Individuals' Responsibility in Corporations

I discuss role responsibly, individual responsibility and collective responsibility in corporate multinational setting. My case study is about minerals used in electronics that come from the Democratic Republic of Congo. What I try to show throughout the thesis is how many things need to be taken into consideration when we discuss the responsibility of individuals in corporations. No easy and simple answers are available. Instead, we must keep in mind the complexity of the situation at all times, judging cases on individual basis, emphasizing the importance of individual judgement and virtue, as well as the responsibility we all share as members of groups and the wider society. I begin by discussing the demands that are placed on us as employees. There is always a potential for a conflict between our different roles and also the wider demands placed on us. Role demands are usually much more specific than the wider question of how we should act as human beings. The terminology of roles can also be misleading as it can create illusions about our work selves being somehow radically separated from our everyday, true selves. The nature of collective decision-making and its implications for responsibility is important too. When discussing the moral responsibility of an employee in a corporate setting, one must take into account arguments from individual and collective responsibility, as well as role ethics. Individual responsibility is not a separate or competing notion from that of collective responsibility. Rather, the two are interlinked. Individuals' responsibilities in collective settings combine both individual responsibility and collective responsibility (which is different from aggregate individual responsibility). In the majority of cases, both will apply in various degrees. Some members might have individual responsibility in addition to the collective responsibility, while others just the collective responsibility. There are also times when no-one bears individual moral responsibility but the members are still responsible for the collective part. My intuition is that collective moral responsibility is strongly linked to the way the collective setting affects individual judgements and moulds the decisions, and how the individuals use the collective setting to further their own ends. Individuals remain the moral agents but responsibility is collective if the actions in question are collective in character. I also explore the impacts of bureaucratic ethic and its influence on the individual. Bureaucracies can compartmentalize work to such a degree that individual human action is reduced to mere behaviour. Responsibility is diffused and the people working in the bureaucracy can come to view their actions to be outside the normal human realm where they would be responsible for what they do. Language games and rules, anonymity, internal power struggles, and the fragmentation of information are just some of the reasons responsibility and morality can get blurry in big institutional settings. Throughout the thesis I defend the following theses: ● People act differently depending on their roles. This is necessary for our society to function, but the more specific role demands should always be kept in check by the wider requirements of being a good human being. ● Acts in corporations (and other large collectives) are not reducible to individual actions, and cannot be explained fully by the behaviour of individual employees. ● Individuals are responsible for the actions that they undertake in the collective as role occupiers and are very rarely off the hook. Hiding behind role demands is usually only an excuse and shows a lack of virtue. ● Individuals in roles can be responsible even when the collective is not. This depends on if the act they performed was corporate in nature or not. ● Bureaucratic structure affects individual thinking and is not always a healthy environment to work in. ● Individual members can share responsibility with the collective and our share of the collective responsibility is strongly linked to our relations. ● Corporations and other collectives can be responsible for harm even when no individual is at fault. The structure and the policies of the collective are crucial. ● Socialization plays an important role in our morality at both work and outside it. We are all responsible for the kind of moral context we create. ● When accepting a role or a position in a collective, we are attaching ourselves with the values of that collective. ● Ethical theories should put more emphasis on good judgement and decision-making instead of vague generalisations. My conclusion is that the individual person is always in the centre when it comes to responsibility, and not so easily off the hook as we sometimes think. What we do, and especially who we choose to associate ourselves with, does matter and we should be more careful when we choose who we work for. Individuals within corporations are responsible for choosing that the corporation they associate with is one that they can ascribe to morally, if not fully, then at least for the most part. Individuals are also inclusively responsible to a varying degree for the collective activities they contribute to, even in overdetermined contexts. We all are responsible for the kind of corporations we choose to support through our actions as consumers, investors and citizens.

Phase Relations in the System CaO-Fe2O3-Y2O3 at 1273 K and Compatibility Between Y1-xCaxFeO3-0.5x and Stabilized Zirconia

Phase relations in the system CaO-Fe2O3-Y2O3 in air (P-O2/P-o = 0.21) were explored by equilibrating samples representing eleven compositions in the ternary at 1273 K, followed by quenching to room temperature and phase identification using XRD. Limited mutual solubility was observed between YFeO3 and Ca2Fe2O5. No quaternary oxide was identified. An isothermal section of the phase diagram at 1273 K was constructed from the results. Five three-phase regions and four extended two-phase regions were observed. The extended two-phase regions arise from the limited solid solutions based on the ternary oxides YFeO3 and Ca2Fe2O5. Activities of CaO, Fe2O3 and Y2O3 in the three-phase fields were computed using recently measured thermodynamic data on the ternary oxides. The experimental phase diagram is consistent with thermodynamic data. The computed activities of CaO indicate that compositions of CaO-doped YFeO3 exhibiting good electrical conductivity are not compatible with zirconia-based electrolytes; CaO will react with ZrO2 to form CaZrO3.

