A Test of the Calculability of a Three Body Relativistic, Cluster Decomposable, Unitary, Covariant Scattering Theory

In this work a calculation of the cluster decomposable formalism for relativistic scattering as developed by Lindesay, Markevich, Noyes, and Pastrana (LMNP) is made for an ultra-light quantum model. After highlighting areas of the theory vital for calculation, a description is made of the process to go from the general theory to an eigen-integral equation for bound state problems, and calculability is demonstrated. An ultra-light quantum exchange model is then developed to examine calculability.Comment: Accepted for publication in Foundations of Physics, Vol 33 No

Sustainability Standards and Stakeholder Engagement: Lessons From Carbon Markets

Stakeholders play an increasingly active role in private governance, including development of standards for measuring sustainability. Building on prior studies focused on standards and stakeholder engagement, we use an innovation management theoretical lens to compare stakeholder engagement and standards developed in two carbon markets: the Climate Action Reserve and the U.N.’s Clean Development Mechanism. We develop and test hypotheses regarding how different processes of stakeholder engagement in standard development affect the number, identity, and age of stakeholders involved, as well as the variation and quality of the resulting standards. In doing so, we contribute to the growing literature on stakeholder engagement in developing sustainability standards

COMPETENCE ACQUISITION IN RETAIL FOOD: EFFICIENT CONSUMER RESPONSE AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

Based on interviews with retail food store managers and a subsequent survey, this paper traces the pathways that spawn competence acquisition in the retail food industry. It finds that having an essential capability for learning, that is, obtaining new ideas, concepts, methods, tends to breed competencies in a number of areas which are of both business and social significance. In this study, the capacity of this essential capability to generate competencies in efficient consumer response (ECR) and environmental management (EM) are examined. These competencies have attracted the attention of the retail food industry in its efforts to become more competitive with alternative retail food channels. The results show that firms possessing the essential capability of generating new ideas are more likely to have higher sales per square foot. Ties with suppliers lead to higher sales per square foot through improved environmental practices and more consumer education. Technical assistance helps retail grocers acquire a social competence in environmental management.Agribusiness, Environmental Economics and Policy, Industrial Organization, Marketing,

A Non-Perturbative, Finite Particle Number Approach to Relativistic Scattering Theory

We present integral equations for the scattering amplitudes of three scalar particles, using the Faddeev channel decomposition, which can be readily extended to any finite number of particles of any helicity. The solution of these equations, which have been demonstrated to be calculable, provide a non-perturbative way of obtaining relativistic scattering amplitudes for any finite number of particles that are Lorentz invariant, unitary, cluster decomposable and reduce unambiguously in the non-relativistic limit to the non-relativistic Faddeev equations. The aim of this program is to develop equations which explicitly depend upon physically observable input variables, and do not require renormalization or dressing of these parameters to connect them to the boundary states

Organizational learning at nuclear power plants

The Nuclear Power Plant Advisory Panel on Organizational Learning provides channels of communications between the management and organization research projects of the MIT International Program for Enhanced Nuclear Power Plant Safety and plant personnel actively concerned with important operational issues, inside and outside the control room, relevant to safety. The Panel is conceived as an opportunity for plants to share their knowledge and concerns about aspects of management and organization, with a particular emphasis on self-assessment, learning, and the management of change. Further, the Panel seeks to identify opportunities for collaborative research with practical benefits. At the first Panel meeting, 20 representatives from U.S. nuclear power plants and utilities and 14 MIT faculty, research staff, and students explored mutual interests and priorities in order to guide future research efforts. Professor John Carroll introduced the overall MIT research project.Three MIT researchers discussed their proposed research: Professor Alfred Marcus discussed quantitative analyses of improvements in U.S. nuclear power plant safety during the 1980s, and the need to conduct detailed studies of plant improvements and of utility strategies; Dr. Constance Perin discussed how work requires bridging across functions, levels, technical groups, and shifts within a social and cultural system, and proposed to study various plant programs in terms of their vertical relationships and institutional context; Professor John Carroll focused on the analysis of safety-relevant incidents through the application of knowledge distributed among various professional groups in the plant, and the need for research to characterize this knowledge and its relationship to performance enhancement.In addition, Professor Michael Golay discussed the organization and management implications of new reactor technology, and Professor Thomas Kochan summarized research on contractor training and safety in the petrochemical industry. Roundtable groups discussed three topics of their own choosing: configuration control, proactivity and communication with management, and event trending (including root cause analysis and corrective action tracking). A wide-ranging discussion explored topics of mutual interest, their connections to safe operations and their potential for research. A variety of research opportunities were raised and discussed, along with next steps for continued communication between the Panel and MIT

Weniger Stickoxid trotz mehr Kohlekraftwerken : ein Programm mindert Emissionen aus öffentlichen Kraftwerken

Durch verschiedene Primär- und Sekundärmaßnahmen werden die Stickoxid-Emissionen aus öffentlichen Kraftwerken in Baden-Württemberg bis zum Ende des Jahrzehnts um 73% verringert, obwohl der Kohleeinsatz in diesem Zeitraum stark ansteigt. Insgesamt werden bis 1995 Emissionsminderungen von 290 000 t Stickoxid erreicht. Durch die Maßnahmen werden die Stromerzeugungskosten aus Kohlekraftwerken im Mittel um 1,3 Pf/fkWh steigen, dies führt zu einer mittleren Stromkostenerhöhung von 0,4 Pfg/kWh bezogen auf die gesamte Stromerzeugung

The crime drop and the security hypothesis

Major crime drops were experienced in the United States and most other industrialised countries for a decade from the early to mid-1990s. Yet there is little agreement over explanation or lessons for policy. Here it is proposed that change in the quantity and quality of security was a key driver of the crime drop. From evidence relating to vehicle theft in two countries it is concluded that electronic immobilisers and central locking were particularly effective. It is suggested that reduced car theft may have induced drops in other crime including violence. From this platform a broader security hypothesis, linked to routine activity and opportunity theory, is outlined

Evaluation of instruments for realising efficient measures for emission control

Verschiedene Instrumente der Umweltschutzpolitik wie Auflagen, Abgaben, Zertifikate, Ausgleichsregelung, Subventionen und freiwillige Vereinbarungen sollen auf ihre Effizienz, d. h. vor allem auf ihre Fähigkeit, gewünschte Emissionsminderungen mit den gerlngstmöglichen Kosten zu erreichen, hin untersucht werden. Insbesondere soll ermittelt werden, welche Parameter, Parameterwerte usw. bei ·intelligenten· Auflagenlösungen gewählt werden müssen, damit möglichst die optimalen Maßnahmen zur Schadstoffminderung durchgeführt werden. Dazu werden die Auswirkungen des Einsatzes verschiedener Instrumente anhand von Modellrechnungen ermittelt. Die jeweils entstehenden Kosten und Minderemissionen werden berechnet und mit denen verglichen, die bei Durchführung von optimalen Maßnahmen mit den geringsten Kosten pro kg vermiedenem Schadstoff erreicht werden. Darüber hinaus werden weitere Kriterien wie Durchsetzbarkeit, Schnelligkeit der Umsetzung, Verwaltungsaufwand, Auswirkungen auf den Wettbewerb usw. zur Bewertung herangezogen.Different approaches to environmental protection such as standards, charges, marketable permits, subsidies, offset policies and voluntary agreements will be investigated with regard to their efficiency, that means the ability to lower the emission with the least costs possible. Using scenarios of the future development of the SO2- and NOx-emissions in Baden-Württemberg, the effects of different instruments are evaluated. Costs and reductions of emissions are evaluated and compared. Other criteria such as rapidity and degree of realization, costs for administration, economic consequences, a.s.o. are also used for the evaluation