Decoding the green supply chain: Education as the key to economic growth and sustainability.

The value of environmental safeguarding is rising in both private and public spheres. What is meant by the term "green supply chain management" (GSCM)? It is minimizing the negative effects of a company's operations on the natural world. Particularly in the research and academic disciplines of the expanding economy of the China region, the concept of the intersection of green supply chain management and sustainable development is dissected at a foundational level. However, there has been little attention paid to how GSCM, GHC, environmental performance, and economic performance all relate to one another. This study fills that void in the literature by giving hard data to encourage businesses in the China area to adopt GHC (green human capital) and SCM (sustainable supply chain management) in order to significantly improve their environmental and economic outcomes. To better understand the interplay between these ideas, we constructed a conceptual framework. The information was gathered using a survey consisting of questionnaires. Manufacturing companies from ten (10) different areas in China provided the 470 responses. The information was analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). Research shows that green human capital and green supply chain management have a beneficial influence on economic performance but no discernible effect on environmental outcomes. The results also demonstrate that green supply chain management is an effective act as a mediator between environmental performance and economic performance, with a beneficial effect on both. An initial conclusion may be made that bettering the green human capital stock was more important for China's green economy's growth than bettering the human capital structure. Research like this helps fill out the picture of the green economy and informs policy decisions at the national level.

Oxytocin increases perceived competence and social-emotional engagement with brands.

Humans express loyalty to consumer brands much like they do in human relationships. The neuroactive chemical oxytocin is an important biological substrate of human attachment and this study tested whether consumer-brand relationships can be influenced by oxytocin administration. We present a mathematical model of brand attachment that generates empirically-testable hypotheses. The model is tested by administering synthetic oxytocin or placebo to male and female participants (N = 77) who received information about brands and had an opportunity to purchase branded products. We focused on two brand personality dimensions: warmth and competence. Oxytocin increased perceptions of brand competence but not brand warmth relative to placebo. We also found that participants were willing to pay more for branded products through its effect on brand competence. When writing about one's favorite brands, oxytocin enhanced the use of positive emotional language as well as words related to family and friends. These findings provide preliminary evidence that consumers build relationships with brands using the biological mechanisms that evolved to form human attachments.

Predicting Dishonesty When the Stakes Are High: Physiologic Responses During Face-to-Face Interactions Identifies Who Reneges on Promises to Cooperate.

Trust is risky. The mere perception of strategically deceptive behavior that disguises intent or conveys unreliable information can inhibit cooperation. As gregariously social creatures, human beings would have evolved physiologic mechanisms to identify likely defectors in cooperative tasks, though these mechanisms may not cross into conscious awareness. We examined trust and trustworthiness in an ecological valid manner by (i) studying working-age adults, (ii) who make decisions with meaningful stakes, and (iii) permitting participants to discuss their intentions face-to-face prior to making private decisions. In order to identify why people fulfill or renege on their commitments, we measured neurophysiologic responses in blood and with electrodermal activity while participants interacted. Participants (mean age 32) made decisions in a trust game in which they could earn up to $530. Nearly all interactions produced promises to cooperate, although first decision-makers in the trust game reneged on 30.7% of their promises while second decision-makers reneged on 28%. First decision-makers who reneged on a promise had elevated physiologic stress using two measures (the change in adrenocorticotropin hormone and the change in skin conductance levels) during pre-decision communication compared to those who fulfilled their promises and had increased negative affect after their decisions. Neurophysiologic reactivity predicted who would cooperate or defect with 86% accuracy. While self-serving behavior is not rare, those who exhibit it are stressed and unhappy.

45.5-tesla direct-current magnetic field generated with a high-temperature superconducting magnet.

Strong magnetic fields are required in many fields, such as medicine (magnetic resonance imaging), pharmacy (nuclear magnetic resonance), particle accelerators (such as the Large Hadron Collider) and fusion devices (for example, the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, ITER), as well as for other diverse scientific and industrial uses. For almost two decades, 45 tesla has been the highest achievable direct-current (d.c.) magnetic field; however, such a field requires the use of a 31-megawatt, 33.6-tesla resistive magnet inside 11.4-tesla low-temperature superconductor coils1, and such high-power resistive magnets are available in only a few facilities worldwide2. By contrast, superconducting magnets are widespread owing to their low power requirements. Here we report a high-temperature superconductor coil that generates a magnetic field of 14.4 tesla inside a 31.1-tesla resistive background magnet to obtain a d.c. magnetic field of 45.5 tesla-the highest field achieved so far, to our knowledge. The magnet uses a conductor tape coated with REBCO (REBa2Cu3Ox, where RE = Y, Gd) on a 30-micrometre-thick substrate3, making the coil highly compact and capable of operating at the very high winding current density of 1,260 amperes per square millimetre. Operation at such a current density is possible only because the magnet is wound without insulation4, which allows rapid and safe quenching from the superconducting to the normal state5-10. The 45.5-tesla test magnet validates predictions11 for high-field copper oxide superconductor magnets by achieving a field twice as high as those generated by low-temperature superconducting magnets.

Enhanced electronic correlation and thermoelectric response by Cu-doping in Ca3Co4O9 single crystals.

The structure, anisotropic magnetic, electrical and thermal transport properties for single crystals of Ca(3)Co(4-x)Cu(x)O(9) (x = 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8) have been investigated systematically. The Cu-doping with x = 0.2 at Co-site is sufficient to drive the low-temperature spin-glass state in the Ca(3)Co(4)O(9) system. The value of resistivity along ab-plane decreases monotonously with increasing x in the whole temperature range studied, and around room temperature, the in-plane resistivity of Ca(3)Co(3.2)Cu(0.8)O(9) is about 71% smaller than that of the undoped sample. The temperature region where the Fermi-liquid transport mechanism dominates becomes remarkably narrowed due to the Cu-doping while the electronic correlation in the system is enhanced. With further addition of Cu in the Ca(3)Co(4)O(9) system, the in-plane thermopower (S(ab)) increases slowly and the room-temperature S(ab) for Ca(3)Co(3.2)Cu(0.8)O(9) is about 17% larger than that of the undoped sample. As a result, the power factor along the ab-plane is enhanced by about 3.8 times compared to the undoped sample. The results are suggested to originate from the variations of carrier concentration and electronic correlation in this system via the different Cu-doping states: Cu(3+)/Cu(2+) (Cu(3+) major) into the CoO(2) layer for x ≤ 0.4, while Cu(2+)/Cu(3+) (Cu(2+) major) into the Ca(2)CoO(3) layers for x > 0.4.