai siejama su imonės ekonominiu ir aplinkosauginiu veiksmingumu. Tai veda prie bendrų valdymo principų plėtojimo ir taikymo, tačiau šie principai nepakankamai įvertina organizacijoje egzistuojančias daugialypes kultūras arba galimą atskirtį tarp darbuotojų suvokiamo aplinkosauginio veiksmingumo ir bandymu jį „objektyviai” išmatuoti. Straipsnyje pateiktas tyrimas susijęs su įsivaizduojamų ir objektyvių aplinkosauginio veiksmingumo priemonių palyginimu trylikoje Kinijos ir Rytu Europos sunkiosios pramonės įmonių. Rezultatai įrodė, kad ir horizontalusis, ir vertikalusis vadovavimo principas yra veikiami socialinių‐kultūrinių ryšiu šeimose, bendruomenėse ir darbo aplinkoje, todėl neišvengiamai lemia sudėtingumą lyginant suvokiamą ir objektyvią aplinkos apsaugos realybę. Reikšminiai žodžiai: sudetingumas, kultūra, realybė, kalba, hierarchija. Понимание природоохранной действенности и сложность эмпирической реальности на примере предприятий из Китая, Литвы и Польши Резюме. Культура предприятия зачастую оценивается на основании экономической и природоохранной действенности предприятия. Это способствует развитию и приспособлению общих принципов управления, однако эти принципы в недостаточной степени оценивают многогранную культуру, царящую в организации. Можно различить понимаемую работниками природоохранную действенность и попытки объективно ее измерить. Представленное в статье исследование направлено на сравнение своеобразно понимаемых и объективных природоохранных мер на тринадцати предприятиях тяжелой промышленности в Китае и Восточной Европе. Результаты показали, что как горизонтальный, так и вертикальный принципы руководства действенны в семьях, обществах и рабочей среде с социально-культурными связями, поэтому обусловлены сложностями, оказывающими воздействие на объективную природоохранную реальность. Ключевые слова: сложность, культура, реальность, язык, иерархия. First Published Online: 14 Oct 201

Co- variation in soil biodiversity and biogeochemistry in northern and southern Victoria Land, Antarctica

Data from six sites in Victoria Land (72–77°S) investigating co-variation in soil communities (microbial and invertebrate) with biogeochemical properties showthe influence of soil properties on habitat suitability varied among local landscapes as well as across climate gradients. Species richness of metazoan invertebrates (Nematoda, Tardigrada and Rotifera) was similar to previous descriptions in this region, though identification of three cryptic nematode species of Eudorylaimus through DNA analysis contributed to the understanding of controls over habitat preferences for individual species. Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis profiles revealed unexpectedly high diversity of bacteria. Distribution of distinct bacterial communities was associated with specific sites in northern and southern Victoria Land, as was the distribution of nematode and tardigrade species. Variation in soil metazoan communities was related to differences in soil organic matter, while bacterial diversity and community structure were not strongly correlated with any single soil property. There were no apparent correlations between metazoan and bacterial diversity, suggesting that controls over distribution and habitat suitability are different for bacterial and metazoan communities. Our results imply that top-down controls over bacterial diversity mediated by their metazoan consumers are not significant determinants of bacterial community structure and biomass in these ecosystems

Multi-Year Elevation Changes Near the West Margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet from Satellite Radar Altimetry

Mean changes in the surface elevation near the west margin of the Greenland ice sheet are measured using Seasat altimetry and altimetry from the Geosat Exact Repeat Mission (ERM). The Seasat data extend from early July through early October 1978. The ERM data extend from winter 1986-87 through fall 1988. Both seasonal and multi-year changes are measured using altimetry referenced to GEM T2 orbits. The possible effects of orbit error are minimized by adjusting the orbits into a common ocean surface. Seasonal mean changes in the surface height are recognizable during the Geosat ERM. The multi-year measurements indicate the surface was lower by 0.4 +/- 0.4 m on average in late summer 1987 than in late summer 1978. The surface was lower by 0.2 +/- 0.5 m on average in late summer 1988 than in late summer 1978. As a control case, the computations art also carried out using altimetry referenced to orbits not adjusted into a common ocean surface

Transcriptional and Proteomic Analysis of a Ferric Uptake Regulator (Fur) Mutant of Shewanella oneidensis: Possible Involvement of Fur in Energy Metabolism, Transcriptional Regulation, and Oxidative Stress

The iron-directed, coordinate regulation of genes depends on the fur (ferric uptake regulator) gene product, which acts as an iron-responsive, transcriptional repressor protein. To investigate the biological function of a fur homolog in the dissimilatory metal-reducing bacterium Shewanella oneidensis MR-1, a fur knockout strain (FUR1) was generated by suicide plasmid integration into this gene and characterized using phenotype assays, DNA microarrays containing 691 arrayed genes, and two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Physiological studies indicated that FUR1 was similar to the wild-type strain when they were compared for anaerobic growth and reduction of various electron acceptors. Transcription profiling, however, revealed that genes with predicted functions in electron transport, energy metabolism, transcriptional regulation, and oxidative stress protection were either repressed (ccoNQ, etrA, cytochrome b and c maturation-encoding genes, qor, yiaY, sodB, rpoH, phoB, and chvI) or induced (yggW, pdhC, prpC, aceE, fdhD, and ppc) in the fur mutant. Disruption of fur also resulted in derepression of genes (hxuC, alcC, fhuA, hemR, irgA, and ompW) putatively involved in iron uptake. This agreed with the finding that the fur mutant produced threefold-higher levels of siderophore than the wild-type strain under conditions of sufficient iron. Analysis of a subset of the FUR1 proteome (i.e., primarily soluble cytoplasmic and periplasmic proteins) indicated that 11 major protein species reproducibly showed significant (P < 0.05) differences in abundance relative to the wild type. Protein identification using mass spectrometry indicated that the expression of two of these proteins (SodB and AlcC) correlated with the microarray data. These results suggest a possible regulatory role of S. oneidensis MR-1 Fur in energy metabolism that extends the traditional model of Fur as a negative regulator of iron acquisition systems

