An examination of UK companies' modern slavery disclosure practices: Does board gender diversity matter?

The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals persuade governments and businesses to fight modern slavery as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The UK government took the initiative by introducing the Modern Slavery Act in 2015. Despite this, little is known about how companies disclose information about their efforts to tackle modern slavery as required by the Act and the role of corporate governance as a determinant of modern slavery disclosure (MSD) levels. This study, therefore, investigates the extent to which companies engage in MSD and empirically examines the impact of board gender diversity (BGD) on MSD. Based on a content analysis of FTSE 100 companies' modern slavery statements during the 2016–2020 period, we find that MSD improved over time but is still relatively low. Our results show that companies pay less attention to the core practices of modern slavery, such as key performance indicators (KPIs), due diligence procedures, risk assessment and management, and training. This evidence suggests that companies tend to comply with the Act by focusing largely on symbolic structures rather than providing a comprehensive disclosure of their impacts on modern slavery practices to minimise regulatory risks and manage stakeholders' perceptions. We also find that boards with greater female representation have a positive and significant association with MSD. This finding is consistent with the gender socialisation theory in that women are more sensitive to communal values and ethics. Consequently, companies with a greater proportion of female directors are more transparent about their strategies and actions related to fighting modern slavery. Furthermore, a critical mass of at least four female directors is necessary before any positive impact on MSD can be observed. Our findings shed new light on this under-researched area and the role of female directors in addressing modern slavery risk and can be of interest to companies, policymakers, and other stakeholders

Can board environmental orientation improve U.S. firms' carbon performance? The mediating role of carbon strategy

Overwhelming evidence from prior research suggests a positive association between corporate board characteristics and carbon performance; however, very little is known about the mechanisms linking the two variables. This study attempts to fill this gap by developing and empirically testing a conceptual model that highlights the role of carbon strategy in the relationship between board environmental orientation (BEO) and carbon performance. We argue that BEO can directly and indirectly influence carbon performance through carbon strategy. Using structural equation modelling to analyse data consisting of 2,301 US firm-year observations over the 2005-2015 period, we find that the greater the BEO is, the better its carbon performance (i.e., lower greenhouse gas emissions). The results also provide evidence of the mediating effect of carbon strategy on the relationship between BEO and carbon performance. Splitting the sample into high and low carbon-intensive industries shows a partial mediation effect in high carbon-intensive industries and a full mediation effect in low carbon-intensive industries. The findings of the study and its implications for scholars, policy makers, managers, investors and environmentalists are discussed

An exact master equation for the system-reservoir dynamics under the strong coupling regime and non-Markovian dynamics

In this paper we present a method to derive an exact master equation for a bosonic system coupled to a set of other bosonic systems, which plays the role of the reservoir, under the strong coupling regime, i.e., without resorting to either the rotating-wave or secular approximations. Working with phase-space distribution functions, we verify that the dynamics are separated in the evolution of its center, which follows classical mechanics, and its shape, which becomes distorted. This is the generalization of a result by Glauber, who stated that coherent states remain coherent under certain circumstances, specifically when the rotating-wave approximation and a zero-temperature reservoir are used. We show that the counter-rotating terms generate fluctuations that distort the vacuum state, much the same as thermal fluctuations.Finally, we discuss conditions for non-Markovian dynamics

Hydrodynamic coupling and rotational mobilities near planar elastic membranes

We study theoretically and numerically the coupling and rotational hydrodynamic interactions between spherical particles near a planar elastic membrane that exhibits resistance towards shear and bending. Using a combination of the multipole expansion and Faxen's theorems, we express the frequency-dependent hydrodynamic mobility functions as a power series of the ratio of the particle radius to the distance from the membrane for the self mobilities, and as a power series of the ratio of the radius to the interparticle distance for the pair mobilities. In the quasi-steady limit of zero frequency, we find that the shear- and bending-related contributions to the particle mobilities may have additive or suppressive effects depending on the membrane properties in addition to the geometric configuration of the interacting particles relative to the confining membrane. To elucidate the effect and role of the change of sign observed in the particle self and pair mobilities, we consider an example involving a torque-free doublet of counterrotating particles near an elastic membrane. We find that the induced rotation rate of the doublet around its center of mass may differ in magnitude and direction depending on the membrane shear and bending properties. Near a membrane of only energetic resistance toward shear deformation, such as that of a certain type of elastic capsules, the doublet undergoes rotation of the same sense as observed near a no-slip wall. Near a membrane of only energetic resistance toward bending, such as that of a fluid vesicle, we find a reversed sense of rotation. Our analytical predictions are supplemented and compared with fully resolved boundary integral simulations where a very good agreement is obtained over the whole range of applied frequencies.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures. Revised manuscript resubmitted to J. Chem. Phy

