Joanne L. Cook

It's Good to Talk? Examining Attitudes Towards Corporate Social Responsibility Dialogue and Engagement Processes

No abstract available.

Confronting the “corporate citizen”: Shaping the discourse of corporate social responsibility

Purpose – To demonstrate, through the application of Faircloughs critical discourse analysis framework, that the discourse surrounding corporate social responsibility (CSR) has broader implications.Design/methodology/approach – Argues that the evolution of CSR has become a two‐way process of interaction between business and civil society.Findings – As companies place increasing emphasis on their ability to act responsibly as “corporate citizens”, CSR provides new opportunities for social actors to assimilate these strategies; enabling them to scrutinise, question and oppose the business practices of global corporations and challenging them to prove that there is more to CSR than merely corporate rhetoric.Originality/value – Demonstrates that the discourse surrounding CSR has broader implications.

Preferential Solvation and Hydrogen Bonding in Mixed Solvents

The molecular-recognition events that underpin many processes in chemistry and biology are intimately linked to accompanying changes in solvation. The subtle interplay of the different factors that contribute to these changes in solvation gives rise to phenomena that are difficult to interpret at the molecular level. However, a detailed understanding of these effects is essential for the development of quantitative approaches to the analysis of noncovalent molecular interactions in solution. We recently introduced the 1:1 complex formed between tri-n-butylphosphine oxide (1) and perfluoro-tert-butanol (2 ; Scheme 1) as a

Influence of solvent polarity on preferential solvation of molecular recognition probes in solvent mixtures.

The association constants for formation of 1:1 complexes between a H-bond acceptor, tri-n-butylphosphine oxide, and a H-bond donor, 4-phenylazophenol, have been measured in a range of different solvent mixtures. Binary mixtures of n-octane and a more polar solvent (ether, ester, ketone, nitrile, sulfoxide, tertiary amide, and halogenated and aromatic solvents) have been investigated. Similar behavior was observed in all cases. When the concentration of the more polar solvent is low, the association constant is identical to that observed in pure n-octane. Once a threshold concentration of the more polar solvent in reached, the logarithm of the association constant decreases in direct proportion to the logarithm of the concentration of the more polar solvent. This indicates that one of the two solutes is preferentially solvated by the more polar solvent, and it is competition with this solvation equilibrium that determines the observed association constant. The concentration of the more polar solvent at which the onset of preferential solvation takes place depends on solvent polarity: 700 mM for toluene, 60 mM for 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane, 20 mM for the ether, ester, ketone, and nitrile, 0.2 mM for the tertiary amide, and 0.1 mM for the sulfoxide solvents. The results can be explained by a simple model that considers only pairwise interactions between specific sites on the surfaces of the solutes and solvents, which implies that the bulk properties of the solvent have little impact on solvation thermodynamics.

The role of functional group concentration in solvation thermodynamics

High throughput experiments using a molecular recognition probe reveal a simple relationship between solvent functional group concentration and selective solvation. The 1u2006:u20061 association constant for the H-bonding interaction between tri-n-butylphosphine oxide and 4-phenylazophenol was measured in 1088 different alkane–ether mixtures using a UV-Vis plate reader. Although the stability of the complex decreased with increasing concentration of the more polar ether cosolvent as expected, the results show that it is the functional group composition rather than the constitution of the solvent molecules or the properties of the bulk liquid that determines the solvation thermodynamics. Thus the solvent properties of a simple ether can be reproduced by an appropriate mixture of a polyether and an alkane that has the same net concentration of ether oxygen functional groups. The results suggest that solvation may be understood at the molecular level simply by considering the polarities and the concentrations of the functional groups present in the solvent, because these are the parameters that affect local solvation interactions with the solutes.

Interplay of self-association and solvation in polar liquids.

The association constants for formation a 1:1 complex between 4-phenyl azophenol and tri-n-butylphosphine oxide were measured in mixtures of n-octane and n-decanol, n-octane and n-hexanoic acid, and n-octane and 2-ethylhexyl acetamide. The experiments provide insight into the competition between solvent self-association and solvent-solute interactions in these systems. The solvation properties of the three polar solvents are quite different from one another and from polar solvents that do not self-associate. Carboxylic acids form dimers in concentrated solution (>1 mM in alkanes). Carboxylic acid dimers have exposed H-bond acceptor sites that solvate H-bond donor solutes with a similar binding affinity to carboxylic acid monomers. The carboxylic acid H-bond donor site is inaccessible in the dimer and is not available to solvate H-bond acceptor solutes. The result is that solvation of H-bond acceptor solutes is in competition with solvent dimerization, whereas solvation of H-bond donor solutes is not. Secondary amides form linear polymers in concentrated solution (>10 mM in alkanes). The solvation properties of the secondary amide aggregates are similar to those of carboxylic acid dimers. Solvation of H-bond acceptor solutes must compete with solvent self-association, because the amide H-bond donor site is not accessible in the middle of a polymeric aggregate. However, the amide aggregates have exposed H-bond acceptor sites, which solvate H-bond donor solutes with similar binding affinity to amide monomers. Alcohols form cyclic tetramers at concentrations of 100 mM in alkanes, and these cyclic aggregates are in equilibrium with linear polymeric aggregates at concentrations above 1 M. The alcohol aggregates have exposed H-bond acceptor sites that solvate H-bond donor solutes with similar binding affinity to alcohol monomers. Although the alcohol H-bond donor sites are involved in H-bond interactions with other alcohols in the aggregates, these sites are sufficiently exposed to form a second bifurcated H-bond with H-bond acceptor solutes, and these interactions have a similar binding affinity to alcohol monomers. The result is that self-association of alcohols does not compete with solvation of solutes, and alcohols are significantly more polar solvents than expected based on the properties of alcohol monomers.

Bridging the Gaps in Employee Volunteering: Why the Third Sector Doesn’t Always Win:

Employee Volunteering (EV) schemes represent a cornerstone of many company Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategies, being identified as a classic “win-win” situation in which businesses contribute significant resources into local communities while gaining a more skilled and engaged workforce and increased reputational benefits. This article questions the “win-win” scenario of EV arguing that existing research has focused predominantly upon the business–employee dimension while largely ignoring the role of third sector organizations engaging in these relationships. By focusing more directly on third sector experiences, the article identifies four “gaps” which place considerable constraints on the reach and impact of EV. It demonstrates the importance of not simply presuming a “win” for the third sector and the added value that can be gained from redirecting EV research toward the “business/nonprofit interface.”