Nuclear physics research at the University of Richmond. Progress report, November 1, 1994--October 31, 1995

Summarized in this report is the progress achieved during the period from November 1, 1994 to October 31, 1995. The experimental work described in this report is in electromagnetic and heavy-ion nuclear physics. The effort in electromagnetic nuclear physics is in preparation for the research program at the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) and is focused on the construction and use of the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS). The heavy-ion experiments were performed at the Argonne National Laboratory ATLAS facility and SUNY, Stony Brook. The physics interests driving these efforts at CEBAF are in the study of the structure, interactions, and nuclear-medium modifications of mesons and baryons. This year, an extension of the experiment to measure the magnetic form factor of the neutron was approved by the CEBAF Program Advisory Committee Nine (PAC9) for beam at 6 GeV. The authors also submitted updates to PAC9 on the experiments to measure inclusive {eta} photoproduction in nuclei and electroproduction of the {Lambda}, {Lambda}*(1520), and f{sub 0}(975). In addition to these experiments, the authors collaborated on a proposal to measure rare radiative decays of the {phi} meson which was also approved by PAC9. Their contributions to the construction of the CLAS include the development of the drift-chamber gas system, drift-chamber software, and controls software. Major has been leading the effort in the construction of the gas system. In the last year, the Hall B gas shed was constructed and the installation of the gas system components built at the University of Richmond has begun. Over the last six years, the efforts in low-energy heavy-ion physics have decreased due to the change in focus to electromagnetic nuclear physics at CEBAF. Most of the heavy-ion work is completed and there are now new experiments planned. Included in this report are two papers resulting from collaborations on heavy-ion experiments

Responsabilité sociale des entreprises et lobbying : Quelle éthique pour quels enjeux dans les cabinets de conseil en lobbying?

In France, lobbying consulting is at the same time a recent and not well received activity, conversely to the United States. The influence of public decision making is certainly a particularly sensitive occupation, at both managerial and societal levels. This is why ethics as applied to business can play a central role in its establishment. This paper examines the practices and issues of ethics in lobbying consulting. The chosen field in this exploratory study is France. The case of a lobbying consultancy firm is more specifically developed. A three month participant observation research is complemented by secondary data on the profession in France and in the United States, as well as on French, European, American and Quebec institutions. The results of this research are developed along two lines: 1. The practice of lobbying ethics differs according to age and degree of institutionalization of the profession in the country. In France ethics is informal and based primarily on exemplary, with a particularly low regulatory potential. 2. The stakes of ethics are both internal to the lobbying consulting profession, in its structuring from an emerging to an established profession, as well as external in the clarifying of its relationship with its stakeholders including customers, government and the civil society.En France, le conseil en lobbying est une activité à la fois récente et mal perçue, contrairement à ce qui se pratique aux États-Unis. Il est vrai que l'influence de la décision publique est une profession particulièrement sensible, tant sur le plan managérial que sur le plan sociétal. C'est pourquoi l'éthique (comprise dans son sens général comme la morale appliquée aux affaires) peut y jouer un rôle central. Cette communication s'interroge sur les pratiques et les enjeux de l'éthique dans le conseil en lobbying. Le terrain privilégié dans cette étude exploratoire du sujet est la France. Le cas d'un cabinet de conseil en lobbying est plus particulièrement développé, fruit d'une observation participante de trois mois. Il est complété par des données secondaires sur la profession en France et aux États Unis ainsi que sur les institutions françaises, européennes, américaines et québécoises. Les résultats de cette recherche sont développés autour de deux axes : 1. La pratique de l'éthique du lobbying diffère suivant l'âge et le degré d'institutionnalisation de la profession dans le pays ; en particulier en France on observe une éthique informelle au faible potentiel régulatoire et basée essentiellement sur l'exemplarité. 2.1. Les enjeux de l'éthique sont à la fois une structuration interne de la profession de conseil en lobbying mais également en externe une clarification des relations entre ces organisations et leurs différentes parties prenantes (notamment les clients, l'État et la société civile). Ce sujet suggère des opportunités de recherche future sur les principes et les procédures éthiques appliqués au lobbying, comme instrument de légitimation et de diffusion de bonnes pratiques, dans le cadre du développement de la responsabilité sociale des entreprises

Responsabilité sociale des entreprises et lobbying : Quelle éthique pour quels enjeux dans les cabinets de conseil en lobbying?

