bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
β-Zeolite modified by ethylenediamine for sorption of Th(IV)
Authors: Peng Liu , Hanyu Wu , Ni Yuan , Zhuoxin Yin , Duoqiang Pan , Wangsuo Wu 
Published: January 2017

Abstract
β-Zeolite-EDA was modified with ethylenediamine (EDA) after synthesized. The synthesized material was characterized and used for removal of Th(IV) from aqueous solutions. The influences of pH, ionic strength, contact time, temperature and humic acid (HA) on Th(IV) sorption onto synthesized β-zeolite-EDA was studied by batch technique. The dynamic process showed that the sorption of Th(IV) onto β-zeolite-EDA matched the pseudo-second-order kinetics model. The sorption of Th(IV) on β-zeolite-EDA was significantly dependent on pH values, the sorption percentage increased markedly at pH 3.5–4.5, and then maintained a steady state as pH values increased. Through simulating the sorption isotherms by Langmuir, Freundlich and Dubini–Radushkevich (D–R) models, it could be seen respectively that the sorption pattern of Th(IV) on β-zeolite-EDA was mainly controlled by surface complexation, and that the sorption processes was endothermic and spontaneous. The presence of HA increased Th(IV) sorption on β-zeolite-EDA.
Preparation, characterization, uranium (VI) biosorption models, and conditions optimization by response surface methodology (RSM) for amidoxime-functionalized marine fungus materials
Authors: Yang Xuechun , Gao Yang , Jiang Min , He Dianxiong , Liao Sen , Hou Dan , Yan Xueming , Long Wei , Wu Yaxin , Tan Ni 
Published: January 2017

Abstract
Amidoxime-functionalized marine fungus Fusarium sp. #ZZF51 (ZGDA) was synthesized and studied to adsorb uranium (VI) from the aqueous solution. Different instrumental techniques such as FTIR, SEM, and TGA were employed for the characterization of the manufactured materials, and theirs ability of removal uranium (VI) was optimized using RSM. The experimental results showed the maximum adsorption capacity for the synthesized materials was 230.78 mg g−1 at the following optimization conditions: S–L ratio 150 mg L−1, pH 5.13, uranium (VI) initial concentration 40 mg L−1, and equilibrium time 122.40 min. More than 85% of the absorbed uranium (VI) could be desorbed by 0.5 or 1.0 mol L−1 HCl, and the modified mycelium could be reused at least five times. The thermodynamic experimental data of adsorption uranium (VI) could fit better with Langumir and Freundlich isotherms models, and the pseudo-second-order model was better to interpret the kinetics process. The modified fungus materials exhibited the better sorption capacity for uranium (VI) in comparison with raw biomass should be attributed to the strong chelation of amidoxime to uranium (VI) ions.
Comparing the semiotic construction of attitudinal meanings in the multimodal manuscript, original published and adapted versions of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Authors: Chen Yumin 
Published: January 2017

AbstractThis paper analyzes the attitudinal variations in multimodal literary works by comparing the manuscript, the original published edition, and eight contemporary adapted versions ofAlice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Drawing upon the appraisal system of attitude (Martin and White 2005,The language of evaluation: Appraisal in English. London: Palgrave) and the social semiotic approach to visual images (Kress and Van Leeuwen 2006,Reading images: The grammar of visual design, 2nd edn. London: Routledge), the analysis demonstrates that the deployments of linguistic and visual attitudinal resources in the adapted texts differ from those in the manuscript and the original published work in terms of the semantic region, what is being appraised, positive or negative attitude, the explicit or implicit way of expression, and the degree of attitudinal commitment. Variations within different adaptations are found to accommodate the needs of different target audiences. It is also found that the intermodal relation in constructing the overall attitudinal stance shifts from complementarity in the manuscript to enhancement in the original published work and then to co-instantiation in the adaptations. The semiotic exploration may shed light on the understanding of the variations of meanings arising from the interplay of multiple semiotic resources in the different versions of the timeless multimodal literary classic.
Semiotics of ideocriticism: Four strategies of modeling
Authors: Taha Ibrahim 
Published: January 2017

AbstractThe primary aim of the present paper is to examine the interrelations between definite ideologies and literature, more precisely the ways established ideologies are modeled in literature. The article therefore tries to examine two interwoven systems of signs: ideology as a semiotic system per se and the ideology within the literature; each has its own logical semiotics. For instance, on one side the ideology of feminism, or ecology, has two strategies of modeling: destructive (the actual) and constructive (the idealized), and like every ideology it has to map the independent borders of each strategy. On the other hand literature makes every effort to blur the bold distinctive borders of these strategies by means of artistic tools. That is, literature remodels the model of ideology. One mission of the reader is to try to reconstruct each model and see the interaction between them. Without doubt, the two models affect each other in a way that influences the final representation. Semiotics has not concerned itself with feminist values per se, but with the way they act semiotically.
Gendering the nation: A case study on the postage stamps of Cyprus
Authors: Andreou Sonia , Stylianou Stephanie , Zantides Evripides 
Published: January 2017

