Corporate Environmental Reporting on the Web – An Exploratory Study of Chinese Listed Companies

While the literature has given a considerable attention to internet financial reporting, limitedstudies mainly from developed economies have emerged to explain and predict corporate behaviorrelating to corporate environmental reporting on Websites. This preliminary study attemptsto fill a gap by investigating Internet environmental reporting (IER) in China and examiningthe current IER practice of Chinese top listed companies. This study finds that IER isincreasingly used in China to disclose corporate social and environmental activity and policy.Companies are increasingly using the phrases of ‘sustainability’ and ‘corporate social responsibility’in their IER. Website-specific reporting concerning social and environmental issues,performance and activities has growingly been adopted by Chinese top listed companies as themain approach to IER. Both the quantity of disclosure and the areas of coverage have steadilyincreased. While IER in China is developing, there remains a considerable discrepancy in termsof reporting practices and the levels of social and environmental information disclosed. Thereare no generally accepted standards and guidelines for IER in China, and the data/informationdisclosed are largely incomparable. External auditing of IER remains a problem. Copyright © www.iiste.or

Cognitive Multihop Wireless Sensor Networks over Nakagami-m Fading Channels

This work is supported by the National Science Foundation of China (NSFC) under Grant 61372114, by the National 973 Program of China under Grant 2012CB316005, by the Joint Funds of NSFC-Guangdong under Grant U1035001, and by Beijing Higher Education Young Elite Teacher Project (no. YETP0434)

An approach to exact solutions of the time-dependent supersymmetric two-level three-photon Jaynes-Cummings model

By utilizing the property of the supersymmetric structure in the two-level multiphoton Jaynes-Cummings model, an invariant is constructed in terms of the supersymmetric generators by working in the sub-Hilbert-space corresponding to a particular eigenvalue of the conserved supersymmetric generators. We obtain the exact solutions of the time-dependent Schr\"{o}dinger equation which describes the time-dependent supersymmetric two-level three-photon Jaynes-Cummings model (TLTJCM) by using the invariant-related unitary transformation formulation. The case under the adiabatic approximation is also discussed. Keywords: Supersymmetric Jaynes-Cummings model; exact solutions; invariant theory; geometric phase factor; adiabatic approximationComment: 7 pages, Late

Suppression of weak localization effects in low-density metallic 2D holes

We have measured the conductivity in a gated high-mobility GaAs two dimensional hole sample with densities in the range (7-17)x10^9 cm^-2 and at hole temperatures down to 5x10^-3 E_F. We measure the weak localization corrections to the conductivity g=G/(e^2/h) as a function of magnetic field (Delta g=0.019 +/- 0.006 at g=1.5 and T=9 mK) and temperature (d ln g/dT<0.0058 and 0.0084 at g=1.56 and 2.8). These values are less than a few percent of the value 1/pi predicted by standard weak localization theory for a disordered 2D Fermi liqui

Time Synchronization and Distribution Mechanisms for Space Networks

This work discusses research on the problems of synchronizing and distributing time information between spacecraft based on the Network Time Protocol (NTP), where NTP is a standard time synchronization protocol widely used in the terrestrial network. The Proximity-1 Space Link Interleaved Time Synchronization (PITS) Protocol was designed and developed for synchronizing spacecraft that are in proximity where proximity is less than 100,000 km distant. A particular application is synchronization between a Mars orbiter and rover. Lunar scenarios as well as outer-planet deep space mother-ship-probe missions may also apply. Spacecraft with more accurate time information functions as a time-server, and the other spacecraft functions as a time-client. PITS can be easily integrated and adaptable to the CCSDS Proximity-1 Space Link Protocol with minor modifications. In particular, PITS can take advantage of the timestamping strategy that underlying link layer functionality provides for accurate time offset calculation. The PITS algorithm achieves time synchronization with eight consecutive space network time packet exchanges between two spacecraft. PITS can detect and avoid possible errors from receiving duplicate and out-of-order packets by comparing with the current state variables and timestamps. Further, PITS is able to detect error events and autonomously recover from unexpected events that can possibly occur during the time synchronization and distribution process. This capability achieves an additional level of protocol protection on top of CRC or Error Correction Codes. PITS is a lightweight and efficient protocol, eliminating the needs for explicit frame sequence number and long buffer storage. The PITS protocol is capable of providing time synchronization and distribution services for a more general domain where multiple entities need to achieve time synchronization using a single point-to-point link

In vivo vibrometry inside the apex of the mouse cochlea using spectral domain optical coherence tomography

Sound transduction within the auditory portion of the inner ear, the cochlea, is a complex nonlinear process. The study of cochlear mechanics in large rodents has provided important insights into cochlear function. However, technological and experimental limitations have restricted studies in mice due to their smaller cochlea. These challenges are important to overcome because of the wide variety of transgenic mouse strains with hearing loss mutations that are available for study. To accomplish this goal, we used spectral domain optical coherence tomography to visualize and measure sound-induced vibrations of intracochlear tissues. We present, to our knowledge, the first vibration measurements from the apex of an unopened mouse cochlea

Software Modules for the Proximity-1 Space Link Interleaved Time Synchronization (PITS) Protocol

The Proximity-1 Space Link Interleaved Time Synchronization (PITS) protocol provides time distribution and synchronization services for space systems. A software prototype implementation of the PITS algorithm has been developed that also provides the test harness to evaluate the key functionalities of PITS with simulated data source and sink. PITS integrates time synchronization functionality into the link layer of the CCSDS Proximity-1 Space Link Protocol. The software prototype implements the network packet format, data structures, and transmit- and receive-timestamp function for a time server and a client. The software also simulates the transmit and receive-time stamp exchanges via UDP (User Datagram Protocol) socket between a time server and a time client, and produces relative time offsets and delay estimates