Water Management in Cambodia Resources and Relations

In Cambodia, water has a special purpose as a source of life and livelihoods. Along with agriculture, fishing and forest use, industry, hydropower, navigation and tourism compete for the water resources. When rights and responsibilities related to essential and movable water are unclear, conflicts emerge easily. Therefore, water management is needed in order to plan and control the use of water resources. The international context is characterized by the Mekong River that flows through six countries. All of the countries by the river have very different roles and interests already depending on their geographical location. At the same time, water is also a tool for cooperation and peace. Locally, the water resources and related livelihoods create base for well-being, for economical and human resources in particular. They in turn are essential for the local people to participate and defend their rights to water use. They also help to construct the resource base of the state administration. Cambodia is highly dependent on the Mekong River. However, Cambodia has a volatile history whose effects can be seen for example in population structure, once suspended public institutions and weakened trust in the society. Relatively stable conditions came to the country as late as in the 1990s, therefore Cambodia for example has a weak status within the Mekong countries. This Master s thesis forms international, national and local interest groups of water use and analyzes their power relations and resources to affect water management. The state is seen as the salient actor as it has the formal responsibility of the water resources and of the coordination between the actions of different levels. In terms of water use this study focuses on production, in management on planning and in power relations on the resources. Water resources of Cambodia are seen consisting of the Mekong River and Tonle Sap Lake and the time span of the study is between the years 1991 and 2006. The material consists of semi-structured interviews collected during summer 2006 in Finland and in Cambodia as well as of literature and earlier studies. The results of the study show that the central state has difficulties to coordinate the actions of different actors because of its resource deficit and internal conflicts. The lessons of history and the vested interests of the actors of the state make it difficult to plan and to strengthen legislation. It seems that the most needed resources at the central state level are intangible as at the village level instead, the tangible resources (fulfilling the basic needs) are primarily important. The local decision-making bodies, NGOs and private sector mainly require legislation and legitimacy to support their role. However, the civil society and the international supporters are active and there are possibilities for new cooperation networks. Keywords: Water management, resources, participation, Cambodia, Mekong

Phase relations and thermodynamic properties of condensed phases in the system calcium-copper-oxygen

The isothermal sections of the phase diagram for the system Ca-Cu-0 at 1073 and 1223 K have been determined. Several compositions in the ternary system were quenched after equilibration, and the phases present were identified by optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and electron probe microanalysis. Two ternary compounds Ca2CuO3 and Cao.8&uO1.9s were identified at 1073 K. However, only Ca2CuO3 was found to be stable at 1223 K. The thermodynamic properties of the two ternary compounds were determined using solid-state cells incorporating either an oxide or a fluoride solid electrolyte. The results for both types of cells were internally consistent. The compound C ~ O . ~ & U Ow~h.i~ch~ c, a n also be represented as Ca15Cu18035h, as been identified in an earlier investigation as Cao.828CuOz. Using a novel variation of the galvanic cell technique, in which the emf of a cell incorporating a fluoride electrolyte is measured as a function of the oxygen potential of the gas phase in equilibrium with the condensed phase electrodes, it has been confirmed that the compound Cao.828CuO1.93 (Ca15Cu18035d) oes not have significant oxygen nonstoichiometry. Phase relations have been deduced from the thermodynamic data as a function of the partial pressure of oxygen for the system Ca-Cu-0 at 873, 1073, and 1223 K.

