EU Cross-Border Cooperation and Conflict Transformation in the Basque and Irish Border Regions

Comparative research on violent conflict in the Basque Country and Ireland has yielded a sizable body of published academic work. Less well explored is the relationship between conflict transformation and cross-border cooperation in that specific comparative context. This paper provides a comparative examination of Third (not for profit) sector cross-border cooperation as conflict transformation in the Basque (France/Spain) and Irish (UK/Ireland) border regions. To what extent does cross-border cooperation contribute to peacebuilding in the two last violent ethnonationalist conflicts in Western Europe? The comparison is based on the premise that the EU played a different role in both cases. In the Irish case, the EU contributed to the institutionalization of a peace process that included cross-border cooperation between third sector organizations among the policy instruments contributing to conflict transformation. In the Basque case, the unilateral renunciation of violence by ETA (Euskadi eta Askatasuna) in 2010 did not generate the consistent involvement of the EU in a comparable institutional peace process. However, some third sector organizations used EU instruments for cross-border economic, social and cultural cooperation between France and Spain in order to reinforce their cross-border networks, which indirectly impacted on conflict transformation. The effectiveness of this cross-border cooperation for conflict transformation is assessed comparatively. To what extent does this increase in cross-border cooperation “from below” connect to wider institutional and social processes of conflict transformation in Ireland and the Basque Country? Crucially, does the strengthening of cross-border relations on shared issues mollify or sharpen existing identity cleavages? Also considered is the sustainability of such cooperation in these regions in light of the less favourable post-2004 EU funding environment, and the post-2008 economic and political turmoil affecting the relevant EU member states, especially Ireland and Spain.

Sound Art and Public Engagement in the Built Environment: Reflections from an Architecture Center

This article explores the deployment of sound in architectural-curatorial and community engagement contexts through the work of PLACE, a multidisciplinary not-for-profit architecture center in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The author, who worked with PLACE and contributed to the projects discussed here, contextualizes architecture centers and their relationship with sound before examining the specific case of sound and sound art in Northern Ireland and case studies of projects delivered by PLACE. Specifically, the article evaluates two sound installation artworks and three community engagement projects for young audiences. As a means of curating urbanism and architecture, sound-art-as-public-art affords useful strategies to examine, describe or critique the environment as alternatives to traditional architecture exhibition formats. Sound’s temporality and materiality allow sound art works to exist as temporary sculptural interventions in the urban sphere, with attendant implications for public art procurement and urban acoustics. Rich territories of engagement are opened when using sound in a community participatory context.

Strategic Complexity and Success - Small Firms Strategies in a Mature Market

his paper develops a typology of strategic options for small firms in the furniture industry and examines the extent to which firms are re-engineering their strategies in response to profit performance. Empirical analysis is based on data from 39 firms with between 10 and 100 employees in the Irish furniture industry. Three main results emerge from the analysis. First, firms in the Irish furniture industry predominantly adopt “simple” business development strategies. Secondly, in terms of profit performance, we find no evidence that simple strategies unambiguously outperform more complex approaches. Instead, the success of both simple and complex business strategies is directly related to the strength of firms’ resource base. Finally, systematic differences were found in firms’ ability or willingness to re-engineer their strategies in the light of their profit performance.

Overcoming Customer Dependency - A Case Study of Small Consumer Food Producers in Northern Ireland

Dependency on a small number of customer puts intense pressure on suppliers' profit margin and, in slow growing markets, limits their ability to grow. using stragtegic benchmarking information, a group of Northern Ireland consumer food producer are shown, depsite slow market growth and higher than averge customer dependency, to have increased market share while maintaining aboe vergate proitability. examination of the business strategic and develoment activites of the consumer food firms,and comparble information for other small food prodcuers in Ireland, suggests and emphasiss on cost-reduction and new prodcut development. A comparision of the productivity and prodcut range of the consuer food firms provides evidence of the success of these strategic. This suggests that even a relatively weak market situations, charactrised by dependency on a small number of customers, can be over come by effective and appropriate business strategy.

