CSR Business as Usual? The Case of the Tobacco Industry

Tobacco companies have started to position themselves as good corporate citizens. The effort towards CSR engagement in the tobacco industry is not only heavily criticized by anti-tobacco NGOs. Some opponents such as the the World Health Organization have even categorically questioned the possibility of social responsibility in the tobacco industry. The paper will demonstrate that the deep distrust towards tobacco companies is linked to the lethal character of their products and the dubious behavior of their representatives in recent decades. As a result, tobacco companies are not in the CSR business in the strict sense. Key aspects of mainstream CSR theory and practice such as corporate philanthropy, stakeholder collaboration, CSR reporting and self-regulation, are demonstrated to be ineffective or even counterproductive in the tobacco industry. Building upon the terminology used in the leadership literature, the paper proposes to differentiate between transactional and transformational CSR arguing that tobacco companies can only operate on a transactional level. As a consequence, corporate responsibility in the tobacco industry is based upon a much thinner approach to CSR and has to be conceptualized with a focus on transactional integrity across the tobacco supply chai

Dynamical characteristics of Rydberg electrons released by a weak electric field

The dynamics of ultra-slow electrons in the combined potential of an ionic core and a static electric field is discussed. With state-of-the-art detection it is possible to create such electrons through strong intense-field photo-absorption and to detect them via high-resolution time-of-flight spectroscopy despite their very low kinetic energy. The characteristic feature of their momentum spectrum, which emerges at the same position for different laser orientations, is derived and could be revealed experimentally with an energy resolution of the order of 1meV.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Toward an Understanding of the Impact of Organizational Climate and Organizational Justice on the Implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning Systems

This research examines the relationship between the organizational factors (such as justice and organizational climate) and behaviors regarding the implementation of enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. Business Process Reengineering (BPR) is emphasized due to its essentiality to ERP success and the symbiotic relationship. There has been much research that has focused on the relationship between justice and business process reengineering, as well as the relationship between BPR and ERP success in separate manners. However, few studies have explored the interrelationships among these constructs. This research helps explain how the organizational climate and organizational justice impacts the likelihood of success of an ERP implementation. While organizational behaviors under involvement are significantly and positively correlated with the success of ERP, justice plays an important mediating role in affecting individual’s attitudes towards organizational changes induced by BPR and ERP implementation

Certification of the uranium hexafluoride (UF6) isotopic composition: The IRMM-019 to IRMM-029 series

This report describes the re-determination and certification of the IRMM-019 to IRMM-029 series of uranium hexafluoride (UF6) reference materials certified for the uranium isotopic composition. The values were assigned following ISO Guide 34:2009. The IRMM-019 to IRMM-029 series was originally produced and certified in the 1980's-1990's. Since, the materials are stored in monel ampoules. Upon customer request, UF6 gas is distilled from a mother ampoule into a daughter ampoule, the isotopic composition is verified by Gas Source Mass Spectrometry (GSMS) and the daughter ampoule is sent to the customer. For the purpose of this project, the UF6 materials were converted into uranium nitrate solutions to perform the homogeneity and characterisation studies. Between-unit homogeneity was quantified and stability during dispatch and storage were assessed in accordance with ISO Guide 35:2006. The materials were characterised by Thermal Ionisation Mass Spectrometry (TIMS) using newly established measurement procedures such as the Modified Total Evaporation (MTE) and Double Spike (DS) methods, and with a new set of certified uranium isotope reference materials, which were prepared by gravimetrical mixing of highly enriched 233U, 235U, 236U and 238U oxides or solutions. The results of the characterisation measurements were also confirmed by GSMS measurements using the original UF6 gases. Uncertainties of the certified values were estimated in compliance with the Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement (GUM) and include uncertainties related to the characterisation measurements and the homogeneity study. The materials are intended for the calibration of methods, quality control purposes, and the assessment of method performance for isotope mass spectrometry. As with any certified reference material, they can also be used for validation studies. The CRMs are available in monel ampoules. Based on physical reasons, there is no minimum sample intake to be taken into account.JRC.D.2-Standards for Innovation and sustainable Developmen

Alpha managers - an advantage or disadvantage for the organization

The role of the manager is crucial to the organization. Managers set goals, develop strategies and define tasks of workers, create environment for the development of people and give meaning to their activities. Professional skills are of vital importance to manager’s success. These very skills are the distinguishing characteristics of alpha managers. The aim of the following paper is to present some of the most established ideas in the field of leadership styles, to compare them with the concept of alpha managers and draw some conclusions important to management

CERTIFICATION REPORT: Preparation and Certification of Large-Sized Dried (LSD) Spike - IRMM-1027q

