Ethical supply chains: analysis, practices and performance measures

Ethics has been studied in numerous disciplines and its application to various practices has been investigated over the years such as in medicine and law. This has been relatively recently extended into the business arena, and has become a matter of growing interest for many companies. It has led to questions concerning what constitutes ethical behaviour, to what extent ethical practices should be adopted and what benefits a company may derive from its adoption. There are numerous processes involved in the transformation of a product from source to consumer, and these must be managed to produce an optimal balance of business requirements, specifically profitability, and a consideration of the wider impacts they may have or make. The supply chain has become vital to organisational success that companies now compete as supply chains rather than as individual entities. Therefore the ethical conduct of the supply chains has also begun to be scrutinised, both from an internal business performance perspective, and from the increasing concerns held by the numerous stakeholders of the organisation. In light of these developments, this paper explores the notion of ethics as it applies to supply chains. It also examines supply chain ethical practices and demonstrates that there is an empirical relationship between ethical practices and performance. The results show that ethical practices have positive impacts on the performance of the supply chain. Copyright © 2014 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd

Exploring the tourist destination as a mosaic: The alternative lifecycles of the seaside amusement arcade sector in Britain

One criticism of the tourism area lifecycle model is that it treats destinations as homogeneous entities. Instead destinations can be conceptualised as a mosaic of elements, each of which can follow a lifecycle that is different from that of the destination overall. This paper examines this issue with reference to amusement arcades in British seaside resorts and triangulates secondary sources and in-depth interviews to examine the historical evolution of this sector. It argues that the arcade sector has followed a lifecycle trajectory that is independent of the resorts in which they are located. A range of internal/external factors and global, national and local influences have affected the lifecycle of the arcade sector, including global developments in the entertainment industries; the influence of state policies and legislation; and the responses of local entrepreneurs to resort restructuring. The paper ends by arguing that destinations can be conceptualised as 'assemblages' of interacting elements

Magnetiska egenskaper och anisotropi för loess från övre Pleistocen på La Motte, Jersey, och deras implikationer för paleoklimat

The island of Jersey is an interesting location for palaeoclimate reconstruction given the likely impact of variations in North Atlantic climate and European ice sheet extent during the last glacial period considering their proximal location. These last glacial climatic variations are recorded in the loess sequence from La Motte, Jersey and in order to reconstruct these changes, a detailed magnetic analysis was performed. This included measurements of magnetic susceptibility, the anisotropy of low field magnetic susceptibility (AMS) and temperature dependent magnetic susceptibility. Findings show that many models of magnetic enhancement apply to the loess of La Motte, which complicates the palaeoclimatic interpretation. Despite this, warmer and wetter conditions are shown to have prevailed during the deposition of older loess (~50 to 60 ka) considering more evidence of pedogenesis and reworking in comparison to during younger loess deposition (~40 to 20 ka) when it was relatively cooler and drier. From assessment of the magnetic fabric using AMS, there is also found to likely have been a dominance of westerly and northerly winds on Jersey during main period of younger loess deposition centred around ~23 ka, with varying wind strength. Variations in wind strength and direction at this time were likely a result of the changing configuration of the British Isles ice sheet which led to the changing influence of northerly katabatic winds

Magnetiska egenskaper och anisotropi för loess från övre Pleistocen på La Motte, Jersey, och deras implikationer för paleoklimat

The island of Jersey is an interesting location for palaeoclimate reconstruction given the likely impact of variations in North Atlantic climate and European ice sheet extent during the last glacial period considering their proximal location. These last glacial climatic variations are recorded in the loess sequence from La Motte, Jersey and in order to reconstruct these changes, a detailed magnetic analysis was performed. This included measurements of magnetic susceptibility, the anisotropy of low field magnetic susceptibility (AMS) and temperature dependent magnetic susceptibility. Findings show that many models of magnetic enhancement apply to the loess of La Motte, which complicates the palaeoclimatic interpretation. Despite this, warmer and wetter conditions are shown to have prevailed during the deposition of older loess (~50 to 60 ka) considering more evidence of pedogenesis and reworking in comparison to during younger loess deposition (~40 to 20 ka) when it was relatively cooler and drier. From assessment of the magnetic fabric using AMS, there is also found to likely have been a dominance of westerly and northerly winds on Jersey during main period of younger loess deposition centred around ~23 ka, with varying wind strength. Variations in wind strength and direction at this time were likely a result of the changing configuration of the British Isles ice sheet which led to the changing influence of northerly katabatic winds

Semantic uncertainty guides the extension of conventions to new referents

A long tradition of studies in psycholinguistics has examined the formation and generalization of ad hoc conventions in reference games, showing how newly acquired conventions for a given target transfer to new referential contexts. However, another axis of generalization remains understudied: how do conventions formed for one target transfer to completely distinct targets, when specific lexical choices are unlikely to repeat? This paper presents two dyadic studies (N=240) that address this axis of generalization, focusing on the role of nameability --- the a priori likelihood that two individuals will share the same label. We leverage the recently-released KiloGram dataset, a collection of abstract tangram images that is orders of magnitude larger than previously available, exhibiting high diversity of properties like nameability. Our first study asks how nameability shapes convention formation, while the second asks how new conventions generalize to entirely new targets of reference. Our results raise new questions about how ad hoc conventions extend beyond target-specific re-use of specific lexical choices

