Morals in business organizations: an approach based on strategic value and strength for business management

[EN] In the last decades, the topic of business ethics has attracted great interest at the academic and professional levels. Nowadays business ethics is being increasingly implemented as a necessary discipline in universities’ study plans on business management. Moreover, its importance is also evident according to the worldwide increase of organizations and/or institutions that have implemented ethics systems. However, some approaches thoroughly do not consider the importance and the need of an ethical behaviour and are still guiding the actions and the way of thinking of many academics and professionals led to consider that the only responsibility of business is limited just to profit maximization.

Sistema seguro de votação eletrônica multi-células

Em uso desde a Grécia antiga e atualmente massificado na maioria dos países do mundo, o sistema de votação tradicional baseado em cédulas de papel possui diversos problemas associados à segurança, tais como dificuldades para evitar coerção do eleitor, venda do voto e substituição fraudulenta do eleitor. Além de problemas de usabilidade que acarretam erros de preenchimento da cédula e um processo de apuração lento, que pode durar dias. Ao lado disso, o sistema tradicional não fornece a contraprova do voto, que permite ao eleitor conferir se o seu voto foi corretamente contabilizado na apuração. Inicialmente acreditou-se que a informatização do sistema de votação resolveria todos os problemas do sistema tradicional. Porém, com a sua implantação em alguns países o sistema de votação eletrônica não mostrou-se capaz de fornecer garantias irrefutáveis que não tivesse sido alvo de alterações fraudulentas durante o seu desenvolvimento ou operação. A má reputação do sistema eletrônico está principalmente associada à falta de transparência dos processos que, em sua maioria, não proporcionam a materialização do voto, conferido pelo eleitor para fins de contagem manual, e nem geram evidências (contraprova) da correta contabilização do voto do eleitor. O objetivo deste trabalho é propor uma arquitetura de votação eletrônica que integra, de forma segura, o anonimato e autenticidade do votante, a confidencialidade e integridade do voto/sistema. O sistema aumenta a usabilidade do esquema de votação baseado em "Três Cédulas" de papel, implementando-o computacionalmente. O esquema oferece maior credibilidade ao sistema de votação através da materialização e contraprova do voto, resistência à coerção e ao comércio do voto. Utilizando esquemas de criptografia assimétrica e segurança computacional clássica, associado a um sistema de auditoria eficiente, a proposta garante segurança e transparência nos processos envolvidos. A arquitetura de construção modular distribui a responsabilidade entre suas entidades, agregando-lhe robustez e viabilizando eleições em grande escala. O protótipo do sistema desenvolvido usando serviços web e Election Markup Language mostra a viabilidade da proposta.

A Finite Element Analysis of a Crack Penetrating or Deflecting into an Interface in a Thin Laminate

The crack tip driving force of a crack growing from a pre-crack that is perpendicular to and terminating at an interface between two materials is investigated using a linear fracture mechanics theory. The analysis is performed both for a crack penetrating the interface, growing straight ahead, and for a crack deflecting into the interface. The results from finite element calculations are compared with asymptotic solutions for infinitesimally small crack extensions. The solution is found to be accurate even for fairly large amounts of crack growth. Further, by comparing the crack tip driving force of the deflected crack with that of the penetrating crack, it is shown how to control the path of the crack by choosing the adhesion of the interface relative to the material toughness.

Variation of flexural strength of cement mortar attacked by sulfate ions

Under the environment of seawater, durability of concrete materials is one of the chief factors considered in the design of structures. The decrease of durability of structures is induced by the evolution of micro-damage due to the erosion of chlorine and sulfate ions, which is characterized by the reduction of modulus, strength, and toughness of the material. In this paper, the variation of the flexural strength of cement mortar under sulfate erosion is investigated. The results obtained in present work indicate that the erosion time, concentration of sulfate solution, and water-to-cement ratio will significantly affect the flexural strength. Crown Copyright (c) 2008 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Informational report: Bycatch reduction devices used in the Pink Shrimp trawl fishery

