bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Marketing good works: new trends in how interest groups recruit supporters
Authors: Lees‐Marshment Jennifer
Published: July 2006

Charities or interest groups need to attract supporters, who offer both financial support and participation, to achieve their overall goal of influencing public affairs. They can use political marketing to help them attract and retain such supporters. Existing literature indicates they use marketing techniques such as direct mail to communicate to potential new supporters, but new research has discovered that the influence of political marketing is much more comprehensive. The most effective groups are now using political marketing to design the package they offer to supporters. They go through a four‐stage process. First, they conduct market intelligence to understand what supporters want from the organisation and second, they design their product accordingly. Third, they communicate this to potential supporters and then finally deliver campaign progress and they communicate this to existing supporters. They use marketing concepts: they adopt a market orientation and build an organisation designed to take account of its users' needs and wants. Although such charities are often associated with non‐business behaviour, the most successful groups are adopting the concepts and techniques of comprehensive political marketing as the means to increase their influence on government and public affairs. Copyright © 2003 Henry Stewart Publications
Managing the grassroots and assessing its performance
Authors: Fleisher Craig S.
Published: July 2006

This paper examines the increasingly popular advocacy activity of grassroots management. The success of many US government relations programmes depends heavily on the involvement and support of the organisation's grassroots networks. This paper provides a brief introduction to the grassroots, provides a number of methods for understanding and assessing grassroots performance and examines some of the key organisational considerations for institutionalising grassroots performance assessment into an organisation. Copyright © 2003 Henry Stewart Publications
BNFL National Stakeholder Dialogue: a case study in public affairs
Authors: Perret Anthony
Published: July 2006

This case study explores the very early days of the British Nuclear Fuels Ltd (BNFL) National Stakeholder Dialogue. The dialogue is arguably the most intensive, consistent and difficult engagement with stakeholders ever undertaken by a UK company. It involves a wide range of individuals and organisations interested in or concerned about nuclear issues and aims to inform BNFL's decision‐making process around the improvement of their environmental performance in the context of their overall development. The process is designed and convened by The Environment Council, an independent third party with expertise in stake‐holder dialogue.

The aim of this paper is to examine how the dialogue came about, why stakeholder dialogue was used as a process, some of the problems encountered by the process and the link that can exist between public affairs and stakeholder dialogue. Copyright © 2003 Henry Stewart Publications
Public affairs and power
Authors: Spencer Tom
Published: July 2006

This paper argues that Western democracies will have to renegotiate their constitutional and psychological relationship with their intelligence agencies. This follows from the changing role of the intelligence services after the end of the Cold War and recent events surrounding the beginning of the Gulf War. The paper examines the impact of spies and the public affairs function in a world of failed and failing states and concludes that, however uncomfortable, public affairs should not deny its relationship to power. Copyright © 2003 Henry Stewart Publications
The impact of downsizing on the corporate reputation for social performance
Authors: Zyglidopoulos Stelios C.
Published: July 2006

This paper investigates the impact of downsizing on a firm's reputation for corporate social performance (RCSP). Drawing on the downsizing, corporate reputation and social responsibility literatures, a number of hypotheses concerning the impact of downsizing, and particularly the types of downsizing, on a firm's reputation for corporate social performance are developed and empirically tested. The main findings of this study are that, while downsizing seems to have a negative impact on the firm's RCSP, when one takes into account the kind of managerial action that led to downsizing (layoffs and/or divestitures), this impact differs between the two stakeholder groups, industry executives and financial analysts, which were investigated. This study also found that a high financial performance prior to downsizing led to a greater negative impact on the firm's RCSP. Copyright © 2004 Henry Stewart Publications
The public affairs of internationalisation: balancing pressures from multiple environments
Authors: Drogendijk Rian
Published: July 2006

Managing public affairs is a very complex task for internationalising firms. Multinational companies (MNCs) are not only single organisations operating in a global environment, but at the same time they are collections of interlinked subsidiaries that operate in a diversity of national environments. This paper investigates conceptually how subsidiaries of MNCs build relationships with internal MNC counterparts and external market and non‐market actors as they mature and build resources and capabilities. It shows that, in order to understand the dynamics of public affairs management in MNCs, we need to study the relationships of MNCs and their subsidiaries with a variety of stakeholders in the internal and external environment of the organisation. Copyright © 2004 Henry Stewart Publications
Problems and process: European merger control and how to use it
Authors: Heim Mathew
Published: July 2006

This paper seeks to explore some of the public affairs principles involved in the EU mergers and acquisitions regulatory process, which affects most corporate restructuring of a European scope. Following a brief overview of the EU merger review process and the main role of public affairs in such cases, the paper explores some of the more sensitive issues that demand public affairs activities, and issues that are raised by public affairs activities.

The paper focuses on the open nature of the EU merger review process, which allows for wide consultation; the imperfections within the EU merger review process, which lead to confusion as to where the exact point of decision lies; and the fact that the process is only quasi‐legal, so that competition policy and industrial policy considerations may filter into the regulator's assessment. The impact of politics is also explored; from high‐profile political interventions to low‐key political negotiations. Finally, there is a review of the perception of lobbying and the question of the legitimacy of the public affairs discipline in the context of EU merger control. Copyright © 2004 Henry Stewart Publications
The five capabilities of socially responsible companies
Authors: Black Leeora D. , Härtel Charmine E. J.
Published: July 2006

This paper develops and tests a model that integrates processes of public affairs management with stakeholder engagement and dialogue, business ethics and social reporting to explain social responsibility capabilities in organisations. The model, called Corporate Social Responsibility Management Capacity, describes social responsiveness as arising from a firm's social responsibility orientation and its public relations orientation. The paper shows how the model can be used by managers to measure, manage and improve their company's ability to be socially responsible. Copyright © 2004 Henry Stewart Publications
Political research and practitioner approaches: a review of the research methods used in voting behaviour research
Authors: Dean Dianne
Published: July 2006

Quantitative research has been the dominant methodological approach used to study voting behaviour. There is an emerging recognition, however, that there are alternative ways of attempting to understand how voters decide. The academic preoccupation with measurement, reliability, validity and generalisability may obscure some of the findings that are uncovered by practitioners using qualitative research. Practitioners of politics, both in the USA and the UK, tend to utilise both methods when formulating policy and exploring voter attitudes towards these policies. This paper will review the arguments for each tradition and examine the apparent divergence of practitioner and academic political research. Finally, it will look at how both positivist and interpretivist methods can be utilised to complement each other when attempting to build a picture of voting behaviour. Copyright © 2004 Henry Stewart Publications
Of legitimacy, legality and public affairs
Authors: Spencer Tom
Published: July 2006

This paper argues that legality is not enough and that sound public affairs underpins the legitimacy of a political system. It examines the impact of lost legitimacy on Tony Blair, President Bush and America's foreign policy. The author draws historical comparisons between Britain in the Middle East in the 1920s and the USA's problems today and suggests that the fundamental problem is the lack of legitimacy in the region's politics. The paper concludes by asserting that the legitimacy of the EU political system will be endangered while public understanding of its institutions remains limited. Copyright © 2004 Henry Stewart Publications
Regulating political advertising in the EU and USA: a human rights perspective
Authors: Jones Clifford A.
Published: July 2006

Underlying the American model of political campaign communication are the US Constitutional guarantees of free speech, which secure the rights of citizens to support political candidates of their choosing and express that support in various forms, from bumper stickers to television advertising. Courts have at times struck down measures regulating political advertising, including limits on the amounts of such advertising and the amounts of funds which candidates, parties and individuals may spend on election‐related speeches and advertising as infringements of these rights. With few exceptions, in the USA, government may not limit the number of spots a candidate airs in an election. In Europe, international norms concerning free expression and fair elections appear in a number of legal instruments, including, most recently, the UK's Human Rights Act 1998 and the EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights.

This paper compares the role and development of American First Amendment doctrines in limiting restrictions on political advertising in the USA with the development of comparable norms of free expression under the European Convention on Human Rights, European Union treaties and legislation and national laws of the member states and accession countries. In particular, this paper addresses the validity and enforceability of European legal limits on number, timing, placement, quantity and content of political advertisements under applicable human rights rules and similar regulations. The paper concludes that (1) a combination of European legal instruments, including the European Convention on Human Rights, the European Community Treaty, the European Community's ‘Television Without Frontiers’ Directives and the Council of Europe's Convention on Transfrontier Television offer protections of a kind and type which broadly track the protections of the USA's First Amendment; that (2) it seems that governmental justifications for restricting these freedoms are more readily accepted in Europe than they might be in courts in the USA; and that (3) certain restrictions on political advertising identified in previous studies as existing throughout Europe will face increased judicial scrutiny and some of them are probably illegal under European Human Rights principles. Copyright © 2004 Henry Stewart Publications
Microwards at postcode level
Authors: Berry David S.
Published: July 2006

Much has been made of declining turnout in elections. This is due to a number of factors, and several remedies have been proposed. Voting behaviour seems to depend largely on socioeconomic factors. Partly due to the inordinate expense of household‐level statistics, however, little is known of the demographic breakdown of voting and non‐voting. An effective way of overcoming this would be to crudely estimate the demographics involved by allocating households to consistent voting groupings. Large geographic groups are unwieldy and probably not sufficiently accurate; however, postcode‐level definitions can allow similar but non‐adjacent households in the same general area to be treated as a unit for statistical purposes. This allows consistent trends in voting over the last four general elections in Scotland to be demonstrated. Copyright © 2004 Henry Stewart Publications
Religious marketing: reflections from the other side of politics
Authors: Shepherd Ifan D. H.
Published: July 2006

This paper critically examines the idea that politics and religion occupy adjoining berths in the extended marketing camp. Following a brief review of contemporary religious marketing, a comparison is undertaken of religion and politics to determine whether they conform to a common marketing framework for non‐business environments. The idea that marketing in faith environments is validated by the ‘religious economy’ theory is critically examined, significant objections to the adoption of marketing principles and methods by the religious community are explored and some limitations of the exchange concept in a faith context are identified. Some implications are considered for both political and mainstream marketing, in terms of recent attempts to broaden the scope of marketing. Copyright © 2004 Henry Stewart Publications
The truth about youth? Media portrayals of young people and politics in Britain
Authors: Russell Andrew
Published: July 2006

Some forms of political participation in Britain appear to be in crisis. Official rates of turnout are alarmingly poor and the sub‐population least likely to participate in general—and vote in particular—is the youngest section of society. Moreover, the way that the media and and politicians have responded to the apparent crisis of youth participation has become a self‐fulfilling prophecy. A full review of young people's place in the political environment is needed. This requires the application of different criteria for evaluating youth interests, and the avoidance of some of the most routinely used phrases to describe young people's attitudes to politics. Copyright © 2004 Henry Stewart Publications
Stirring up apathy? Political disengagement and the media in the 2003 Welsh Assembly elections
Authors: Thomas James , Cushion Stephen , Jewell John
Published: July 2006

This paper examines the media coverage of the 2003 Welsh Assembly elections in the context of the wider academic debate about the media's relationship with political engagement. It draws on evidence to suggest a potentially positive relationship between media use and voting, before arguing that this relationship was limited in Wales in 2003, due both to the limited penetration of the Welsh media in Wales and the election's low prominence in this media. It then examines the way in which ‘the apathy story’ dominated media coverage. Such an emphasis wrongly equated apathy with discontent with the devolution process in Wales, and dominated the issues which the public were represented as discussing, while space was rarely given to their views on policy issues. Bad news about electoral disengagement was much more likely to be emphasised than good news, while emphasis on public ‘apathy’ offered a typically negative simplification of political attitudes among the electorally disengaged. Copyright © 2004 Henry Stewart Publications
Alastair Campbell, exit stage left: Do the ‘Phillis’ recommendations represent a new chapter in political communications or is it ‘business as usual’?
Authors: Gaber Ivor
Published: July 2006

That there has been a breakdown in trust between government, the media and the people in the UK is now a commonplace axiom—indeed, it was the starting point of the Review of Government Communications undertaken by Bob Phillis in 2003 at the promptings of the House of Commons Select Committee on Public Administration. The Review reported in February 2004, and the government has indicated that it intends to accept the majority of its recommendations. The Review was supposed to usher in a new era in the relationship between government, the media and the people but this might turn out to be a false expectation. Because the Review was based on a number of false assumptions, it runs the risk of creating a system which entrenches some of the worst aspects of the old system without achieving any significant improvements. Copyright © 2004 Henry Stewart Publications
System failure: it's not just the media — the whole political system has failed
Authors: Miller David
Published: July 2006

This paper provides a critique of attempts in the field of political communication to explain apparent voter apathy and declining electoral turnout. The response of many commentators is either to blame the media for the problem or to see the media as the solution to any problem that might exist. First, the paper examines the ‘blame the media’ school of thought—as exemplified by liberal commentators in the UK and the USA. Secondly, the paper focuses on the ‘optimists’ who argue that the spin/media nexus is either morally neutral or may actually be improving citizen involvement.

The paper argues that both approaches are flawed at the level of conceptualisation and of methodology. The narrow conceptualisation of the field means that even in the unusual cases where scholars look beyond the question of elections, the research agenda is still fixed at the level of media power and not on how the media fit into a wider system of power relations. Most obviously, the field tends to avoid the question of political and economic outcomes.

The paper ends by suggesting that the problem of disengagement from formal politics is a response to the crisis of legitimacy in the institutions of democracy in the USA and UK. Copyright © 2004 Henry Stewart Publications
Issues and crisis management in a convergent environment
Authors: Turnbull Noel
Published: July 2006

Increasingly issues and crisis management are occurring in an interactive environment in which activists use online communications and networks to attack organisations and promote campaigns. This paper outlines examples of such developments and suggests that there is a still a need to consider them within the context of the overall social and economic environment as well as from a technological viewpoint. It also argues that technological change accentuates issues and crises rather than creating new forms of crises. Copyright © 2001 Henry Stewart Publications
Public relations for public affairs
Authors: Weissmann Klaus , Scheucher Christian
Published: July 2006

The term ‘public affairs’ has now become a much‐discussed topic in continental Europe's political and economic circles, including Germany and Austria. The problem is that few people really understand just what the term means. Many people have the impression that ‘public affairs’ is another way of describing lobbying. Others perceive it as classic public relations. In Europe many decision makers of the business world lack the specific knowledge of policy making; however, until now just a few such executives have taken advantage of the real opportunities opened up by using the services of professional public affairs consulting. Communications companies in Europe are now offering public affairs consulting as part of their services, with increasing success. The first task to make public affairs better known in Europe therefore must be public relations for public affairs. Copyright © 2001 Henry Stewart Publications
Envisaging the future — scenarios and public affairs practice
Authors: Pedler Robin H.
Published: July 2006

Public affairs in the third millennium will develop in three significant ways.

It will deal increasingly with global issues and authorities. ‘The chief executive needs to be an entrepreneur with global vision. He needs political skills, to steer a course through the regulatory maze.’

The companies that succeed may be global, but many of the regimes of regulation and control will remain national. The ability to deal with them will be essential.

Public affairs will have to deal effectively not only with national and international regimes but also with organised ‘civil society’. NGOs have now formed global alliances. They are recognised and consulted formally and informally and have begun to ‘show their teeth’.

These developments create strong and specific challenges for corporate communications.

‘Sovereignty is what you belong to.’ The European Union (EU) has developed as a model for global public affairs. Companies that have learnt to combine national with supranational public affairs in the EU will be well equipped in the fora of WTO, OECD, ILO and others yet to come.

The communications challenges are two:

Support for mergers: As globalisation proceeds by merger, companies will need fluency in communicating the benefits of mergers, both internally and externally.

Trading identities: As countries go for national brands to achieve tourism and investment, mega‐merged global companies are using nation‐building techniques to achieve internal cohesion across cultures.

Copyright © 2001 Henry Stewart Publications
‘New managerialism’ in the news: media coverage of quangos in Britain
Authors: Deacon David , Monk Wendy
Published: July 2006

This paper presents findings from the first systematic appraisal of mainstream news reporting of the appointive government in Britain. Such a perspective is urgently needed in the light of the expanded role and influence of ‘Quasi‐Autonomous Non Governmental Organisations’ in public affairs. This paper provides an overview of long‐term trends in media reporting of general principles of quasi‐government and an examination of the routine coverage of public bodies that can be classified as quangos. These related exercises show that the ‘new managerialist’ ethos that fuelled the recent expansion of the appointive state finds little endorsement in general media discourses about the quango state, but is often implicitly reflected in journalists' treatment of specific organisations and their work. Copyright © 2001 Henry Stewart Publications
Governance and civil society
Authors: Spencer Tom
Published: July 2006

As part of the ECPA's regular contribution to the Journal, Tom Spencer reviews the new fashionability of governance and examines its confused interface with civil society. He invites participation in the ECPA civil society project, reviews some recent relevant literature and appeals for a coherent current bibliography in this politically urgent field. Copyright © 2001 Henry Stewart Publications
The third age of political communication
Authors: Blumler Jay G.
Published: July 2006

The author discusses the historical development of political media communication. The first age was a time of relatively easy access to the media; the second age showed the growing power of the media through access to television; and the third suggests an increasing proliferation of information channels within and beyond the mainstream mass media. Four current trends are analysed, with speculation of the subject of their future development. Copyright © 2001 Henry Stewart Publications
An assessment of the 2000 US presidential election: a set of political marketing guidelines
Authors: Newman Bruce I.
Published: July 2006

This paper comprises a set of marketing guidelines using the 2000 presidential election as an example, and analysing the image building of the two candidates, Al Gore and George W. Bush. It is not hard to understand, with hindsight, why Bush was the winner. Copyright © 2001 Henry Stewart Publications
Outfoxing leviathan: campaigning down Mexico way
Authors: Wallis Darren
Published: July 2006

This paper is concerned with the end of 71 years of single party government in Mexico. The paper explores the ways in which the opposition harnessed modern campaign techniques to the opportunities presented by democratisation to secure regime transition. A number of campaign features, such as the stress on personality and negative campaigning, have attracted considerable criticism, but the author argues that there are grounds for believing the 2000 election to have been a unique election, and that competition should be more clearly structured around parties and issues in the future. Copyright © 2001 Henry Stewart Publications
Trouble with Ken: new labour's negative campaign in the selection and election process for London mayor
Authors: Turner John
Published: July 2006