IRMM Large-Sized Dried (LSD) Spikes are widely used as a fundamental part of the fissile material control of irradiated nuclear fuel and have been provided on a regular basis to safeguards authorities and industry for more than 10 years. This report describes the preparation and certification of a new batch of LSD Spikes. IRMM-1027q is a dried nitrate material in cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB), certified for the mass of uranium and plutonium and isotope amount ratios per unit. The material was produced following ISO Guide 34:2009. The certified reference materials uranium metal EC NRM 101, enriched uranium metal NBL CRM 116-A and plutonium metal CETAMA MP2 were used as starting materials to prepare the mother solution. This solution was dispensed by means of an automated robot system into individual units and dried down. A solution of an organic substance, cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB), was dried on the spike material as a stabiliser to retain the dried material at the bottom of the vial. Between unit-homogeneity was quantified and stability during dispatch and storage were assessed in accordance with ISO Guide 35:2006. The certified values for the uranium and plutonium isotope amount ratios and for the mass of uranium per unit were obtained from the gravimetric preparation of the mother solution, taking into account the mass, purity and isotopic abundances of the starting materials, the mass of the mother solution, and the mass of an aliquot in each individual unit. The certified values for the mass of plutonium per unit were established by isotope dilution thermal ionisation mass spectrometry (ID-TIMS). Confirmatory measurements were performed by isotope dilution thermal ionisation mass spectrometry (ID-TIMS) and thermal ionisation mass spectrometry (TIMS). Uncertainties of the certified values were estimated in compliance with the Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement (GUM) and include uncertainties related to possible inhomogeneity and to characterisation. This spike CRM is applied as a calibrant to measure the uranium and plutonium amount content of dissolved spent nuclear fuel solutions using isotope dilution mass spectrometry (IDMS). Each unit contains about 55 mg of uranium with a relative mass fraction m(235U)/m(U) of 17.7 % and 1.9 mg of plutonium with a relative mass fraction m(239Pu)/m(Pu) of 97.8 % as dried nitrates in CAB. The whole amount of sample per unit has to be used for analysis.JRC.D.2-Standards for Innovation and sustainable Developmen

Preparation and Certification of Large-Sized Dried (LSD) Spike – IRMM-1027s

Large-Sized Dried (LSD) spikes are used as a fundamental part of the fissile material control of irradiated nuclear fuel and have been provided on a regular basis to safeguards authorities and industry for more than 10 years. This report describes the preparation and certification of a new batch of LSD spikes. IRMM-1027s is a dried nitrate material in cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB), certified for the mass of uranium and plutonium and the uranium and plutonium isotope amount ratios per unit. The material was produced in compliance with ISO/IEC 17034:2016 and certified in accordance with ISO Guide 35:2006. The certified reference materials uranium metal EC NRM 101, enriched uranium metal NBL CRM 116-A and plutonium metal CETAMA MP2 were used as starting materials to prepare the mother solution. This solution was dispensed into individual units by means of an automated robot system and dried down. A solution of an organic substance, cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB) was dried on the spike material as a stabiliser to retain the dried material at the bottom of the vial. In total 950 units were produced. Between-unit homogeneity was quantified and stability during dispatch and storage were assessed in accordance with ISO Guide 35:2006. The certified values for the uranium and plutonium isotope amount ratios were obtained from the gravimetric preparation of the mother solution, taking into account the mass, purity and isotopic composition of the starting materials. The certified values for the mass of plutonium and uranium per unit were established by isotope dilution thermal ionisation mass spectrometry (ID-TIMS) on randomly selected units. External verification measurements were performed by isotope dilution mass spectrometry (IDMS) and thermal ionisation mass spectrometry (TIMS) on randomly selected units of IRMM-1027s. Uncertainties of the certified values were estimated in compliance with the Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement (GUM) and include uncertainties related to possible inhomogeneity and to characterisation. The main purpose of this material is for use as a spike isotopic reference material to measure the plutonium and uranium amount content of spent nuclear fuel solutions using IDMS. Each unit contains about 55 mg of uranium with a relative mass fraction m(235U)/m(U) of 19.0 % and 1.7 mg of plutonium with a relative mass fraction m(239Pu)/m(Pu) of 97.8 % as dried nitrates in CAB. The whole amount of sample per unit has to be used for analysis.JRC.G.2-Standards for Nuclear Safety, Security and Safeguard

A bio-economic analysis of harvest control rules for the Northeast Arctic cod fishery

-Harvest control rules (HCRs) have been implemented for many fisheries worldwide. However, in most instances, those HCRs are not based on the explicit feedbacks between stock properties and economic considerations. This paper develops a bio-economic model that evaluates the HCR adopted in 2004 by the Joint Norwegian–Russian Fishery Commission to manage the world's largest cod stock, Northeast Arctic cod (NEA). The model considered here is biologically and economically detailed, and is the first to compare the performance of the stock's current HCR with that of alternative HCRs derived with optimality criteria. In particular, HCRs are optimized for economic objectives including fleet profits, economic welfare, and total yield and the emerging properties are analyzed. The performance of these optimal HCRs was compared with the currently used HCR. This paper show that the current HCR does in fact comes very close to maximizing profits. Furthermore, the results reveal that the HCR that maximizes profits is the most precautionary one among the considered HCRs. Finally, the HCR that maximizes yield leads to un-precautionary low levels of biomass. In these ways, the implementation of the HCR for NEA cod can be viewed as a success story that may provide valuable lessons for other fisheries