The California Fish and Game Commission (Commission) has the authority to require one or any combination of Bycatch Reduction Device (BRD) types in the trawl fishery within California waters for Pacific ocean shrimp (Pandalus jordani), most commonly referred to as pink shrimp. The purpose of this report is to provide the Commission with the best available information about the BRDs used in the pink shrimp trawl fishery. The mandatory requirement for BRDs occurred in California in 2002, and in Oregon and Washington in 2003, resulting from an effort to minimize bycatch of overfished and quota managed groundfish species. Three types of BRDs currently satisfy the requirement for this device in the California fishery: 1) the Nordmøre grate (rigid-grate excluder); 2) soft-panel excluder; and 3) fisheye excluder; however, the design, specifications, and efficacy differ by BRD type. Although no data has been collected on BRDs directly from the California pink shrimp fishery, extensive research on the efficacy and differences among BRD types has been conducted by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) since the mid-1990s. Rigid-grate excluders are widely considered to be the most effective of the three BRD types at reducing groundfish bycatch. Over 90 percent of the Oregon pink shrimp fleet use rigid-grate excluders. The majority of the current California pink shrimp fleet also uses rigid-grate excluders, according to a telephone survey conducted by the California Department of Fish and Game (Department) in 2007-2008 of pink shrimp fishermen who have been active in the California fishery in recent years. Hinged rigid-grate excluders have been developed in recent years to reduce the bending of the BRD on vessels that employ net reels to stow and deploy their trawl nets, and they have been used successfully on both single- and double-rig vessels in Oregon. Soft-panel excluders have been demonstrated to be effective at reducing groundfish bycatch, although excessive shrimp loss and other problems have also been associated with this design. Fisheye excluders have been used in the California fishery in the past, but they were disapproved in Oregon and Washington in 2003 because they were found to be less effective at reducing groundfish bycatch than other designs. The reputation of the United States west coast pink shrimp fishery as one of the cleanest shrimp fisheries in the world is largely attributed to the effectiveness of BRDs at reducing groundfish bycatch. Nevertheless, BRD research and development is still a relatively new field and additional modifications and methods may further reduce bycatch rates in the pink shrimp fishery.(PDF contains 12 pages.)

Various types of canoe fishery in Ikot Abasi

Ikot Abasi, one of the six maritime local government areas in the Cross River State has a longstanding reputation as a fishing centre in Nigeria. Here various types of fishery are practiced. A description is given of 5 definitive areas, the criteria of which are either on the type of gear used, for example hook fishery or on the type of fish species landed e.g. Bonga. For a period of 12 months some detailed observations were registered on how they operate in 4 coastal fishing ports of Uta Ewa, Okoroeta, Iko and Kampa all on Atlantic coastline of Opobo

A Mechanical Model For The Quantification Of The Effect Of Laser Quenching On Ctod In Steels

The technology of laser quenching is widely used to improve the surface properties of steels in surface engineering. Generally, laser quenching of steels can lead to two important results. One is the generation of residual stress in the surface layer. In general, the residual stress varies from the surface to the interior along the quenched track depth direction, and the residual stress variation is termed as residual stress gradient effect in this work. The other is the change of mechanical properties of the surface layer, such as the increases of the micro-hardness, resulting from the changes of the microstructure of the surface layer. In this work, a mechanical model of a laser-quenched specimen with a crack in the middle of the quenched layer is developed to quantify the effect of residual stress gradient and the average micro-hardness over the crack length on crack tip opening displacement (CTOD). It is assumed that the crack in the middle of the quenched layer is created after laser quenching, and the crack can be a pre-crack or a defect due to some reasons, such as a void, cavity or a micro-crack. Based on the elastic-plastic fracture mechanics theory and using the relationship between the micro-hardness and yield strength, a concise analytical solution, which can be used to quantify the effect of residual stress gradient and the average micro-hardness over the crack length resulting from laser quenching on CTOD, is obtained. The concise analytical solution obtained in this work, cannot only be used as a means to predict the crack driving force in terms of the CTOD, but also serve as a baseline for further experimental investigation of the effect after laser-quenching treatment on fracture toughness in terms of the critical CTOD of a specimen, accounting for the laser-quenching effect. A numerical example presented in this work shows that the CTOD of the quenched can be significantly decreased in comparison with that of the unquenched. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Equilibrium in dynamic economic models

The main theme running through these three chapters is that economic agents are often forced to respond to events that are not a direct result of their actions or other agents actions. The optimal response to these shocks will necessarily depend on agents' understanding of how these shocks arise. The economic environment in the first two chapters is analogous to the classic chain store game. In this setting, the addition of unintended trembles by the agents creates an environment better suited to reputation building. The third chapter considers the competitive equilibrium price dynamics in an overlapping generations environment when there are supply and demand shocks.