This paper examines the London mayoral selection and election process and discusses New Labour's negative campaign against the candidacy of Ken Livingstone. It discusses the objectives which lay behind the adoption of this new constitutional system of a directly elected mayor and traces New Labour's problems in getting their chosen candidate elected. It traces the Blair leadership's difficulties in choosing a viable candidate, the methods employed to manipulate the selection process and the stunts and dirty tricks used to undermine Living‐ stone's mayoral challenge. It places these problems in the context of media coverage of such a negative and divisive campaign. The paper concludes by outlining some wider implications for New Labour's future campaigning and suggests that voters now have a more tarnished image of New Labour as a result of this campaign. Copyright © 2001 Henry Stewart Publications
Public affairs, issues management and political strategy: methodological approaches that count
Authors: Schuler Douglas A.
Published: July 2006

This essay reviews the primary methods that have been used to study corporate public affairs, issues management, and corporate political activity (PA/IM/CPA). We identify three tractable areas of research in these areas: (1) the determinants of PAM/IM/CPA; (2) the effects of PAM/IM/CPA on public policy outcomes; and (3) the effects of public policy outcomes on overall firm financial performance. Despite the considerable difficulties in gathering data to test these phenomena, we posit that scholars have made progress in understanding some aspects of these relationships. Still, we conclude that the greatest weakness for the advancement of methodological progress is the lack of a theoretical model describing the PAM/IM/CPA process, which ultimately hinders the ability of empiricists to seek the ‘proper’ data to test such relationships. Copyright © 2001 Henry Stewart Publications
Managing business political activities in the USA: bridging between theory and practice
Authors: Keim Gerald
Published: July 2006

The political arena in the USA is portrayed as a marketplace in which businesses and other groups compete to influence public policy decisions. Managers can view this political market as an opportunity to shape the rules of the game by which they operate but must realise that it is a very competitive arena. Drawing on concepts from business strategy advocacy activities like lobbying, making campaign contributions, and organising grassroots efforts are analysed in terms of opportunities for gaining competitive advantage. Results from case studies indicate that many businesses miss opportunities to build support among employees for political advocacy because few firms use bottom up approaches for political action committees or grass‐roots efforts. Suggestions for managers interested in improving the effectiveness of their business advocacy efforts are discussed. Copyright © 2001 Henry Stewart Publications
Public affairs, issues management, and political strategy: opportunities, obstacles, and caveats
Authors: Windsor Duane
Published: July 2006

This paper evaluates research in corporate public affairs, social issues management and political strategy, and theoretical integration of the three areas and also cross‐disciplinary and cross‐institutional collaboration, especially with business or government officials. Copyright © 2001 Henry Stewart Publications
Public affairs, issues management, and political strategy: opportunities, opportunities, and more opportunities
Authors: Berman Shawn
Published: July 2006

This paper begins where Professor Windsor left off and enumerates some other areas in which academic research could be profitably pursued for both intellectual and practical gain. The tone of Professor Windsor's paper is pessimistic, and lays out in detail some of the obstacles to research; but these are not insurmountable. Some key areas that can be explored to the benefit of researchers and practitioners are in self‐regulation, the initiative process, term limits (a relatively recent phenomenon and not particularly well known outside of the USA), and in alliance building, constituency statutes, and links to stakeholder theory and action. Each of these additional areas is addressed in this presentation. Copyright © 2001 Henry Stewart Publications
EU public affairs and the White Paper on Governance
Authors: Greenwood Justin
Published: July 2006

The White Paper on Governance process[This analysis covers the period up to and including the publication of COM (2001) 428 of 25.7.2001, ‘European Governance: A White Paper’.] began life as a search for an issue by a new Commission President. The issue is packaged as enhancing/modernising democracy in the EU and legitimising EU institutions, and searches for further avenues of civil participation. The process ‘sells’ the concept of ‘democratic deficit’, though reveals a highly open and accessible system which is already severely overloaded by interest representation. Rather than escalating a ‘lobby free for all’, the opportunity could be taken to strengthen governance by organising EU interest representation. This could be done by accrediting associations that are able to meet strict criteria of representativity as ‘governance partners’, making them sufficiently attractive to their members to work through them rather than bypassing them, and which would strengthen their ability to contribute to EU governance as policy capable organisations. These associations could find a place in a revamped and reorganised Economic and Social Committee, which would be engaged at a much earlier stage in the EU policy process. Copyright © 2001 Henry Stewart Publications
The state of public affairs after 11 September
Authors: Spencer Tom
Published: July 2006

