Concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and three chlorinated pesticides were determined in serum from 21 residents of Pittsfield, MA and in the basement, living room and outdoor air of ...the 10 homes in which they lived. Median serum PCB levels were 4.2 ng/g, which are at least four times the average level in the US population, and consisted primarily of more highly chlorinated, persistent congeners. This reflects contamination with PCBs coming from the local General Electric facility. Median basement air concentration was 20.3 ng/m3, while the median living room air was 11.4 ng/m3 and median outdoor air concentration was 3.0 ng/m3. The PCB congeners detected in air were primarily low chlorinated (four and fewer) congeners, reflecting the greater volatility of PCBs with fewer chlorines. The congener pattern between basement and living room air showed a 95% correlation, while correlation with outdoor air was much less. While the congener pattern in air is very different from that of the PCB products used in Pittsfield (Aroclors 1254 and 1260), low chlorinated PCBs are detected in the vapor phase after air is blown across the commercial mixtures. The human serum samples did not show detectible levels of many of the congeners seen in the basement air samples, reflecting rapid metabolism of lower chlorinated PCBs by the human body. However, with continuous inhalation of indoor air, especially in the living room, the exposure to these non-persistent congeners may still have adverse health effects. Cellular studies of some of these non-persistent, low chlorinated congeners indicate that they are neurotoxic, mutagenic and cytotoxic. These results demonstrate the importance of consideration of inhalation of PCBs as a route of exposure, especially in indoor sites, and suggest that monitoring serum PCB concentration may not always provide a good measurement of exposure, especially to congeners that are relatively rapidly metabolized but have significant toxicity.
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•Indoor PCB air levels were measured in homes in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.•Blood samples of residents were obtained at the same time.•Many lower chlorinated PCB congeners were in air but not in blood.•Although these congeners are not persistent, they may have adverse health effects.
In this study, we analyze how the organizational architecture o f a multibusiness firm affects the adaptation of its constituent business units. Using an inductive analysis of GE's governance system ...from 1951 to 2001, we examine how the integration of corporate and business unit attention occurs within and across the firm's governance channels. Our theory identifies an unexplored aspect of the M-form's architecture: collective vertical interactions between the corporate office and business units through cross-level channels. Overall, we articulate three types of channel integration—cross-level, s s-functional, and channel coupling—and examine their effects on responsiveness to threats and opportunities. We find that despite an elaborate organizational architecture, there were periods when GE's governance system did not allow for coordination of corporate and business unit agendas. Our theory proposes that the temporal coupling of specialized, cross-level channels creates an organizational architecture that is both differentiated and integrated. This architecture integrates levels and issues simultaneously, yet focuses attention sequentially, providing more effective conditions for joint attention and coordination between the corporation office and the business unit and adaptive change at the business unit level.
In October 1964, Ronald Reagan gave a televised speech in support of Republican presidential nominee Barry Goldwater. "The Speech," as it has come to be known, helped launch Ronald Reagan as a ...leading force in the American conservative movement. However, less than twenty years earlier, Reagan was a prominent Hollywood liberal, the president of the Screen Actors Guild, and a fervent supporter of FDR and Harry Truman. While many agree that Reagan's anticommunism grew out of his experiences with the Hollywood communists of the late 1940s, the origins of his conservative ideology have remained obscure. Based on a newly discovered collection of private papers as well as interviews and corporate documents, The Education of Ronald Reagan offers new insights into Reagan's ideological development and his political ascendancy. Thomas W. Evans links the eight years (1954-1962) in which Reagan worked for General Electric—acting as host of its television program, GE Theater, and traveling the country as the company's public-relations envoy-to his conversion to conservatism. In particular, Evans reveals the profound influence of GE executive Lemuel Boulware, who would become Reagan's political and ideological mentor. Boulware, known for his tough stance against union officials and his innovative corporate strategies to win over workers, championed the core tenets of modern American conservatism-free-market fundamentalism, anticommunism, lower taxes, and limited government. Building on the ideas and influence of Boulware, Reagan would soon begin his rise as a national political figure and an icon of the American conservative movement.