The first chapter is a game theoretic investigation of a reputation building game. A sequential equilibrium model, called the "error prone agents" model, is developed. In this model, agents believe that all actions are potentially subjected to an error process. Inclusion of this belief into the equilibrium calculation provides for a richer class of reputation building possibilities than when perfect implementation is assumed.

In the second chapter, maximum likelihood estimation is employed to test the consistency of this new model and other models with data from experiments run by other researchers that served as the basis for prominent papers in this field. The alternate models considered are essentially modifications to the standard sequential equilibrium. While some models perform quite well in that the nature of the modification seems to explain deviations from the sequential equilibrium quite well, the degree to which these modifications must be applied shows no consistency across different experimental designs.

The third chapter is a study of price dynamics in an overlapping generations model. It establishes the existence of a unique perfect-foresight competitive equilibrium price path in a pure exchange economy with a finite time horizon when there are arbitrarily many shocks to supply or demand. One main reason for the interest in this equilibrium is that overlapping generations environments are very fruitful for the study of price dynamics, especially in experimental settings. The perfect foresight assumption is an important place to start when examining these environments because it will produce the ex post socially efficient allocation of goods. This characteristic makes this a natural baseline to which other models of price dynamics could be compared.

Developing and characterizing bulk metallic glasses for extreme applications

Metallic glasses have typically been treated as a “one size fits all” type of material. Every alloy is considered to have high strength, high hardness, large elastic limits, corrosion resistance, etc. However, similar to traditional crystalline materials, properties are strongly dependent upon the constituent elements, how it was processed, and the conditions under which it will be used. An important distinction which can be made is between metallic glasses and their composites. Charpy impact toughness measurements are performed to determine the effect processing and microstructure have on bulk metallic glass matrix composites (BMGMCs). Samples are suction cast, machined from commercial plates, and semi-solidly forged (SSF). The SSF specimens have been found to have the highest impact toughness due to the coarsening of the dendrites, which occurs during the semi-solid processing stages. Ductile to brittle transition (DTBT) temperatures are measured for a BMGMC. While at room temperature the BMGMC is highly toughened compared to a fully glassy alloy, it undergoes a DTBT by 250 K. At this point, its impact toughness mirrors that of the constituent glassy matrix. In the following chapter, BMGMCs are shown to have the capability of being capacitively welded to form single, monolithic structures. Shear measurements are performed across welded samples, and, at sufficient weld energies, are found to retain the strength of the parent alloy. Cross-sections are inspected via SEM and no visible crystallization of the matrix occurs.

Next, metallic glasses and BMGMCs are formed into sheets and eggbox structures are tested in hypervelocity impacts. Metallic glasses are ideal candidates for protection against micrometeorite orbital debris due to their high hardness and relatively low density. A flat single layer, flat BMG is compared to a BMGMC eggbox and the latter creates a more diffuse projectile cloud after penetration. A three tiered eggbox structure is also tested by firing a 3.17 mm aluminum sphere at 2.7 km/s at it. The projectile penetrates the first two layers, but is successfully contained by the third.

A large series of metallic glass alloys are created and their wear loss is measured in a pin on disk test. Wear is found to vary dramatically among different metallic glasses, with some considerably outperforming the current state-of-the-art crystalline material (most notably Cu₄₃Zr₄₃Al₇Be₇). Others, on the other hand, suffered extensive wear loss. Commercially available Vitreloy 1 lost nearly three times as much mass in wear as alloy prepared in a laboratory setting. No conclusive correlations can be found between any set of mechanical properties (hardness, density, elastic, bulk, or shear modulus, Poisson’s ratio, frictional force, and run in time) and wear loss. Heat treatments are performed on Vitreloy 1 and Cu₄₃Zr₄₃Al₇Be₇. Anneals near the glass transition temperature are found to increase hardness slightly, but decrease wear loss significantly. Crystallization of both alloys leads to dramatic increases in wear resistance. Finally, wear tests under vacuum are performed on the two alloys above. Vitreloy 1 experiences a dramatic decrease in wear loss, while Cu₄₃Zr₄₃Al₇Be₇ has a moderate increase. Meanwhile, gears are fabricated through three techniques: electrical discharge machining of 1 cm by 3 mm cylinders, semisolid forging, and copper mold suction casting. Initial testing finds the pin on disk test to be an accurate predictor of wear performance in gears.