Phase Relations in the System Cu-Gd-O and Gibbs Energy of Formation of CuGd204

The phase relations in the system Cu-Gd-O have been determined at 1273 K by X-ray diffrac- tion, optical microscopy, and electron microprobe analysis of samples equilibrated in quartz ampules and in pure oxygen. Only one ternary compound, CuGd2O4, was found to be stable. The Gibbs free energy of formation of this compound has been measured using the solid-state cell Pt, Cu2O + CuGd2O4 + Gd2O3 // (Y2O3) ZrO2 // CuO + Cu2O, Pt in the temperature range of 900 to 1350 K. For the formation of CuGd2O4 from its binary component oxides, CuO (s) + Gd2O3 (s) → CuGd2O4 (s) ΔG° = 8230 - 11.2T (±50) J mol-1 Since the formation is endothermic, CuGd2O4 becomes thermodynamically unstable with respect to CuO and Gd2O3 below 735 K. When the oxygen partial pressure over CuGd2O4 is lowered, it decomposes according to the reaction 4CuGd2O4 (s) → 4Gd2O3 (s) + 2Cu2O (s) + O2 (g) for which the equilibrium oxygen potential is given by Δμo 2 = −227,970 + 143.2T (±500) J mol−1 An oxygen potential diagram for the system Cu-Gd-O at 1273 K is presented.

Phase relations in the systems Cu–O–R2O3(R = Tm, Lu) and Gibbs energies of formation of Cu2R2O5 compounds

The phase relations in the systems Cu–O–R2O3(R = Tm, Lu) have been determined at 1273 K by X-ray diffraction, optical microscopy and electron probe microanalysis of samples equilibrated in evacuated quartz ampules and in pure oxygen. Only ternary compounds of the type Cu2R2O5 were found to be stable. The standard Gibbs energies of formation of the compounds have been measured using solid-state galvanic cells of the type, Pt|Cu2O + Cu2R2O5+ R2O3‖(Y2O3)ZrO2‖CuO + Cu2O‖Pt in the temperature range 950–1325 K. The standard Gibbs energy changes associated with the formation of Cu2R2O5 compounds from their binary component oxides are: 2CuO(s)+ Tm2O3(s)→Cu2Tm2O5(s), ΔG°=(10400 – 14.0 T/K)± 100 J mol–1, 2CuO(s)+ Lu2O3(s)→Cu2Lu2O5(s), ΔG°=(10210 – 14.4 T/K)± 100 J mol–1 Since the formation is endothermic, the compounds become thermodynamically unstable with respect to component oxides at low temperatures, Cu2Tm2O5 below 743 K and Cu2Lu2O5 below 709 K. When the chemical potential of oxygen over the Cu2R2O5 compounds is lowered, they decompose according to the reaction, 2Cu2R2O5(s)→2R2O3(s)+ 2Cu2O(s)+ O2(g) The equilibrium oxygen potential corresponding to this reaction is obtained from the emf. Oxygen potential diagrams for the Cu–O–R2O3 systems at 1273 K are presented.

Young Actors in Transnational Agoras : Multi-sited Ethnography of Cosmopolitan Micropolitical Orientations

This study examines young people s political participation in transnational meetings. Methodologically the study aims to shed light on multi-sited global ethnography. Young people are viewed here as a social age group sensitive to critical, alternative and even radical political participation. The diversity of the young actors and their actions is captured by using several different methods. What is more, the study spurs us coming from the Global North to develop social science research towards methodological cosmopolitanism and to consider our research practices from a moral cosmopolitan perspective. The research sites are the EU Presidency Youth Event (2006 Hyvinkää, Finland), the Global Young Greens Founding Conference (2007 Nairobi, Kenya), the European Social Forum (2008 Malmö, Sweden) and three World Social Forums (2006 Bamako, Mali; 2007 Nairobi Kenya and 2009 Belém, Brazil). The data consists of participant observation, documents and media articles of the meetings, interviews, photos, video, and internet data. This multidisciplinary study combines youth research, development studies, performative social science and political sociology. In this research the diverse field of youth political participation in transnational agoras is studied by using a cross-table of cosmopolitan resources (or the lack of them) and everydaymakers expert citizen dichotomy. First, the young participants of the EU Presidency youth event are studied as an example of expert citizens with cosmopolitan resources (these resources include, for example, language skills, higher education and international social network). Second, the study analyses those everyday-makers who use performative politics to demonstrate their political missions here and now. But in order to make the social movement global they need cosmopolitan resources to be able to use the social media tools and work globally. Third, the study reflects upon the difficulties of reaching those actors who lack cosmopolitan resources, either everyday-makers or expert citizens. The go-along method and the use of the interpreters are shown as ways to reach these young people s political missions. Fourth, the research underlines the importance of contact zones (i.e. spaces or situations where the aforementioned orientations and their differences temporarily disappear or weaken) for deeper democracy and for boosted dialogue between different kinds of participants. Keywords: political participation, young people, multi-sited ethnography, youth research, political sociology, development studies, performative social science

