bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Fundamental study of the interaction of Ti atoms with spruce surfaces
Authors: Klarhöfer Lothar , Voigts Florian , Schwendt Dominik , Roos Burkhard , Viöl Wolfgang , Höfft Oliver , Maus-Friedrichs Wolfgang
Published: July 2007

Metastable induced electron spectroscopy (MIES), ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were applied to study the interaction of Ti metal atoms with spruce surfaces. Spruce surfaces were produced by planing splints from a spruce bar. Ti atoms were adsorbed from a metal evaporator under ultra-high vacuum conditions. The amount adsorbed corresponds to 10 monolayer equivalents. Strong interactions between the spruce surface and metals atoms occurred. Impinging Ti atoms were oxidized by the spruce surface. No Ti agglomeration or particle formation was observed. The surface was smoothed by the Ti applied and was completely covered by a titanium oxide film.
Chemical composition of 36 Brazilian Amazon forest wood species
Authors: Santana Marcos Antonio Eduardo , Okino Esmeralda Yoshico Arakaki
Published: July 2007

Woods of 36 tree species from the Brazilian Amazon forest have been extracted and analyzed by means of total hydrolysis. For each species, three trees were analyzed in duplicate. The sugars and other byproducts of hydrolysis were analyzed by HPLC. Uronic anhydrides and acid-soluble lignin were determined by colorimetric methods. Acid-insoluble lignin, ash, and extractive contents were analyzed gravimetrically. Each analysis was performed several times and the data were evaluated statistically. The average percentages for ash and extractives are presented. Quantitative data for sugars obtained by HPLC were recalculated for glucan, galactan, arabinan, and mannan contents. These data are presented together with quantitative data for acetyl groups, 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfuraldehyde, levulinic acid, uronic anhydride, acid-soluble and -insoluble lignin as summative analysis data based on an ash- and extractive-free basis, where, in an ideal case, the data should sum up to 100%. The summative results obtained varied from 96.0% to 99.6%, which is very satisfactory.
Physikalisch-modellbasierte Regelung des Luftpfads von Dieselmotoren für zukünftige Anforderungen (Physical Model Based Control of the Airpath of Diesel Engines for Future Requirements)
Authors: Schwarte Anselm , Schneider Dirk , Nienhoff Michael , Kopold Richard , Kornienko Andrei , Koops Ingo , Birkner Christian
Published: July 2007

Das Gaswechselsystem moderner Dieselmotoren und dessen Regelung müssen zunehmend höheren Anforderungen genügen, um die Rohemissionen im Hinblick auf kommende Abgasgesetzgebungen in den Hauptmärkten weiter zu reduzieren, den Drehmomentverlauf und die Dynamik über den gesamten Drehzahlbereich zu verbessern, sowie um Abgasnachbehandlungssysteme zu unterstützen. Die Einführung der physikalisch-modellbasierten Regelung des Luftpfads ermöglicht es, die Kennfeldstrukturen stark zu vereinfachen, sich ändernde Betriebsbedingungen genauer zu berücksichtigen sowie die Linearisierung, Störgrößenkompensation und Entkopplung von Regelkreisen.

The gas exchange system of modern diesel engines and its control has to fulfill increasingly challenging requirements in order to further reduce raw emissions with regard to the next legislations in the main markets, improve torque and dynamic response over the whole speed range and to support exhaust aftertreatment systems. The introduction of the physical model based control of the airpath gives the possibility to reduce lookup table structures, to adjust to changing operation conditions as well as linearization, disturbance compensation and decoupling of control loops.
Land Tenure, Democracy, and Insurgency in Nepal: Peasant Support for Insurgency Versus Democracy
Authors: Joshi Madhav , Mason T. David
Published: July 2007

Nepal's Maoist party has been able to mobilize peasants for insurgency, but it could not mobilize them to vote for the communists in elections. Ties of clientelist dependency enabled landed elites to mobilize peasants to vote for other parties in 1992 and 1994, but insurgent violence weakened those ties, enabling Maoists to mobilize support for insurgency.
Heat shock and tumor necrosis factor-α induce apoptosis in bovine preimplantation embryos through a caspase-9-dependent mechanism
Authors: Loureiro Bárbara , Brad Amber Mary , Hansen Peter James
Published: July 2007