The final chapter explores an exciting technique in the field of additive manufacturing. Laser engineered net shaping (LENS) is a method whereby small amounts of metallic powders are melted by a laser such that shapes and designs can be built layer by layer into a final part. The technique is extended to mixing different powders during melting, so that compositional gradients can be created across a manufactured part. Two compositional gradients are fabricated and characterized. Ti 6Al¬ 4V to pure vanadium was chosen for its combination of high strength and light weight on one end, and high melting point on the other. It was inspected by cross-sectional x-ray diffraction, and only the anticipated phases were present. 304L stainless steel to Invar 36 was created in both pillar and as a radial gradient. It combines strength and weldability along with a zero coefficient of thermal expansion material. Only the austenite phase is found to be present via x-ray diffraction. Coefficient of thermal expansion is measured for four compositions, and it is found to be tunable depending on composition.

Análisis de la influencia de la orientación de las fibras metálicas en la resistencia de la matriz de hormigón de acuerdo al Ensayo Barcelona

[ES]El objetivo de este trabajo de fin de grado es analizar la influencia que tiene la cuantía y orientación de fibras metálicas presentes en el interior de probetas de hormigón autocompactante y cuyo objetivo es reforzar y aumentar la resistencia a tracción de este material. Se expondrán las propiedades que combina el HACRFA gracias a la autocompactación del hormigón y la inclusión de fibras en su interior y los beneficios que este nuevo material aporta. Por otro lado, se tratara de situar este estudio en un contexto, analizando a la vez cuál es el alcance y los objetivos más importantes que se han tenido en cuenta. A continuación, y a modo de complementación de su contexto, este trabajo tiene un estado del arte, en el que se mencionarán métodos y ensayos necesarios para llegar a un resultado que permita predecir cuál será la resistencia del material, y por tanto su tenacidad o capacidad de absorber energía, sin necesidad de emplear más que un método fácil y rápido, obviando el resto de ensayos destructivos utilizados en este trabajo. Para tal fin, se establece una metodología que, gracias a ensayos de laboratorio, permita establecer una relación entre el método sencillo que se ha mencionado, el método inductivo, y un resultado teórico de la tenacidad que presenta el HACRFA. Se observará cómo la desviación entre los ensayos experimentales y los resultados teóricos obtenidos es prácticamente nula, despreciando situaciones en las que se presenten comportamientos muy diferentes debido a fallos durante los ensayos.

Applying systematic design: the flight refuelling probe project

This report is a product of close industry-academia collaboration between British Aerospace and the Cambridge Engineering Design Centre (EDC). British Aerospace designs and integrates some of the most complex systems in the world, and its expertise in this field has enabled the company to become the United Kingdom's largest exporter. However, to stay at the forefront of the highly competitive aerospace industry it is necessary to seek new ways to work more effectively and more efficiently. The Cambridge EDC has played a part in supporting these needs by providing access to the methods and tools that it has developed for improving the process of designing mechanical systems. The EDC has gained an international reputation for the quality of its work in this subject. Thus, the collaboration is between two organisations each of whom are leaders in their respective fields. The central aim of the project has been to demonstrate how a systematic design process can be applied to a real design task identified by industry. The task selected was the design of a flight refuelling probe which would enable a combat aircraft to refuel from a "flying tanker". However, the systematic approach, methods and tools described in this report are applicable to most engineering design tasks. The findings presented in this report provide a sound basis for comparing the recommended systematic design process with industrial practice. The results of this comparison would enable the company to define ways in which its existing design process can be improved. This research project has a high degree of industrial relevance. The value of the work may be judged in terms of the opportunities it opens up for positive changes to the company's engineering operations. Several members of the EDC have contributed to the project. These include Dr Lucienne Blessing, Dr Stuart Burgess, Dr Amaresh Chakrabarti, Major Mark Nowack, Aylmer Johnson and Dr Paul Weaver. At British Aerospace special thanks must go to Alan Dean and David Halliday for their interest and the support they have given. The project has been managed by Dr Nigel Upton of British Aerospace during a 3 year secondment to the EDC.