Semantic uncertainty guides the extension of conventions to new referents

A long tradition of studies in psycholinguistics has examined the formation and generalization of ad hoc conventions in reference games, showing how newly acquired conventions for a given target transfer to new referential contexts. However, another axis of generalization remains understudied: how do conventions formed for one target transfer to completely distinct targets, when specific lexical choices are unlikely to repeat? This paper presents two dyadic studies (N = 240) that address this axis of generalization, focusing on the role of nameability -- the a priori likelihood that two individuals will share the same label. We leverage the recently-released KiloGram dataset, a collection of abstract tangram images that is orders of magnitude larger than previously available, exhibiting high diversity of properties like nameability. Our first study asks how nameability shapes convention formation, while the second asks how new conventions generalize to entirely new targets of reference. Our results raise new questions about how ad hoc conventions extend beyond target-specific re-use of specific lexical choices.Comment: Proceedings of the 45th Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Societ

Color Diversity Judgments in Peripheral Vision: Evidence Against "Cost-Free" Representations

Is visual perception “rich” or “sparse?” One finding supporting the “rich” hypothesis shows that a specific visual summary representation, color variability, is represented “cost-free” outside focally-attended regions in dual-task paradigms (Bronfman et al. 2014). Here, we investigated whether this “cost-free” phenomenon for color variability perception extends to peripheral vision. We performed three experiments: in our first experiment, we replicated previous findings and verified that color variability is represented “cost-free” in central vision. In our second experiment, we extended the paradigm to peripheral vision and found that in minimally-attended regions of space, color variability perception was impaired. In a third and final experiment, we added confidence judgments to our task, and found that participants maintained high levels of metacognitive awareness of impaired performance in minimally-attended regions of space. These findings provide evidence which challenges common conceptions on both sides of the rich vs. sparse debate

Color diversity judgments in peripheral vision: Evidence against "cost-free" representations.

Is visual perception "rich" or "sparse?" One finding supporting the "rich" hypothesis shows that a specific visual summary representation, color diversity, is represented "cost-free" outside focally-attended regions in dual-task paradigms [1]. Here, we investigated whether this "cost-free" phenomenon for color diversity perception extends to peripheral vision. After replicating previous findings and verifying that color diversity is represented "cost-free" in central vision, we performed two experiments: in our first experiment, we extended the paradigm to peripheral vision and found that in minimally-attended regions of space, color diversity perception was impaired. In a second and final experiment, we added confidence judgments to our task, and found that participants maintained high levels of metacognitive awareness of impaired performance in minimally-attended visual areas in the periphery. These findings provide evidence that color perception may be partially attention-dependent in peripheral vision, and challenge previous views on both sides of the rich vs. sparse debate

How do we conduct a national transfusion related lookback program?

Background: Lookback investigations are conducted by blood services when a risk of transmission of infection from a donor to a recipient has been identified. They involve tracing transfusion recipients and offering them testing for the relevant infectious agent. Results are relayed to the recipient to provide reassurance that there has been no transmission or to ensure appropriate treatment and care if required, and blood services are able to learn lessons from the planning, delivery, and outcomes of the investigation. A national lookback exercise was conducted in Scotland following the introduction of a test to identify occult hepatitis B infection, as recommended by the UK Advisory Committee for the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs (SaBTO) in 2021. Methods and Materials: This paper outlines the development and delivery of a national lookback program. It discusses the logistical, economic, ethical, regulatory, and scientific issues that were considered during the planning and delivery of the lookback exercise. Results: Development and delivery of a national lookback required robust governance, engagement of all relevant stakeholders and a shared understanding of aims, effective communication, systems, resources, limitations, and project management. Outcomes included a high testing uptake, low levels of reported anxiety, and a comprehensive data set. Conclusion: Key aspects for delivery of a successful large-scale lookback program include a patient-centered approach, clear and accessible communication, and whole-systems multiagency collaboration. Major challenges include stakeholder engagement and capacity.</p

The application of metacommunity theory to the management of riverine ecosystems.

River managers strive to use the best available science to sustain biodiversity and ecosystem function. To achieve this goal requires consideration of processes at different scales. Metacommunity theory describes how multiple species from different communities potentially interact with local-scale environmental drivers to influence population dynamics and community structure. However, this body of knowledge has only rarely been used to inform management practices for river ecosystems. In this paper, we present a conceptual model outlining how the metacommunity processes of local niche sorting and dispersal can influence the outcomes of management interventions and provide a series of specific recommendations for applying these ideas as well as research needs. In all cases, we identify situations where traditional approaches to riverine management could be enhanced by incorporating an understanding of metacommunity dynamics. A common theme is developing guidelines for assessing the metacommunity context of a site or region, evaluating how that context may affect the desired outcome, and incorporating that understanding into the planning process and methods used. To maximize the effectiveness of management activities, scientists and resource managers should update the toolbox of approaches to riverine management to reflect theoretical advances in metacommunity ecology