Waste Not, Want Not: Managing Perishables in Small and Medium Retail Enterprises

Purpose of this paper:
Recent literature indicates that around one third of perishable products finish as waste (Mena et al., 2014): 60% of this waste can be classified as avoidable (EC, 2010) suggesting logistics and operational inefficiencies along the supply chain. In developed countries perishable products are predominantly wasted in wholesale and retail (Gustavsson et al., 2011) due to customer demand uncertainty the errors and delays in the supply chain (Fernie and Sparks, 2014). While research on logistics of large retail supply chains is well documented, research on retail small and medium enterprises’ (SMEs) capabilities to prevent and manage waste of perishable products is in its infancy (c.f. Ellegaard, 2008) and needs further exploration. In our study, we investigate the retail logistics practice of small food retailers, the factors that contribute to perishable products waste and the barriers and opportunities of SMEs in retail logistics to preserve product quality and participate in reverse logistics flows.

Design/methodology/approach:
As research on waste of perishable products for SMEs is scattered, we focus on identifying key variables that contribute to the creation of avoidable waste. Secondly we identify patterns of waste creation at the retail level and its possibilities for value added recovery. We use explorative case studies (Eisenhardt, 1989) and compare four SMEs and one large retailer that operate in a developed market. To get insights into specificities of SMEs that affect retail logistics practice, we select two types of food retailers: specialised (e.g. greengrocers and bakers) and general (e.g. convenience store that sells perishable products as a part of the assortment)

Findings:
Our preliminary findings indicate that there is a difference between large retailers and SME retailers in factors that contribute to the waste creation, as well as opportunities for value added recovery of products. While more factors appear to affect waste creation and management at large retailers, a small number of specific factors appears to affect SMEs. Similarly, large retailers utilise a range of practices to reduce risks of product perishability and short shelf life, manage demand, and manage reverse logistics practices. Retail SMEs on the other hand have limited options to address waste creation and value added recovery. However, our findings show that specialist SMEs could successfully minimize waste and even create possibilities for value added recovery of perishable products. Data indicates that business orientation of the SME, the buyersupplier relationship, and an extent of adoption of lean principles in retail coupled with SME resources, product specific regulations and support from local authorities for waste management or partnerships with other organizations determine extent of successful preservation of a product quality and value added recovery.

Value:
Our contribution to the SCM academic literature is threefold: first, we identify major factors that contribute to the generation waste of perishable products in retail environment; second, we identify possibilities for value added recovery for perishable products and third, we present opportunities and challenges for SME retailers to manage or participate in activities of value added recovery. Our findings contribute to theory by filling a gap in the literature that considers product quality preservation and value added recovery in the context of retail logistics and SMEs.

Research limitations/implications:
Our findings are limited to insights from five case studies of retail companies that operate within a developed market. To improve on generalisability, we intend to increase the number of cases and include data obtained from the suppliers and organizations involved in reverse logistics flows (e.g. local authorities, charities, etc.).

Practical implications:
With this paper, we contribute to the improvement of retail logistics and operations in SMEs which constitute over 99% of business activities in UK (Rhodes, 2015). Our findings will help retail managers and owners to better understand the possibilities for value added recovery, investigate a range of logistics and retail strategies suitable for the specificities of SME environment and, ultimately, improve their profitability and sustainability.

'Not Forsworn with Pink Ribbons': Hannah More, Thomas De Quincey, and the Literature of Power

De Quincey's conception of the literature of "power" as opposed to that of "knowledge," has proved to be one of the most influential of romantic theories of literature, playing no small part in the canonization of Wordsworth. De Quincey's early acquaintance with the Lyrical Ballads was made through the Evangelical circles of his mother, who was a follower of Hannah More and a member of the Clapham sect. In later years, however, De Quincey repudiated his early Evangelical upbringing and wrote quite scathingly of the literary pretensions of Hannah More. This paper attempts to uncover the revisionary nature of De Quincey's later reminiscences of More and to indicate thereby the covert influence of Evangelical thinking on his literary theorizing. Far from absolving literature of politics, however, colonialist and nationalist imperatives typical of Evangelical thinking may be seen to operate within the spiritualized and aesthetic sphere to which literary power is arrogated by De Quincey.

