Variations in supplier relations operating within voluntary groups: historical perspectives on relationships and social justice in the independent retail sector

The convenience store sector evolved from the variety of small retailers operating in the 1950’s and is still dominated (in store numbers) by SMEs operating smaller stores (usually smaller than 3,000 sq ft.); trading extended hours; with a base around confectionary, tobacco and news (CTN) and off licence. In the 1980s as more independent retailers adopted the new convenience format the convenience sector spread geographically to fill the increasing demand for local stores with extended hours. Once geographic saturation was reached the main independent supply chains within the convenience sector adopted either a broadly coordinated embedded network through voluntary symbol groups or a broadly cooperative supply chain through cash and carries and delivered wholesalers. Various writers have argued that networking and the building of social capital (as in the voluntary symbol groups) is vital for SME growth whilst Jack and Anderson (2002) have demonstrated that entrepreneurs embedding themselves within a network may be sacrificing their entrepreneurial capabilities. Around 2000, the major retail multiples and the COOP entered the convenience sector. By using their extensive knowledge of Supply Chain Management (SCM) they were able to gain commercial advantage over the existing supply chains which focused these chains on the need for economic efficiency. This meant that the businesses within the voluntary groups had to choose between the mechanisms highlighted by Payan (2000) of economic efficiency with increased dependence on the centre and the mechanisms of social justice within the group that allowed independent actions within the group. Possibly because of these mechanisms, distinct differences in the types of relationships started to appear between suppliers and independent retailers within each of the voluntary groups. New (1997) highlighted the two opposing forces facing independent retailers operating within voluntary groups; the drive for profit for the whole group and the desire for a perceived fair share of that profit for individual members of the group. This paper introduces work currently under way to investigate causal configurations of market forces and the social history of a sector that jointly dictate the relationship choices of SMEs within the supply chain. Envisaging a critical realist approach, the aim of the research is to develop understanding of current relationship choices and identify causal mechanisms that would explain how these choices affect independent retailers today

Resolution of the Distance Ambiguity for Galactic HII Regions

We resolve the kinematic distance ambiguity for 266 inner Galaxy HII regions out of a sample of 291 using existing HI and 13CO sky surveys. Our sample contains all HII regions with measured radio recombination line (RRL) emission over the extent of the 13CO Boston University-Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory Galactic Ring Survey (18 deg, < l < 55 deg. and |b| < 1) and contains ultra compact, compact, and diffuse HII regions. We use two methods for resolving the distance ambiguity for each HII region: HI emission/absorption (HIEA) and HI self-absorption (HISA). We find that the HIEA and HISA methods can resolve the distance ambiguity for 72% and 87% of our sample, respectively. When projected onto the Galactic plane, this large sample appears to reveal aspects of Galactic structure, with spiral arm-like features at Galactocentric radii of 4.5 and 6 kpc, and a lack of HII regions within 3.5 kpc of the Galactic center. Our HII regions are approximately in the ratio of 2 to 1 for far verses near distances. The ratio of far to near distances for ultra-compact HII regions is 2.2 to 1. Compact HII regions are preferentially at the near distance; their ratio of far to near distances is 1.6 to 1. Diffuse HII regions are preferentially at the far distance; their ratio of far to near distances is 3.8 to 1. This implies that the distinction between ultra compact and compact HII regions is due largely to distance, and that the large angular size of diffuse HII regions is not due solely to proximity to the Sun.Comment: Accepted to Ap

Kinematic Distances to Molecular Clouds identified in the Galactic Ring Survey

Kinematic distances to 750 molecular clouds identified in the 13CO J=1-0 Boston University-Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory Galactic Ring Survey (BU-FCRAO GRS) are derived assuming the Clemens rotation curve of the Galaxy. The kinematic distance ambiguity is resolved by examining the presence of HI self-absorption toward the 13CO emission peak of each cloud using the Very Large Array Galactic Plane Survey (VGPS). We also identify 21 cm continuum sources embedded in the GRS clouds in order to use absorption features in the HI 21 cm continuum to distinguish between near and far kinematic distances. The Galactic distribution of GRS clouds is consistent with a four-arm model of the Milky Way. The locations of the Scutum-Crux and Perseus arms traced by GRS clouds match star count data from the Galactic Legacy Infrared Mid-Plane Survey Extraordinaire (GLIMPSE) star-count data. We conclude that molecular clouds must form in spiral arms and be short-lived (lifetimes < 10 Myr) in order to explain the absence of massive, 13CO bright molecular clouds in the inter-arm space

Consequences of population change for local abundance and site occupancy of wintering waterbirds