Heat shock and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) induce apoptosis through different mechanisms, with heat shock acting to cause mitochondrial depolarization and caspase-9 activation, while TNF-α acts through a receptor-mediated process to activate caspase-8. In some cells, however, TNF-α can also cause mitochondrial depolarization and caspase-9 activation. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that heat shock at 41 °C and TNF-α induce apoptosis in bovine preimplantation embryos through a caspase-9-dependent mechanism. Treatment of embryos with either heat shock (41 °C) or TNF-α increased the proportion of blastomeres that were TUNEL positive and the proportion of embryos exhibiting elevated caspase-9 activity. Furthermore, the caspase-9 inhibitor, z-LEHD-fmk, blocked the increase in TUNEL-positive nuclei caused by both heat shock and TNF-α. For embryos at day 6 after insemination, for example, the percent of blastomeres positive for TUNEL was 3.6% for control embryos, 11.1% for embryos cultured at 41 °C, and 15.1% for embryos cultured with 10 ng/ml TNF-α. In the presence of z-LEHD-fmk, the percent of cells positive for TUNEL was 3.7% for control embryos, 6.1% for embryos cultured at 41 °C, and 8% for embryos cultured with 10 ng/ml TNF-α. Although TNF-α did not cause a measurable increase in caspase-8 activity, there was a tendency (P = 0.07) for treatment of embryos with z-IETD-fmk, an inhibitor of caspase-8, to partly reduce the magnitude of the increase in TUNEL-positive cells caused by TNF-α. The percent of cells that were TUNEL positive was increased by TNF-α from 9.7 to 19.7% in the absence of inhibitor and from 13.0 to 15.6% in the presence of z-IETD-fmk. Results indicate that induction of apoptosis by both heat shock and TNF-α involve activation of caspase-9-dependent pathways. It is likely that TNF-α also activates apoptotic pathways involving caspase-8 but that the degree of activation is small and caspase-9-dependent pathways are required for full activation of apoptosis.
Implication of cortisol and 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase enzymes in the development of porcine (Sus scrofa domestica) ovarian follicles and cysts
Authors: Sunak Neera , Green Daphne F , Abeydeera Lalantha R , Thurston Lisa M , Michael Anthony E
Published: July 2007

This study investigated cortisol inactivation by 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11β HSD) enzymes in porcine granulosa cells from antral follicles at different developmental stages and in ovarian cysts. In granulosa cells, cortisol oxidation increased threefold with antral follicle diameter (P < 0.001). This trend was paralleled by a threefold increase in NADP+-dependent 11β-dehydrogenase activity in granulosa cell homogenates with follicle diameter. Intact granulosa cells from ovarian cysts exhibited significantly lower enzyme activities than cells from large antral follicles. Neither intact cells norcell homogenates displayed net 11-ketosteroid reductase activities. Since porcine follicular fluid (FF) from large antral follicles and ovarian cysts contains hydrophobic inhibitors of glucocorticoid metabolism by type 1 11β HSD, this studyalso investigated whether levels of 11β HSD inhibitors changed during follicle growth and could affect cortisol metabolism in granulosa cells. The extent of inhibition of 11β HSD1 activity in rat kidney homogenates decreased progressively from 50 ± 8% inhibition by FF from small antral follicles (P < 0.001) to 23 ± 6% by large antral FF (P < 0.05). Cyst fluid inhibited 11β HSD1 activity by 59 ± 4% (P < 0.001). Likewise, net cortisol oxidation in granulosa cells was significantly decreased by large antral FF (35–48% inhibition, P < 0.05) and cyst fluid (45–75% inhibition, P < 0.01). We conclude that inactivation of cortisol by 11β HSD enzymes in porcine granulosa cells increases with follicle development but is significantly decreased in ovarian cysts. Moreover, changes in ovarian cortisol metabolism are accompanied by corresponding changes in the levels of paracrine inhibitors of 11β HSD1 within growing ovarian follicles and cysts, implicating cortisol in follicle growth and cyst development.
Immunoneutralization of vascular endothelial growth factor inhibits pregnancy establishment in the rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta)
Authors: Sengupta J , Lalitkumar P G L , Najwa A R , Charnock-Jones D S , Evans A L , Sharkey A M , Smith S K , Ghosh D
Published: July 2007

Maternal endometrial vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is considered important in blastocyst implantation. However, there is no direct evidence to support this conjecture in the primate. In the present study, we have examined this hypothesis by testing whether immunoneutralization of VEGF during the peri-implantation stage of gestation affects embryo implantation in the rhesus monkey. Adult female animals (n = 36) during mated ovulatory cycles were randomly assigned to one of the experimental groups treated subcutaneously with either isotype-matched mouse immunoglobulin (group 1: control, n = 8) or monoclonal mouse antibody against VEGF-A (anti-VEGF Mab; group 2: 10 mg on day 5 after ovulation, n = 8; group 3: 20 mg on day 5 after ovulation, n = 8; group 4: 10 mg on day 10 after ovulation, n = 4; group 5: 10 mg on days 5 and 10 after ovulation, n = 8). Anti-VEGF Mab-treated animals in groups 2–4 did not show any marked inhibition in pregnancy establishment. On pooled analysis, however, anti-VEGF Mab administration in groups 2–5 (n = 28) resulted in a significant (P < 0.04) decline in the number of viable term pregnancy when compared with control animals. The observed difference was explained by the fact that 10 mg anti-VEGF Mab given to each animal on days 5 and 10 after ovulation in group 5 (n = 8) inhibited pregnancy establishment significantly (P < 0.02) when compared with control group 1. There was no significant change in serum concentrations of estradiol-17β, progesterone, and free VEGF among groups. Furthermore, animals treated with anti-VEGF Mab (n = 8) as in group 5 revealed marked decrease in immunoreactive VEGF, fms-like tyrosine kinase-1, and kinase-insert domain region in trophoblast cells associated with shallow uterine invasion on day 13 of gestation when compared with samples from control group animals (n = 8). Thus, VEGF action is required for successful blastocyst implantation in the rhesus monkey.
Predicting Fishing Participation and Site Choice While Accounting for Spatial Substitution, Trip Timing, and Trip Context
Authors: Hunt Len M. , Boots Barry N. , Boxall Peter C.
Published: July 2007

