bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Business, trust and environmental information: Perceptions from consumers and retailers
Authors: Eden Sally 
Published: February 2007

AbstractThis paper explores how business sees its role as a provider of information to the public about products marketed with environmental claims. This revolves around issues of depersonalised advice to customers, education of the wider public and, most crucially, justification of company activities. The author demonstrates how people criticise this information because of the way that they perceive the motives of business to colour it, rather than because of the facts it conveys. People distrust aspects of business, especially its environmental information, for these reasons but the perceived expertise of business in comparison with the lack of expertise of the public means that they have little choice but to trust the more general system of information provision. The balance of trust to doubt is precarious and an overall loss of public trust has implications for the regulation of business because self‐regulation will no longer be seen as accountable and pressure may build for increasing government intervention, e.g. in eco‐labelling. These issues are addressed through the use of qualitative data from in‐depth interviews with green consumers and retailers.
Pioneering descriptions of corporate greening: Notes and doubts on the emerging discussion
Authors: Räsänen Keijo , Meriläinen Susan , Lovio Raimo 
Published: February 2007

AbstractThis article reviews the emerging discussion on corporate greening. The pioneering authors are found to have drawn on a number of perspectives in their descriptions of the greening process. Their views emphasise the choice of an environmental strategy, reform in management systems, organisational change, cultural change and institutional change. In spite of this conceptual diversity, the first accounts almost unanimously assume that greening will be, and should be, a top‐down process starting from the top management and being implemented through formal measures. This article suggest that these assumptions should be relaxed and both empirical research and managerial practice should be receptive to other varieties of greening, too. In particular, informal and autonomous bottom‐up processes may be very important in such a fundamental transition which greening may in some cases prove to be. This argument is based conceptually on an institutional view on the logics of managerial action, and empirically on studies in other fields of managerial work and on a case study of environmental management in a Finnish chemicals company.
Corporate environmental commitment: Developing the operational concept
Authors: Zeffane Rachid M , Polonsky Michael J , Medley Patrick 
Published: February 2007

AbstractThis article attempts to develop an operational measure of the notion of Corporate Environmental Commitment (CEC), through an examination of CEO's perceptions of their firms' behaviour regarding a number of environmental items. This is done by identifying a number of salient items in the literature and integrating them into a survey instrument. The mail survey was administered to the key informants of the 1000 largest organisations in Australia of which 306 responded. Iterative Factor‐Analysis of the data revealed that the questionnaire items (55 items in total) could be statistically collapsed into four factors representing the overall degree of ‘Corporate Environmental Commitment’. The four factors were (1) the degree to which environmental audits are emphasised as an environmental evaluation tool (Audit); (2) the existence and role of a clear and well disseminated environmental policy (Policy); (3) consideration of environmental impacts in assessing future corporate activities including investments & projects (Future Activities) and (4) incorporation of environmental issues in corporate appraisal systems (Appraisal Systems). Internal consistency within each of the four factors revealed significant reliability of all factors. It is suggested that the use of the four‐factor method uncovered in this study bears significant practical relevance, allowing firms to assess their environmental commitment (EC) at the corporate level.
Exploring the business benefits of environmental stewardship
Authors: Guimaraes Tor , Liska Kevin 
Published: February 2007

AbstractEnvironmental sensitivity has gained much attention in business organizations; however, there is little empirical evidence on the business benefits from environment‐oriented measures. Some of the many promised benefits from environmental sensitivity are categorized and rated. The framework proposed by the Management Institute for Environment and Business is used to assess company environmental stewardship. A pre‐tested questionnaire was used to collect data from 133 business organizations known to have undertaken at least some ‘green business’ activities. The results from Pearson correlation analysis suggest that companies showing higher degrees of environmental stewardship will derive greater business benefits than organizations which aim at minimum compliance with government regulations in this area.
Environmental auditing: Management strategy
Authors: Carter S. J. , Ball D. F. , Baron P. J. , Elliott D. 
Published: February 2007

AbstractA project was carried out to identify the external influences that affect participation in environmental audit programmes and the internal factors which may stimulate or modify reaction to these influences. The companies selected for the study were all in manufacturing or supply and with a potential to pollute the environment. The study was progressed by a questionnaire to the person responsible for environmental matters in 100 companies. There was a response rate of 48%. The questionnaire sought information on the company, the beliefs and experiences of the respondents, factors that had influenced the company and how the company had reacted to these. The responses to the questionnaire were analysed to try to determine areas where changes might profitably be made to the environmental management framework. Potential areas for change include a recommendation to establish environmental auditing as a fixed requirement to a fixed standard (BS 7750), with the company's policy and objectives being agreed with Her Majesty's Inspectors of Pollution on a regular basis and audited to achieve British Standard certification. The concept of the environmental crisis portfolio is introduced.
From ‘start‐up’ to ‘re‐boot’: Product lifecycle strategies and competitive advantage in the computer industry
Authors: Rodgers Cheryl 
Published: February 2007

AbstractThe PC sector, following the packaging and car manufacturing industries, will increasingly be forced to acknowledge and account for its product base throughout the commodity's life, and beyond. The environmental problems being posed by electronic waste have been recognized and both the EU and the individual Member States are discussing solutions which may or may not include legislative action. In anticipation, product take‐back programmes are beginning to emerge within the industry and the economics and logistics of re‐use and recycling are at the forefront of this debate. The issues in store for this sector are examined and specific initiatives by organizations considered. It is asked whether a ‘closing of the product loop’ will generate a competitive advantage for these companies and what impact an industry‐led ‘consortia’ initiative may have.
Green virus: Exploring the environmental product concept
Authors: Hukkinen Janne 
Published: February 2007

AbstractEnvironmental issues expose firms to numerous threats from their ecological and institutional surroundings. Many enterprises today react to these threats with technical innovations designed to improve the company's green image and performance. However, the critical test of corporate greening is how effectively the firm deals with the organizational relationships that can support or undermine the technically conceived green artifact. Successful firms comprehensively fuse ecological awareness and environmental management procedures into their raison d'etre, namely, the product. Environmental regulators, competitors, customers, the public and the press become key formulators of the new environmental product concept. This paper explores what these concepts are and how they are conceived. Using the concept of industrial ecology as a starting point, three key areas of green product innovation are identified: competitors, regulators and customers. Competitive pressures reorientate firms towards dematerialization and services. Novel regulatory arrangements such as covenants and environmental product profiles are information‐gathering devices and add value to the product.Finally, the necessity to close material loops forces recycling firms to attract customers with reliable, long‐term input–output agreements.vir.us n., pl. ‐rus.es. …having the ability to replicate only inside a living cell (The American Heritage Dictionary, 1982).
Creating sustainable corporations
Authors: Shrivastava Paul , Hart Stuart 
Published: February 2007

AbstractCorporate industrial activities of the past are environmentally unsustainable. Many of today's environmental crises are rooted in an unsustainable pattern of industrialization. Sustainable economic development can be ushered in only if corporations, the main economic engines of the future, are made environmentally sound. This can be facilitated through ‘total environmental management,’ and ‘sustainable organizational design’. Although many companies have embraced the practice of environmental management, few have seriously engaged the idea of sustainability. Those that do might reap competitive and financial benefits.
New models for exhaustible resource development
Authors: Emel Jody , Angel David , Bridge Gavin 
Published: February 2007

AbstractMinerals sector firms have joined other industries in going green, and some have used the language of sustainable development in the context of the relationship between industry, environment and community. Because of its historical practices of causing severe land disturbance, water pollution and ecosystem disruption, many have thought the concept of ‘sustainable mining’ an oxymoron. Within the context of trying to find the ‘best’ models for minerals development in the fledgling Russian democracy (specifically in Western Siberia), however, we discovered a number of possibilities for creating at least a more sustainable mining sector. This paper presents in summary form some interim results from our work on sustainable development in the extractive hydrocarbon economies of Western Siberia. We identify practices along three dimensions of sustainability – environment, community and labor – and briefly discuss the implications of these practices for Western Siberia.
OPLS discriminant analysis: combining the strengths of PLS‐DA and SIMCA classification
Authors: Bylesjö Max , Rantalainen Mattias , Cloarec Olivier , Nicholson Jeremy K. , Holmes Elaine , Trygg Johan 
Published: February 2007

AbstractThe characteristics of the OPLS method have been investigated for the purpose of discriminant analysis (OPLS‐DA). We demonstrate how class‐orthogonal variation can be exploited to augment classification performance in cases where the individual classes exhibit divergence in within‐class variation, in analogy with soft independent modelling of class analogy (SIMCA) classification. The prediction results will be largely equivalent to traditional supervised classification using PLS‐DA if no such variation is present in the classes. A discriminatory strategy is thus outlined, combining the strengths of PLS‐DA and SIMCA classification within the framework of the OPLS‐DA method. Furthermore, resampling methods have been employed to generate distributions of predicted classification results and subsequently assess classification belief. This enables utilisation of the class‐orthogonal variation in a proper statistical context. The proposed decision rule is compared to common decision rules and is shown to produce comparable or less class‐biased classification results. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The OPLS methodology for analysis of multi‐block batch process data
Authors: Gabrielsson Jon , Jonsson Hans , Airiau Christian , Schmidt Bernd , Escott Richard , Trygg Johan 
Published: February 2007

