Green Chemistry, Green Engineering and Eco-Innovation Towards a More Sustainable Petrochemical Industry: Determinants of Brazilian Petrochemical Companies´ Engagement in GCE-Based Eco-Innovation Processes

__Abstract__ It is the general wisdom, within the petrochemical industrial sector, that technological changes, for the development of cleaner products, processes and services, is a basic requirement for companies to achieve advanced states of environmental and economic sustainability in the 21st century. It is also agreed that to innovate is essential for this industry make the necessary advancements and to reconcile the firms´ interests of being profitable, in the short-term, with their long-term capacity to evolve with societal pressures to ensure worker‘s and consumer‘s health within a sustainable biosphere. Despite these corporate perspectives, companies´ decisions to engage in the process of change, through technological and management innovations, is contingent on a series of elements that determine companies‘ eco-innovative behavior. This thesis was designed to gain insight into the aspects and determinants that influence ecoinnovative behavior of companies in the Brazilian petrochemical sector. Drawing on Icel Ajzen´s Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), on Montalvo Corral´s TPB-based structural descriptive innovation-directed behavioral model and on Franco Malerba´s Sectoral Systems of Innovation (SSI) framework as its major theoretical frameworks, this study was designed to obtain answers to these research questions: - What is the extent to which Brazilian petrochemical companies are willing to innovate based upon the Twelve Principles of the Green Chemistry and the Twelve Principles of Green Engineering (GCE) as approaches to more sustainable behavior? - How can their willingness to change be documented and explained and what are its main determinants? -What are the sector´s main agents, mechanisms and actions, which are integral to its implementation of GCE and to going beyond them in the future

Analysis of Tapial structures for modern use and conservation

Tapial is an ancient form of rammed earth wall construction found in many parts of the world. In medieval Spain, Tapial was used in the construction of some large and complex structures, some many-storied. That these buildings remain standing (many remaining in use) is an indication of the durability of this form of construction, and is perhaps related to the climatic conditions found in central Spain. This paper describes an engineering study into an important structure in the Aragon region, significant parts of which are constructed in medieval Tapial, as well as other forms of construction. The aim of the study is both to improve understanding of the nature of this structure and to provide guidance on methods of preservation and new construction

GFC-Robust Risk Management under the Basel Accord using Extreme Value Methodologies

In this paper we provide further evidence on the suitability of the median of the point VaR forecasts of a set of models as a GFC-robust strategy by using an additional set of new extreme value forecasting models and by extending the sample period for comparison. These extreme value models include DPOT and Conditional EVT. Such models might be expected to be useful in explaining financial data, especially in the presence of extreme shocks that arise during a GFC. Our empirical results confirm that the median remains GFC-robust even in the presence of these new extreme value models. This is illustrated by using the S&P500 index before, during and after the 2008-09 GFC. We investigate the performance of a variety of single and combined VaR forecasts in terms of daily capital requirements and violation penalties under the Basel II Accord, as well as other criteria, including several tests for independence of the violations. The strategy based on the median, or more generally, on combined forecasts of single models, is straightforward to incorporate into existing computer software packages that are used by banks and other financial institutions

GFC-Robust Risk Management Under the Basel Accord Using Extreme Value Methodologies

In McAleer et al. (2010b), a robust risk management strategy to the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) was proposed under the Basel II Accord by selecting a Value-at-Risk (VaR) forecast that combines the forecasts of different VaR models. The robust forecast was based on the median of the point VaR forecasts of a set of conditional volatility models. In this paper we provide further evidence on the suitability of the median as a GFC-robust strategy by using an additional set of new extreme value forecasting models and by extending the sample period for comparison. These extreme value models include DPOT and Conditional EVT. Such models might be expected to be useful in explaining financial data, especially in the presence of extreme shocks that arise during a GFC. Our empirical results confirm that the median remains GFC-robust even in the presence of these new extreme value models. This is illustrated by using the S&P500 index before, during and after the 2008-09 GFC. We investigate the performance of a variety of single and combined VaR forecasts in terms of daily capital requirements and violation penalties under the Basel II Accord, as well as other criteria, including several tests for independence of the violations. The strategy based on the median, or more generally, on combined forecasts of single models, is straightforward to incorporate into existing computer software packages that are used by banks and other financial institutions

The wineglass effect shapes particle export to the deep ocean in mesoscale eddies

Mesoscale eddies in the ocean strongly impact the distribution of planktonic particles, mediating carbon fluxes over ~1/3 of the world ocean. However, mechanisms controlling particle transport through eddies are complex and challenging to measure in situ. Here we show the subsurface distribution of eddy particles funneled into a wineglass shape down to 1000 m, leading to a sevenfold increase of vertical carbon flux in the eddy center versus the eddy flanks, the “wineglass effect”. We show that the slope of the wineglass (R) is the ratio of particle sinking velocity to the radially inward velocity, such that R represents a tool to predict radial particle movement (here 0.05ms�1). A simple model of eddy spindown predicts such an ageostrophic flow concentrating particles in the eddy center. We explore how size-specific particle flux toward the eddy center impacts eddies' biogeochemistry and export fluxes

Reply to: Shark mortality cannot be assessed by fishery overlap alone

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio