33,265 research outputs found
One way forward: non-traditional accounting disclosures in the 21st century
Recent empirical studies (Deegan and Rankin, 1999; Deegan et al., 2000) have indicated that although
many corporations have begun to respond to perceived demand for environmental disclosures in
published accounts, their perspective of organisational legitimacy is a narrow view, in which information
is targeted towards specific stakeholders and not to the general public.
This paper considers a range of models (variously called guidelines, standards and charters) which
have been put forward by different organisations to aid the development of social and environmental
disclosures. In all cases verification and attestation are part of the proposed regimen.
The question which the papers attempts to answer is whether any one of the models would be capable
of rapid adoption as part of an expanded GAAP, should the professional accounting bodies think that
this is desirable. The outcome of our deliberations is cautious support for the use of EMAS and ISO
14000 as the basis for a modified GAAP plus the further development of the GRI 2000 guidelines into a
set of standards covering both social and environmental reporting
Hydrogen-fueled engine
A hydrogen-oxygen fueled internal combustion engine is described, which utilizes an inert gas, such as argon, as a working fluid to increase the efficiency of the engine, eliminate pollution, and facilitate operation of a closed cycle energy system. In a system where sunlight or other intermittent energy source is available to separate hydrogen and oxygen from water, the oxygen and inert gas are taken into a diesel engine into which hydrogen is injected and ignited. The exhaust is cooled so that it contains only water and the inert gas. The inert gas in the exhaust is returned to the engine for use with fresh oxygen, while the water in the exhaust is returned to the intermittent energy source for reconversion to hydrogen and oxygen
Grade Retention and School Performance: An Extended Investigation
This study extends Reynoldsâ (1992) investigation of the social- psychological influences on grade retention and school adjustment in early childhood by tracing the predictors and consequences of grade retention for school achievement, perceived competence, and delinquency in early adolescence (age 14). The study sample included 1,164 (93 percent of the sample from the original study) low-income, mostly black children in the Chicago Longitudinal Study. Twenty-eight percent of the study sample were retained-in-grade by age 14 (first grade to eighth grade). The strongest predictors of retention were early school performance (test scores and grades), sex (boys were more likely to be retained), parent participation in school, and school mobility. Overall, grade retention was significantly associated with lower reading and math achievement at age 14 above and beyond a comprehensive set of explanatory variables. Results based on same-age comparison groups yielded larger effects of retention on school achievement than those based on same-grade comparisons, but both approaches indicated that grade retention was associated with significantly lower reading achievement. In the full model, grade retention was unrelated to perceived school competence at age 12 and to delinquency infractions at age 14. With the exception of reading achievement, retention during the primary grades and retention during grades 4 to 7 yielded a similar pattern of effects. Findings were largely consistent with the earlier study and suggest that intervention approaches other than grade retention are needed to better promote school achievement and adjustment.
Projective-symmetric spaces
Cartanian symmetrical property of Riemannian projective-symmetric spaces - tensor geometr
An extended multi-zone model for the MCG-6-30-15 warm absorber
The variable warm absorber seen with {\em ASCA} in the X-ray spectrum of
MCG6-30-15 shows complex time behaviour in which the optical depth of OVIII
anticorrelates with the flux whereas that of OVII is unchanging. The
explanation in terms of a two zone absorber has since been challenged by {\em
BeppoSAX} observations. These present a more complicated behaviour for the
OVIII edge. We demonstrate here that the presence of a third, intermediate,
zone can explain all the observations. In practice, warm absorbers are likely
to be extended, multi-zone regions of which only part causes directly
observable absorption edges at any given time.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Observations of the Extended Distribution of Ionized Hydrogen in the Plane of M31
We have used the Wisconsin H-Alpha Mapper (WHAM) to observe the spatially
extended distribution of ionized hydrogen in M31 beyond the stellar disk. We
obtained five sets of observations, centered near the photometric major axis of
M31, that extend from the center of the galaxy to just off the edge of the
southwestern HI disk. Beyond the bright stellar disk, but within the HI disk,