AbstractThe current study addresses the gender roles and the stereotypes produced in the context of Cypriot society, through their representations on postage stamps produced by the Republic of Cyprus from 1960 to 2013. The theoretical framework employed derives from relevant theories on social roles’ divisions based on gender, as well as the way these roles and stereotypes are expressed through images. The corpus has been analyzed by means of content analysis and semiotic analysis was employed in order to explore how the theoretical framework complies with selected stamps from the content analysis in respect of non-verbal signs. According to the findings, the role of women on stamp representations seems to be secondary and tied with emotional qualities, while men seem to hold a more prominent position in the society. This fact is reflected both on the quantity of stamps representing each gender in the respective thematic categories, as well as, on the selected stamps studied with semiotic analysis. Nonetheless, there have been strong indications that the social roles of genders and therefore stereotypes have started changing as the society progresses through the years. This process however, does not seem apparent on the imagery used for the stamps of the Republic of Cyprus.
Globalization and its determinative influence upon the humanities: A semiotic/hermeneutic diagnosis
Authors: Li Youzheng 
Published: January 2017

AbstractGlobalization is the global expansion of economic-cultural capitalism. The term “capitalism” today may mainly refer to the special economic mode shared by most countries regardless of their different political systems. The original essence of capitalism lies in the self-profit motive and commercial activities. Globalization makes this essence also penetrated into all aspects of society, culture and academia resulting in the systematically weakening of the scientific character of the humanities. The latter should be advanced to human sciences in order to be capable of balancing the cultural materialism caused by globalization. For carrying out this scientific task a subjective ethics is requested to form a minority of theoretical volunteers devoted to this revolutionary mission for reorganizing the humanities. The paper asserts that a multi-dimensional causal relationship exists between the materialist-globalization, renovation of the humanities, and subjective ethics.
Spectatorship as a play on moral ambiguities: Neuro-evolutionary semiotic approach to lowly arousal emotions
Authors: Chien Jui-Pi 
Published: January 2017

AbstractThis study seeks to outline a neuro-evolutionary semiotic model for our perception and interpretation of moral ambiguities in the wake of neuroaesthetics. This model is actually an integration of the Saussurean network of differences and the recently discovered default mode network: it serves on the one hand to rectify automatic responses generated by the mirror system in real-life situations, and on the other, to expand the applicability of the sign system for our appreciation of eerie or scary details found in the arts. Such a framework functions not only to blur binary oppositions set between high and lowly arousal emotions, but also to enhance our skills and confidence in dealing with uncertainties and oddities found in the arts. As opposed to experimental schemes devised in neuroaesthetics, which quantify our instant ratings of specific audial and visual inputs, the neuro-evolutionary model allows us some freedom and flexibility to re-evaluate our perceptions of motives concealed in characters’ behaviors. This study therefore enlarges on a qualitative approach to conceptualizing spectatorship in the world of art. We as intelligent and self-governing spectators should manage to align with odd characters’ positions so as to regain meaning, understanding, and harmony from our dealings. By way of comparing and contrasting two film characters’ dealings with valuable paintings and endearing families, the author argues for the fruitful functioning of the neuro-evolutionary sign system in revising our biases against seemingly immoral characters. It is observed that the sign system is characterized with the capacity of multiplying meaningful connections between characters’ motives, choices, and actions. It enables us to sort out and to appreciate strings of actions that enlarge on characters’ persistence and consistence of achieving certain goals. All in all, our choice of engaging with the daunting and the disconcerting fosters not only our pleasure and intelligence of viewing, but also the survival of odd characters in our community.
Greimas et la linguistique, la poétique et la sémiotique au quotidien, d’après sa correspondance inédite avec Michel Arrivé
Authors: Arrivé Michel 
Published: January 2017

RésuméMichel Arrivé donne une édition annotée des lettres que Greimas lui a adressées de 1964 à 1987. Ces lettres fournissent des informations peu connues (et parfois totalement inconnues) sur les nombreuses activités menées par Greimas pendant cette période importante de l’histoire de la linguistique et de la sémiotique : travaux de grammaire française, publication de Sémantique structurale, mise en place et réalisation des Essais de sémiotique poétique, publiés en 1972, etc. Elles permettent aussi d’entrevoir quelques aspects de la personnalité de Greimas : il se révèle constamment énergique, à la fois passionné et optimiste, plus rarement découragé, mais pour quelques instants seulement, par des attaques injustifiées. Les lecteurs attentifs porteront également attention au style de ses lettres, qui réussit l’exploit oxymorique de paraître à la fois spontané et surveillé.
Resistance Distances and Kirchhoff Index in Generalised Join Graphs
Authors: Chen Haiyan 
Published: January 2017