Aim: Population size changes can lead to changes in local abundance and/or site occupancy, depending on the processes influencing site use by individuals. Here we quantify such changes for wintering waterbirds, and assess their implications for widely used conservation strategies in which sites that support in excess of a given proportion of a population are prioritised for protection.  Location: Britain. Methods: We use long-term survey data to quantify changes in population size and distribution for 19 waterbird species across Britain. Results: Population changes in these species have varied greatly (from declines of ~25% to increases of >1600%) over 26 years, and we show that change in local abundance was the predominant consequence of these changes, while colonisation of new sites mainly occurred in response to large population increases. For most species, changes in abundance and occupancy were spatially dependent over relatively short distances, consistent with (but not conclusive of) density-dependent spill-over. Levels of occupancy among species were negatively associated with proportions of sites, and populations within sites, exceeding the 1% of total population threshold for site protection. For species increasing in overall population size, the occurrence of small incipient populations at new sites resulted in declines in the number of sites supporting> 1% of the total population and the proportion of the population supported by these sites.  Main conclusions: Fluctuations in waterbird population size are more likely to result in changes in local abundance than distribution. Consequences of population change for site protection when abundance thresholds are used for site designation depend on shifts in the evenness of distribution of abundances across sites, and whether occupancy is increasing or decreasing. Range-expanding species have an increased likelihood of losing some sites, and populations within sites, exceeding the 1% of total population threshold for site protection

Variations in supplier relations operating within voluntary groups: historical perspectives on relationships and social justice in the independent retail sector

The convenience store sector evolved from the variety of small retailers operating in the 1950’s and is still dominated (in store numbers) by SMEs operating smaller stores (usually smaller than 3,000 sq ft.); trading extended hours; with a base around confectionary, tobacco and news (CTN) and off licence. In the 1980s as more independent retailers adopted the new convenience format the convenience sector spread geographically to fill the increasing demand for local stores with extended hours. Once geographic saturation was reached the main independent supply chains within the convenience sector adopted either a broadly coordinated embedded network through voluntary symbol groups or a broadly cooperative supply chain through cash and carries and delivered wholesalers. Various writers have argued that networking and the building of social capital (as in the voluntary symbol groups) is vital for SME growth whilst Jack and Anderson (2002) have demonstrated that entrepreneurs embedding themselves within a network may be sacrificing their entrepreneurial capabilities. Around 2000, the major retail multiples and the COOP entered the convenience sector. By using their extensive knowledge of Supply Chain Management (SCM) they were able to gain commercial advantage over the existing supply chains which focused these chains on the need for economic efficiency. This meant that the businesses within the voluntary groups had to choose between the mechanisms highlighted by Payan (2000) of economic efficiency with increased dependence on the centre and the mechanisms of social justice within the group that allowed independent actions within the group. Possibly because of these mechanisms, distinct differences in the types of relationships started to appear between suppliers and independent retailers within each of the voluntary groups. New (1997) highlighted the two opposing forces facing independent retailers operating within voluntary groups; the drive for profit for the whole group and the desire for a perceived fair share of that profit for individual members of the group. This paper introduces work currently under way to investigate causal configurations of market forces and the social history of a sector that jointly dictate the relationship choices of SMEs within the supply chain. Envisaging a critical realist approach, the aim of the research is to develop understanding of current relationship choices and identify causal mechanisms that would explain how these choices affect independent retailers today

Embedded Stellar Populations towards Young Massive Star Formation Regions I. G305.2+0.2

We present deep, wide-field J, H and Ks images taken with IRIS2 on the Anglo Australian Telescope, towards the massive star formation region G305.2+0.2. Combined with 3.6, 4.5, 5.8 and 8.0 micron data from the GLIMPSE survey on the Spitzer Space Telescope, we investigate the properties of the embedded stellar populations. After removing contamination from foreground stars we separate the sources based on their IR colour. Strong extended emission in the GLIMPSE images hampers investigation of the most embedded sources towards the known sites of massive star formation. However, we find a sizeable population of IR excess sources in the surrounding region free from these completeness effects. Investigation reveals the recent star formation activity in the region is more widespread than previously known. Stellar density plots show the embedded cluster in the region, G305.24+0.204, is offset from the dust emission. We discuss the effect of this cluster on the surrounding area and argue it may have played a role in triggering sites of star formation within the region. Finally, we investigate the distribution of IR excess sources towards the cluster, in particular their apparent lack towards the centre compared with its immediate environs.Comment: 16 pages, 16 figures (significantly size reduced), 2 tables, accepted MNRA

Brain changes associated with cognitive and emotional factors in chronic pain : a systematic review

An emerging technique in chronic pain research is MRI, which has led to the understanding that chronic pain patients display brain structure and function alterations. Many of these altered brain regions and networks are not just involved in pain processing, but also in other sensory and particularly cognitive tasks. Therefore, the next step is to investigate the relation between brain alterations and pain related cognitive and emotional factors. This review aims at providing an overview of the existing literature on this subject. Pubmed, Web of Science and Embase were searched for original research reports. Twenty eight eligible papers were included, with information on the association of brain alterations with pain catastrophizing, fear-avoidance, anxiety and depressive symptoms. Methodological quality of eligible papers was checked by two independent researchers. Evidence on the direction of these associations is inconclusive. Pain catastrophizing is related to brain areas involved in pain processing, attention to pain, emotion and motor activity, and to reduced top-down pain inhibition. In contrast to pain catastrophizing, evidence on anxiety and depressive symptoms shows no clear association with brain characteristics. However, all included cognitive or emotional factors showed significant associations with resting state fMRI data, providing that even at rest the brain reserves a certain activity for these pain-related factors. Brain changes associated with illness perceptions, pain attention, attitudes and beliefs seem to receive less attention in literature. Significance: This review shows that maladaptive cognitive and emotional factors are associated with several brain regions involved in chronic pain. Targeting these factors in these patients might normalize specific brain alterations