Visualization of endolymphatic hydrops (EH) by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is becoming increasingly important and popular for the diagnosis of various inner ear diseases, such as Meniere's ...disease. However, most studies have been performed using Siemens scanners. At Osaka University, we have been using General Electric (GE) scanners at 3 Tesla for imaging EH since 2007. Both the scanning protocols of 24h after intratympanic administration of gadolinium (Gd) and 4h after intravenous injection of Gd are used. In contrast to the Siemens system, in which MRI sequences specific for EH imaging are available, we use the conventional two-dimensional fluid-attenuated inversion-recovery (2D-FLAIR) and three-dimensional fast imaging sequences employing steady state acquisition (FIESTA, also known as “cisternography”) to acquire axial images of the inner ear of 2-mm and 0.5-mm thickness, respectively. Written informed consent is obtained from the patients before the imagings. The examinations are performed in compliance with the Declaration of Helsinki and are approved by the institutional ethics committee. In total, 76 patients have undergone MRI under various clinical situations, such as before and after sac surgery, and before intratympanic administration of gentamycin to treat Meniere's disease. The presence of hydrops is clearly detected by T2-FLAIR images in most patients with clinical EH. Unlike the MRI sequences obtained using the Siemens system, it is currently difficult to distinguish the area of the inner ear with no enhancement (either perilymph with no contrast or endolymph) from bony areas surrounding the inner ear in our T2-FLAIR images obtained using the GE system. Comparison between T2-FLAIR and FIESTA sections at the same level is recommended. Three-dimensional volumetric co-registration of FIESTA images to T2-FLAIR images is also helpful when the patient's head movements during the MRI scanning are not negligible.
We study General Electric’s new combined-cycle natural gas generator called GT11N2 M upgrade and quantify its economic benefits and the environmental implications in Ontario. We propose a structural ...power supply chain model involving upstream supplier General Electric and downstream power firm TransAlta at Sarnia, construct generation, service and maintenance cost functions, and calibrate different customer demand curves using actual market and firm data in the Ontario market. We solve for Stackelberg equilibrium outcomes, and quantify prices, outputs, and emissions based on efficiency rates of GT11N2 M. We consider two types of cost efficiencies implied by GT11N2 M: upstream service and maintenance cost efficiency experienced by General Electric and downstream fuel cost efficiency experienced by TransAlta. We provide new insights in the realm of technology adoption. We find in equilibrium that there exists a large variation in electricity generation over operational modes of GT11N2 M: the total generation can increase in the range of 5% (under “Lifetime” mode) to 18% (under ”Maximum Continuous Load” mode). The output variation is nonlinear and the amount of carbon emissions is largely impacted by operating modes. In particular, the total greenhouse gas emission is expected to increase by 12% in the mixed-mode. Consequently, a policy implication of this research is that clean energy adoption facilitated by GT11N2 M is expected to increase carbon emission due to the “rebound effect”.
•Technological change represented by GT11N2 M generators offer cost and output efficiency.•General Electric and TransAlta can increase their profitability in the energy supply chain.•Clean energy adoption may not facilitate carbon emission reduction.
This study introduces a conceptualization of board of directors' intrafirm knowledge network and a methodology for its construction, assessment, and analysis. We use network theory and analytical ...techniques to construct boards of directors' intrafirm knowledge networks based on directors' functional domain and committee affiliations. We demonstrate the utility of this approach for governance research by examining the intrafirm knowledge network of the board of directors of General Electric and offer testable propositions that link key director turnover with the properties of and the structural changes in the board's knowledge network and the firm outcomes of strategic change and innovativeness. Our approach bridges the human and social capital perspectives on boards of directors by considering the mechanisms through which turnover of key directors influences firm‐level outcomes. Directors are increasingly expected to not only fulfill their monitoring responsibilities but also provide firms with resources and service (e.g., involvement in strategy‐making). The enactment of these responsibilities is contingent on the effective collaboration within board intrafirm networks. Our conceptualization of intrafirm board ties as a knowledge network can help practitioners identify key directors, analyze the implications of director turnover, and develop succession plans. We make important contributions to corporate governance research and offer insights into understanding the knowledge dynamics in small team‐like settings, such as boards of directors and their impact on firm strategy and innovativeness.