We developed choice models to understand and predict the amount, timing, and locations of recreational fishing trips taken by anglers in northwestern Ontario, Canada. These models incorporated several improvements over previous models to account for complex patterns of spatial substitution among fishing sites, the context of fishing trips, and the importance of tradition and weather on the timing of trips. Joint models of fishing participation and site choice were developed for two resident populations of anglers from northern Ontario. For both populations, the three innovations provided significant improvements to the models and important information for understanding and predicting recreational fishing behaviors. The utility of the model to fisheries managers was illustrated through a management scenario that involved the restoration of walleyes Sander vitreus in a large water body. The forecasts suggested that the effect of this restoration on fishing effort at other waters was influenced by spatial proximity and temporal use at the fishing sites.
The extension of London Underground's East London line
Authors: Bessant G. T.
Published: July 2007

The East London line extension project is an imaginative scheme, which creates part of a potential orbital railway for London by using abandoned railway infrastructure by the construction of a short link to existing London Underground and Network Rail lines. The final railway will run from West Croydon, Crystal Palace and Clapham Junction to the south end of the existing East London line, where link bridges and new track will be constructed. The East London line will be linked at its north end by a viaduct and a bridge to the south end of the abandoned Kingsland viaduct, which is being refurbished. Finally the line will link to the Network Rail North London line and thence to Highbury and Islington station, an interchange station with the London Underground Victoria line. In phase I of the project, four new stations will be constructed. The service is to be operated by franchise operating over Network Rail tracks to New Cross Gate and London Underground tracks to Dalston Junction. This paper covers the scheme, the historical development of the lines, the condition of the existing infrastructure, and the project civil works.
Geocomposite technology: reducing railway maintenance
Authors: Woodward P. K. , Thompson D. , Banimahd M.
Published: July 2007

The XiTRACK three-dimensional track reinforcement technique has been very successful in overcoming difficult, long-standing track problems on the railway. This success led to the specification of the technique for use at Deep Wharf level crossing, Purfleet. This was the first time that the technique had been used to reinforce the track structure at a level crossing. The main technical challenge was the application of the technique to stabilise the track over very poor ground, namely the very soft alluvial soils present at the site. A review of other proposed methods, such as concrete foundations and/or piles, illustrated the cost-effectiveness of the reinforcement method: in particular, the rapid installation of the system (the polymer cured within 15 s) minimised track downtime and thus enabled considerable cost savings to be achieved. The design process adopted was used to predict track behaviour before and after treatment, which enabled the design of the most appropriate polymer rheology and polymer distribution and loading levels to achieve optimum performance and ensure that the technique worked. This paper describes the work performed at Purfleet using the technique, including measured acceleration time histories before and after treatment.
Travel patterns of three distinct driver age groups in Greece
Authors: Spyropoulou I. , Papadimitriou E. , Yannis G. , Golias J.
Published: July 2007

Within this research the travel patterns of passenger car drivers are investigated in relation to their age, as recorded from a national travel survey conducted in Greece. For the needs of this research drivers are classified into three mutually exclusive age groups: young (18–24), adult (25–64) and elderly (65+). The mobility of these three driver groups—expressed in terms of average annual distance driven—is then investigated with respect to parameters involving driver characteristics (experience, gender), vehicle characteristics (engine size) and the nature of the trip (time of trip and road type). Several patterns are analysed, and the dependence of the various travel patterns on driver age is tested through analysis of variance (ANOVA), mainly by the use of the Welch test. The results show that driver experience is not an influencing factor for driver mobility, whereas driver gender and vehicle characteristics, such as engine size, are. Furthermore, the results illustrate dependences between driver age and driving at night and during the weekends, highlighting the relationship between driver age and trip purpose. The distribution of mobility across the different road types does not reveal any interactions with driver age; however, specific trends are detected when distance driven is also segregated into weekday and weekend categories, indicating a relationship between driver age and mobility in relation to type of day.
Evaluating mercury biomagnification in fish from a tropical marine environment using stable isotopes (δ13C AND δ15N)
Authors: Al-Reasi Hassan A. , Ababneh Fuad A. , Lean David R.
Published: July 2007

