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Two transmission line meshes to simulate electromagnetic waves in the Earth's atmosphere are developed, one with the link transmission lines connected in parallel and the other with connections in series.

The equations describing propagation of waves through these parallel or series meshes are equivalent to the Maxwell equations for TE^r or TM^r modes in a spherical cavity with lossy dielectric material between the external conducting surfaces, respectively.

The transmission line meshes are used for a numerical study of the natural electromagnetic noise due to lightning discharges in the Earth‐ionosphere cavity.

The numerical algorithm finds values for Schumann resonances very close to the experimental ones, which allows us to affirm that this methodology is a valid numerical tool for predicting these resonances on other planets or moons as well.

This empirical paper seeks to address the neglected work condition aspect of lean production (LP) implementation, specifically the relationship between LP and worker job stress.

The Karasek job stress model was used to link shopfloor practices to expected worker stress. The model incorporates the effects of job demands (physical and psychological), job control and social support. The study employs management and worker questionnaires, management interviews and structured plant tours. The response variable is total worker job stress – the sum of the physical and mental stress levels. The independent variable for the first question is the degree of lean implementation at the sites.

The results are based on 1,391 worker responses at 21 sites in the four UK industry sectors. About 11 tested practices are significantly related to stress and an unexpected non‐linear response of stress to lean implementation is identified. Results indicate that LP is not inherently stressful, with stress levels significantly related to management decisions in designing and operating LP systems.

The hypotheses tests shed light on the relationships between LP practices and job stress, and reveal a significant managerial influence on stress levels. The regression model shows the scale and significant lean practices of this influence, with the work practices explaining 30 percent of job stress variations. The stress reduction and stress control opportunities identified in the study show the potential for designing and operating effective lean systems while also controlling stress levels.

This is the first known multi‐industry empirical study of the relationship of job stress to a range of lean practices and to the degree of lean implementation.

As more and more organizations establish their presence on the World Wide Web, the question of interacting in the new medium presents challenges to practitioners and academics alike. How should economic and symbolic activity be conducted and conceptualized? Different assumptions about the new medium will result in disparate activities ‐ and concomitantly varying degrees of success or failure. In this article we explore the phenomenon of the Web using themes which characterize postmodernism. Postmodernism is a rubric of praxes and thoughts that “dis‐embodies” the information age, and thus offers unique insights into information‐rich contexts such as the Web. The article is set out as follows. First, the signifiers of “modern” and “postmodern” are discussed. Second, the Web is explored using key themes of postmodernism. We conclude that a postmodern perspective will illuminate thinking in the new information medium, just as modernism facilitated thinking in traditional physical medium.

Die Expansion, die sich des Fremdenverkehrs in den letzten fünfzehn Jahren bemächtigt hat, ist zu dessen beherrschendem Problem geworden. Fast alle Diskussionen gehen irgendwie von ihr aus oder münden in sie ein. Dies gilt nicht allein für die Entwicklungsländer, sondern auch für die fortgeschrittenen Fremdenverkehrsgebiete.