Developing and testing green performance measures for the supply chain

Performance measurements evolve as new challenges are met and the natural environment is one of the biggest challenges facing society and the evolution of performance measurement today. Consequently, a cross-disciplinary interest in the field of green supply chain management (GSCM) has grown amongst researchers and practitioners in recent years because of climate change issues, diminishing raw materials, excess waste production, increasing levels of pollution and because it is a source of competitive advantage. Yet, there has been little work done in developing and incorporating green measures into the existing bank of supply chain performance measures. Only 18 articles have been published in the last 18 years on green supply chain performance measurement (GSCPM). The aim of this thesis is to address this challenge by empirically developing and testing green performance measures for the supply chain.Based on an extensive literature review, five research questions were proposed for this thesis to address gaps in the body of knowledge. This is a new area of theory development and demanded theoretical and methodological triangulation to maximize the amount of data collected to explore the research phenomena from different perspectives. The study used a rigorous three-phased methodological framework originally developed by Churchill (1979) for items and scales development. The first phase comprised generating variables and constructs from the extant literature and focus groups. The second phase involved testing these items and constructs in a survey. Finally, a focus group was conducted in Phase Three to verify and validate the overall results.The thesis proposes a battery of 29 GSCPM variables and 12 GSCPM constructs that can be used by organisations to measure their impact on the environment. The study found that GSCPM variables used by organisations, such as usual performance measures, remain primarily driven by cost. Furthermore, there are significant differences in the capabilities and the way in which organisations view the importance, enablers, barriers and benefits of GSCPM. This thesis contributes to knowledge by proposing a universal set of GSCPM variables and reporting tools that organisations can use to manage their GSCPM. Finally, the use of methodological pluralism in this research has helped to provide a more complete picture of this phenomenon and represents one of only a few studies which have explored GSCPM in this way

Killing and Letting Die: The Irrelevant Distinction

The object of this essay is to explain why the distinctions made in euthanasia between killing vs. letting die and willingness to kill vs. unwillingness to kill are not relevant to real life euthanasia cases. The specific purpose of the research is to isolate the relevant factor for debate when discussing the morality of euthanasia. It begins with a brief examination of some vocabulary that is commonly used when discussing euthanasia. Following this is a quick overview of what the word euthanasia meant in the ancient Greco-Roman world compared to what it means in the modern vernacular. I use an article by James Rachels about the lack of distinction between killing and letting die (which is one possible relevant factor) and a reply by William Nesbitt which attempts to shift the focus onto willingness to kill (another possible relevant factor). I conclude that Rachels is correct that killing and letting die are morally equivalent when all other factors are the same, but that other factors are never the same and that Nesbitt is closer to the real morally relevant factor in his discussion of willingness to kill. However, Nesbitt is not entirely correct or clear about his ideas. Willingness to kill can, in a case of euthanasia, be equivalent to a willingness to help and is not always a negative thing. The more generalized intention of the person performing the euthanasia is the most relevant factor to the morality of the act

Using environmental reporting tools in the supply chain : perspectives from UK, Finland and Thailand

Paper delivered at the 21st Logistics Research Network annual conference 2016, 7th-9th September 2016, Hull. Abstract Purpose: Supply chain performance measures and reporting tools must evolve as new societal challenges are met, and the natural environment has become one of today’s most significant challenges. An inter-disciplinary interest in the field of environmental supply chain management has grown amongst researchers and practitioners in recent years as a potential source of competitive advantage due to climate change issues, diminishing raw materials, excess waste, and increasing levels of pollution. Measurement of environmental performance has also developed as a related topic and environmental management systems (EMS) within a logistics context have garnered some attention in the literature. However, little work has been done to assess the use of appropriate environmental reporting tools or the adoption of extant standards such as ISO14001 or EMAS in which to position and report environmental performance measures in the logistics sector. This paper builds on work presented by Shenin and Grant at the 2015 LRN conference to compare and contrast the adoption and use of environmental reporting tools in the UK, Finnish and Thai logistics sectors and identify key drivers and barriers. Research Approach: This is a new area of research and thus exploratory tools were used to collect data from different perspectives. The study used a combination of semi-structured interviews, focus groups and two large scale industry surveys. Findings and originality: The study found that the two most commonly known EMS are ISO 14001 and EMAS. However, they have been inconsistently adopted across the various sectors. For example, many UK logistics practitioners have developed their ‘own company designed’ reporting tools. Further, logistics and supply chain practitioners in all countries indicated a lack of understanding of environmental management systems (EMS), with small firms demonstrating no reporting at all. Key drivers and benefits for adoption of reporting tools were financially linked to customer requirements, to reduce waste and be more operationally efficient. Additionally, a lack of standard ESCPM reporting and measurement tools and government direction, and the complexity of the supply chain were seen as key barriers to effective implementation. Research Impact: Reporting tools widely discussed in the academic literature such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Balanced Scorecard (BSC) and Green SCOR were not found to be extensively used in the three logistics sectors. There appears to be ‘no one size fits all’ tool in current environmental supply chain reporting and thus a clear divergence between theory and practice