Modifying Bulk Metallic Glasses: Composites and Configurational States

Bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) maybe be considered to share some of the same inherent trade-offs as engineering ceramics. While BMGs typically exhibit high yield strengths, and while some have surprising fracture toughness, they exhibiting little to no tensile ductility, and fail in a brittle manner under uniaxial loading. Speaking broadly, there are two complimentary approaches to improving on these shortcomings: 1) create bulk metallic glass matrix composites (BMGMCs) and 2) improve the properties of a monolithic BMG. The structure of this thesis mirrors this division, with chapters 2-7 focusing on creating and processing amorphous metal matrix composites, and chapter 8 focusing on modifying the properties of a monolithic BGM by altering its configurational state through irradiation.

Preparação de nanopartículas funcionalizadas do tipo casca-núcleo à base de poliestireno e poli(acrilato de butila) para processamento baroplástico

Copolímeros casca-núcleo de poli(acrilato de butila) (núcleo) e poliestireno (casca) foram sintetizados por meio de polimerização em emulsão, conduzida em duas etapas. A adição de ácido itacônico como monômero funcional na polimerização do núcleo foi realizada para verificar seu efeito sobre suas propriedades mecânicas e de processamento. Os copolímeros foram caracterizados por espalhamento dinâmico de luz (DLS), microscopia eletrônica de transmissão (MET), cromatografia de exclusão por tamanho (SEC), espectrometria na região do infravermelho (FTIR) e calorimetria diferencial por varredura (DSC). A incorporação do monômero funcional foi confirmada por DSC e quantificada por titulação. A proporção de poli(acrilato de butila) e poliestireno influenciou diretamente o processamento e as propriedades mecânicas do polímero. Os copolímeros com teores de poliestireno acima de 50% foram processados por compressão e extrusão a temperatura ambiente, apresentando comportamento baroplástico. A presença do monômero funcional não alterou o processamento do polímero e melhorou significativamente sua resistência à tração, aumentando sua tenacidade

Identidad, imagen y reputación de la empresa: integración de propuestas teóricas para una gestión exitosa

[ES] El nuevo paradigma propuesto por el marketing corporativo identifica la gestión de la identidad, imagen y reputación de la empresa como elementos esenciales para la supervivencia y el éxito empresarial. Consecuentemente, la comprensión clara de estos tres conceptos es el primer requisito básico para las empresas interesadas en gestionar sus negocios en línea con las tendencias de marketing más actuales. No obstante, la proliferación de enfoques académicos en el estudio de la identidad, imagen y reputación dificulta la creación de un conocimiento integral en este particular. En el presente trabajo se propone una revisión teórica, integrando diversas perspectivas académicas, para comprender mejor los conceptos y las dimensiones de la identidad, imagen y reputación de la empresa. Dicha revisión de literatura facilita la mejor comprensión y gestión de estas tres vertientes del marketing corporativo tanto en el ámbito académico como profesional.

Orígenes, elementos determinantes y resultados de un exitoso proceso de colaboración entre competidores y otros agentes: el cluster de la Alta Cocina Vasca

[ES] El País Vasco es internacionalmente reconocido por su gastronomía y sus grandes cocineros; de hecho, es el territorio del mundo con más estrellas Michelin por kilómetro cuadrado. Esta notoriedad e imagen repercuten muy positivamente en todo el sector gastronómico y en la imagen y proyección turística del País Vasco y se ha logrado gracias a la labor sostenida de un grupo inicial de cocineros, a los que siguieron otros, que realizan importantes esfuerzos de colaboración, sin dejar de competir entre ellos (tratándose de un claro ejemplo de coopetition). El análisis de la relación entre estos grandes cocineros vascos y su entorno, permite identificar un cluster que actualmente se encuentra en fase de madurez con un futuro esperanzador y que ha arrojado importantes beneficios al sector, a cada uno de sus integrantes y a la región en su conjunto muy especialmente en términos de innovación, notoriedad y reputación. Para la realización de este trabajo se ha utilizado, además de la revisión bibliográfica y documental pertinente, una metodología cualitativa, consistente en la realización de entrevistas en profundidad a los siete cocineros fundadores y patronos del Basque Culinary Center (primera Facultad Universitaria de Estudios Gastronómicos de Europa, dependiente de la Universidad de Mondragón). El trabajo es uno de los frutos extraídos de un contrato de colaboración entre el Instituto de Economía Aplicada a la empresa de la UPV/EHU e Innobasque (Agencia Vasca para la Innovación), en el que esta última fijó tanto los objetivos de la investigación como la metodología a utilizar.