9,577 research outputs found
An evaluation of sustainability in large British companies
This article undertakes an assessment of the sustainability efforts of some of the largest companies that are listed on the FTSE 100 (a share index composed of the 100 largest companies that are listed on the London Stock Exchange according to market capitalisation). It provides empirical insights into how large listed British companies are addressing sustainability and their efforts in terms of incorporating sustainability factors into their business operations. The study was based on an extended content analysis of each company’s annual and sustainability reports. Our findings demonstrate that companies are trying to integrate sustainability in their business strategies even though there are variations in their efforts. There are indications that the majority of the companies have been able to embed sustainability in their strategy and operations and are now attempting to establish goals for further improvement. We found strong evidence of willingness to engage with relevant stakeholders to evaluate which sustainability issues are of importance to the particular companies and then to communicate to those relevant stakeholders the measures that have been taken to integrate sustainability in their business strategies. However, our findings also revealed areas where there is a need for further improvement such as compliance with international standards for sustainability reporting and establishment of better frameworks to enhance their sustainability efforts
The Impact of Enlightened Shareholder Value
This paper documents and analyses the findings of a study conducted in relation to selected reports of all of the retail companies that are listed on the FTSE 100 in order to ascertain the impact of enlightened shareholder value on UK corporate governance. The findings are also analysed in light of other studies and commentary
Trajectory Generation for Stair Ascent Walking using Rayleigh Oscillator
This paper describes a trajectory generation technique for stair-ascent walking. The knee, hip and ankle joint trajectory during stair ascent are generated using mutually coupled, nonlinear oscillators. The parameters of the oscillators are tuned using the harmonic balance method, which converts the nonlinear differential equations to a set of algebraic equations. Fourier analysis of data generated by stair-ascent walking is performed to extract the amplitude and the phase of the dominant frequency components for each joint trajectory. The solution for the oscillator is assumed to be a sinusoidal wave and then by harmonic balance method the parameters of the oscillator are found. Each oscillator is responsible for generating a single frequency component with a specific phase and amplitude. The complete trajectory is obtained by summing the output of the oscillators that are relevant to one joint and the coupling maintains the phase relationship between the oscillators
Detecting subsystem symmetry protected topological order via entanglement entropy
Subsystem symmetry protected topological (SSPT) order is a type of quantum
order that is protected by symmetries acting on lower-dimensional subsystems of
the entire system. In this paper, we show how SSPT order can be characterized
and detected by a constant correction to the entanglement area law, similar to
the topological entanglement entropy. Focusing on the paradigmatic
two-dimensional cluster phase as an example, we use tensor network methods to
give an analytic argument that almost all states in the phase exhibit the same
correction to the area law, such that this correction may be used to reliably
detect the SSPT order of the cluster phase. Based on this idea, we formulate a
numerical method that uses tensor networks to extract this correction from
ground-state wave functions. We use this method to study the fate of the SSPT
order of the cluster state under various external fields and interactions, and
find that the correction persists unless a phase transition is crossed, or the
subsystem symmetry is explicitly broken. Surprisingly, these results uncover
that the SSPT order of the cluster state persists beyond the cluster phase,
thanks to a new type of subsystem time-reversal symmetry. Finally, we discuss
the correction to the area law found in three-dimensional cluster states on
different lattices, indicating rich behavior for general subsystem symmetriesComment: 17 pages. v2: Published version, minor changes throughou
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