Using environmental reporting tools in the supply chain : perspectives from UK, Finland and Thailand

Paper delivered at the 21st Logistics Research Network annual conference 2016, 7th-9th September 2016, Hull. Abstract Purpose: Supply chain performance measures and reporting tools must evolve as new societal challenges are met, and the natural environment has become one of today’s most significant challenges. An inter-disciplinary interest in the field of environmental supply chain management has grown amongst researchers and practitioners in recent years as a potential source of competitive advantage due to climate change issues, diminishing raw materials, excess waste, and increasing levels of pollution. Measurement of environmental performance has also developed as a related topic and environmental management systems (EMS) within a logistics context have garnered some attention in the literature. However, little work has been done to assess the use of appropriate environmental reporting tools or the adoption of extant standards such as ISO14001 or EMAS in which to position and report environmental performance measures in the logistics sector. This paper builds on work presented by Shenin and Grant at the 2015 LRN conference to compare and contrast the adoption and use of environmental reporting tools in the UK, Finnish and Thai logistics sectors and identify key drivers and barriers. Research Approach: This is a new area of research and thus exploratory tools were used to collect data from different perspectives. The study used a combination of semi-structured interviews, focus groups and two large scale industry surveys. Findings and originality: The study found that the two most commonly known EMS are ISO 14001 and EMAS. However, they have been inconsistently adopted across the various sectors. For example, many UK logistics practitioners have developed their ‘own company designed’ reporting tools. Further, logistics and supply chain practitioners in all countries indicated a lack of understanding of environmental management systems (EMS), with small firms demonstrating no reporting at all. Key drivers and benefits for adoption of reporting tools were financially linked to customer requirements, to reduce waste and be more operationally efficient. Additionally, a lack of standard ESCPM reporting and measurement tools and government direction, and the complexity of the supply chain were seen as key barriers to effective implementation. Research Impact: Reporting tools widely discussed in the academic literature such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Balanced Scorecard (BSC) and Green SCOR were not found to be extensively used in the three logistics sectors. There appears to be ‘no one size fits all’ tool in current environmental supply chain reporting and thus a clear divergence between theory and practice

Evaluation of linkage disequilibrium and its effect on non-parametric multipoint linkage analysis using two high density single-nucleotide polymorphism mapping panels

Genotype data from the Illumina Linkage III SNP panel (n = 4,720 SNPs) and the Affymetrix 10 k mapping array (n = 11,120 SNPs) were used to test the effects of linkage disequilibrium (LD) between SNPs in a linkage analysis in the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism pedigree collection (143 pedigrees; 1,614 individuals). The average r(2 )between adjacent markers across the genetic map was 0.099 ± 0.003 in the Illumina III panel and 0.17 ± 0.003 in the Affymetrix 10 k array. In order to determine the effect of LD between marker loci in a nonparametric multipoint linkage analysis, markers in strong LD with another marker (r(2 )> 0.40) were removed (n = 471 loci in the Illumina panel; n = 1,804 loci in the Affymetrix panel) and the linkage analysis results were compared to the results using the entire marker sets. In all analyses using the ALDX1 phenotype, 8 linkage regions on 5 chromosomes (2, 7, 10, 11, X) were detected (peak markers p < 0.01), and the Illumina panel detected an additional region on chromosome 6. Analysis of the same pedigree set and ALDX1 phenotype using short tandem repeat markers (STRs) resulted in 3 linkage regions on 3 chromosomes (peak markers p < 0.01). These results suggest that in this pedigree set, LD between loci with spacing similar to the SNP panels tested may not significantly affect the overall detection of linkage regions in a genome scan. Moreover, since the data quality and information content are greatly improved in the SNP panels over STR genotyping methods, new linkage regions may be identified due to higher information content and data quality in a dense SNP linkage panel

Chemical underpinning of the tea bag index: An examination of the decomposition of tea leaves

Decomposition is a key flux of terrestrial carbon to the atmosphere. Therefore, gaining a better understanding of how plant litter decomposes in soil, and what governs this process, is vital for global climate models. The Tea Bag Index (TBI) was introduced by Keuskamp et al. (2013) as a novel method for measuring litter decomposition rate and stabilisation. The TBI uses two types of tea bags representing fast (green tea) and slow (rooibos tea) decomposition substrates as standardised litter bags. To date, the TBI method has been used in over 2000 locations across the globe. However, before now, there has been no information on how the composition of the tea leaves change during incubation. These data are crucial in determining the validity of the use of the TBI method globally, to ensure the tea leaves decompose in a way that is representative of so-called “native” litters. To provide chemical underpinning of the TBI method, a laboratory incubation of the tea bags was conducted with destructive sampling at 0, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, 49, 56, 63, 70, 77, 84, and 91 d. The incubated tea was analysed for total C and N. In addition, C was characterised as alkyl, O-alkyl, aromatic, or carbonyl C using solid-state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy with cross-polarization and magic angle spinning (CPMAS NMR). The results suggest that changes in carbon in both tea types are comparable to other litter studies, with a net decrease in total C and relative proportion of O-alkyl C fraction, which contains carbohydrates and cellulose. We conclude that the decomposition of tea leaves in the bags used in the TBI is representative of other litters

