The impact of sustainability-oriented dynamic capabilities on firm growth: investigating the green supply chain management and green political capabilities

Building on the dynamic capabilities literature and natural-resource-based view, the paper examines whether firms can attain sales growth through a range of sustainability-oriented dynamic capabilities including (1) internal green supply chain management capabilities, (2) external green supply chain management capabilities and (3) green political capabilities. Based on a dataset of 277 public US firms between 2010 and 2020, a panel quantile model of firm growth showcases that while internal green supply chain capabilities and green political capabilities affect firms' growth performance positively, external green supply chain capabilities are associated with slower growth. Importantly, the results indicate that the positive growth effects of green political capabilities are short-lived, while those of internal green supply chain capabilities are long-lived. The study contributes to the sustainability-oriented dynamic capabilities literature by showing that different capabilities have different implications for firm growth depending on the firm's base performance and the time periods under consideration

Investigating the roughness effect of biofouling on propeller performance

As a result of the increasing pressure being placed on the marine industry to address ship emissions, regulations to govern the fuel efficiency and efficient operation of ships in the form of the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) (IMO, 2014) and Energy Efficiency Operation Index (EEOI) (IMO, 2009a) have recently come into force. These have been introduced alongside regulations concerning specific emissions requirements (UNFCCC). Attention has therefore been turned to all aspects of ship design and operation which have impact on their efficiency. In turn, this paper focuses on the effects of biofouling on propeller surfaces highlighting the benefits of reducing biofouling. This subject was the focus of a recently completed EU-Funded FP7 Project entitled FOUL-X-SPEL (2011). This paper investigates the detrimental impacts of biofouling on the performance of a real ship propeller using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations. Initially, the CFD approach used in this study was validated through CFD open-water tests of a propeller. A previously-developed CFD approach for approximating the surface roughness that results from biofouling has then been applied in order to predict the effects on propeller efficiency. The roughness effects of a typical coating and different fouling conditions on the propeller performance were therefore predicted for various advance coefficients Results indicated negative effects of biofouling on the propeller efficiency and the importance of the mitigation of such effects, supporting the importance of informing the industry about the impacts such that they are able to make informed decisions regarding regular propeller maintenance and cleanin

Conserved mass models with stickiness and chipping

We study a chipping model in one dimensional periodic lattice with continuous mass, where a fixed fraction of the mass is chipped off from a site and distributed randomly among the departure site and its neighbours; the remaining mass sticks to the site. In the asymmetric version, the chipped off mass is distributed among the site and the right neighbour, whereas in the symmetric version the redistribution occurs among the two neighbours. The steady state mass distribution of the model is obtained using a perturbation method for both parallel and random sequential updates. In most cases, this perturbation theory provides a steady state distribution with reasonable accuracy.Comment: 17 pages, 4 eps figure

The role of the nature of the noise in the thermal conductance of mechanical systems

Focussing on a paradigmatic small system consisting of two coupled damped oscillators, we survey the role of the L\'evy-It\^o nature of the noise in the thermal conductance. For white noises, we prove that the L\'evy-It\^o composition (Lebesgue measure) of the noise is irrelevant for the thermal conductance of a non-equilibrium linearly coupled chain, which signals the independence between mechanical and thermodynamical properties. On the other hand, for the non-linearly coupled case, the two types of properties mix and the explicit definition of the noise plays a central role.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures. To be published in Physical Review

Feasibility Analysis of Pret a Voter for German Federal Elections

Abstract. Prêt a ̀ Voter is one of the most well-known and most extensively analysed electronic voting systems for polling stations. However, an analysis from a legal point of view has not yet been conducted. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the readiness of Prêt a ̀ Voter for legally binding federal elections in Germany. This case is of particular interest as Germany has with the Constitutional Court Decision from 2009 probably the most restrictive requirements on electronic voting in particular regarding the public nature of elections and verifiability respectively. While many aspects are analysed, some remain open for further legal and technical discussions. Thus, a final decision is not yet possible. Aspects analysed are the ballot paper layout, different processes from ballot printing through to the publishing of results, as well as verifiability, and the overall election management.

Allelopathic potential of macrofungi on germinating maize (Zea mays L.) grain

The effect of methanol extracts of 10 macrofungi was evaluated on grain germination of maize (Zea mays L.). Germination percentage, radicle and plumule length and the level of carbohydrates and fatty acids were measured. Fungal metabolites inhibited germination up to 90.96%, plumule (97.77%) and radicle (92.83%) development. Plumule and radicle lengths were stimulated 35.26 and 10.60% in some assays, respectively. The fungal metabolites decreased the glucose (97.60%), sucrose (90.34%), fructose (96.85%), maltose (95.64%), oleic acid (97.50%) and linoleic acid (98.25%) levels, whereas increasing levels of the glucose (165.14%), sucrose (166.53%), fructose (83.18%), maltose (124.73%), oleic acid (6975.00%) and linoleic acid (5233.33%) were detected in some assays. It is concluded that macrofungi metabolites have commonly inhibitory effects on physiological and morphological processes of germinating maize grain except for considerable increases in the some parameters investigated

Estimation of some stand parameters using digital aerial photographs for conservation and service oriented forests

Forest inventory, which is the first step of forest management planning, is the most difficult stage that requires much time and a lot of efforts. To reduce fieldworks that are considered time consuming and expensive methods of ground measurements, remote sensing data are widely used. Aerial photographs have been an integral part of forest inventory data in Turkey since 1963. Panchromatic and RGBI (Red, Green, Blue, Infrared) aerial photographs acquired by digital aerial cameras proved to be very important in forest inventory. They have maintained their importance for forest management planning process. The aim of this study is to construct a fast and practical inventory model that requires least fieldwork for forest management planning process. Pixel values and vegetation indices (NDVI, DVI, IPVI, RVI and PCA), obtained from remote sensing data, and stand parameters (stand volume, volume increment and number of trees) have been compared statistically. Black pine Pinus nigra J. F. Arnold plantations located in the south-east region of Turkey, Çelikhan Forest Planning Unit, was chosen as a research area. 0.5 meter spacing and 8 bit radiometric resolution Ultracam-X Digital Aerial Photos were used as remote sensing data. According to statistical analysis, IPVI and Green Band values provided the highest evaluation coefficient compared to the models developed for the estimation of stand parameters. Adjusted R square of stand volume, volume increment and the number of tree in the models were found to yield 0.74, 0.73 and 0.50 respectively. It was concluded that stand characteristics estimated by statistical models can be used for forest areas managed for conservation and service purposes