Concentrations of total mercury (T-Hg) and methylmercury (MeHg) were measured in zooplankton and 13 fish species from a coastal food web of the Gulf of Oman, an arm of the Arabian Sea between Oman and Iran. Stable isotope ratios (δ13C and δ15N) also were determined to track mercury biomagnification. The average concentration of T-Hg in zooplankton was 21 ± 8.0 ng g−1 with MeHg accounting 10% of T-Hg. Total mercury levels in fish species ranged from 3.0 ng g−1 (Sardinella longiceps) to 760 ng g−1 (Rhizoprionodon acutus) with relatively lower fraction of MeHg (72%) than that found in other studies. The average trophic difference (△13C) between zooplankton and planktivorous fish (Selar crumenopthalmus, Rastrelliger kanagurta, and S. longiceps) was higher (3.4%0) than expected, suggesting that zooplankton may not be the main diet or direct carbon source for these fish species. However, further sampling would be required to compensate for temporal changes in zooplankton and the influence of their lipid content. Trophic position inferred by δ15N and and slopes of the regression equations (log10[T-Hg] = 0.13[δ15N] — 3.57 and log10[MeHg] = 0.14[δ15N] — 3.90) as estimates of biomagnification indicate that biomagnification of T-Hg and MeHg was lower in this tropical ocean compared to what has been observed in arctic and temperate ecosystems and tropical African lakes. The calculated daily intake of methylmercury in the diet of local people through fish consumption was well below the established World Health Organization (WHO) tolerable daily intake threshold for most of the fish species except Euthynnus affinis, Epinephelus epistictus, R. acutus, and Thunnus tonggol, illustrating safe consumption of the commonly consumed fish species.
Effect of in vitro and in vivo organotin exposures on the immune functions of murray cod (Maccullochella peelii peelii)
Authors: Harford Andrew J. , O'Halloran Kathryn , Wright Paul F. A.
Published: July 2007

Murray cod (Maccullochella peelii peelii) is an iconic native Australian freshwater fish and an ideal species for ecotoxicological testing of environmental pollutants. The species is indigenous to the Murray-Darling basin, which is the largest river system in Australia but also the ultimate sink for many environmental pollutants. The organotins tributyltin (TBT) and dibutyltin (DBT) are common pollutants of both freshwater and marine environments and are also known for their immunotoxicity in both mammals and aquatic organisms. In this study, TBT and DBT were used as exemplar immunotoxins to assess the efficiency of immune function assays (i.e., mitogen-stimulated lymphoproliferation, phagocytosis in head kidney tissue, and serum lysozyme activity) and to compare the sensitivity of Murray cod to other fish species. The organotins were lethal to Murray cod at concentrations previously reported as sublethal in rainbow trout (i.e., intraperitoneal [i.p.] lethal dose to 75% of the Murray cod [LD75] = 2.5 mg/kg DBT and i.p. lethal dose to 100% of the Murray cod [LD100] = 12.5 mg/kg TBT and DBT). In vivo TBT exposure at 0.1 and 0.5 mg/kg stimulated the phagocytic function of Murray cod (F = 6.89, df = 18, p = 0.004), while the highest concentration of 2.5 mg/kg TBT decreased lymphocyte numbers (F = 7.92, df = 18, p = 0.02) and mitogenesis (F = 3.66, df = 18, p = 0.035). Dibutyltin was the more potent immunosuppressant in Murray cod, causing significant reductions in phagocytic activity (F = 5.34, df = 16, p = 0.013) and lymphocyte numbers (F = 10.63, df = 16, p = 0.001).
Accumulation and transfer of contaminants in killer whales (Orcinus orca) from Norway: Indications for contaminant metabolism
Authors: Wolkers Hans , Corkeron Peter J. , van Parijs Sofie M. , Similä Tiu , van Bavel Bert
Published: July 2007

Blubber tissue of one subadult and eight male adult killer whales was sampled in Northern Norway in order to assess the degree and type of contaminant exposure and transfer in the herring–killer whale link of the marine food web. A comprehensive selection of contaminants was targeted, with special attention to toxaphenes and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). In addition to assessing exposure and food chain transfer, selective accumulation and metabolism issues also were addressed. Average total polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) and pesticide levels were similar, approximately 25 μg/g lipid, and PBDEs were approximately 0.5 μg/g. This makes killer whales one of the most polluted arctic animals, with levels exceeding those in polar bears. Comparing the contamination of the killer whale's diet with the diet of high-arctic species such as white whales reveals six to more than 20 times higher levels in the killer whale diet. The difference in contaminant pattern between killer whales and their prey and the metabolic index calculated suggested that these cetaceans have a relatively high capacity to metabolize contaminants. Polychlorinated biphenyls, chlordanes, and dichlorodiphenyldichloro-ethylene (DDE) accumulate to some degree in killer whales, although toxaphenes and PBDEs might be partly broken down.
Leadership and Ethical Development: Balancing Light and Shadow
Authors: Lichtenstein Benyamin M. , Smith Beverly A. , Torbert William R.
Published: July 2007

What makes a leader ethical? This paper critically examines the answer given by developmental theory, which argues that individuals can develop through cumulative stages of ethical orientation and behavior (e.g. Hobbesian, Kantian, Rawlsian), such that leaders at later developmental stages (of whom there are empirically very few today) are more ethical. By contrast to a simple progressive model of ethical development, this paper shows that each developmental stage has both positive (light) and negative (shadow) aspects, which affect the ethical behaviors of leaders at that stage. It also explores an unexpected result: later stage leaders can have more significantly negative effects than earlier stage leadership.
The Moral Manager: Communicative Ethics and theExxon ValdezDisaster
Authors: Bowen Michael G. , Power F. Clark
Published: July 2007