In France, lobbying consulting is at the same time a recent and not well received activity, conversely to the United States. The influence of public decision making is certainly a particularly sensitive occupation, at both managerial and societal levels. This is why ethics as applied to business can play a central role in its establishment. This paper examines the practices and issues of ethics in lobbying consulting. The chosen field in this exploratory study is France. The case of a lobbying consultancy firm is more specifically developed. A three month participant observation research is complemented by secondary data on the profession in France and in the United States, as well as on French, European, American and Quebec institutions. The results of this research are developed along two lines: 1. The practice of lobbying ethics differs according to age and degree of institutionalization of the profession in the country. In France ethics is informal and based primarily on exemplary, with a particularly low regulatory potential. 2. The stakes of ethics are both internal to the lobbying consulting profession, in its structuring from an emerging to an established profession, as well as external in the clarifying of its relationship with its stakeholders including customers, government and the civil society.En France, le conseil en lobbying est une activité à la fois récente et mal perçue, contrairement à ce qui se pratique aux États-Unis. Il est vrai que l'influence de la décision publique est une profession particulièrement sensible, tant sur le plan managérial que sur le plan sociétal. C'est pourquoi l'éthique (comprise dans son sens général comme la morale appliquée aux affaires) peut y jouer un rôle central. Cette communication s'interroge sur les pratiques et les enjeux de l'éthique dans le conseil en lobbying. Le terrain privilégié dans cette étude exploratoire du sujet est la France. Le cas d'un cabinet de conseil en lobbying est plus particulièrement développé, fruit d'une observation participante de trois mois. Il est complété par des données secondaires sur la profession en France et aux États Unis ainsi que sur les institutions françaises, européennes, américaines et québécoises. Les résultats de cette recherche sont développés autour de deux axes : 1. La pratique de l'éthique du lobbying diffère suivant l'âge et le degré d'institutionnalisation de la profession dans le pays ; en particulier en France on observe une éthique informelle au faible potentiel régulatoire et basée essentiellement sur l'exemplarité. 2.1. Les enjeux de l'éthique sont à la fois une structuration interne de la profession de conseil en lobbying mais également en externe une clarification des relations entre ces organisations et leurs différentes parties prenantes (notamment les clients, l'État et la société civile). Ce sujet suggère des opportunités de recherche future sur les principes et les procédures éthiques appliqués au lobbying, comme instrument de légitimation et de diffusion de bonnes pratiques, dans le cadre du développement de la responsabilité sociale des entreprises

Impact Fracture Testing of Engineering Polymers (Part 2)

To characterize the dynamic fracture behaviour of high density poly(ethylene) (PE-HD) and poly(oxy-methylene) (POM), instrumented impact tests were performed with a servohydraulic test system using various specimens under bending and tensile loading. The objectives of this study were to develop and implement a test methodology and a data recording and reduction scheme for various test speeds and impact rates (0.001 to 8 m/s), and to determine the effect of the impact rate on the fracture toughness of PE-HD and POM. The data reduction to determine dynamic fracture toughness values was carried out according to different procedures taking account of the specific impact rates and the deformation behaviour of the materials tested.Pour caractériser le comportement de rupture aux grandes vitesses de polyéthylène de haute densité (PE-HD) et polyoxyméthylène (POM), on a fait des essais d'impact instrumentés avec une machine d'essai servo-hydraulique avec des spécimens divers sous flexion et traction. Les objectifs de ces études étaient le dévelopment et l'implémentation d'une méthodologie d'essai et un schéma d'acquisition et réduction des données pour des vitesses d'essai différents (de 0.001 a 8 m/s), et la détermination de l'effet de la vitesse d'impact sur le facteur critique d'intensité des contraintes, KIc de PE-HD et POM. La réduction des données pour évaluer KIc a été réalisée en prenant les vitesses d'impact spécifiques et le comportement de déformation des matériaux testés en considération

Polarization relaxation in zinc oxide varistors from 77 K to 450 K

The time and temperature dependences of polarization currents are investigated to higher temperatures and with greater temperature resolution than has been reported previously for zinc oxide varistors. Arrhenius plots yield thermal activation energies near 140 and 8 meV, which are in reasonable agreement with values reported recently, as well as an additional thermally activated level at 0.66 eV, which emerges in the extension of the measurements to T > 300K. Conductance data in this higher temperature range for the same samples yield the nearly identical energy of 0.68 eV for the intergranular (Schottky) barrier height. The temperature dependence of the exponent m in the power-law expression for the current-time dependence I = I{sub o}t{sup {minus}m} was carefully examined and found to change twice from 0.5 to 1.0. The non-monotonic behavior of m with temperature is interpreted as due to resolution of the polarization currents from two different traps each of which makes the transition from diffusive to dispersive transport as temperature is lowered rather than, for example, a complicated distribution of relaxation times

Dispersion of the nonlinear refractive index in sapphire

The nonlinear refractive index, n2, of sapphire was experimentally measured in the 550-1550-nm wavelength range by use of a picosecond Z-scan technique. It was found that in this spectral region the value of n2 decreases monotonically from approximately 3.3 x 10(-16) to approximately 2.8 x 10(-16) cm2/W. An empirical expression for the wavelength dependence of the nonlinear refractive index in the 270-1550-nm range was obtained