In 1962, when environmentalist and author Rachel Carson penned "Silent Spring," alerting the world to the dangers of the pesticide DDT, it was the reproductive threat to birds – the bald eagle in particular – that spurred people to action.

Six decades later, Rutgers University–New Brunswick researchers are taking the measure of another global environmental pollutant by drawing parallels to the crisis Carson identified. This time, the pollutant is mercury, and the sentinels are penguins living in the farthest reaches of the Antarctic Peninsula.

“With mercury, there’s an analogy to DDT,” said John Reinfelder, a professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences at the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, and co-author of a study published in Science of the Total Environment examining mercury levels in the flightless, aquatic birds.

Knowledge theft is about intentionally claiming unjustifiable ownership of somebody else’s contributions, including ideas and work products such as presentations, systems or solutions to a business problem. It not only undermines employee trust and morale but also poses a serious threat to the success of knowledge management initiatives. Organizations must recognize the risk that knowledge theft poses to their intellectual capital and adopt proactive strategies to foster a culture of ethical behavior, protect knowledge assets, and support employees in rebuilding trust and collaboration after such events.