Evidence of anisotropic magnetic polarons in la0.94_{0.94}Sr0.06_{0.06}MnO3_3 by neutron scattering and comparison with Ca-doped manganites

Elastic and inelastic neutron scattering experiments have been performed in a La$_{0.94}$Sr$_{0.06}$MnO$_3$ untwinned crystal, which exhibits an antiferromagnetic canted magnetic structure with ferromagnetic layers. The elastic small q scattering exhibits a modulation with an anisotropic q-dependence. It can be pictured by ferromagnetic inhomogeneities or polarons with a platelike shape, the largest size ($\approx17\AA$) and largest inter-polaron distance ($\approx$ 38$\AA$) being within the ferromagnetic layers. Comparison with observations performed on Ca-doped samples, which show the growth of the magnetic polarons with doping, suggests that this growth is faster for the Sr than for the Ca substitution. Below the gap of the spin wave branch typical of the AF layered magnetic structure, an additional spin wave branch reveals a ferromagnetic and isotropic coupling, already found in Ca-doped samples. Its q-dependent intensity, very anisotropic, closely reflects the ferromagnetic correlations found for the static clusters. All these results agree with a two-phase electronic segregation occurring on a very small scale, although some characteristics of a canted state are also observed suggesting a weakly inhomogeneous state.Comment: 11 pages, 11 figure

Topologically massive magnetic monopoles

We show that in the Maxwell-Chern-Simons theory of topologically massive electrodynamics the Dirac string of a monopole becomes a cone in anti-de Sitter space with the opening angle of the cone determined by the topological mass which in turn is related to the square root of the cosmological constant. This proves to be an example of a physical system, {\it a priory} completely unrelated to gravity, which nevertheless requires curved spacetime for its very existence. We extend this result to topologically massive gravity coupled to topologically massive electrodynamics in the framework of the theory of Deser, Jackiw and Templeton. These are homogeneous spaces with conical deficit. Pure Einstein gravity coupled to Maxwell-Chern-Simons field does not admit such a monopole solution

On the (im)possibility of a supersymmetric extension of NGT

We investigate the possibility of constructing a locally supersymmetric extension of NGT (Nonsymmetric Gravitation Theory), based on the graded extension of the Poincare group. In the framework of the simple model that we propose, we end up with a no-go result, namely the impossibility of cancelling some linear contribution in the gravitino field. This drawback seems to seriously undermine the construction of a supergravity based on NGT.Comment: 17 pages, Latex,two references added, minor changes for clarity, v3: E-mail changed, v4 : Ref(9) correcte

Extraordinary Magnetoresistance in Hybrid Semiconductor-Metal Systems

We show that extraordinary magnetoresistance (EMR) arises in systems consisting of two components; a semiconducting ring with a metallic inclusion embedded. The im- portant aspect of this discovery is that the system must have a quasi-two-dimensional character. Using the same materials and geometries for the samples as in experiments by Solin et al.[1;2], we show that such systems indeed exhibit a huge magnetoresistance. The magnetoresistance arises due to the switching of electrical current paths passing through the metallic inclusion. Diagrams illustrating the flow of the current density within the samples are utilised in discussion of the mechanism responsible for the magnetoresistance effect. Extensions are then suggested which may be applicable to the silver chalcogenides. Our theory offers an excellent description and explanation of experiments where a huge magnetoresistance has been discovered[2;3].Comment: 12 Pages, 5 Figure

Engineering cavity-field states by projection synthesis

We propose a reliable scheme for engineering a general cavity-field state. This is different from recently presented strategies,where the cavity is supposed to be initially empty and the field is built up photon by photon through resonant atom-field interactions. Here, a coherent state is previously injected into the cavity. So, the Wigner distribution function of the desired state is constructed from that of the initially coherent state. Such an engineering process is achieved through an adaptation of the recently proposed technique of projection synthesis to cavity QED phenomena.Comment: 5 ps pages plus 3 included figure

Investigation of the thermal expansion and heat capacity of the CaCu3Ti4O12 ceramics

The thermal expansion of the CaCu3Ti4O12 ceramics has been measured over a wide temperature range 120–1200 K. The high quality of the samples under study has been confirmed by good agreement of the results of measurements of the heat capacity in the range 2–300 K and in the vicinity of the phase transition of magnetic nature at 25 K with the data for the single crystal. No anomalies in the thermal expansion that can be associated with the phase transition at 726–732 K assumed by other investigators have been found. The influence exerted on the thermal expansion by the heat treatment of the sample in a helium atmosphere and in air has been investigated