We analyse the corpus of CEO letters to stockholders that were signed by a widely revered business leader, Jack Welch, during his tenure as CEO of the General Electric Company GE, 1981—2000. Our ...discussion is located within theory pertaining to transformational leadership. We examine Welch's language from the standpoint of how transformational leadership can be conceived as a rhetorical artefact of one-sided dialogue emanating from a powerful leader. We give particular attention to the saturation of Welch's discourse with metaphors, and argue that metaphors illuminate how transformational leadership and the accompanying construct of charisma manifest themselves in practice. Five root metaphors that heightened Welch's persuasive and rhetorical impact on his audience are identified and discussed: Welch as pedagogue , physician, architect, commander and saint . We advocate greater awareness of the rhetorical techniques employed by transformational leaders in attempts to broker compliance with their views.
The aim of this study was to assess the normal ranges of liver stiffness measurements (LSMs) in participants with healthy livers, using General Electric 2-D shear wave elastography (2-D-SWE-GE) ...compared with transient elastography (TE). We included 80 participants with healthy livers and without known liver disease, in whom liver stiffness was evaluated in the same session using two elastographic methods, TE and 2-D-SWE-GE. Reliable LSMs were defined for TE as the median of 10 measurements with a success rate of ≥60% and an interquartile range (IQR) < 30%, and for 2-D-SWE-GE, as the median of 10 measurements acquired in a homogenous area and an IQR < 30%. Participants with LSMs > 6.5 kPa by TE were excluded. Reliable LSMs were obtained in 79 participants (98.7%) by means of 2-D-SWE-GE and in 80 participants (100%) by means of TE (p = 0.9). The mean LSM obtained by 2-D-SWE-GE in our cohort of participants with healthy livers was 5.1 ± 1.3 kPa, which was significantly higher than the LSM assessed by TE (4.3 ± 0.9 kPa, p < 0.0001). In 2-D SWE-GE, mean LSMs were significantly higher for men than for women, 5.9 ± 1.2 kPa versus 4.7 ± 1.2 kPa (p = 0.0005). In conclusion, 2-D-SWE-GE has very good feasibility (98.7%) in healthy persons. The mean LSM determined by 2-D-SWE-GE in healthy participants was 5.1 ± 1.3 kPa. LSMs obtained by means of 2-D-SWE-GE were higher than those obtained by TE in participants with healthy livers.
This volume describes General Electric Corporation's venture into developing second and third generation mainframe computer systems.The General Electric Corporation (GE), which began its life as the ...Edison Electric Co., was long involved in electrical appliances and industrial machines. It was also a founder of the Radio Corporation of America, which eventually became one of its competitors, and developed many electrical systems in order to control different types of industrial machines. Its breakthrough into computing came with its winning bid to provide the computing systems for the Electronic Recording Method of Accounting) system developed for the Bank of America by the Stanford Research Institute. The success of this project led GE to develop the GE-200 series which was the foundation for commercial timesharing. The GE-235 was selected by Dartmouth for its Dartmouth Time Sharing System (DTSS), an innovative academic time-sharing system. BASIC was developed on the GE-235 computer system under DTSS. GE enhanced it to develop its Mark II/III Time Sharing System, apparently the first commercial time sharing service in the world. GE develop the GE-300/-400 systems for industrial process control. The GE-600 series replaced the GE-200 series and demonstrated innovation in time-sharing systems. The GE-645 was selected to host Multics, which was developed by MIT. However, GE felt that it could not compete in computing against IBM, Univac, and other mainframes competitors, so it folded its tent and sold its Computer Division to Honeywell, Inc. Nevertheless, GE will be remembered for many innovations which continue to be used in modern computing systems.
On 9 June 1902, a fire at the General Electric Company offices in Queen Victoria Street led to the deaths of ten employees, including nine young women aged between 14 and 18. A coroner's inquest was ...immediately organized to ascertain the cause of death and a number of witnesses were called to give evidence. This article explores the evidence gathered at the inquest, focusing on the testimony of four witnesses: the spectator, employee, survivor and fireman. Their testimony exposed defects in the company's attitude towards fire safety, London's building bye-laws and the capital's fire protection. It subsequently weighs this evidence against other accounts of the fire as featured in newspapers and other contemporary texts. Our conclusions reveal significant variations between the coroner's verdict and the media's analysis of the fire, with particular focus given to accounts that sought to identify and hold to account those who were deemed publicly responsible for the failings to rescue the victims.
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