Abstract
The resistance distance between any two vertices of a connected graph is defined as the effective resistance between them in the electrical network constructed from the graph by replacing each edge with a unit resistor. The Kirchhoff index of a graph is defined as the sum of all the resistance distances between any pair of vertices of the graph. Let G=H[G
1, G
2, …, G

k
] be the generalised join graph of G
1, G
2, …, G

k
determined by H. In this paper, we first give formulae for resistance distances and Kirchhoff index of G in terms of parameters of

G
′

i

s

${G'_i}s$

and H. Then, we show that computing resistance distances and Kirchhoff index of G can be decomposed into simpler ones. Finally, we obtain explicit formulae for resistance distances and Kirchhoff index of G when

G
′

i

s

${G'_i}s$

and H take some special graphs, such as the complete graph, the path, and the cycle.
Near-Field Radiative Heat Transfer under Temperature Gradients and Conductive Transfer
Authors: Jin Weiliang , Messina Riccardo , Rodriguez Alejandro W. 
Published: January 2017

Abstract
We describe a recently developed formulation of coupled conductive and radiative heat transfer (RHT) between objects separated by nanometric, vacuum gaps. Our results rely on analytical formulas of RHT between planar slabs (based on the scattering-matrix method) as well as a general formulation of RHT between arbitrarily shaped bodies (based on the fluctuating–volume current method), which fully captures the existence of temperature inhomogeneities. In particular, the impact of RHT on conduction, and vice versa, is obtained via self-consistent solutions of the Fourier heat equation and Maxwell’s equations. We show that in materials with low thermal conductivities (e.g. zinc oxides and glasses), the interplay of conduction and RHT can strongly modify heat exchange, exemplified for instance by the presence of large temperature gradients and saturating flux rates at short (nanometric) distances. More generally, we show that the ability to tailor the temperature distribution of an object can modify the behaviour of RHT with respect to gap separations, e.g. qualitatively changing the asymptotic scaling at short separations from quadratic to linear or logarithmic. Our results could be relevant to the interpretation of both past and future experimental measurements of RHT at nanometric distances.
Study of Caking of Powders Using NQR Relaxometry with Inversion of the Laplace Transform
Authors: Sinyavsky N.Ya. 
Published: January 2017

Abstract
For the first time, it has been proposed to study the processes of caking nonmetallic powders containing quadrupole nuclei using the distribution of the spin–lattice and spin–spin relaxation times in NQR. The results of experimental studies of the effect of caking samples on the distributions of relaxation times of T
1 and T
2 for the 14N NQR in powders of NaNO2 and C6H12N4 are presented.
Two isostructural fluorinated metal-organic frameworks with rare rod-packing architecture: syntheses, structures and luminescent properties
Authors: Chen Sheng-Chun , Tian Feng , He Ming-Yang , Chen Qun 
Published: January 2017

Abstract
Two isostructural fluorinated metal-organic frameworks, formulated as [M
2(Fbix)(1,4-NDC)2]
n
(M=Cd for 1 and Mn for 2), were synthesized by employing 1,4-naphthalenedicarboxylic acid (1,4-H2NDC) and the flexible fluorinated ligand 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-1,4-bis(imidazole-1-yl-methyl)benzene (Fbix) under hydrothermal conditions. Their structures were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and further characterized by infrared spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, and thermogravimetric analyses. Structure analyses have revealed that compounds 1 and 2 show an unusual hex net based on infinite rod-shaped secondary building units. The solid-state fluorescence spectra of 1 and 2 were measured and indicate a ligand-based emission for both complexes.
Corporate Social Responsibility and UK Retailers
Authors: Jones Peter , Wynn Martin , Comfort Daphne , Hillier David 
Published: January 2017

This paper offers a preliminary examination of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) commitments and agendas being addressed and reported by the UK‟s leading retailers. The paper begins with a short discussion of the characteristics and origins of CSR and of the current structure of retailing in the UK. This is followed by an illustrative examination of the CSR issues publicly reported by the UK‟s top ten country of origin retailers and the paper draws its empirical material from the CSR reports posted on the World Wide Web by these retailers. The findings reveal that the UK‟s top ten retailers are addressing and reporting on four sets of CSR themes namely those relating to the environment; the marketplace; the workplace and the community. The paper concludes with a discussion of a number of general issues relating to these themes. <br /><br />
Institutional Ownership and Corporate Social Performance: Empirical Evidence from Indonesian Companies
Authors: Fauzi Hasan , Mahoney Lois , Rahman Azhar Abdul 
Published: January 2017

