Mechanism of Vanadium Leaching during Surface Weathering of Basic Oxygen Furnace Steel Slag Blocks: A Microfocus X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy and Electron Microscopy Study

© 2017 American Chemical Society. Basic oxygen furnace (BOF) steelmaking slag is enriched in potentially toxic V which may become mobilized in high pH leachate during weathering. BOF slag was weathered under aerated and air-excluded conditions for 6 months prior to SEM/EDS and μXANES analysis to determine V host phases and speciation in both primary and secondary phases. Leached blocks show development of an altered region in which free lime and dicalcium silicate phases were absent and Ca-Si-H was precipitated (CaCO 3 was also present under aerated conditions). μXANES analyses show that V was released to solution as V(V) during dicalcium silicate dissolution and some V was incorporated into neo-formed Ca-Si-H. Higher V concentrations were observed in leachate under aerated conditions than in the air-excluded leaching experiment. Aqueous V concentrations were controlled by Ca 3 (VO 4 ) 2 solubility, which demonstrate an inverse relationship between Ca and V concentrations. Under air-excluded conditions Ca concentrations were controlled by dicalcium silicate dissolution and Ca-Si-H precipitation, leading to relatively high Ca and correspondingly low V concentrations. Formation of CaCO 3 under aerated conditions provided a sink for aqueous Ca, allowing higher V concentrations limited by kinetic dissolution rates of dicalcium silicate. Thus, V release may be slowed by the precipitation of secondary phases in the altered region, improving the prospects for slag reuse

CEO pay, shareholder returns, and accounting profits

We assess the impact on CEO pay (including salary, cash bonus, and benefits in kind) of changes in both accounting and shareholder returns in 99 British companies in the years 1972-89. After correcting for heterogeneity biases inherent in the standard specifications of the problem, we find a strong positive relationship between CEO pay and within-company changes in shareholder returns, and no statistically significant relationship between CEO pay and within-company changes in accounting returns. Differences between firms in long-term average profitability do appear to have a substantial effect on CEO pay, while differences between firms in shareholder returns add nothing to the within-firm pay dynamics.These findings call into question the rationale for explicitly share-based incentive schemes

Blockchain: case studies in supply chain visibility

Purpose:This paper investigates how blockchain has moved beyond cryptocurrencies and is being deployed to enhance visibility and trust in supply chains; its limitations, and potential impact. Approach: Qualitative analysis undertaken via case studies drawn from food companies using semi-structured interviews. Findings: Blockchain is demonstrated as an enabler of visibility in supply chains. Applications at scale are most likely for products where the end consumer is prepared to pay the premium currently required to fund the technology, e.g. baby food. Challenges remain in four areas: trust of the technology; human error and fraud at the boundaries; governance; consumer data access and willingness to pay. Research implications and limitations: The paper shows that blockchain can be utilised as part of a system generating visibility and trust in supply chains. Research directs academic attention to issues that remain to be addressed. The challenges pertaining to the technology itself we believe to be generalisable; those specific to the food industry may not hold elsewhere. Practical implications: From live case studies we provide empirical evidence that blockchain provides visibility of exchanges and reliable data in fully-digitised supply chains. This provides provenance and guards against counterfeit goods. However, firms will need to work to gain consumer buy-in for the technology following repeated past claims of trustworthiness. Originality: This paper provides primary evidence from blockchain use cases ‘in the wild’. The exploratory case studies examine application of blockchain for supply chain visibility.</p

Chandra X-Ray Observations of Two Unusual BAL Quasars

We report sensitive Chandra X-ray non-detections of two unusual, luminous Iron Low-Ionization Broad Absorption Line Quasars (FeLoBALs). The observations do detect a non-BAL, wide-binary companion quasar to one of the FeLoBAL quasars. We combine X-ray-derived column density lower limits (assuming solar metallicity) with column densities measured from ultraviolet spectra and CLOUDY photoionization simulations to explore whether constant density slabs at broad line region densities can match the physical parameters of these two BAL outflows, and find that they cannot. In the "overlapping-trough" object SDSS J0300+0048, we measure the column density of the X-ray absorbing gas to be N_H >= 1.8 x 1024 cm-2. From the presence of Fe II UV78 absorption but lack of Fe II UV195/UV196 absorption, we infer the density in that part of the absorbing region to be n_e ~ 106 cm-3. We do find that a slab of gas at that density might be able to explain this object's absorption. In the Fe III-dominant object SDSS J2215-0045, the X-ray absorbing column density of N_H >= 3.4 x 1024 cm-2 is consistent with the Fe III-derived N_H >= 2 x 1022 cm-2 provided the ionization parameter is log U > 1.0 for both the n_e = 1011 cm-3 and n_e = 1012 cm-3 scenarios considered (such densities are required to produce Fe III absorption without Fe II absorption). However, the velocity width of the absorption rules out its being concentrated in a single slab at these densities. Instead, this object's spectrum can be explained by a low density, high ionization and high temperature disk wind that encounters and ablates higher density, lower ionization Fe III-emitting clumps.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figure

Climate change and modern slavery in public procurement:Research Report

Existing links between modern slavery and climate change are becoming clearer as the need increases for a just transition to a low-carbon economy. Yet, how organisations attempt to address these risks, either separately or simultaneously, is not understood in depth. In particular, the role of public procurement, which can be a powerful method for driving responsible behaviours into public and private operations alike, remains conceptually understood but under-investigated. We sought, through this project, to address this important knowledge gap by engaging with the public procurement ecosystem. We partnered with London Universities Purchasing Consortium (LUPC) and UK modern slavery charity Unseen UK to work with those organisations and, through LUPC, with public buyers and their suppliers and risk management data platforms. We ultimately conducted over 70 hours of interviews and focus groups with professionals and consultants, including those with lived experience of the issue at those organisations. We developed recommendations for public purchasing through a study of: (i) the actions that public sector buyers are taking to manage the risks of modern slavery and climate change in their operations and supply chains; (ii) the actions that tier 1 and tier 2 suppliers to the public sector are taking to address these risks; (iii) the role of public sector purchasing consortia in managing modern slavery and climate change risks through public tendering and contract negotiations on behalf of public buyers; (iv) how and the extent to which the sustainability data platforms used by public buyers to assist in decision making and risk management work for their public sector clients. By studying the factors involved from a multi-party perspective, we intended to better understand the links between the efforts of the various stakeholders involved in responsible procurement in the public sector.Through members of LUPC and consultants introduced to us by Unseen UK, who have lived experience of modern slavery, we were able to triangulate our findings in two focus groups. In this way, we gained valuable insights from different perspectives on the findings of the study and to enhance the recommendations we were developing.Following publication of this report, we will publish a policy brief aimed at policymakers in relevant UK government departments and begin work on articles for academic journals

Climate change and modern slavery in public procurement:Research Summary

This is a summary of the report from the project entitled: Intersecting sustainabilities: Protecting both people and planet in public sector supply chains, based on research conducted by Michael Rogerson (University of Sussex), Johanne Grosvold (University of Bath), and Kyle Alves (University of the West of England, Bristol) in partnership with London Universities Purchasing Consortium (LUPC) and Unseen UK. The project was funded through an open call for proposals for research on the links between modern slavery and climate change by the Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre (Modern Slavery PEC), which in turn is funded and supported by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). The full report can be accessed on the Modern Slavery PEC website at modernslaverypec.org/resources/climate-change-modern-slavery-public-procurement.The Modern Slavery PEC has actively supported the production of this Research Summary. However, the views expressed in this summary and the full report are those of the authors and not necessarily of the Modern Slavery PEC

Green exercise: Combined influence of environment and exercise to promote wellbeing

Exercise participation is linked to mental health and wellbeing. However, we need to identify optimal settings for promoting exercise-associated wellbeing outcomes, and for promoting exercise adherence. The literature suggests environmental settings may be important. The aim of this thesis was to rigorously test influences of environmental settings on exercise-related wellbeing outcomes. These over-arching research questions guided the experimental chapters: (i) is there an optimal green exercise environment for promoting wellbeing? (ii) When exercise is controlled, are findings consistent with previously reported psychological outcomes? (iii) Do environmental settings influence social outcomes of exercise or intentions to repeat exercise behaviours? Via field-based sampling, Chapter 3 found large proportions of affective benefits were universally obtainable across four typical green exercise environments, and suggested that the processes component of green exercise warranted further investigation; however, this method lacked control. Chapter 4 used laboratory-based methodology to control exercise and isolate the visual environment; consistent with both theory and previous research, nature environments facilitated wellbeing-related attention restoration. However, this method did not provide an accurate multisensory experience, therefore lacking ecological validity. Chapter 5 investigated methodologies for controlling the exercise component, comparing wellbeing-related outcomes of indoor versus outdoor exercise. This was important because previous research had not rigorously controlled exercise, therefore potentially confounding its findings. Results for environment-related exercise differences and affective outcomes were inconclusive. Chapter 6 merged laboratory-based methods with the indoor versus outdoor exercise paradigm, ensuring control and ecological validity. Environmental setting did not influence perceived exertion or mood; green settings promoted attention restoration and social interaction; for green exercise, social interaction predicted exercise intentions. Green exercise promotes wellbeing improvements; environmental influences on affective outcomes may be contributed to by differences in exercise performed. Independent of exercise differences, green environments promote attention restoration and social interaction during exercise, which may in turn influence exercise intentions