For many, the case of theExxon Valdezoil spill has become a symbol of unethical corporate behavior. Had Exxon’s managers not callously pursued their own interests at the expense of the environment and other parties, the accident would not have happened. In this paper, we (1) present a short case study of theValdezincident; (2) argue that many analyses of the case either ignore or fail to give sufficient weight to the uncertainties managers often face when they make decisions; and (3) propose a framework for moral management grounded in principles of communicative ethics, moral dialogue, and in the non-traditional ideas of many current management and behavioral decision theorists. From this view, the moral manager is not expected to know the “correct” answer to every ethical issue, but rather to participate responsibly in an open dialogue with other interested parties.
Environmental Risk Problems and the Language of Ethics
Authors: Frederick Robert E. , Hoffman W. Michael
Published: July 2007

In this paper we present six criteria for assessing proposed solutions to environmental risk problems. To assess the final criterion—the criterion of ethical responsibility—we suggest another series of criteria. However, before these criteria can be used to address ethical problems, business persons must be willing to discuss the problem in ethical terms. Yet many decision makers are unwilling to do so. Drawing on research by James Waters and Frederick Bird, we discuss this “moral muteness”—the inability or unwillingness to use moral language to solve moral problems—and suggest some underlying causes of moral muteness.
The Role of Character in Business Ethics
Authors: Hartman Edwin M.
Published: July 2007

There is good reason to take a virtue-based approach to business ethics. Moral principles are fairly useful in assessing actions, but understanding how moral people behave and how they become moral requires reference to virtues, some of which are important in business. We must go beyond virtues and refer to character, of which virtues are components, to grasp the relationship between moral assessment and psychological explanation. Virtues and other character traits are closely related to (in technical terms, they supervene on) personality traits postulated by personality psychologists. They may therefore be featured in respectable psychological explanations. But good character fits no familiar psychological pattern. A person of good character is sufficiently self-aware and rational that his or her virtues are not accompanied by the vices that psychologists find usually associated with them. A course in business ethics can help develop this self-awareness, which a good life in business requires.
Thoughts in Response to Fr. John C. Haughey on Loyalty in the Workplace
Authors: Axinn Sidney
Published: July 2007

For a number of reasons, Fr. Haughey answers “yes,” to the question in his title. “The object of many workplace loyalties seems to be changing from a person-centered focus…to a cause-centered or common good or public interest focus” (p. 22).

The idea of a change in the object of loyalty raises a number of interesting issues. The end of individual hero-worship seems appealing: to give love and loyalty to principles rather than persons sounds moral and ever so high-minded. One thinks of Plato’s move from the focus on the personality of Socrates in the early dialogues to the impersonal “Athenian Stranger” of his last work, “Laws.” But we must also note that the Athenian Stranger and his principles have hardly received the attention given to Socrates and the earlier dialogues. Would the principles of Christianity have persisted through the centuries without the story of Christ? Would we have Mohammedanism without Mohammed, Confucianism without Confucius, Buddhism without Buddha?

Do people work, fight, sacrifice, for principles without personal leadership? When they have, are those principles desirable objects of loyalty? Historical examples have ranged from loyalty to the fatherland to “making the world safe for democracy.” Even these principles were tied to personal leadership.

A morally healthy individual must have more than one loyalty, as Haughey says. “A single loyalty invariably becomes extreme” (p. 9). Therefore, loyalty to one’s business connection is not to be the only loyalty. The problem, then, is to balance the business loyalty with the others. Fr. Haughey gives some, but very little, guidance on this tricky matter.
Trust, Accountability, and Sales Agents’ Dueling Loyalties
Authors: Kurland Nancy B.
Published: July 2007

This paper argues that current accountability mechanisms are inadequate to ensure that straight-commissioned agents meet their fiduciary obligations to their clients. In doing so, using agency theory, it revisits how the straight-commission compensation system creates agents’ dueling loyalties and recommends mechanisms of accountability organizations, agents, and/or clients can recognize and employ to ensure agents’ fiduciary obligations to their clients.
The Infelicities of Business Ethics in the Third World: The Melanesian Context
Authors: Lea David
Published: July 2007

In a recent paper Allen Buchanan makes a basic distinction between two types of ethical problems which arise in business: “genuine ethical dilemmas, in which the problem is to discover what one ought to do, when two or more valid ethical duties (or values or principles) conflict, and compliance problems, which occur when one knows what one’s moral obligations are, but experiences difficulty in fulfilling them due to pressures of self-interest or loyalty to group or organization.” Buchanan argues that most business ethicists believe that this simple dichotomy is exhaustive. He claims it is not and argues that there is a third area of concern that involves perfecting imperfect duties, or coming to “have definite ethical duties, where before there were at best vague ethical goals.” However, I wish to argue that there is a further area of concern in business ethics and this area does not involve deciding between competing moral principles, values etc, attempting to comply with known principles, or imparting determinate content to vague, non-specific imperfect principles of obligation (the subject of Buchanan’s recent paper). This sort of problem occurs frequently in the third world in circumstances in which the agent entirely fails to recognize the normative structure that underpins the considered options.
Business Ethical Perceptions of Business People in East China: An Empirical Study
Authors: Wu Xinwen
Published: July 2007