AbstractWith increasing availability of different process analysers multiple data sources are commonly available and this will impose new challenges and enable new types of investigations. The ability to separate joint, complementary and redundant information in multiple block data will be of increasing importance. In this study data from a batch mini plant were collected and O2PLS was implemented to facilitate a combined analysis of spectroscopic and process data. This enables assessment of both the joint and complementary variations in the respective data sets. The different types of variation that were separated were then modelled together to evaluate their individual correlation to a time response. By combining data of different origin an uncomplicated summary of the variation was accomplished and a deeper understanding of process interactions was gained. The analysis of separated variation with a response variable proved useful for verifying the supposed correlation between the joint variation and time. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Replacing affinity with binding kinetics in QSAR studies resolves otherwise confounded effects
Authors: Andersson Karl , Hämäläinen Markku D. 
Published: February 2007

AbstractSteady‐state binding affinity is a commonly used response variable in quantitative structure‐activity relationship (QSAR) studies. In this paper we show that affinity alone may introduce unnecessary noise to the model or even cause model failure. Binding affinity is a ratio between the dissociation rate and association rate. Mathematical modeling of a ratio with unknown variation structure of nominator and denominator is difficult and the interpretation of the resulting model might be meaningless under certain circumstances. Commercially available biosensors can be used for measurement of binding kinetics enabling separate modeling of association and dissociation rates. In this paper we discuss the problems caused by the confounded effect in the compiled response affinity and show examples where separate modeling of the rate constants improves the interpretation of QSAR models. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A modification of canonical variates analysis to handle highly collinear multivariate data
Authors: Nørgaard Lars , Bro Rasmus , Westad Frank , Engelsen Søren Balling 
Published: February 2007

AbstractA modification of the standard Canonical Variates Analysis (CVA) method to cope with collinear high‐dimensional data is developed. The method utilizes Partial Least Squares regression as an engine for solving an eigenvector problem involving singular covariance matrices. Three data sets are analyzed to demonstrate the properties of the method: a two‐group problem with near infrared spectroscopic data consisting of 60 samples and 376 variables, a multi‐group problem with fluorescence spectroscopic data (1023 variables) consisting of 83 samples from six groups and a three‐group problem with physical‐chemical data (10 variables) consisting of 41 samples from three groups. It is demonstrated that the modified CVA method forces the discriminative information into the first canonical variates as expected. The weight vectors found in the modified CVA method possess the same properties as weight vectors of the standard CVA method. By combination of the suggested method with, for example, Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) as a classifier, an operational tool for classification and discrimination of collinear data is obtained. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Maximum likelihood scaling (MALS)
Authors: Hoefsloot Huub C. J. , Verouden Maikel P. H. , Westerhuis Johan A. , Smilde Age K. 
Published: February 2007

AbstractA filtering procedure is introduced for multivariate data that does not suffer from noise amplification by scaling. A maximum likelihood principal component analysis (MLPCA) step is used as a filter that partly removes noise. This filtering can be used prior to any subsequent scaling and multivariate analysis of the data and is especially useful for data with moderate and low signal‐to‐noise ratio's, such as metabolomics, proteomics and transcriptomics data. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Oxygen‐Bridge Templating Approach to Eight‐ and Nine‐Membered Carbocycles: Recent Developments Based on Catalytic Reactions
Authors: López Fernando , Mascareñas José Luis 
Published: February 2007

AbstractRecent developments concerning metal‐catalyzed reactions have led to the implementation of new, rapid, and practical routes to eight‐ and nine‐membered carbocycles based on an oxygen‐bridge templated cyclization.
Combination of quantification and observation methods for study of “Side Population” cells in their “in vitro” microenvironment
Authors: Benchaouir Rachid , Picot Julien , Greppo Nicolas , Rameau Philippe , Stockholm Daniel , Garcia Luis , Paldi Andras , Laplace‐Builhé Corinne 
Published: February 2007