Prior research on the relationships of institutional ownership and corporate social responsibility has focused on North American (U.S. and Canada) and European companies. With the passage of Indonesian Law No. 40 in 2007, Indonesian companies are now obligated to conduct CSP. As these companies objected to the passage of this law, awareness of how CSP may benefit Indonesian companies in terms of its positive impact on institutional investors needs to be investigated. Thus, this paper examines the relationships of IO and CSP for Indonesian companies. Unfortunately, contrary to the results for North American and European companies, we found no relationships between institutional ownership and corporate social responsibility for Indonesian companies. This finding suggests that most institutional investors do not include CSP as part of their investment decisions. <br /><br />
Social and Environmental Disclosure in the Annual Reports of Jordanian Companies
Authors: Ku Ismail Ku Nor Izah , Ibrahim Abdul Hadi 
Published: January 2017

Recently, much attention has been devoted by researchers to study social and environmental disclosure among corporations. Most of the studies were conducted in developed countries, with only a handful being undertaken in developing countries. This study aims to investigate the extent of social and environmental disclosure in the annual reports of Jordanian companies and examine if the level of disclosure is influenced by size of firm, government ownership and industry. In particular, disclosure with regard to environmental issues, community involvement<br />and human resource are examined. Using a sample of 60 companies in the manufacturing and service sectors, content analysis is used to measure the level of disclosure. The findings indicate that 85% of the companies somehow disclose social and environmental information. Human resource is the most disclosed theme while the environmental issue had the lowest<br />disclosure among the companies. In addition, a significant positive association is found between company size and social and environmental<br />disclosure, and companies with high government ownership tend to have a<br />lower level of disclosure compared to companies with low government ownership. On the overall, no significant relationship was found between<br />industry type and the level of social and environmental disclosure. However, when only environmental issues are examined, manufacturing<br />companies tend to disclose more of the items compared to service companies.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
Corporate Environmental Disclosures on the Internet: an Empirical Analysis of Indian Companies
Authors: Malarvizhi P. , Yadav Sangeeta 
Published: January 2017

The impact of industrialization, on natural resources, human health and environment was not clear till 1960s. Rachel Carson for the first time in 1962 raised important questions about human impact on nature in her book, Silent Spring. With the growing awareness towards sustainable<br />development, industries and corporations have a major role in environmental degradation and protection thereof. In the past, accounting theories emphasized primarily on financial performance. This awareness<br />on sustainable development is visible through varied environmental<br />management mechanisms practiced amongst companies across the world. Environmental concerns are addressed by corporate giants through identification and estimation of environmental costs, benefits, investments, assets and liabilities into main stream accounting and reporting practices, for varied managerial decisions. These focused environmental efforts have sharpened and improved the global reporting<br />standards. In India, the incorporation of environmental costs and benefits<br />into mainstream financial reporting is at its nascent stage at present - but it is certain to grow. Indian companies have not yet developed a holistic approach to environmental reporting, as there is lack of environmental reporting guidelines. On the other hand environmental awareness among<br />Indian stakeholders gets strengthened with advancement in communication technology. High propensity of environmental awareness ensures a more cautious approach among Indian corporations to be environmentally responsible. With the advancement of information and communications technologies, global corporate information disclosures<br />have been on rise through the medium of internet, as confirmed by various recent national and international surveys. This research has observed that Indian companies follow diverse reporting practices on the internet viz., stand alone environmental reporting (satellite accounts) or<br />reporting along with the Annual/Financial Reports, or Sustainability Reporting.
The Performance Implications of Fit among Environment, Strategy, Structure, Control System and Social Performance
Authors: Fauzi Hasan , Idris Kamil M. 
Published: January 2017

The paper examined concept of corporate performance. The paper seeks to examine the impact of corporate social performance on the relationship among business environment, strategy, organization, and control system<br />and corporate performance. The paper is based on a synthesis of the existing literatures in strategic management and accounting filed. The paper finds that corporate social performance defined as stakeholder relationship become one important dimension of the strategic behaviors that an organization can set to improve corporate performance. The <br />contextual variables as discussed in strategic management and accounting<br />domain will be contingent upon strategic behaviors, which are behaviors of members in an organization. The paper integrates the contextual variables including business environment, strategy, organization structure, and control system with corporate performance by using corporate social performance as moderating variable by means of a recent literatures study from strategic management and accounting field.<br /><br />