CSR as a vehicle for Innovation

When the first computer came out, the only ones who could use it had to have a degree in mathematics or related studies. Today many telecommunication companies are working with community groups to help to bridge the digital divide between generations and provide equal opportunities for the increasing ageing population to have access to global information space, maintain their social ties with their families across the world and equally participate at the market place. A lot of that is done as a part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Programmes. At the same time, innovation is considered as a central word for telecommunication companies that have to conform with enormous speed and pace of the market and could be considered as essential capability to compete. This thesis investigates as to what extent companies can create the synergy between CSR and Innovation and whether that could serve as a differentiation aspect at the market. There are two primary objectives for this paper to describe the interplay between CSR and Innovation and create a model that could explain that interaction and help to manage that. Based on the extensive literature review and case study of British Telecommunications, the main argument of this paper is that conscious management of interplay and synergy creation between CSR and Innovation can inspire businesses for an outstanding type of innovation called CSR-enabled innovation and could lead to evolvement of what has been described as meta-capability and serve as a differentiation strategy for the company

Ash deposition propensity of coals/blends combustion in boilers: a modelling analysis based on multi-slagging routes

A method that is based on the initial slagging routes and the sintered/slagging route has been developed and used for predicting the ash deposition propensities of coal combustion in utility boilers supported by the data collected from power stations. Two types of initial slagging routes are considered, namely (i) pyrite-induced initial slagging on the furnace wall, and (ii) fouling caused by the alkaline/alkali components condensation in the convection section. In addition, the sintered/slagging route is considered by the liquids temperature, which represents the melting potential of the main ash composition and is calculated using the chemical equilibrium methods. The partial least square regression (PLSR) technique, coupled with a cross validation method, is employed to obtain the correlation for the ash deposition indice. The method has been successfully applied to coals/blends combustion in boilers, ranging from low rank coals to bituminous coal. The results obtained show that the developed indice yields a higher success rate in classifying the overall slagging/fouling potential in boilers than some of the typical slagging indices. In addition, only using the SiO2/Al2O3 ratio to predict the melting behaviors and slagging potential is inaccurate since the effect of the SiO2/Al2O3 ratio is dictated by both the original ash composition and the way in which the SiO2/Al2O3 ratio is changed. Finally, the influence of the acid components (SiO2 and Al2O3) on the ash deposition prediction is investigated for guiding the mineral additives. It is noticed that the predicted ash deposition potentials of the three easy slagging coals investigated decrease more rapidly by adding Al2O3 than by adding SiO2

Enhancing carbon sequestration in soil with coal combustion products: a technology for minimising carbon footprints in coal-power generation and agriculture

Coal-fired power generation and agriculture account for more than half of global greenhouse gas emissions, but the coal fly ash (CFA) produced in the former can be a resource for reducing emissions from agriculture to minimise environmental footprints in both industries. Our aim in this study was to test how acidic and alkaline CFA addition could minimise loss of C and N from acidic soil, with or without added manure. We determined composition and structural characteristics of acidic and alkaline CFA for their capacity to adsorb organic carbon, but observed poor adsorption because of low concentrations of cenospheres and unburnt carbon as the primary absorbents in the ash. Addition of CFA had no impact on the loss of carbon or nitrogen from unmanured soil in which concentrations of these nutrients were low. Loss of carbon from manured soil was reduced by 36% with alkaline ashes and by 3-fold with acidic ashes; while loss of N was 30–50% lower with acidic ashes, but 28% higher with alkaline ashes, compared with no ash treatment. The increases in C sparing with CFA addition were achieved not by direct C absorption but by restraining microbial population and respiration, and potentially emissions. Alkaline CFA increased soil pH and if used to substitute just 10% of lime for ameliorating soil acidity would reduce CO2 emission associated with the mining of the lime and its eventual dissolution in soil by ~ 2.66 Tg or 2.8% of Australia’s annual agricultural emissions. High concentrations of oxides of phosphorus, silicon, titanium and clay particles in acidic ashes, and oxides of cations in alkaline ashes, were associated with potential for promoting C storage and acidity amelioration in soil

The impact of aluminosilicate-based additives upon the sintering and melting behaviour of biomass ash