There is a curiously subtle relationship between the public affairs function and the political world which it seeks to influence. A shock to the political system of the magnitude of the attack on the World Trade Center has effects on the practice of public affairs. Some of these impacts are obvious. Others will only become apparent with the passage of time. In its 15 years of existence the European Centre for Public Affairs has sought to be a ‘safe space’ in which the elements of the political world could meet and discuss in an independent manner and with a degree of academic rigour. From the moment of our founding, we rejected the idea of a world divided between government and lobbyists. It has always been our view that journalists and the media, lobbyists, both from civil society and from the corporate sector, and ministers, members of parliament and civil servants all form part of one seamless political world. They have the same fascination with power and with process. They are intimately and umbilically linked. With this holistic view of the political world, it is natural for the ECPA to be interested in assessing the impact of the events of 11 September on the practice of public affairs. Jointly with The Journal of Public Affairs and The Public Affairs Newsletter, we created a seminar at Chatham House on 9th January, 2002 entitled ‘Public Affairs and the World Crisis: What has changed since September 11th?’ Copyright © 2001 Henry Stewart Publications
Relation between In Vitro production of ascosonchine and virulence of strains of the potential mycoherbicide Ascochyta sonchi: a method for its quantification in complex samples
Authors: Evidente Antonio , Berestetskiy Alexander , Andolfi Anna , Zonno Maria Chiara , Cimmino Alessio , Vurro Maurizio
Published: July 2006

The potential of the fungus Ascochyta sonchi as a mycoherbicide for the biocontrol of the perennial weeds Sonchus arvensis and Cirsium arvense that occur throughout temperate regions of the world is under evaluation. Ascosonchine, a newly discovered enol tautomer of 4‐pyridylpyruvic acid with potential herbicidal properties, is the main phytotoxin produced by this fungus. A simple and sensitive method has been developed for the rapid quantitative analysis of ascosonchine based on HPLC with UV detection. The toxin content in culture filtrates of different strains of A. sonchi was measured. The strains tested produced up to 2.7 mg/L when grown in static conditions. Toxin production was compared with the virulence on the host plant of each strain to determine if the most virulent strains could be simply selected by choosing the best toxin producers. The results obtained do not support this approach. The same HPLC method was also applied to quantify toxin production under different fungal growth conditions, in order to achieve the highest toxin production. The most productive strain synthesised more than 8 mg/L when grown for 8 weeks in static conditions. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Comparative investigation of novel PBI blend ionomer membranes from nonfluorinated and partially fluorinated poly arylene ethers
Authors: Kerres Jochen A. , Xing Danmin , Schönberger Frank
Published: July 2006

In this study, the properties of novel acid‐base blend membranes from polybenzimidazole PBI and self‐prepared sulfonated nonfluorinated and partially fluorinated arylene main chain polymers from the polymer classes of aromatic polyethers, polyetherketones, polyethersulfones, and polyphosphine oxides are comparatively discussed. The aims of this study were to (1) determine the influence of the chemical structure of the polymers on their thermal and chemical stabilities and to identify polymeric structures having stabilities as high as possible, and (2) determine the effect of the addition of PBI to sulfonated arylene ionomers in terms of improving of their chemical, thermal, and dimensional stabilities. The working hypothesis of the study was that partially fluorinated arylene main‐chain ionomers should have better chemical and thermal stabilities than the F‐free ionomers, due to the much higher stability of CF bonds, compared to that of CH bonds. Improved procedures have been used for the polycondensation reactions, by applying an excess of K2CO3 deprotonation compound; the use of a dehydration agent like toluene or benzene was not required. Further, reactions could be performed at lower temperatures than is usually required for such polycondensation reactions; most of the polycondensations were made in a temperature range between 80 and 130 °C. The following properties of the polymers and blend membranes have been determined: proton conductivity, water uptake, swelling, thermal stability including thermal stability of sulfonic acid groups and of the polymer backbone, and oxidative stability by H2O2 treatment. The result of these investigations was that polymers containing fluorinated building blocks and/or phosphine oxide building blocks had the best stabilities. Selected acid‐base blend membranes were made from PBI and these aromatic polymers showed proton conductivities of up to 0.1 S/cm, water uptake values of not more than 40%, and starting temperatures for SO3H group splitting‐off approaching 290 °C. Moreover, PBI‐sulfonated polymer blend membranes showed much less weight loss after H2O2 treatment than does the sulfonated polymers alone, indicating a radical attack‐stabilizing effect of PBI. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 2311–2326, 2006
Sulfonated poly(aryl ether ether ketone ketone)s containing fluorinated moieties as proton exchange membrane materials
Authors: Liu Baijun , Robertson Gilles P. , Guiver Michael D. , Sun Yi‐Ming , Liu Yin‐Ling , Lai Juin‐Yih , Mikhailenko Serguei , Kaliaguine Serge
Published: July 2006

A series of sulfonated poly(aryl ether ether ketone ketone)s statistical copolymers with high molecular weights were synthesized via an aromatic nucleophilic substitution polymerization. The sulfonation content (SC), defined as the number of sulfonic acid groups contained in an average repeat unit, could be controlled by the feed ratios of monomers. Flexible and strong membranes in sodium sulfonate form could be prepared by the solution casting method, and readily transformed to their proton forms by treating them in 2 N sulfuric acid. The polymers showed high Tgs, which increased with an increase in SC. Membranes prepared from the present sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone ketone) copolymers containing the hexafluoroisopropylidene moiety (SPEEKK‐6F) and copolymers containing the pendant 3,5‐ditrifluoromethylphenyl moiety (SPEEKK‐6FP) had lower water uptakes and lower swelling ratios in comparison with previously prepared copolymers containing 6F units. All of the polymers possessed proton conductivities higher than 1 × 10−2 S/cm at room temperature, and proton conductivity values of several polymers were comparable to that of Nafion at high relative humidity. Their thermal stability, oxidative stability, and mechanical properties were also evaluated. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 2299–2310, 2006
Effect of substituted IIIB transition metals on the energy gap of α‐Al2O3 by first‐principle calculations
Authors: Benam M. R. , Rahnamaye Aliabad H. A. , Hosseini S. M.
Published: July 2006

Self‐consistent band structure and density of states calculations were performed for the pure alumina (corundum phase) and the aluminates α‐Al2–x Tx O3 where T is a transition metal and stands for Sc, Y, La and Ac with x = 0.5. In this study we have employed the full potential linear augmented plane wave (FPLAPW) with generalized gradient approximations (GGA) based on the density functional theory (DFT). The results show that the size of the band gap in these alloys decreases considerably and these reductions are related to the ionic radius of the substituted transition metal. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Deposition of thallium sulfide layers on polyethylene and nanostructured silica by a sulfurisation‐reaction process
Authors: Bruzaite Ingrida , Snitka Valentinas , Janickis Vitalijus
Published: July 2006

Thallium sulfide layers on the surface of polyethylene are formed if they have been sulfured in a solution of higher polythionic acid, H2S33O6, and then treated with the alkaline solution of thallium(I) sulfate. Three phases TlS, Tl2S, Tl2S2 were identified by X‐ray diffraction analysis in thallium sulfide layers. Surface morphology of the films was characterized with a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM). The films deposited on the PE substrate have a no‐homogeneous structure and consist of separated islands, the average roughness up to 10 µm. The deposition on the silica‐polystyrene beads matrix has a homogeneous structure and the average roughness is in the range of 100–150 nm. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Properties of the CdTe/InSb interface studied by optical and surface analytical techniques
Authors: Feng Z. C. , Hung S. Y. , Wee A. T. S.
Published: July 2006

Indium interdiffusion in MBE‐grown CdTe/InSb heterostructures was studied by optical and surface techniques of photoluminescence (PL), X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). A correlation between the two types of investigations is established. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Interface of atomic layer deposited Al2O3 on H‐terminated silicon
Authors: Gao K. Y. , Speck F. , Emtsev K. , Seyller Th. , Ley L. , Oswald M. , Hansch W.
Published: July 2006

Al2O3 films 1 to 20 nm thick were deposited as alternative high‐κ gate dielectric on hydrogen‐terminated silicon by Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) and characterized by Synchrotron X‐ray Photoelectron Spec‐troscopy (SXPS), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) absorption spectroscopy and admittance measure‐ments. The SXPS results indicate that about 60% of the original Si–H surface bonds are preserved at the Al2O3/Si interface and this is confirmed by monitoring the Si–H stretching modes by FTIR spectroscopy in the Attenuated Total Reflection (ATR) mode both before and after ALD of Al2O3. The remaining 40% of Si–H bonds are replaced by Si–O bonds as verified by SXPS. In addition, a fraction of a monolayer of SiO2 forms on top of the Al2O3 dielectric during deposition. The presence of OH‐groups at a level of 3% of the total oxygen content was detected throughout the Al2O3 layer through a chemically shifted O 1s component in SXPS. Admittance measurements give a dielectric constant of 9.12, but a relatively high density of interface traps between 1011 and 1012 cm–2 eV–1. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
High resolution transmission electron microscopy study on the nano‐scale twinning of θ‐NiMn precipitates in an Fe–Ni–Mn maraging alloy
Authors: Hossein Nedjad S. , Nili Ahmadabadi M. , Furuhara T. , Maki T.
Published: July 2006