This paper deals with the ethical perceptions of business people and the current state of business ethics in east China. After surveying 800 business people in 59 enterprises and interviewing 42 chief executive officers, chairs and senior managers among them, the following conclusions can be drawn: First of all, business ethics has become a new and popular topic in east China. Second, quite a lot of business people are pessimistic about the ethical standards of their superiors and co-workers, and about the ethical climate of their enterprises. Third, more and more business leaders begin to realize the importance of business ethics. Finally, in east China, the establishment of the market economy and the improvement of business ethics will depend on each other. In short, business people in east China have various ethical perceptions, and the current state of business ethics in east China is also complex and changeable.
Marketing to Inner-City Blacks: PowerMaster and Moral Responsibility
Authors: Brenkert George G.
Published: July 2007

PowerMaster was a malt liquor which Heileman Brewing Company sought to market to inner-city blacks in the early 1990s. Due to widespread opposition, Heileman ceased its marketing of PowerMaster. This paper begins by exploring the moral objections of moral illusion, moral insensitivity and unfair advantage brought against Heileman’s marketing campaign. Within the current market system, it is argued that none of these criticism was clearly justified. Heileman might plausibly claim it was fulfilling its individual moral responsibilities.

Instead, Heileman’s marketing program must be viewed as part of a group of marketing programs which all targeted inner-city blacks. It is argued that those marketers who target this particular market segment constitute a group which is collectively responsible for the harms imposed by their products on inner-city blacks. This responsibility is reducible neither to individual responsibility nor to a shared responsibility. It constitutes a dimension of moral responsibility to which marketers must pay attention.
Business Ethics and Stakeholder Analysis
Authors: Goodpaster Kenneth E.
Published: July 2007

Much has been written about stakeholder analysis as a process by which to introduce ethical values into management decision-making. This paper takes a critical look at the assumptions behind this idea, in an effort to understand better the meaning of ethical management decisions.

A distinction is made between stakeholder analysis and stakeholder synthesis. The two most natural kinds of stakeholder synthesis are then defined and discussed: strategic and multi-fiduciary. Paradoxically, the former appears to yield business without ethics and the latter appears to yield ethics without business. The paper concludes by suggesting that a third approach to stakeholder thinking needs to be developed, one that avoids the paradox just mentioned and that clarifies for managers (and directors) the legitimate role of ethical considerations in decision-making.

So we must think through what management should be accountable for; and how and through whom its accountability can be discharged. The stockholders’ interest, both short- and long-term, is one of the areas. But it is only one.

Peter Drucker, 1988Harvard Business Review
Feminist Ethics as Moral Grounding for Stakeholder Theory
Authors: Burton Brian K. , Dunn Craig P.
Published: July 2007

Stakeholder theory, as a method of management based on morals and behavior, must be grounded by a theory of ethics. However, traditional ethics of justice and rights cannot completely ground the theory. Following and expanding on the work of Wicks, Gilbert, and Freeman (1994), we believe that feminist ethics, invoking principles of caring, provides the missing element that allows moral theory to ground the stakeholder approach to management. Examples are given to support the suggested general principle for making business decisions under feminist moral theory.
Ethics and Economics: Growing Opportunities for Joint Research
Authors: Hosmer LaRue Tone , Chen Feng
Published: July 2007

A group of economists has recently begun addressing questions at the intersection of ethics and economics. They are preparing new definitions of individual choice that combine self-interest and other-interest, new processes of interpersonal exchange that result in cooperation rather than conflict, and new measures of social well-being that include rights as well as outcomes. This article surveys that work, and suggests areas where conceptual inputs from business ethicists are clearly needed, and where multiple opportunities for interactive research are obviously present.
Confucian Trustworthiness and the Practice of Business in China
Authors: Koehn Daryl
Published: July 2007

Confucius’s teachings fall under four headings: “culture, moral conduct, doing one’s best, and being trustworthy in what one says” (7/25). Trust or, more precisely, being trustworthy, plays a central role in the Confucian ethic. This paper begins by examining the Confucian concept of trustworthiness. The second part of the paper discusses how the ideal of trustworthiness makes itself felt in business practices within China. The paper concludes by raising and addressing several objections to the Confucian emphasis on trustworthiness.
Trust, Risk, and Shareholder Decision Making: An Investor Perspective on Corporate Governance
Authors: Ryan Lori Verstegen , Buchholtz Ann K.
Published: July 2007

Shareholders’ relationship to the firm is a central theme in corporate governance, yet the investors’ perspective has been virtually ignored in governance research. This paper attempts to explain the previously unexplored role of trust in the investor decision-making process. The proposed model suggests that trust acts as the antecedent of the risk variable in existing investor decision-making models. Stock ownership involves both financial and ethical risk, which by definition requires some level of implicit trust in management and the market.
Is Self-Identity Image Advertising Ethical?
Authors: Bishop John Douglas
Published: July 2007

