Emissions from Mass Burn Resource Recovery Facilities

Recent resource recovery facility stack tests have increased the available pool of data on emissions from these facilities. This has led to more accurate predictions of emissions from proposed facilities. The source, type, and rate of emissions presented are based upon a review of the literature, theoretical approaches, stack test data from existing facilities, permit levels of other facilities, and discussions with equipment manufacturers. The pollutants selected for study are those regulated by United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) regulations and other pollutants of concern. The pollutants studied are particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, nonmethane hydrocarbons, hydrogen sulfide, reduced sulfide, reduced sulfur compounds, total reduced sulfur, lead, mercury, beryllium, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, chromium +6, copper, manganese, nickel, vanadium, zinc, hydrogen chloride, fluorides, sulfuric acid mist, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, vinyl chloride, dioxins, furans, formaldehyde, and asbestos.     

Health care futures. Part 2: The future of physician executives? Panel discussion

What is the future of health care in America? This is Part 2 of The Physician Executive panel discussion that explores the future of health care in America. To narrow this ambitious focus somewhat, the future is defined as five to 10 years hence. In Part 1, which was published in the May/June issue, Russell C. Coile, Jr., Barbara LeTourneau, MD, MBA, FACPE, James Reinertsen, MD, Uwe Reinhardt, PhD, Marshall Ruffin, MD, MPH, MBA, FACPE, and David Vogel, MS, shared their opinions about what the future holds in managed care, information technology, and biotechnology. In Part 2, Susan Cejka, Barbara LeTourneau, MD, MBA, FACPE, John Henry Pfifferling, PhD, Uwe Reinhardt, PhD, and James Todd, MD, share their views on the future of medical education and physician executives.     

Interdisciplinary, functional approach to quality review

Dramatic changes in the standards of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, as part of its "Agenda for Change," pose new challenges for health care managers. The goal of the "Agenda for Change" is to focus accreditation on the actual performance of important functions while continuously stimulating improvement in the organization's performance and outcomes of care. In 1994, seven important functions--improvement of performance, leadership, management of information, assessment of patients, education of patients and families, operative and other procedures, and treatment of patients--were identified by JCAHO. Performance, as defined by JCAHO, can be measured through observing specific dimensions, such as, availability, safety, timeliness, effectiveness, continuity, efficiency, and respect and caring. These are considered important elements in the determination of quality, value, cost, and patient outcome. In 1995, JCAHO identified 11 important functions--patient rights and organizational ethics, assessment of patients, care of patients, education, continuum of care, improving organizational performance, leadership, management of the environment of care, management of human resources, management of information, and prevention and control of infection. In addition each institution has the opportunity to decide by prioritization where it wants to devote resources. This article reports on one hospital's response to the new JCAHO initiatives.     

Risk Perception and Personality Facets

The present study examined the relationship between personality facets and risk perception using the Big Five model. A broad range of hazards was considered: energy production, pollutants, sex, deviance, addictions, weapons, common individual hazards, outdoor activities, medical care, and psychotropic drugs. Key personality facets that were most predictive of risk perception compared to (or in association with) age, gender, educational level, and personality factors were identified. They were moderation and tranquility (associated with energy production or pollutants), rationality and efficiency (associated with pollutants, sex, deviance, addictions, or weapons), creativity, imagination, and reflection (associated with energy production, pollutants, or common individual hazards), self-disclosure (associated with outdoor activities), and nurturance and tenderness (associated with sex, deviance, addictions, or medical care). These facets may be recommended for use in future studies on risk perception.     

Book Reviews

PRINCIPLES OF HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT Paolo F. Ricci, Prentice-Hall, 1985, $50.00.
RISK THEORY: THE STOCHASTIC BASIS OF INSURANCE Third Edition, R. E. Beard, T. Pentikainen, and E. Pesonen, Metheun, Inc., 1984, $24.00 pb, $49.95 hb.
TOXICITY TESTING: NEW APPROACHES AND APPLICATIONS IN HUMAN RISK ASSESSMENT Li et al , (eds.) Raven Press, 1985, $47.00
TOXICOLOGICAL RISK ASSESSMENT Clayson et al , (eds.), CRC Press, 1985, $82.00.     

A Comparative Exposure Assessment of Campylobacter in Ontario,Canada

To inform source attribution efforts, a comparative exposure assessment was developed to estimate the relative exposure to Campylobacter, the leading bacterial gastrointestinal disease in Canada, for 13 different transmission routes within Ontario, Canada, during the summer. Exposure was quantified with stochastic models at the population level, which incorporated measures of frequency, quantity ingested, prevalence, and concentration, using data from FoodNet Canada surveillance, the peer‐reviewed and gray literature, other Ontario data, and data that were specifically collected for this study. Models were run with @Risk software using Monte Carlo simulations. The mean number of cells of Campylobacter ingested per Ontarian per day during the summer, ranked from highest to lowest is as follows: household pets, chicken, living on a farm, raw milk, visiting a farm, recreational water, beef, drinking water, pork, vegetables, seafood, petting zoos, and fruits. The study results identify knowledge gaps for some transmission routes, and indicate that some transmission routes for Campylobacter are underestimated in the current literature, such as household pets and raw milk. Many data gaps were identified for future data collection consideration, especially for the concentration of Campylobacter in all transmission routes.     