Phase relations and gibbs energies in the system Mn-Rh-O

Phase relations in the system Mn-Rh-O are established at 1273 K by equilibrating different compositions either in evacuated quartz ampules or in pure oxygen at a pressure of 1.01 x 10(5) Pa. The quenched samples are examined by optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX). The alloys and intermetallics in the binary Mn-Rh system are found to be in equilibrium with MnO. There is only one ternary compound, MnRh2O4, with normal spinel structure in the system. The compound Mn3O4 has a tetragonal structure at 1273 K. A solid solution is formed between MnRh2O4 and Mn3O4. The solid solution has the cubic structure over a large range of composition and coexists with metallic rhodium. The partial pressure of oxygen corresponding to this two-phase equilibrium is measured as a function of the composition of the spinel solid solution and temperature. A new solid-state cell, with three separate electrode compartments, is designed to measure accurately the chemical potential of oxygen in the two-phase mixture, Rh + Mn3-2xRh2xO4, which has 1 degree of freedom at constant temperature. From the electromotive force (emf), thermodynamic mixing properties of the Mn3O4-MnRh2O4 solid solution and Gibbs energy of formation of MnRh2O4 are deduced. The activities exhibit negative deviations from Raoult's law for most of the composition range, except near Mn3O4, where a two-phase region exists. In the cubic phase, the entropy of mixing of the two Rh3+ and Mn3+ ions on the octahedral site of the spinel is ideal, and the enthalpy of mixing is positive and symmetric with respect to composition. For the formation of the spinel (sp) from component oxides with rock salt (rs) and orthorhombic (orth) structures according to the reaction, MnO (rs) + Rh2O3 (orth) --> MnRh2O4 (sp), DELTAG-degrees = -49,680 + 1.56T (+/-500) J mol-1. The oxygen potentials corresponding to MnO + Mn3O4 and Rh + Rh2O3 equilibria are also obtained from potentiometric measurements on galvanic cells incorporating yttria-stabilized zirconia as the solid electrolyte. From these results, an oxygen potential diagram for the ternary system is developed.

Phase-relations in the system CAO-SIO2-ZRO2 AT 1573-K

Zirconia-based solid electrolytes with zircon (ZrSiO4) as the auxiliary electrode have been suggested of sensing silicon concentrations in iron and steel melts. A knowledge of phase relations in the ternary system MO-SiO2-ZrO2 (M = Ca, Mg) is useful for selecting an appropriate auxiliary electrode. In this investigation, an isothermal section for the phase diagram of the system CaO-SiO2ZrO2 at 1573 K has been established by equilibrating mixtures of component oxides in air, followed by quenching and phase identification by optical miroscopy, energy disperse analysis of X-rays (EDAX) and X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD). The equilibrium phase relations have also been confirmed by computation using the available thermodynamic data on condensed phases in the system. The results indicate that zircon is not in thermodynamic equilibrium with calcia-stabilized zirconia or calcium zirconate. The silica containing phase in equilibrium with stabilized zirconia is Ca3ZrSi2O9. Calcium zirconate can coexist with Ca3ZrSi2O9 and Ca2SiO4.

Phase relations in the system Cu─Ho─O and stability of Cu2Ho2O5

The phase relations in the system Cu-Ho-O have been determined at 1300 K using X-ray diffraction, optical microscopy, and electron microprobe analysis of samples equilibrated in evacuated quartz ampules and in pure oxygen. Only one ternary compound, Cu2Ho2O5, was found to be stable. The Gibbs free energy of formation of this compound has been measured using the solid-state cell Pt,Cu2O + Cu2Ho2O5 + Ho2O3/(Y2O3)ZrO2/CuO + Cu2O,Pt in the temperature range of 973 to 1350 K. For the formation of Cu2Ho2O5 from its binary component oxides, 2CuO(s) + Ho2O3(S) --> Cu2Ho2O5(s) DELTAG-degrees = 11190 - 13.8T(+/- 120) J-mol-1 Since the formation is endothermic, CU2Ho2O5 becomes thermodynamically unstable with respect to CuO and Ho2O3 below 810 K. When the oxygen partial pressure over Cu2Ho2O5 is lowered, it decomposes according to the reaction 2Cu2Ho2O5(s) --> 2Ho2O3(s) + 2Cu2O(S) + O2(g) for which the equilibrium oxygen potential is given by DELTAmu(O2) = - 238510 + 160.2T(+/- 450) J.mol-1 The decomposition temperature at an oxygen partial pressure of 1.52 x 10(4) Pa was measured using a combined DTA-TGA apparatus. Based on these results, an oxygen potential diagram for the system Cu-Ho-O at 1300 K is presented.