Discussions of the ethics of advertising have been based on a general distinction between informative and persuasive advertising without looking at specific techniques of persuasion. Self-identity image ads persuade by presenting an image of an idealized person-type such as a “beautiful” woman (Chanel) or a sexy teen (Calvin Klein). The product becomes a symbol of the ideal, and target consumers are invited to use the product to project the self-image to themselves and others. This paper argues that image ads are not false or misleading, and that whether or not they advocate false values is a matter for subjective reflection. Image ads can undermine a consumer’s self-esteem by collectively omitting images authentic for that sort of person (such as large women), and by combining impossible images with implied gaze. Image ads generally do not undermine autonomy of choice, internal autonomy, or social autonomy. It is concluded that image advertising is a basically ethical technique, but several recommendations are given on how use of image advertising can avoid specific harms.
The Doctrine of Double Effect, Deadly Drugs, and Business Ethics
Authors: Masek Lawrence
Published: July 2007

Manuel Velasquez and F. Neil Brady apply the doctrine of double effect to business ethics and conclude that the doctrine allows a pharmaceutical company to sell a drug with potentially fatal side effects only if it also has the good effect of saving lives. This forbids the sale of many common products, such as automobiles and alcohol. My account preserves the virtues of the doctrine of double effect without making it too restrictive. I apply the doctrine to a pharmaceutical company’s decision to market a drug with dangerous side effects and argue that free markets often offer the best way to compare the good and bad effects of business decisions. I conclude that the doctrine does allow a business to sell a potentially fatal product that does not save lives, provided that it warns consumers about the danger.
Quasi‐periodic self‐stabilization of adaptive ARMA predictors
Authors: Jaïdane‐Saïdane Meriem , Macchi Odile
Published: July 2007

The stability of adaptive ARMA predictors, which present random time‐varying poles, is investigated. The updating algorithm is a suboptimal version of the stochastic gradient. For narrow‐band inputs local and quasi‐periodic instabilities occur. At those times the output error increases exponentially but has essentially the frequency of the unstable pole of the MA predictor part. This unstable error generates in the algorithm a stabilizing drift for the (unstable) MA parameters. This behaviour, called self‐stabilization (SS), is attenuated by inclusion of a (leakage) σ‐factor in the updating algorithm.

The SS analysis is applied to the important application of the ADPCM encoding of speech signals. It is shown that in successive encoder/decoder connections the SS phenomenon results in the accumulation of quantization distortions at each transcoder. For a digital transmission chain this is a serious drawback.
Adaptive tracking control for a class of plants with uncertain parameters and non‐linearities
Authors: Grujić Ljubomir T.
Published: July 2007

We consider systems in which the plant parameters and non‐linearities can vary unpredictably within known bounds. Their variations can be arbitrarily fast, even discontinuous. The desired plant output is defined as the output response to a governing input of an appropriately selected reference model. For this class of problems the concept of stable and exponentially stable tracking is defined. The problem studied is the synthesis of an adaptive controller having adjustable parameters to guarantee (stable, exponentially stable) tracking for the plant subject to the action of external disturbances. A solution to the problem is established for a class of plants determined by a special structure. Simulation results illustrate excellent tracking behaviour for a second‐order plant with unknown parameters and non‐linearities having unpredictable variations.
An adaptive estimation method using instrumental variables and deconvolution
Authors: Kollias Stefanos D. , Halkias Christos C.
Published: July 2007

The performance of the methods of recursive instrumental variables (RIV) and minimum variance deconvolution (MVD) is examined when the methods are interwoven so as to provide adaptive estimation of the ARMA model parameters of a system driven by white unmeasurable noise. It is shown that the methods have some similar properties which permit their successful combination in most cases. The asymptotic properties of the resulting estimation approach are evaluated in terms of the ARMA model parameters or the pole‐zero locations, the signal‐to‐noise ratio and the frequency bandwidth of the system impulse response. An analysis of the second‐order ARMA model and various simulation examples are presented which illustrate the derived results. The method has been successfully applied to the problem of adaptive seismic signal deconvolution.
On the steady state behaviour of stochastic systems
Authors: Caines P. E. , Meynt S. P. , Moscas E.
Published: July 2007

The question of the existence of steady state solutions to the closed loop system equations for stochastic systems, and in particular ARMAX systems under non‐linear feedback control, is addressed. Using the ergodic theory of time‐invariant Markov processes, it is shown that corresponding to a large class of control laws there exist shift‐invariant probabilities for the joint disturbance input‐output processes. This permits an asymptotic analysis of (i) averages of functions of the state process, (ii) the probability distributions governing the state process and (iii) loss functions on the system in the steady state.
Simple adaptive control of uncertain systems
Authors: Bar‐Kana Izhak , Kaufman Howard
Published: July 2007

This paper considers adaptive control of various systems with unknown time‐varying or non‐linear dynamics in an attempt to show that practical adaptive control can be simple and robust. The simplified adaptive control methodology used is based on the observation that most real‐world systems, even non‐stationary or non‐linear, can be stabilized by simple controller configurations. More complex controllers may be needed only in order to improve the performance of the control systems. In the adaptive scheme, the stabilizability properties of the plants are used only to satisfy the necessary conditions that guarantee robustness of simple adaptive controllers. The desired performance is then imposed upon the plant by these adaptive controllers, which force the plant to follow the input‐output behaviour of low‐order reference models. Examples from the recent literature of control with uncertainty are used to illustrate the power of these adaptive techniques.
Input‐output theory of high‐gain adaptive stabilization of infinite‐dimensional systems with non‐linearities
Authors: Logemann Hartmut , Owens David H.
Published: July 2007