Quantifying leader lives: What historiometric approaches can tell us

Historically notable leaders, such as John F. Kennedy, Mohandas Ghandi, and Rupert Murdoch, serve as exemplars in our field of study. Across the domains of military, business, government, ideology, and the arts, these outstanding leaders have markedly impacted the institutions, fields, and broader social structures in which they worked and lived. To understand the unique styles, developmental experiences, and performance contributions of such leaders, a historiometric approach is encouraged. We define this methodological strategy as the study of multiple eminent leaders that requires the translation of historical, qualitative information into quantitative indices of individual differences in leaders. Best practices, limitations, and implications for this technique as an advancement of leadership theory are reviewed.     

电子商务运作模式及其战略的比较

近年来,电子商务被商家视为一种获取竞争优势和拓展市场能力的重要手段.本文以电子商务运作的理论研究和实证应用为基础,将电子商务运作和企业网络化连接的模式归纳为主要两种类型层级式网络连接模式和电子化市场网络连接模式,并分别从战略动机、网络化组织形态、网络控制点、交易类型、商品或服务的复杂性、交易双方的关系、信息的搜索和监控成本、客户忠诚度、价值观念、价值链形态、客户转移成本、电子网络的作用等方面对上述两种类型的电子商务策略及其运作模式进行了比较,就此提出两种不同模式下网络化组织运作的战略框架.     

案例:对信雅达创新能力提升机制的研究

本案例以信雅达系统工程股份有限公司的13年发展过程为背景,通过为期九个月的蹲点调研的方式来跟踪企业创新的全过程,并采用深入访谈和二手资料收集的方式采集数据,进而分析其创新能力提升的动力机制.访谈对象的范围跨越公司决策层、管理层和执行层.我们认为,第一,创新具有全面性,企业绩效的提升需要以各要素能力的提升为基础;第二,政府政策、企业家、新产品开发、创新者、IT技术是企业创新能力的重要推动者;第三,企业的战略协调能力是企业创新能力提升的关键,战略、文化、技术、市场等要素之间的动态匹配程度决定了企业创新的效率和效果.     

Training and Management of the Psychiatric Aide

This paper evaluates the research on training and management of inpatient psychiatric aides conceptualized in an operant conditioning paradigm. The training techniques reviewed include in-service training, modeling, prompting, and role playing. The management techniques reviewed include the use of posted feedback, money, trading stamps, supervisor approval, and days off. Recommendations for future research emphasize the use of direct and indirect approaches, analysis of reinforcers, group and individual data, social validity of training goals, teaching client skills, group contingencies, and the relationship between management and community, institutional and client goals.     

所得税劳动供给效应的实证研究

个人所得税是最为复杂的税种之一,其完善需要以充分掌握各种相关信息为条件,这其中就包括了对纳税人税收行为的认识,对劳动供给的影响是其中之一。国外的同类研究历史较长,成果较多,但国内的研究非常有限,这成了进一步完善个人所得税的一个阻碍。本文以大范围的调查问卷数据为基础,以计量分析和描述统计为手段,试图达到揭示包括性别、年龄、文化程度、地区、婚姻状况、收入、收入比和单位性质等在内的自变量对税收劳动供给弹性的不同影响的目的,以为制定与国情相符的税制提供纳税人税收行为的信息。     

Book Reviews

Book Reviewed in this Article:
Engineering Risk and Hazard Assessment Edited by Abraham Kandel and Eitan Avni Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, Inc.
Applied Decision Support By Michael W. Davis Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall
Health Effects of Electric and Magnetic Fields: Research, Communication, Regulation International Utility Symposium Toronto, Canada: Electric Power Research Institute, Canadian Electrical Association, Edison Electric Institute, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, Bonneville, Power Administration
Petroleum Hydrocarbons and Organic Chemicals in Ground Water: Prevention, Detection, and Restoration The Association of Ground Water Scientists and Engineers Dublin, OH: National Water Well Association
Fault Detection and Reliability: Knowledge Based and Other Approaches Edited by M. G. Singh, K. S. Hindi, G. Schmidt, and S. Tzafestas Oxford: Pergamon Press
Air Pollution, the Automobile, and Public Health Edited by Ann Y. Watson, Richard R. Bates, and Donald Kennedy Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press
Pollution Threat of Heavy Metals in Aquatic Environments By Geoffrey Mance London: Elsevier Applied Science     

全球化挑战与管理变革——第6届管理国际大会综述

简要介绍了第6届管理国际大会的概况,并以物流与运作管理,信息管理与电子商务,决策与优化,战略管理,营销管理,人力资源与组织行为学,财会与金融,宏观管理、政策与创新管理8个专题简要介绍了学术交流的内容。     

Defensive barriers to communication

To be an effective communicator, the manager must understand the obstructions that exist in sending and receiving messages. These barriers to communication are infinite in number and include language, education, experience, understanding, perception, semantics, faulty transmission, environment, personal interests, and physical, physiological, and psychological factors. One of the most serious barriers to communication is defensiveness, which creates negative feelings and counterproductive results.     

复杂信息度量的安全系统结构复杂性评价

作为复杂性研究和安全研究理论与方法的进一步扩展,建立复杂格空间,搭建了复杂性参量的立体化刻画的框架,确定熵的信息度量为复杂格空间的大小(维度)的测度的尺度,构造出复杂性测度的全方位的测度体系;将此理论与方法应用与工程系统的复杂性研究中,以煤矿工程系统的安全系统复杂性研究为例,从矿井开拓巷道系统联结关系、节点、环节、矿井安全子系统复合性、矿井安全监测系统网络、安全设施设置、监测系统、井下人员定位系统测定点分布等结构复杂性要素,进行复杂性评价与实证研究.     

Barriers to green innovation initiatives among manufacturers: the Malaysian case

This study investigated the internal and external barriers to green innovation initiatives among Malaysian manufacturers. Data was gathered through a survey of 153 manufacturing companies in Malaysia. Data was analyzed using the partial least squares technique. Results indicated that the barriers to green products, processes, and systems innovations are different. Issues of environmental resources, attitude and perception, business practices, government support, and customer demand were found to be the barriers to green product innovations, whereas attitude and perception, business practices, poor external partnerships, insufficient information, lack of customer demand, and environmental commercial benefits were determined to be the factors that negatively affect green process innovations. As regards green system innovation, environmental resources, attitude and perception, business practices, technical barriers, government support, and environmental and commercial benefits presented themselves as the internal and external barriers that need to be addressed. The results have important implications for managers of manufacturers that have plans of promoting green products, processes, and system innovations.     

基于XML的通用关联规则挖掘应用模式

本文分析了关联规则挖掘应用中在通用性、用户简易性以及可扩展性方面所面临的一些困难,提出了一种基于XML的通用关联规则挖掘应用模式。该模式充分利用了XML在自描述能力、异质系统数据交换能力以及可扩展性方面的优势,提供了一个模块化、易于集成、适合于最终用户使用的应用框架。     

An Integrated Approach to Oversight Assessment for Emerging Technologies

Analysis of oversight systems is often conducted from a single disciplinary perspective and by using a limited set of criteria for evaluation. In this article, we develop an approach that blends risk analysis, social science, public administration, legal, public policy, and ethical perspectives to develop a broad set of criteria for assessing oversight systems. Multiple methods, including historical analysis, expert elicitation, and behavioral consensus, were employed to develop multidisciplinary criteria for evaluating oversight of emerging technologies. Sixty‐six initial criteria were identified from extensive literature reviews and input from our Working Group. Criteria were placed in four categories reflecting the development, attributes, evolution, and outcomes of oversight systems. Expert elicitation, consensus methods, and multidisciplinary review of the literature were used to refine a condensed, operative set of criteria. Twenty‐eight criteria resulted spanning four categories: seven development criteria, 15 attribute criteria, five outcome criteria, and one evolution criterion. These criteria illuminate how oversight systems develop, operate, change, and affect society. We term our approach “integrated oversight assessment” and propose its use as a tool for analyzing relationships among features, outcomes, and tradeoffs of oversight systems. Comparisons among historical case studies of oversight using a consistent set of criteria should result in defensible and evidence‐supported lessons to guide the development of oversight systems for emerging technologies, such as nanotechnology.     

No going back: A review of the literature on sustaining organizational change

Why do some organizational changes persist, while others decay? The sustainability of change can be defined broadly as the process through which new working methods, performance goals and improvement trajectories are maintained for a period appropriate to a given context. However, sustainability has received limited attention, although the concept reflects Lewin's concern with ‘refreezing’ ( Lewin. K. 1951 . Field Theory in Social Science: Selected Theoretical Papers by Kurt Lewin, UK edition published 1952, ed. D. Cartwright, London: Tavistock). In an uncertain environment, working practices that fail to adapt are targets for change, and stability has been regarded not as a condition to be achieved, but as a symptom of inertia, a problem to be solved. This paper reviews the emerging literature, seeking to develop a provisional model of the processes influencing change sustainability and decay, as a platform for further research. This review suggests that sustainability is dependent on multiple factors, at different levels of analysis: substantial, individual, managerial, financial, leadership, organizational, cultural, political, processual, contextual and temporal. The relative significance of those factors cannot be determined a priori, raising questions concerning the properties of the sustainability process with regard to different types of change in different contexts.