Climate variability in central equatorial Africa: Influence from the Atlantic sector.

We document a strong teleconnection between Central Equatorial African (CEA) rainfall (and Congo River discharge) and the large-scale circulation over the North Atlantic, throughout the boreal winter/spring season. Positive rainfall anomalies over CEA (at interannual and multi-annual timescales) are related to anomalous westerly mid-tropospheric zonal winds over the CEA/Atlantic region. These anomalies appear to be part of a coherent structure of zonal wind anomalies extending to the polar regions of the North Atlantic, similar to that associated with the NAO pattern. Idealised model simulations suggest that at least over the tropical and subtropical latitudes of the Atlantic/African sector such a signal may be associated with SST forcing from the Tropical North Atlantic (TNA) region. We conclude that TNA SSTs may force these circulation anomalies over CEA at multi-annual timescales but at interannual timescales they may be relatively independent of TNA SSTs

Atmospheric controls on mineral dust emission from the Bodélé Depression, Chad: The role of the low level jet

Atmospheric aerosols play an important though uncertain role in the Earth's climate system. The Bodélé Depression in Chad stands out as the planet's largest source of dust, yet very little is known about the atmospheric circulation that maintain this source. We investigate what key large-scale features of the circulation over the Bodélé account for its primacy as a mineral aerosol source. We show, for the first time, the structure and characteristics of the Bodélé Low Level Jet (LLJ) which has a maximum speed near 18°N, 19°E at 925 hPa. It is strongest in the northern winter, receding with the advance of summer in phase with dustiness in the Bodélé. Variability of dust over the Bodélé occurs contemporaneously with the ridging of the Libyan High and pulsing of the pressure gradient which drives the northeasterlies in which the LLJ is embedded

Communication of Preferences in Contests for Contracts

This paper models a contest where several sellers compete for a contract with a single buyer. There are several styles of possible designs with a subset of them preferred by the buyer. We examine what happens when the buyer communicates information about his preferences. If the sellers are unable to change their style, then there is no effect on the welfare of the sellers. If the sellers are able to make adjustments, extra information may either boost or damage the sellers' profits. While the chance that there will be a proposal of a style preferred by the buyer cannot decrease, the buyer's surplus may increase or decrease.Contests, Procurement, Communication

Corporate social responsibility and global standardization: sustainable environmental management in the chemical industry

Corporate social responsibility and sustainable development are issues that been in the forefront of corporate strategy for several decades. The increase in the power of environmental groups, the ease of cross border information flow, and the rising concern of the public with regards to global impact of environmental issues are motivating factors resulting in the establishment of environmental management systems. Many multinational chemical companies, threatened with the possibility of the establishment of new, stricter, environmental laws, are actively working to demonstrate their corporate social responsibility while operating in a global market with regards to developing and implementing voluntary programs to handle the increasingly important issues surrounding environmental responsibility and global sustainability. The integration of the environmental management system into the corporate vision, mission and strategic plan is demonstrated with the ultimate goal of changing corporate culture in the companies which have the power to affect international environmental policies.chemical industry, corporate social responsibility, environmental management system, global sustainability.

The Case of Microsoft\u27s Surface Tablet: Going Behind the Strategy with SWOT

Following its development at Harvard Business School in the 1950s, the SWOT framework became a frequently used decision tool. While the complexity organizations confront in the modern business world has increased, SWOT provides an intuitive way to organize information into internal “Strengths and Weaknesses” and external “Opportunities and Threats.” Another reason that SWOT remains relevant is its flexibility that enables integrating other analysis tools. It also encompasses multiple steps of strategy development to cover analysis, formulating options, and implementation