Sea Louse Infection of Juvenile Sockeye Salmon in Relation to Marine Salmon Farms on Canada's West Coast

BACKGROUND: Pathogens are growing threats to wildlife. The rapid growth of marine salmon farms over the past two decades has increased host abundance for pathogenic sea lice in coastal waters, and wild juvenile salmon swimming past farms are frequently infected with lice. Here we report the first investigation of the potential role of salmon farms in transmitting sea lice to juvenile sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka). METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We used genetic analyses to determine the origin of sockeye from Canada's two most important salmon rivers, the Fraser and Skeena; Fraser sockeye migrate through a region with salmon farms, and Skeena sockeye do not. We compared lice levels between Fraser and Skeena juvenile sockeye, and within the salmon farm region we compared lice levels on wild fish either before or after migration past farms. We matched the latter data on wild juveniles with sea lice data concurrently gathered on farms. Fraser River sockeye migrating through a region with salmon farms hosted an order of magnitude more sea lice than Skeena River populations, where there are no farms. Lice abundances on juvenile sockeye in the salmon farm region were substantially higher downstream of farms than upstream of farms for the two common species of lice: Caligus clemensi and Lepeophtheirus salmonis, and changes in their proportions between two years matched changes on the fish farms. Mixed-effects models show that position relative to salmon farms best explained C. clemensi abundance on sockeye, while migration year combined with position relative to salmon farms and temperature was one of two top models to explain L. salmonis abundance. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This is the first study to demonstrate a potential role of salmon farms in sea lice transmission to juvenile sockeye salmon during their critical early marine migration. Moreover, it demonstrates a major migration corridor past farms for sockeye that originated in the Fraser River, a complex of populations that are the subject of conservation concern

Dilepton mass spectra in p plus p collisions at root s=200 GeV and the contribution from open charm

PHENIX has measured the electron-positron pair mass spectrum from 0 to 8 GeV/c(2) in p + p collisions at root s = 200 GeV. The contributions from light meson decays to e(+)e(-) pairs have been determined based on measurements of hadron production cross sections by PHENIX. Within the systematic uncertainty of similar to 20% they account for all e(+)e(-) pairs in the mass region below similar to 1 GeV/c(2). The e(+)e(-) pair yield remaining after subtracting these contributions is dominated by semileptonic decays of charmed hadrons correlated through flavor conservation. Using the spectral shape predicted by PYTHIA, we estimate the charm production cross section to be 544 +/- 39(stat) +/- 142(syst) +/- 200(model) pb. which is consistent with QCD calculations and measurements of single leptons by PHENIX

Inclusive cross section and double helicity asymmetry for pi(0) production in p+p collisions at root s=200 GeV: Implications for the polarized gluon distribution in the proton

The PHENIX experiment presents results from the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider 2005 run with polarized proton collisions at root s=200 GeV, for inclusive pi(0) production at midrapidity. Unpolarized cross section results are given for transverse momenta p(T)=0.5 to 20 GeV/c, extending the range of published data to both lower and higher p(T). The cross section is described well for p(T)\u3c 1 GeV/c by an exponential in p(T), and, for p(T)\u3e 2 GeV/c, by perturbative QCD. Double helicity asymmetries A(LL) are presented based on a factor of 5 improvement in uncertainties as compared to previously published results, due to both an improved beam polarization of 50%, and to higher integrated luminosity. These measurements are sensitive to the gluon polarization in the proton. Using one representative model of gluon polarization it is demonstrated that the gluon spin contribution to the proton spin is significantly constrained

Measurement of High-p(T) single electrons from heavy-flavor decays in p+p collisions at root s=200 GeV

The momentum distribution of electrons from decays of heavy flavor (charm and bottom) for midrapidity |y|\u3c 0.35 in p+p collisions at s=200 GeV has been measured by the PHENIX experiment at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider over the transverse momentum range 0.3 \u3c p(T)\u3c 9 GeV/c. Two independent methods have been used to determine the heavy-flavor yields, and the results are in good agreement with each other. A fixed-order-plus-next-to-leading-log perturbative QCD calculation agrees with the data within the theoretical and experimental uncertainties, with the data/theory ratio of 1.71 +/- 0.02(stat)+/- 0.18(sys) for 0.3 \u3c p(T)\u3c 9 GeV/c. The total charm production cross section at this energy has also been deduced to be sigma(cc)=567 +/- 57(stat)+/- 193(sys) mu b