Precipitation of nanometer‐sized fct θ‐NiMn intermetallic compound was found to cause age hardening in Fe–10Ni–7Mn (wt%) maraging alloy during isothermal aging at 753 K. High resolution transmission electron microscopy was used to study the substructure of the fct θ‐NiMn precipitates in the alloy after aging for 0.36 and 86.4 ks. Nano‐scale twins on (111) planes were found in the precipitates of intial and later stages of aging. Precipitation of bcc β‐NiMn at 753 K and subsequent martensitic transformation to fct θ‐NiMn during cooling to room temperature was suggested. It was also indicated that precipitation of fct θ‐NiMn at bcc iron matrix gives rise to high coherency strain energy. The (111) twinning is proposed to accommodate the strain energy of either martensitic transformation or coherency strain of precipitation reaction. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
In situ etch treatments of silicon carbide epitaxial layer for morphological quality improvement of the surfaces
Authors: Angelis S. De , Perrone D. , Scaltrito L. , Ferrero S. , Pirri C. F. , Mauceri M. , Leone S. , Pistone G. , Abbondanza G. , Crippa D.
Published: July 2006

Different homo epitaxial 4H‐SiC commercial wafers were undergone hydrogen etching process that was developed in the reaction chamber of a Hot Wall Chemical Vapor Deposition (HWCVD) reactor. We have studied the effects of physical desorption to point out the morphology and the structural changes of epitaxial surfaces.

An optical microscopy inspection was made to trace out a map of defect areas before and after etching treatments. We have analysed the morphological evolution of the surface in every etching process step by means of marked area on the defect map. We also achieved some other important information, concerning structural and morphological changing, by performing Atomic Force Microscopy and Micro Raman spectroscopy analysis on the same defect marked area.

The etched epilayers showed a significant reduction of defects density and a good surface morphology. On investigated samples we fabricated Schottky diodes, their electrical behaviour compared to the devices fabricated on not etched epitaxial layer highlights the surface quality improvement and the increasing of SBD working yield. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Preface: phys. stat. sol (a) 203/9
Authors: Dłużewski P. , Bristowe P. , Maurice J.‐L. , Komninou P.
Published: July 2006

This special issue contains a selection of papers that were presented at a symposium on Interfacial Processes and Properties of Advanced Materials (IPAM05) held at the E‐MRS Fall Meeting, Warsaw, Poland on 5–7 September 2005. The symposium was conceived and inspired by the success of its predecessor (IPAM04) held at the University of Caen, France in June 2004.

The symposium attracted over sixty contributions and was organized around five areas: Interfaces and dislocations in compound semiconductors, Gate oxide interfaces, Interfaces and defects in electroceramics, Metal–metal interfaces and interfacial modeling, and Interfaces in nano‐structured and amorphous thin‐film systems. The focus was on the influence of buried interfaces on the functionality of various electronic and opto‐electronic devices such as lasers, ferroelectric memories, CMOS and magnetic disks. Therefore the materials addressed at the symposium included compound semiconductors (e.g. GaN, CdTe, ZnO), perovskites (e.g. SrTiO3), dielectrics (e.g. HfO2, SiO2, Al2O3), and metals (e.g. Fe/V superlattices). The aim of the symposium was to bring together leading interface experts, both experimental and theoretical, to explore the connection between interfacial properties (atomic and electronic structure, segregation, diffusion, kinetics) and materials performance in a device application. Papers were presented that described the use of a variety of sophisticated experimental techniques to explore the interfacial properties including HRTEM, X‐ray high‐resolution diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, STM, AFM, PL spectroscopy, SIMS and electrical and magnetic measurements. The theoretical work included applications of density functional theory, atomistic simulations, dislocation theory and finite element modeling. The program stimulated many exciting and productive discussions between experimentalists and theorists. The ultimate objective was to improve our knowledge of the role of interfaces on the properties of current and emerging device materials. It is hoped that these proceedings represent a step towards that goal and will encourage further conferences in this area in the future.

The organisers gratefully acknowledge funding from the US Office of Naval Research Global (ONRG) Conference Support Program. They also would like to thank E‐MRS for their administrative support and the Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences and the Warsaw University of Technology for hosting the symposium. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Conceptual evaluation of methods for engineering situational ISD methods
Authors: Leppänen Mauri
Published: July 2006

In the past decades a large variety of techniques and methods have been introduced for software engineering (SE) and information system development (ISD). Despite this plurality, there is a need in organizations and projects to customize methods that match with their specific needs. Method engineering (ME) is the process by which a situational method is developed, customized and configured. ME work has appeared to be difficult and burdensome to carry out in practice. One reason for this is a lack of adequate methodical support. In this article, we profile and evaluate conceptually, using a contextual framework as a basis, seven comprehensive ME artifacts (i.e. techniques, procedures and methods) in terms of the support they contribute to ME work. The framework has been derived from relevant theories and experiences obtained from ME practice. The evaluation shows that the ME artifacts provide limited support for ME workflows and deploy perspectives that only partly cover the various aspects of ME contexts and SE/ISD contexts. The results of this study can help method engineers understand and structure the ME contexts at hand, recognize issues requiring particular concern, and make selections among ME artifacts. For researchers, the study reveals gaps and deficiencies in the support of ME artifacts, thus helping them direct their future research. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.