Stress-state-permeability relations for overconsolidated clays

Analysis of experimental data of soils in both the normally consolidated and overconsolidated states reveal that the proposed relationships are tenable. Preconsolidation stress level influences the level of permeability.

Phase Relations in the System La-Rh-O and Thermodynamic Properties of LaRhO3

Phase relations in the system La-Rh-O at 1223 Ii have been determined by examination of equilibrated samples by optical and scanning electron microscopy, powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), and energy-dispersive analysis of X-rays (EDAX). Only one ternary oxide, LaRhO3, with distorted orthorhombic perovskite structure (Pbnm, a = 0.5525, b = 0.5680, and c = 0.7901 nm) was identified. The alloys and intermetallics along the La-Rh binary are in equilibrium with La2O3. The thermodynamic properties of LaRhO3 were determined in the temperature range 890 to 1310 K, using a solid-state cell incorporating yttria-stabilized zirconia as the electrolyte. A new four-compartment design of the emf cell was used to enhance the accuracy of measurement. For the reaction 1/2La(2)O(3) + 1/2Rh(2)O(3) --> LaRhO3, Delta G degrees = - 70 780 + 4.89T (+/- 90) J.mol(-1) The compound decomposes on heating to a mixture of La2O3, Ph and O-2. The calculated decomposition temperatures are 1843 (+/- 5) K in pure O-2 and 1728 (+/- 5) K in air at a pressure of 1.01 x 10(5) Pa. The phase diagrams for the system La-Rh-O at different partial pressures of oxygen are calculated from the thermodynamic information.

Metastable phase relations and europium(II) luminescence of barium hexa-aluminates prepared by gel to crystallite conversion

Wet chemical reaction of hydrated alumina gels, Al2O3.yH(2)O(80relations in Ba-hexa-aluminates can be attributed to preparative route dependent metastability.

Geochemistry of water and ground water in the Nhecolandia, Pantanal of Mato Grosso, Brazil: Variability and associated processes

A distinctive feature of the Nhecolandia, a sub-region of the Pantanal wetland in Brazil, is the presence of both saline and freshwater lakes. Saline lakes used to be attributed to a past and phase during the Pleistocene. However, recent studies have shown that saline and fresh water lakes are linked by a continuous water table, indicating that saline water could come from a contemporary concentration process. This concentration process could also be responsible for the large chemical variability of the waters observed in the area. A regional water sampling has been conducted in surface and sub-surface water and the water table, and the results of the geochemical and statistical analysis are presented. Based on sodium contents, the concentration shows a 1: 4443 ratio. All the samples belong to the same chemical family and evolve in a sodic alkaline manner. Calcite or magnesian calcite precipitates very early in the process of concentration, probably followed by the precipitation of magnesian silicates. The most concentrated solutions remain under-saturated with respect to the sodium carbonate salt, even if this equilibrium is likely reached around the saline lakes. Apparently, significant amounts of sulfate and chloride are lost simultaneously from the solutions, and this cannot be explained solely by evaporative concentration. This could be attributed to the sorption on reduced minerals in a green sub-surface horizon in the "cordilhieira" areas. In the saline lakes, low potassium, phosphate, magnesium, and sulfate are attributed to algal blooms. Under the influence of evaporation, the concentration of solutions and associated chemical precipitations are identified as the main factors responsible for the geochemical variability in this environment (about 92 % of the variance). Therefore, the saline lakes of Nhecolandia have to be managed as landscape units in equilibrium with the present water flows and not inherited from a past and phase. In order to elaborate hydrochemical tracers for a quantitative estimation of water flows, three points have to be investigated more precisely: (1) the quantification of magnesium involved in the Mg-calcite precipitation; (2) the identification of the precise stoichiometry of the Mg-silicate; and (3) the verification of the loss of chloride and sulfate by sorption onto labile iron minerals.