'To hell with it': a case study examination of organisational trustworthiness, and dependent stakeholder-organisation relations in the Milaki plant

This paper investigates trust worthiness and dependent stakeholder relations with a contextualised case-study of the Milaki plant in Greece, owned and operated by a multinational concrete aggregates firm. We investigate the opinions of community stakeholders concerning operational decisions made by the case-study firm in multiple challenging contexts (e.g. the Greek economic recession). We focus on the community stakeholder with regard to trustworthiness of the firm i.e. ability, integrity and benevolence (Mayer et al., 1995). With this novel emphasis on the dependent (less powerful) stakeholder of the local community, we can make a contribution by bringing together the stakeholder literature with the literature on trust (Greenwood and Van Buren, 2010). How organisational trustworthiness unfolds in the organisation-stakeholder relationship is under-researched, especially in challenging contexts. This focus enables us to shed light upon how decisions perceived as ethically questionable by the community, and which potentially breach trust, change the dynamic of dependent-stakeholder to organisation relationship. The imp act of this change and the subsequent implications of it for the stakeholder-organisation relationship will be explored in the full paper

The Polonnaruwa meteorite: oxygen isotope, crystalline and biological composition

Results of X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis, Triple Oxygen Isotope analysis and Scanning Electron Microscopic (SEM) studies are presented for stone fragments recovered from the North Central Province of Sri Lanka following a witnessed fireball event on 29 December 2012. The existence of numerous nitrogen depleted highly carbonaceous fossilized biological structures fused into the rock matrix is inconsistent with recent terrestrial contamination. Oxygen isotope results compare well with those of CI and CI-like chondrites but are inconsistent with the fulgurite hypothesis.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures, 4 table

Design of experiment for the optimisation of deep reactive ion etching of silicon inserts for micro-fabrication

The following paper describes a design of experiments investigation of the deep reactive of pillar structures on a silicon wafer. The etched wafers would subsequently be used as masters for the fabrication of nickel mould inserts for microinjection moulding. Undercuts occur when the pillar base has a smaller cross-section than the apex of the pillar. They therefore affect tolerances of the subsequent nickel mould, its strength and its de-mouldability from the silicon form. The response measured in these experiments was the degree of undercut of micro-scale (10 μm x 10 μm x 40 μm, 5 μm x 5 μm x 40 μm and 2 μm x 2 μm x 40 μm) The literature suggests that gas pressure, platen power, gas flow rate, phase switching times and mask size can all affect the degree of undercut. After examination of this literature, and of manufacturers guidelines, three parameters were selected for experimental testing: platen power, C 4F 8 gas flow rate during the passivation phase and switching times. Switching times was found to be the only statistically significant parameter for both 10x10 μm and 5x5 μm pillars. The 2x2 μm pillars were not successfully replicated and could therefore not undergo statistical evaluation

Cooling and recombination processes in cometary plasma

The ion electron plasma in comets is examined for cooling processes which result from its interactions with the neutral coma. A cometary coma model is formulated that is composed predominantly of H2O and its decomposition products where electrons are cooled in a variety of processes at rates varying with energy. It is shown that solar plasma plus accumulated cometary ions and electrons is affected very strongly as it flows into the coma. The electrons are rapidly cooled and all but some 10% of the ions undergo charge exchange. Photodissociation of H2O is assumed where ion electron recombination is the dominant loss process

Spatial Variability of Snow Chemistry of High Altitude Glaciers in the Peruvian Andes

Atmospheric contaminants become incorporated in glaciers through both wet and dry deposition. Some of this particulate matter can act as a source of contamination to glacial streams, leading to a concern for the chemical contamination to cause downstream toxicity to aquatic organisms and toxicity to people ingesting that water. Other portions of this particulate matter, including black carbon, can decrease the amount of light reflected off the snow, thereby contributing to increased rates of glacial melting. These issues are especially of concern to tropical glaciers, which are receding rapidly and are relied on heavily to provide drinking water in the dry season. A snow sampling campaign was conducted on the glaciers of seven mountains in the Cordillera Blanca mountain range in Peru during June-August, 2015 to determine concentrations of inorganic contaminants and black carbon in the upper layer of snow on high altitude glaciers (\u3e5000 m.a.s.l.). Elevation did not appear to be a factor in chemical concentrations, as there were no significant linear relationships with measured analytes and elevation, with the exception of Zn on one mountain sampled. Snow samples on two of the mountains had higher As and Pb concentrations than U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) established water quality criteria for human health. Five metals (Al, Cd, Fe, Pb, and Zn) were found to exceed the USEPA aquatic life criteria in at least one sample. The highest concentrations of black carbon and metals were found closest to a local population center and lowest were found in areas furthest from anthropogenic influences. This study also provides supporting evidence that soil/dust is a contributing source of particulate matter but not the light absorbing fraction. An initial attempt at sourcing the particulate matter in these samples was made through an examination of analyte ratios, correlations, and principal components analysis. Multivariate analysis, including hierarchical clustering on principal components, could not explain categories based solely on concentrations of light absorbing particles or distance from the closest large city in the region. The sources of contaminants in the area appears to be complicated, and further studies would provide more insight into the source and spatial distribution of particulate matter on these tropical glaciers

From respect to reburial: negotiating pagan interest in prehistoric human remains in Britain, through the Avebury consultation

The recent Avebury Consultation on reburial has drawn considerable public and professional attention to the issue of pagan calls for respect towards the care of human remains. Our work has pointed to the importance of archaeologists and others engaging seriously and respectfully with pagans as significant stakeholders in our heritage. The Avebury Reburial Consultation suggests this dialogue is increasing in strength, but we identify problems in the process. We focus here on approaches to the prehistoric dead and worldviews enabling communication from which calls or ‘claims’ for the reburial of prehistoric pagan human remains, versus their retention for scientific study, are articulated; frameworks for assessing and adjudicating such ‘claims’; and implications for the interest groups concerned. We argue that room must be made for philosophical debate and the emotional and spiritual views of pagans, in order to improve dialogue, develop common ground, and enable participatory decision-making and situational pragmatism