The composition of ash arising from biomass combustion can cause significant slagging and fouling issues in pulverised-fuel boilers, particularly if high concentrations of alkalis are present. Al–Si additives have shown promise in improving the ash deposition characteristics of troublesome biomass, converting volatile potassium to potassium aluminosilicates. This article presents results of lab-scale testing for two high-potassium biomass ashes, olive-cake (OCA) and white-wood (WWA), combined with two promising additives, coal pulverised fuel ash (PFA) and kaolin powder, at 5% mass fraction. Ash fusion testing results show that the use of these additives consistently increases flow temperatures. For WWA, kaolin was observed to reduce deformation temperatures and increase flow temperatures to far above combustion temperatures. Sinter strength testing showed that additive use significantly improves the deposition properties of OCA, preventing the precipitation of KCl and formation of deposits that are highly undesirable for removal via sootblower. Sintering was eliminated at all temperatures measured with the use of kaolin. Both additives had negative effects upon the sintering of WWA, indicating that Al–Si additive use should be restricted to high K, high Cl biomass. High temperature viscometry of OCA, combined with thermodynamic modelling, showed that viscosities at combustion temperatures were far below ideal values due high Mg concentration and silicate formation. Kaolin at 5% mass fraction was predicted to significantly improve this behaviour, with aluminosilicate formation producing favourable viscosities. Results indicate that kaolin addition to high K, high Cl biomass such as OCA shows promise in making the ash compositions viable for pulverised-fuel combustion

Sulfur trioxide formation/emissions in coal‐fired air‐ and oxy‐fuel combustion processes: a review

In oxy‐fuel combustion, fuel is burned using oxygen together with recycled flue gas, which is needed to control the combustion temperature. This leads to higher concentrations of sulfur dioxide and sulfur trioxide in the recycled gas, which can result in the formation of sulfuric acid and enhanced corrosion. Current experimental data on SO3 formation, reaction mechanisms, and mathematical modelling have indicated significant differences in SO3 formation between air‐ and oxy‐fuel combustion for both the wet and dry flue gas recycle options. This paper provides an extensive review of sulfur trioxide formation in air‐ and oxy‐fuel combustion environments, with an emphasis on coal‐fired systems. The first part summarizes recent findings on oxy‐fuel combustion experiments, as they affect sulfur trioxide formation. In the second part, the review focuses on sulfur trioxide formation mechanisms, and the influence of catalysis on sulfur trioxide formation. Finally, the current methods for measuring sulfur trioxide concentration are also reviewed along with the major difficulties associated with those measurements using data available from both bench‐ and pilot‐scale units

Clinical Nurse Specialists in Surgical Care describe their professional Role - A study with the perspective of the SAUC model

Sammanfattning Specialistsjuksköterskans kompetens behövs för att kunna tillmötesgå de ökade kraven i mer och mer avancerad och specialiserad vård. Specialistsjuksköterska i kirurgisk vård är en ung specialitet som saknar konkreta arbetsbeskrivningar och därmed kan uppfattas som diffus och oklar. Kompetens och förmåga hos specialistsjuksköterskan har beskrivits i tidigare forskning. Dock saknas kunskap om hur specialistsjuksköterskan i kirurgisk vård beskriver sin egen yrkesroll. Syftet med denna pilotstudie var att utifrån den professionsriktade SAUK-­‐modellens perspektiv undersöka hur specialistsjuksköterskor i kirurgisk vård beskriver sin yrkesroll. Pilotstudien genomfördes som en kvalitativ studie med en fokusgruppintervju och analyserades med deduktiv riktad innehållsanalys med SAUK-­‐modellen som teoretisk bas. Resultatet redovisas under SAUK-­‐modellens kategorier: Inre miljö, Repertoar, Yttre miljö, Motivation, Bekräftelse och Jagrelation. Specialistsjuksköterskor i kirurgisk vård beskrev att de själva utvecklade sin yrkesroll och att den stundtals upplevdes som diffus, både för dem själva och andra. Dock konstateras att en personlig utveckling hade skett efter vidareutbildningen vilket gjorde att de, trots ett otydligt ramverk, kände sig tryggare i sin yrkesroll genom ett bredare synsätt och en djupare kunskap. Deras fokus hade ett tydligare patientperspektiv jämfört med innan vidareutbildningen. Gränserna och därmed ansvaret för specialistsjuksköterskan i kirurgisk vård är otydligt och styrs i hög grad av den enskilde individens engagemang. Ledning, verksamhet och specialistsjuksköterska bör samspela för att skapa en gynnsam inre och yttre miljö. Detta bildar en grund att utgå ifrån när utmaningar i den nya yrkesrollen skall antas. Sökord: Specialistsjuksköterska, Kirurgisk vård, SAUK-­‐modellen, Yrkesrol