Accounting for human rights: Evidence of due diligence in EU-listed firms’ reporting

This paper investigates the extent and the strategies of human rights due diligence (HRDD) disclosure by the largest 100 EU-listed firms. Our work is performed at a key point in time when institutional expectations to conduct HRDD are building, allowing us to assess firms’ readiness for emerging and forthcoming legally binding regulation in the EU. To analyse corporate disclosures, we develop a scoring tool based on the United Nations’ Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). We interpret our findings building on Oliver’s (1991) theoretical framework of firms’ strategic responses to institutional pressures, as adopted in the context of social and environmental accounting and integrated with concepts from the literature on substantive and symbolic disclosure approaches. Our contributions advance the understanding of the ways that firms are engaging with the HRDD issue and the state or level of their engagement. We reveal three key HRDD disclosure strategies: dismissal, concealment, and compliance. The presence of the dismissal category is particularly significant, implying weak engagement with HRDD for many firms in our sample. Furthermore, we find that while many firms have a talk-orientation, where they communicate a commitment to protect human rights, the extent to which disclosures are action-oriented and detail the key practice of HRDD is significantly neglected. Important implications also follow for policymakers as our results can enhance the capability of new regulation to better enforce a strategic engagement outcome

Geographies of tourism development and planning

AbstractDevelopment and planning have long been a focus of tourism geographers. Although the ideas of development and planning are complex and challenging to define and study, there is a strong agreement on the academic and societal relevance of their research in tourism geographies: tourism is a growth industry which requires holistic and future-oriented planning measures that minimize the negative externalities of tourism and guide the industry’s growth towards a development path. A brief overview of early phases and current directions of development and planning approaches in geographical tourism research shows how traditional approaches are still relevant. There is, however, a need to recognize distinct contextual and historical dimensions around the geographies of tourism development and planning in versatile research contexts. These historic and contextual elements influence the present and future characteristics and power relations of tourism in place and can help us to understand how tourism works with localities and localities with tourism.摘要发展与规划议题很久以来就是旅游地理学者的研究重点。尽管发展与规划思想很复杂, 对之界定与研究颇有挑战性, 但是旅游地理学中有一个强烈的共识, 就是发展与规划研究兼具学术与社会价值༚旅游业是一个增长性产业, 需要采取整体性和着眼未来的规划措施, 使旅游业消极的外部性最小化, 引导这个产业沿着发展的路径增长。简单概述旅游地理研究中规划与发展取向的早期发展阶段与现在的发展方向, 就表明传统的研究取向是为什么仍具有现实意义的。但是, 仍需要从多种研究背景下认识旅游发展与规划地理学不同的背景与历史要素。这些历史与背景要素影响着旅游发展与规划当前与未来的发展特征及其中的权力关系, 有助于我们理解旅游业是如何与地方性相互作用的Abstract Development and planning have long been a focus of tourism geographers. Although the ideas of development and planning are complex and challenging to define and study, there is a strong agreement on the academic and societal relevance of their research in tourism geographies: tourism is a growth industry which requires holistic and future-oriented planning measures that minimize the negative externalities of tourism and guide the industry’s growth towards a development path. A brief overview of early phases and current directions of development and planning approaches in geographical tourism research shows how traditional approaches are still relevant. There is, however, a need to recognize distinct contextual and historical dimensions around the geographies of tourism development and planning in versatile research contexts. These historic and contextual elements influence the present and future characteristics and power relations of tourism in place and can help us to understand how tourism works with localities and localities with tourism.摘要 发展与规划议题很久以来就是旅游地理学者的研究重点。尽管发展与规划思想很复杂, 对之界定与研究颇有挑战性, 但是旅游地理学中有一个强烈的共识, 就是发展与规划研究兼具学术与社会价值༚旅游业是一个增长性产业, 需要采取整体性和着眼未来的规划措施, 使旅游业消极的外部性最小化, 引导这个产业沿着发展的路径增长。简单概述旅游地理研究中规划与发展取向的早期发展阶段与现在的发展方向, 就表明传统的研究取向是为什么仍具有现实意义的。但是, 仍需要从多种研究背景下认识旅游发展与规划地理学不同的背景与历史要素。这些历史与背景要素影响着旅游发展与规划当前与未来的发展特征及其中的权力关系, 有助于我们理解旅游业是如何与地方性相互作用