Recent dynamics in interlocking directorates in the European Union\u27s largest corporations: 1986 and 1992

An interlocking directorate is created when an individual sits on the board of directors of two, or more, corporations simultaneously. One of the assumed functions of the interlocking directorate is that it provides the corporation with information on external markets. By analyzing the boards of directors of the European Union’s largest corporations for 1986 and 1992 one can test for the assumption that there should be increased interlocking directorates over the same time period. As is well known, in the last decade the European Union moved toward greater economic integration between member countries. It was expected that as member countries integrate more of their activities, corporations will also more clearly link their operations. One of many methods through which increasing corporate integration may occur is with the creation of the interlocking directorate. By determining the number of interlocking directorates within and between countries it is possible to determine the degree of change between 1986 and 1992. It is also possible to determine what cities are more prominent as centres for interlocking directorate activity. By including other corporate data it is possible to determine if corporations of different size in distinct geographic locations experience similar rates of formation with interlocking directorates. In order to answer these questions the directors of the top 534 corporations, by annual turnover, in 1986 and 1992 were examined, together with their country and city of corporate headquarters, number of employees and industrial group. It was found that interlocking directorates in the European Union have experienced a substantial increase between 1986 and 1992. However, it was also found that there was a significant spatial variation in interlocking directorate formation within and between member countries of the European Union. The frequency of interlocking directorates was, in part, determined by the number of corporations that were headquartered in France, Germany and the UK. Conversely, cross-border interlocking directorates were more frequent in those corporations headquartered in Belgium and The Netherlands. When determining interlocking directorates within and between cities a major city emerged in most countries. However, it appears that between 1986 and 1992 a dispersal of activity has occurred from the major cities to the smaller ones. Major cities also evolve for cross-border interlocking directorates in the same time period. Lastly, the size of corporation appears to play a role in the rate of formation of interlocking directorates. However, the incidence varies slightly between countries in the European Union. These findings would lend support to the hypothesis that corporations in the European Union area integrating more of their business activities

Nanolamellar magnetoelectric BaTiO3–CoFe2O4 bicrystal

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/apl/95/15/10.1063/1.3241999

Morphotropic Phase Boundaries in Ferromagnets: Tb_{1-x}Dy_xFe_2 Alloys

The structure and properties of the ferromagnet Tb_{1-x}Dy_xFe_2 (Terfenol-D) are explored through the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) separating ferroic phases of differing symmetry. Our synchrotron data support a first order structural transition, with a broadening MPB width at higher temperatures. The optimal point for magnetomechanical applications is not centered on the MPB but lies on the rhombohedral side, where the high striction of the rhombohedral majority phase combines with the softened anisotropy of the MPB. We compare our findings with single ion crystal field theory and with ferroelectric MPBs, where the controlling energies are different.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Doping evolution of antiferromagnetism and transport properties in the non-superconducting BaFe2-2xNixCrxAs2

We report elastic neutron scattering and transport measurements on the Ni and Cr equivalently doped iron pnictide BaFe$_{2-2x}$Ni$_{x}$Cr$_{x}$As$_{2}$. Compared with the electron-doped BaFe$_{2-x}$Ni$_{x}$As$_{2}$, the long-range antiferromagnetic (AF) order in BaFe$_{2-2x}$Ni$_{x}$Cr$_{x}$As$_{2}$ is gradually suppressed with vanishing ordered moment and N\'{e}el temperature near $x= 0.20$ without the appearance of superconductivity. A detailed analysis on the transport properties of BaFe$_{2-x}$Ni$_{x}$As and BaFe$_{2-2x}$Ni$_{x}$Cr$_{x}$As$_{2}$ suggests that the non-Fermi-liquid behavior associated with the linear resistivity as a function of temperature may not correspond to the disappearance of the static AF order. From the temperature dependence of the resistivity in overdoped compounds without static AF order, we find that the transport properties are actually affected by Cr impurity scattering, which may induce a metal-to-insulator crossover in highly doped BaFe$_{1.7-y}$Ni$_{0.3}$Cr$_{y}$As$_{2}$.Comment: 10 pages, 12 figure