AbstractBackground:Qualitative and quantitative analyses of the rare phenotypic variants in in vitro culture systems is necessary for the understanding of cell differentiation in cell culture of primary cells or cell lines. Slide‐based cytometry combines image acquisition and data treatment, and associates the power of flow cytometry (FCM) and the resolution of the microscopic studies making it suitable for the analysis of cells with rare phenotype. In this paper we develop a method that applies these principles to a particularly hot problem in cell biology, the study of stem cell like cells in cultures of primary cells, cancer cells, and various cell lines.Methods:The adherent cells were labeled by the fluorescent dye Hoechst 33342. The images of cell populations were collected by a two‐photon microscope and processed by a software developed by us. The software allows the automated segmentation of the nuclei in a very dense cell environment, the measurement of the fluorescence intensity of each nucleus and the recording of their position in the plate. The cells with a given fluorescence intensity can then be located easily on the recorded image of the culture plate for further analysis.Results:The potential of our method is illustrated by the identification and localization of SP cells in the cultures of the C2C12 cell line. Although these cells represent only about 1% of the total population as calculated by flow cytometry, they can be identified in the culture plate with high precision by microscopy.Conclusion:Cells with the rare stem‐cell like phenotype can be efficiently identified in the undisturbed cultures. Since the fluorescence intensity of rare events and the position of thousands of surrounding cells are recorded at the same time, the method associates the advantage of the FCM analysis and the microscopic observation. © 2007 International Society for Analytical Cytology
Extended depth of field imaging for high speed cell analysis
Authors: Ortyn William E. , Perry David J. , Venkatachalam Vidya , Liang Luchuan , Hall Brian E. , Frost Keith , Basiji David A. 
Published: February 2007

AbstractBackground:Fluoresence microscopy is an extremely useful tool to analyze the intensity, location and movement of fluorescently tagged molecules on, within or between cells. However, the technique suffers from slow image acquisition rates and limited depth of field. Confocal microscopy addresses the depth of field issue via “optical sectioning and reconstruction”, but only by further reducing the image acquisition rate to repeatedly scan the cell at multiple focal planes. In this paper we describe a technique to perform high speed, extended depth of field (EDF) imaging using a modified ImageStream® system whereby high resolution, multimode imagery from thousands of cells is collected in less than a minute with focus maintained over a 16 μm focal range.Methods:A prototype EDF ImageStream system incorporating a Wavefront Coded™ element was used to capture imagery from fluorescently labeled beads. Bead imagery was quantitatively analyzed using photometric and morphological features to assess consistency of feature values with respect to focus position. Jurkat cells probed for chromosome Y using a fluorescence in situ hybridization in suspension protocol (FISHIS™) were used to compare standard and Wavefront Coded‐based EDF imaging approaches for automated chromosome enumeration.Results:Qualitative visual inspection of bead imagery reveals that the prototype ImageStream system with EDF maintains focus quality over a 16 μm focus range. Quantitative analysis shows the extended depth field collection mode has approximately ten‐fold less variation in focus‐sensitive feature values when compared with standard imaging. Automated chromosome enumeration from imagery of Jurkat cells probed using the FISHIS protocol is significantly more accurate using EDF imaging.Conclusions:The use of EDF techniques may significantly enhance the quantitation of cell imagery, particularly in applications such as FISH, where small discrete signals must be detected over a wide focal range within the cell. © 2007 International Society for Analytical Cytology
Development and validation of flow cytometric measurement for parasitemia in cultures of P. falciparum vitally stained with YOYO‐1
Authors: Li Qigui , Gerena Lucia , Xie Lisa , Zhang Jing , Kyle Dennis , Milhous Wilbur 
Published: February 2007

AbstractBackground:The need for improved malaria diagnostics has long been recognized.Methods:Human parasitized erythrocytes based on the principles of flow cytometry (FCM) method is described for the determination of parasitemia in Plasmodium falciparum cultures using the fluorescence activated cell sorter and DNA‐binding fluorescent dye, YOYO‐1. The same assay samples can be also evaluated both microscopically and by scintillation counting after use of 3H‐hypoxanthine‐labeled parasites.Results:The counts of uninfected, infected, and nucleated cells occurred with high precision. The cells were categorized into different populations according to their physical or chemical properties such as RNase treatment and compensation required optimization. The detection and quantitation limits in the assay were 0.003% and 0.008% parasitemia, respectively. Overall, the parasite counts by FCM measurement correlated highly (r2 = 0.923–0.968) with the parasitemia measured by 3H‐hypoxanthine incorporation assay when parasites variants incubated with various antimalarial drugs. In addition, the low levels of parasitemia (7.9%–21.3%) detected by microscopy than by FCM may be related to a number of tiny schizonts externally attached to the erythrocyte membranes but were not definitely inside the erythrocyte that normally would never be included in microscopy counting.Conclusion:On the basis of data reported herein, a rapid, high sensitivity, lower sampling error and reliable identification of human parasitized erythrocytes by the principles of FCM have been established. Published 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.