Plasma Homocysteine Is Not Subject to Seasonal Variation.

Background: Studies investigating the relationship between plasma total homocysteine (tHcy) and vascular disease usually rely on a single measurement. Little information is available, however, on the seasonal variability of plasma tHcy. The aim of this study was to investigate the seasonal variation in fasting plasma tHcy and related B-vitamin intake and status in a group of people who did not consume fortified foods or take B-vitamin supplements. Methods: In this longitudinal study, a group of 22 healthy people were followed for 1 year. A fasting blood sample and dietary information were collected from each individual every 3 months, i.e., at the end of each season. Results: There was no significant seasonal variation in plasma tHcy or in B-vitamin intake or status with the exception of red cell folate (significantly lower in spring compared with autumn or winter) and serum folate (significantly lower in spring compared with the other seasons). Although the between-person variation in plasma tHcy was high (47%), the within-person variation was low (11%). This low variation, combined with the low methodologic imprecision of 3.8%, yielded a high reliability coefficient for plasma tHcy (0.97). Conclusions: Although there was a small seasonal variation in folate status, there was no corresponding seasonal variation in plasma tHcy. The high reliability coefficient for plasma tHcy suggests that a single measurement is reflective of an individual’s average plasma tHcy concentration, thus indicating its usefulness as a potential predictor of disease. This, however, needs to be confirmed in different subgroups of the population.

Investment and Capitalization of Firms in the USA

In the USA today, the precipitous rise of new financial mechanisms for capitalisation of firms as well as the merger and acquisition of others, especially risk equity capital through venture capitalist and investment banking, has sparked growth and helped to bring the economy out of the 1990s recession into a robust continuous growth pattern well positioned for the next century. The scenario is not new. For the venture capitalists of ''Silicon Valley'' in California, the experience is not new. They have seen the new industries arise before, like a phoenix from ashes of ruin, despair and even failure. Venture capital poured into high tech start-up companies has been an enormous source of financial support for the entrepreneurs who head new and growing companies. The mid-1990s marked the most dramatic increase yet recorded. Indicators, such as the NASDAQ document, outlined the solid and continuous growth in high tech industries. The paper discusses investment in US corporations within the context of governance and management of the company. Discussion about the various forms of finance are related to the organisation and management of the US corporation. Critical to any firm today are its ability to find innovative, new products or services. A growing literature on resource-base framework for analysis will be discussed as part of the firm's development of research for commercialisation. The results of a recent survey further shed light on the relationship between corporate financial management and allocated resources for research and development as the ''engine'' for new product development and therefore corporate market share and growth. The conclusion is that more financial mechanisms will be created and changed within US corporate systems to adjust, grow, and expand companies in the global economic arena, as the inevitable economic pattern leads to mergers, consolidations, and increasing cooperation and alliances among firms.

tts: A SAT-Solver for Small, Difficult Instances

The Ternary Tree Solver (tts) is a complete solver for propositional satisfiability which was designed to have good performance on the most difficult small instances. It uses a static ternary tree data structure to represent the simplified proposition under all permissible partial assignments and maintains a database of derived propositions known to be unsatisfiable. In the SAT2007 competition version 4.0 won the silver medal for the category handmade, speciality UNSAT solvers and was the top qualifier for the second stage for handmade benchmarks, solving 11 benchmarks which were not solved by any other entrant. We describe the methods used by the solver and analyse the competition Phase 1 results on small benchmarks. We propose a first version of a comprehensive suite of small difficult satisfiability benchmarks (sdsb) and compare the worst-case performance of the competition medallists on these benchmarks.