Progress in Classical and Quantum Variational Principles

We review the development and practical uses of a generalized Maupertuis least action principle in classical mechanics, in which the action is varied under the constraint of fixed mean energy for the trial trajectory. The original Maupertuis (Euler-Lagrange) principle constrains the energy at every point along the trajectory. The generalized Maupertuis principle is equivalent to Hamilton's principle. Reciprocal principles are also derived for both the generalized Maupertuis and the Hamilton principles. The Reciprocal Maupertuis Principle is the classical limit of Schr\"{o}dinger's variational principle of wave mechanics, and is also very useful to solve practical problems in both classical and semiclassical mechanics, in complete analogy with the quantum Rayleigh-Ritz method. Classical, semiclassical and quantum variational calculations are carried out for a number of systems, and the results are compared. Pedagogical as well as research problems are used as examples, which include nonconservative as well as relativistic systems

Unintentional social consequences of disorganised marketing of corporate social responsibility: figurational insights into the oil and gas sector in Africa.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become a concept that is widely associated with large transnational corporations (TNCs) and increasingly small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). The concept is contentious with wide ranging debates about intent and impact, not least from critics who perceive CSR to ostensibly be a marketing tool. Before examining some of the current flaws within CSR, it is important to establish how the concept is being applied

Learning from Poverty: Why Business Schools Should Address Poverty, and How They Can Go About It.

In the past few years, business schools have begun to address poverty issues in their teaching, learning and curricula. While this is a positive development, the arguments for reconfiguring educational programs to address such matters remain undeveloped, with much of the impetus for such endeavors rooted in calls for social responsibility in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, the Social Compact, the Principles for Responsible Management Education and benchmarks such as ISO 26000. This article seeks to clarify the pedagogical grounds for integrating poverty issues in management education by examining the intellectual and personal development benefits of doing so. By critically examining four modes of business involvement in poverty reduction, the article shows how such initiatives can be used as intellectual lenses through which to view the complex and often paradoxical interconnections between socioeconomic and environmental systems. It is thus concluded that a consideration of poverty issues is not a marginal matter, but is key to grasping the 21st century complexities of global business and management

Tree integration in homestead farms in southeast Nigeria: propositions and evidence.

This paper contributes to wider debates on the dominant factors determining the emergence and sustainability of intermediate systems of forest management in developing countries. The theoretical framework and propositions for analysing tree integration in homestead farms are presented, with reference to southeast Nigeria. The paper argues that, first, at the household level, livelihood strategies constitute the main determinant of the decision to integrate trees in homestead farms. Secondly, induced innovation has a wider and more significant role at the community level than at the household level in encouraging the integration of trees in farms. Thirdly, the sustainability of observed patterns of tree integration is influenced by the interaction of environmental, ecological, political, economic and social factors. Based on these propositions, the paper analyses the internal (household) and external (wider community) factors influencing tree integration in homestead farms in southeast Nigeria