weak H-alpha is detected with an intensity I(H-alpha) = 0.05 (+0.01 / -0.02)
Rayleighs. Since M31 is inclined 77 degrees with respect to the line of sight,
this implies that the ambient intergalactic ionizing flux onto each side of M31
is Phi_0 <= 1.6 x 10^4 photons cm^-2 s^-1. Just beyond the outer boundary of
the HI disk we find no significant detection of H-alpha and place an upper
limit I(H-alpha) <= 0.019 Rayleighs.Comment: To appear in ApJ Letters; 12 pages, 4 figure
Ionization, Kinematics, and Extent of the Diffuse Ionized Gas Halo of NGC 5775
We present key results from deep spectra of the Diffuse Ionized Gas (DIG)
halo of the edge-on galaxy NGC 5775. [NII]6583 has been detected up to about
z=13 kpc above the plane in one of two vertically oriented long slits -- making
this the spiral galaxy with the greatest spectroscopically detected halo extent
in emission. Key diagnostic line ratios have been measured up to about z=8 kpc,
allowing the source of ionization and physical state to be probed. Ionization
by a dilute radiation field from massive stars in the disk can explain some of
the line ratio behavior, but departures from this picture are clearly
indicated, most strongly by the rise of [OIII]/Halpha with z. Velocities of the
gas in both slits approach the systemic velocity of the galaxy at several kpc
above the plane. We interpret this trend as a decrease in rotation velocity
with z, with essentially no rotation at heights of several kpc. Such a trend
was observed in the edge-on galaxy NGC 891, but here much more dramatically.
This falloff is presumably due to the gravitational potential changing with z,
but will also depend on the hydrodynamic nature of the disk-halo cycling of gas
and projection effects. More detailed modeling of the ionization and kinematics
of this and other edge-ons will be presented in future papers.Comment: figures 1, 2a-d and 3 included. ApJ Letters, in pres
Iron fluorescence from within the innermost stable orbit of black hole accretion disks
The fluorescent iron Ka line is a powerful observational probe of the inner
regions of black holes accretion disks. Previous studies have assumed that only
material outside the radius of marginal stability can contribute to the
observed line emission. Here, we show that fluorescence by material inside the
radius of marginal stability, which is in the process of spiralling towards the
event horizon, can have a observable influence on the iron line profile and
equivalent width. For concreteness, we consider the case of a geometrically
thin accretion disk, around a Schwarzschild black hole, in which fluorescence
is excited by an X-ray source placed at some height above the disk and on the
axis of the disk. Fully relativistic line profiles are presented for various
source heights and efficiencies. It is found that the extra line flux generally
emerges in the extreme red wing of the iron line, due to the large
gravitational redshift experienced by photons from the region within the radius
of marginal stability. We apply our models to the variable iron line seen in
the ASCA spectrum of the Seyfert nucleus MCG-6-30-15. It is found that the
change in the line profile, equivalent width, and continuum normalization, can
be well explained as being due to a change in the height of the source above
the disk. We discuss the implications of these results for distinguishing
rapidly-rotating black holes from slowly rotating holes using iron line
diagnostics.Comment: 20 pages, LaTeX. Accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal.
Figures 3 to 7 replaced with corrected versions (previous figures affected by
calculational error). Some changes in the best fitting parameter
Searching for additional heating - [OII] emission in the diffuse ionized gas of NGC891, NGC4631 and NGC3079
We present spectroscopic data of ionized gas in the disk--halo regions of
three edge-on galaxies, NGC 891, NGC 4631 and NGC 3079, covering a wavelength
range from [\ion{O}{2}] 3727\AA to [\ion{S}{2}] 6716.4\AA.
The inclusion of the [\ion{O}{2}] emission provides new constraints on the
properties of the diffuse ionized gas (DIG), in particular, the origin of the
observed spatial variations in the line intensity ratios. We used three
different methods to derive electron temperatures, abundances and ionization
fractions along the slit. The increase in the [\ion{O}{2}]/H line ratio
towards the halo in all three galaxies requires an increase either in electron
temperature or in oxygen abundance. Keeping the oxygen abundance constant
yields the most reasonable results for temperature, abundances, and ionization
fractions. Since a constant oxygen abundance seems to require an increase in
temperature towards the halo, we conclude that gradients in the electron
temperature play a significant role in the observed variations in the optical
line ratios from extraplanar DIG in these three spiral galaxies.Comment: 43 pages, 29 figure
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