Communication tree problems

In this paper, we consider random communication requirements and several cost measures for a particular model of tree routing on a complete network. First we show that a random tree does not give any approximation. Then give approximation algorithms for the case for two random models of requirements.Postprint (published version

Employee Green Behavior as the Core of Environmentally Sustainable Organizations

Environmental sustainability has become an ethical and strategic imperative for organizations, and more and more employees are interested, encouraged, or instructed to act in environmentally sustainable ways. Consequently, organizational scholars have increasingly studied individual-level antecedents of employee pro-environmental or employee green behavior (EGB). We argue that, to advance this literature and to inform effective interventions, research should investigate how EGB, as a compound performance domain, is associated with antecedents and consequences at multiple levels (i.e., individual, team, work context, organization, society). Accordingly, we pursue three interrelated goals with this review. We first present a comprehensive review of research on EGB, including definitions, theoretical frameworks, methodological approaches, and empirical findings. Second, we develop an integrative conceptual model of EGB as the core of organizational environmental sustainability. Third, we conclude with recommendations for future theory development and methodological improvements, as well as practical implications for employees, leaders, and human resource management

Influence of Spatially Variable Instrument Networks on Climatic Averages

Copyright 1991 by the American Geophysical Union.Instrument networks for measuring surface air temperature (T) and precipitation (P) have varied considerably over the last century. Inadequate observing‐station locations have produced incomplete, uneven, and biased samples of the spatial variability in climate and, in turn, terrestrial and global scale averages of T and P have been biased. New high‐resolution climatologies [Legates and Willmott, 1990a; 1990b] are intensively sampled and integrated to illustrate the effects of these nontrivial sampling biases. Since station networks may not represent spatial climatic variability adequately, their ability to represent climate through time is suspect

α-Conotoxin Decontamination Protocol Evaluation: What Works and What Doesn’t

Nine publically available biosafety protocols for safely handling conotoxin peptides were tested to evaluate their decontamination efficacy. Circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy and mass spectrometry (MS) were used to assess the effect of each chemical treatment on the secondary and primary structure of α-CTx MII (L10V, E11A). Of the nine decontamination methods tested, treatment with 1% (m/v) solution of the enzymatic detergent Contrex™ EZ resulted in a 76.8% decrease in α-helical content as assessed by the mean residue ellipticity at 222 nm, and partial peptide digestion was demonstrated using high performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS). Additionally, treatment with 6% sodium hypochlorite (m/v) resulted in 80.5% decrease in α-helical content and complete digestion of the peptide. The Contrex™ EZ treatment was repeated with three additional α-conotoxins (α-CTxs), α-CTxs LvIA, ImI and PeIA, which verified the decontamination method was reasonably robust. These results support the use of either 1% Contrex™ EZ solution or 6% sodium hypochlorite in biosafety protocols for the decontamination of α-CTxs in research laboratories

Zeeman Relaxation of Cold Atomic Iron and Nickel in Collisions with 3He

We have measured the ratio of the diffusion cross-section to the angular momentum reorientation cross-section in the colliding Fe-3He and Ni-3He systems. Nickel (Ni) and iron (Fe) atoms are introduced via laser ablation into a cryogenically cooled experimental cell containing cold (< 1 K) 3He buffer gas. Elastic collisions rapidly cool the translational temperature of the ablated atoms to the helium temperature. The cross-section ratio is extracted by measuring the decays of the atomic Zeeman sublevels. For our experimental conditions, thermal energy is comparable to the Zeeman splitting. As a result, thermal excitations between Zeeman sublevels significantly impact the observed decay. To determine the cross-section ratio accurately, we introduce a model of Zeeman state dynamics that includes thermal excitations. We find the cross-section ratio for Ni-3He = 5 x 10^3 and Fe-3He <= 3 x 10^3 at 0.75 K in a 0.8 T magnetic field. These measurements are interpreted in the context of submerged shell suppression of spin relaxation as studied previously in transition metals and rare earth atoms.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures; submitted to Phys. Rev.

Addressing Anti-Fat Bias: A Crash Course for Counselors and Counselors-in-Training

People with larger body sizes are often the target of harmful stereotypes such as being lazy, unattractive, and unintelligent. Such stereotypes are part of an extensive system of oppression often intersecting with racism, classism, and ableism. When counselors and counselors-in-training are unaware of their own biases related to body size, larger bodied clients are at risk for further harm within the very place they are seeking support. This article provides professional counselors and counselors-in-training with the historical knowledge needed to examine their own biases and prejudices around body size and fatness to become better counselors and advocates for all clients. Implications for counseling and counselor training and a brief list of action items are included

Employee Green Behavior: A Meta-Analysis

Due to climate change, the need to protect biodiversity and reduce pollution, and governmental regulations, many organizations are aiming to become more environmentally sustainable. In this context, researchers and practitioners are increasingly interested in the construct of employee green behavior (EGB). EGB has been considered by numerous empirical studies over the last two decades and its associations with demographic characteristics, individual differences, workrelated perceptions, and job attitudes. To systematically synthesize the rapidly growing literature on EGB, we conducted a meta-analysis (k = 135 independent samples; total N = 47,442 employees). Results showed positive associations between EGB and, for example, proenvironmental attitudes, corporate social responsibility, and green psychological climate. We further report the results of a meta-analytic path model based on the theory of planned behavior, which showed that pro-environmental attitude, norms, perceived behavioral control, and intentions positively predicted EGB

Exploring Cold War Religious Persecution Using the Rank-Order Approach

This lesson explores religious persecution in East Germany. Students must decide plausible actions to take against the Protestant Church to diminish power. Acting as a member of The East German Secret Police, students, evaluate, rank, and justify decisions to minimalize Christianity in an atheist society

Substance Use Among Women Who Have Sex with Women

Professional organizations in the fields of counseling and psychotherapy-related professions all require counselors and counseling students to work with a vast array of potential clients who may differ significantly from themselves. For example, these counselor and client differences can include one or several factors such as age, race, ethnicity, ability status, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation and/or gender identity. As part of building up counselor competency to work with diverse individuals, ethical standards require counselors and counseling students to seek out relevant literature as it relates to appropriate assessment, intervention and advocacy for their clients. Likewise, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) requires counselors and counselor supervisors within the substance use counseling specialty to attend to issues of diversity both within the counselor to client relationship but also the supervisor to supervisee relationship. Additionally, substance use counseling supervisors are required to provide or coordinate appropriate and relevant supervisee training as needed related to issues of diversity to empower counselors to better advocate for both individual client needs as well as organizational change when appropriate. As part of a commitment to explore issues related to multicultural counseling and contribute to relevant literature, the research presented in this dissertation sought to study a population that often goes unnoticed and slips through the cracks of researcher consciousness. Few research studies that explore issues related to substance use or substance use as it relates to sexuality focus exclusively on female-identified populations. As such, women who have sex with women (WSW) often go unnoticed within study populations and become an invisible minority. Evidence exists to suggest women who report same-sex partners may be at elevated risk for experiencing negative health effects from alcohol and tobacco use. Using substances such as alcohol and tobacco at higher rates and frequencies can result in significant negative medical, social and interpersonal outcomes. Important common factors appear numerous times in the literature base on problematic substance use within lesbian and bisexual populations. For example, women who report same-sex partners more commonly report being current or former smokers, are less likely to abstain from alcohol and report more frequent instances of being drunk and an overall higher rate of alcohol consumption. The current study first utilized multiple regression analyses to examine the predictability of known demographic and behavioral risk factors for increased substance use among a sample of WSW who participated in the New York City Community Health Survey ( NYCCHS). Age, annual household income, race and past or current history of depression were included in the regression analyses to determine the predictability of these variables on participants self-reported levels of alcohol and tobacco use. Results showed that within the sample of WSW, age and a past or current history of depression were significant predictors of alcohol use. Race was the only significant predictor of tobacco use. Next, drawing upon the same sample of WSW in the NYCCHS, three two-tailed t-tests for independent means were performed to determine if a difference exists on levels of alcohol and tobacco use between WSW and who have experienced interpersonal violence, as quantified by the reported experience of either intimate partner violence or unwanted sexual contact, and WSW who have not experienced interpersonal violence. For WSW who reported alcohol use within the last 30 days, results showed that there exists a significant difference between the number of alcoholic drinks consumed between WSW who also reported interpersonal violence and WSW who did not report interpersonal violence. For WSW who reported any lifetime use of alcohol, results also showed a significant difference between the number of alcoholic drinks consumed between WSW who also reported interpersonal violence and WSW who did not report interpersonal violence. There was no significant difference in tobacco use between the two groups of WSW. The primary implication that emerged from this study was that women who report same-sex partners might be at increased risk of experiencing negative life outcomes stemming from elevated alcohol use and, in some instances, tobacco use. This population of WSW often goes unnoticed both in the realm of research in psychology and related fields and also within the context of treatment-setting environments. Sexual behavior and sexual orientation are often conflated. As such, women who have same-sex partners but do not identify openly or otherwise as lesbian, bisexual or other sexual minority, can frequently fall victim to heteronormative expectations and assumptions in community counseling environments but also within the intimacy of the therapy room. Particularly in treatment setting specific to substance use disorders and co-occurring disorders, these results reinforce the importance of counselors not only inquiring about sexual orientation but also remaining mindful and sensitive to gendered language when exploring past and current client relationships

Radiological risk from thoron, a case study: The particularly radon-prone area of Bolsena, and the lesson learned

Abstract The contribution of 220 Rn is usually negligible compared to that of 222 Rn: its very short half-life makes escape from its source site within the rock very unlikely and it never has time enough to filtrate through the ground and through cracks in the floors or cellar walls to reach living quarters. This however becomes untrue if walls built with 232 Th-rich materials are present: then sizeable amounts of thoron may be detected in the closed areas bounded by those walls. This is the case for many dwellings in central Italy, and the town of Bolsena (northern Latium) is presented as a case study. A typical building of the area, entirely constructed with tuff blocks, is investigated and the annual dose rates calculated for varying distances from the wall. Thoron concentration was found to decrease with a relaxation length of 13 cm. Thoron was found to pose a significant risk. The rate of air exchange was found to produce little effect. Wall plastering acts as a filter: thoron diffuses through it but a HVL of less than 1 cm was found to prevail