Understanding mindfulness: Current epistemological, methodological, and ethical issues

This paper reflects on current discussions about the meeting of Buddhism and Western psychology in the field of mindfulness from the perspective of Buddhist psychology (BP). The epistemology and methodology of BP and Western clinical psychology differ significantly. The first-person Buddhist and the third-person scientific approaches to understanding and evidencing mindfulness appear to be irreconcilable. However, BP and Buddhist ethics provide frameworks with which contemporary scientific research can be scrutinised. Such scrutiny can provide new perspectives on psychological and ethical shortcomings of modern Western scientific epistemology and methodology. BP is the foundation for the Western science of mindfulness. It is argued that BP could play a more important role in the training of scientists in mindfulness. By bridging Buddhist and Western psychology in the science of mindfulness, it appears to be possible to initiate critical psychological and ethical reflection of how modern Western science approaches, constructs, and conditions the world and its inhabitants. Such reflection, and consequent mindful scientific changes, could be of invaluable use in reducing the suffering of sentient beings in this world.This paper reflects on current discussions about the meeting of Buddhism and Western psychology in the field of mindfulness from the perspective of Buddhist psychology (BP). The epistemology and methodology of BP and Western clinical psychology differ significantly. The first-person Buddhist and the third-person scientific approaches to understanding and evidencing mindfulness appear to be irreconcilable. However, BP and Buddhist ethics provide frameworks with which contemporary scientific research can be scrutinised. Such scrutiny can provide new perspectives on psychological and ethical shortcomings of modern Western scientific epistemology and methodology. BP is the foundation for the Western science of mindfulness. It is argued that BP could play a more important role in the training of scientists in mindfulness. By bridging Buddhist and Western psychology in the science of mindfulness, it appears to be possible to initiate critical psychological and ethical reflection of how modern Western science approaches, constructs, and conditions the world and its inhabitants. Such reflection, and consequent mindful scientific changes, could be of invaluable use in reducing the suffering of sentient beings in this world

A Sisterhood of Suffering and Service: Writing Canadian and Newfoundland Women and Girls Back Into the First World War

Dr. Sarah Glassford teaches History at the University of Ottawa and Carleton University, and is co-editor (with Dr. Amy Shaw) of a volume of essays on the history of Canadian and Newfoundland women and girls during the First World War. Amy Shaw is interested in the connections between perceptions of gender and citizenship in wartime. She is the author of Crisis of Conscience: Conscientious Objection in Canada during the First World War and, with Sarah Glassford, editor of a collection examining the activities and representations of Canadian and Newfoundland girls and women during WWI

Performance variation in Leptasterias spp. among populations and habitats

Leptasterias spp. are six rayed sea stars that are found in rocky intertidal habitats ranging from the California coast to Alaska. In central California, Leptasterias spp. can be found in a variety of intertidal habitats in mixed populations. There are multiple clades that represent these populations and it is thought that they may vary behaviorally, including habitat preference. To investigate this individuals were collected from Pigeon Point, San Mateo, CA and characterized into two habitat categories according to where they were found: rocky habitat and pool habitat. To test for behavioral variation among habitats, righting response was used as a performance measure. Righting response time was measured in the field and was repeatedly measured in the lab under controlled conditions. It is hypothesized that individuals living in pool habitats are more mobile due to wave action and therefore will have a faster righting response. This study suggests that there may be significant performance differences among these habitat preferences and that this may also be reflected in the genetics. A methodology for further investigating these suggestions is offered here

TDP-43 causes neurotoxicity and cytoskeletal dysfunction in primary cortical neurons

TDP-43-mediated proteinopathy is a key factor in the pathology of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). A potential underlying mechanism is dysregulation of the cytoskeleton. Here we investigate the effects of expressing TDP-43 wild-type and M337V and Q331K mutant isoforms on cytoskeletal integrity and function, using rat cortical neurons in vitro. We find that TDP-43 protein becomes mislocalised in axons over 24–72 hours in culture, with protein aggregation occurring at later timepoints (144 hours). Quantitation of cell viability showed toxicity of both wild-type and mutant constructs which increased over time, especially of the Q331K mutant isoform. Analysis of the effects of TDP-43 on axonal integrity showed that TDP-43-transfected neurons had shorter axons than control cells, and that growth cone sizes were smaller. Axonal transport dynamics were also impaired by transfection with TDP-43 constructs. Taken together these data show that TDP-43 mislocalisation into axons precedes cell death in cortical neurons, and that cytoskeletal structure and function is impaired by expression of either TDP-43 wild-type or mutant constructs in vitro. These data suggest that dysregulation of cytoskeletal and neuronal integrity is an important mechanism for TDP-43-mediated proteinopathy