This paper develops an input‐output theory of high‐gain adaptive stabilization of certain infinite‐dimensional processes with actuator and sensor non‐linearities. It is shown that there is a wide range of gain adaption rules achieving stability for the class of processes under consideration if proportional output feedback is used. The abstract input‐output results are applied to retarded systems and Volterra integrodifferential systems. The paper shows that the scope of applicability of universal adaptive stabilization ideas extends far beyond finite‐dimensional linear systems.
Model reduction for robust control: A schur relative error method
Authors: Safonov M. G. , Chiang R. Y.
Published: July 2007

A numerically robust relative error method for state‐space model order reduction is described. Our algorithm is based on Desai's balanced stochastic truncation technique for which Green has obtained an L∞ relative error bound. However, unlike previous methods, our Schur method completely circumvents the numerically delicate initial step of obtaining a minimal balanced stochastic realization of the power spectrum matrix G(s)GT(−s).
A cautious approach to robust adaptive regulation
Authors: Giri F. , M'Saad M. , Dlon J. M. , Dugard L.
Published: July 2007

The problem of estimated model controllability in robust pole placement adaptive regulation is investigated. The adaptive control law is modified in the sense that some measure of the parameter estimates error is incorporated into the design, leading to ‘cautious’ control actions. Two pole placement adaptive control algorithms are presented and shown to be BIBO stable in spite of bounded disturbances, time‐varying parameters and unmodelled dynamics.
Adaptive control of time‐varying plants: Simple examples
Authors: Tsakalis K. S. , Ioannou P. A.
Published: July 2007

The design and properties of an adaptive model reference scheme and an adaptive pole placement control scheme for linear time‐varying plants are demonstrated via two simple examples. The two new schemes combine new control laws that are appropriate for time‐varying plants with estimators that can utilize any available a prior; information on the structure of the parameter variations and are applicable to plants which are not necessarily slowly time‐varying. As illustrated by simulations, the new adaptive controllers exhibit good performance even in cases of fast plant parameter variations.
High gain observers applied to problems in the stabilization of uncertain linear systems, disturbance attenuation and N∞ optimization
Authors: Petersen Ian R. , Hollot Christopher V.
Published: July 2007

In recent years, a number of approaches have been developed for solving the following problem in linear systems theory: design a state feedback control so that the norm of a specified transfer function is less than a given bound over all frequencies. This paper deals with the case in which not all systems states can be measured. It shows that if a certain minimum phase condition is satisfied, then the transfer function bound achievable using state feedback can be asymptotically recovered using a high gain observer. These results have application to the problems of disturbance attenuation, H∞ optimization and the stabilization of uncertain linear systems.
Adaptive control via parameter set estimation
Authors: Kosut Robert L.
Published: July 2007

An adaptive control system is examined where the traditional parameter estimator is replaced by a parameter set estimator which provides a measure of uncertainty of the estimated parameters. it is shown how to construct a parameter set estimator with the property that the true system is always in the model set, and furthermore, how to design the estimation experiment so that the set of uncertainty is as small as possible given some a priori information.
A new approach to model reference adaptive control
Authors: Duarte Manuel A. , Narendra Kumpati S.
Published: July 2007

A new approach to model reference adaptive control, based on a combination of direct and indirect control methods, is introduced in this paper. The controller structure is identical to that used in the direct method, but the algorithm used to update the controller parameters depends both on the output error as in direct control and on the plant parameter estimates as in indirect control. The global stability of the overall system is assured by the existence of a Lyapunov function. In the ideal case discussed here, the combined approach results in improved transient response with smaller amplitude of the control input as compared to the constituent methods.
A showcase of adaptive controller designs
Authors: Masten Michael K. , Cohen Herbert E.
Published: July 2007

The adaptive control literature contains hundreds of technical papers on many different approaches to the subject. However, engineers who are not specialists in adaptive theory often have difficulty selecting which approach to use in any given problem. This series of papers addresses this situation by defining a set of standard problems which are then solved by several distinct approaches to adaptive control. This introductory paper defines the problems and guidelines which have been used in this process.
Example applications of the linear adaptive design technique
Authors: Johnson C. D.
Published: July 2007

Adaptive controllers can be designed by a variety of different methodologies that have been developed over the past 35 years. However, all these methodologies have one thing in common; they lead to adaptive controllers that are intriniscatly non‐linear in structure. Recently a new, unorthodox approach to the adaptive control problem has been developed. This new methodology leads to a new class of adaptive controllers that, in many cases, areentirely linearand haveall‐constant parameters(constant gains).

In the present paper this new approach to adaptive control is used to design‘linear adaptive controllers’for two example applications, and the closed‐loop adaptive performance obtained in each case is illustrated by digital simulation tests. These results demonstrate that the new linear adaptive controllers are able to produce a surprisingly high‐degree of adaptation over significant ranges of plant parameter variations and disturbances.