An appraisal of employment problems and policies at the micro-economic level

This study has concentrated on the development of an impact simulation model for use at the sub-national level. The necessity for the development of this model was demonstrated by the growth of local economic initiatives during the 1970's, and the lack of monitoring and evaluation exercise to assess their success and cost-effectiveness. The first stage of research involved the confirmation that the potential for micro-economic and spatial initiatives existed. This was done by identifying the existence of involuntary structural unemployment. The second stage examined the range of employment policy options from the macroeconomic, micro-economic and spatial perspectives, and focused on the need for evaluation of those policies. The need for spatial impact evaluation exercise in respect of other exogenous shocks, and structural changes was also recognised. The final stage involved the investigation of current techniques of evaluation and their adaptation for the purpose in hand. This led to a recognition of a gap in the armoury of techniques. The employment-dependency model has been developed to fill that gap, providing a low-budget model, capable of implementation at the small area level and generating a vast array of industrially disaggregate data, in terms of employment, employment-income, profits, value-added and gross income, related to levels of United Kingdom final demand. Thus providing scope for a variety of impact simulation exercises.

Classification and contextual enhancement of remotely sensed data

The aims of the project were twofold: 1) To investigate classification procedures for remotely sensed digital data, in order to develop modifications to existing algorithms and propose novel classification procedures; and 2) To investigate and develop algorithms for contextual enhancement of classified imagery in order to increase classification accuracy. The following classifiers were examined: box, decision tree, minimum distance, maximum likelihood. In addition to these the following algorithms were developed during the course of the research: deviant distance, look up table and an automated decision tree classifier using expert systems technology. Clustering techniques for unsupervised classification were also investigated. Contextual enhancements investigated were: mode filters, small area replacement and Wharton's CONAN algorithm. Additionally methods for noise and edge based declassification and contextual reclassification, non-probabilitic relaxation and relaxation based on Markov chain theory were developed. The advantages of per-field classifiers and Geographical Information Systems were investigated. The conclusions presented suggest suitable combinations of classifier and contextual enhancement, given user accuracy requirements and time constraints. These were then tested for validity using a different data set. A brief examination of the utility of the recommended contextual algorithms for reducing the effects of data noise was also carried out.

Area summation and masking

At detection threshold, sensitivity improves as the area of a test grating increases, but not when the test is placed on a pedestal and the task becomes contrast discrimination (G. E. Legge, & J. M. Foley, 1980). This study asks whether the abolition of area summation is specific to the situation where mask and test stimuli have the same spatial frequency and orientation ("within-channel" masking) or is more general, also occurring when mask and test stimuli are very different ("cross-channel" masking). Threshold versus contrast masking functions were measured where the test and mask were either both small (SS), both large (LL), or small and large, respectively (SL). For within-channel masking, facilitation and area summation were found at low mask contrasts, but the results for SS and LL converged at intermediate contrasts and above, replicating Legge and Foley (1980). For all three observers, less facilitation was found for SL than for SS. For cross-channel masking, area summation occurred across the entire masking function and results for SS and SL were identical. The results for the entire data set were well fit by an extended version of a contrast masking model (J. M. Foley, 1994) in which the weights of excitatory and suppressive surround terms were free parameters. I conclude that (i) there is no empirical abolition of area summation for cross-channel masking, (ii) within-channel area summation can be abolished empirically without being disabled in the model, (iii) observers are able to restrict the area of spatial integration, but not suppression, (iv) extending a cross-channel mask to the surround has no effect on contrast detection, and (v) there is a formal similarity between area summation and contrast adaptation. © 2004 ARVO.

Volcanogenic mineralisation in the limestone lake area, Saskatchewan, Canada

This thesis describes the geology, geochemistry and mineralogy of a Lower Proterozoic, metamorphosed volcanogenic Cu-Zn deposit, situated at the western end of the Flin Flon greenstone belt. Stratabound copper mineralisation occurs in silicified and chloritoid-bearing alteration assemblages within felsic tuffs and is mantled by thin (< 3m) high-grade sphalerite layers. Mineralisation is underlain by garnet-hornblende bearing Lower Iron Formation (LIF), and overlain by garnet-grunerite bearing Upper Iron Formation (UIF). Distinctive trace element trends, involving Ti and Zr, in mineralised and footwall felsic tuffs are interpreted to have formed by fractionation associated with a high-level magma chamber in a caldera-type environment. Discrimination diagrams for basaltic rocks are interpreted to indicate their formation in an environment similar to that of recent, primitive, tholeiitic island arcs. Microprobe studies of key mineral phases demonstrate large and small scale chemical variations in silicate phases related to primary lithological, rather than metamorphic, controls. LIF is characterised by alumino-ferro-tschermakite and relatively Mn-poor, Ca-rich garnets, whereas UIF contains manganoan grunerite and Mn-rich garnets. Metamorphic mineral reactions are considered and possible precursor assemblages identified for garnet-, and chloritoid-bearing rocks. Chloritoid-bearing rocks are interpreted as the metamorphosed equivalents of iron-rich feeder zones formed near the surface. The iron-formations are thought to represent iron-rich sediments formed on the sea floor formed from the venting of the ore fluids. Consideration of various mineral assemblages leads to an estimate for peak metamorphic conditions of 450-500oC and > 4Kb total pressure. Comparisons with other volcanogenic deposits indicate affinities with deposits of `Mattabi-type' from the Archean of Ontario. An extrapolation of the main conclusions of the thesis to adjacent areas points to the presence of a number of geologically similar localities with potential for mineralisation.

Energy efficient radio access architectures for green radio:large versus small cell size deployment

In this paper new architectural approaches that improve the energy efficiency of a cellular radio access network (RAN) are investigated. The aim of the paper is to characterize both the energy consumption ratio (ECR) and the energy consumption gain (ECG) of a cellular RAN when the cell size is reduced for a given user density and service area. The paper affirms that reducing the cell size reduces the cell ECR as desired while increasing the capacity density but the overall RAN energy consumption remains unchanged. In order to trade the increase in capacity density with RAN energy consumption, without degrading the cell capacity provision, a sleep mode is introduced. In sleep mode, cells without active users are powered-off, thereby saving energy. By combining a sleep mode with a small-cell deployment architecture, the paper shows that the ECG can be increased by the factor n = (R/R) while the cell ECR continues to decrease with decreasing cell size.

Purchasing green transport and logistics services:implications for small business

Considering its strong environmental impact, logistics plays a critical role in green supply chain management. It provides strategic links in the supply chain and is an essential function in the delivery of green products to the consumer. There is a general consensus on the fact that more environmentally sustainable companies may be achieved only if transport and logistics activities also become greener. To achieve this objective, buyer companies need to incorporate green considerations in the purchasing of transport and logistics services. This appears particularly challenging for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) because of their traditional lack of managerial, organisational and financial resources that often result in failure to adopt an environmental perspective. In the extant literature, green purchasing has received increased attention over the past decade and the strategic importance of introducing green aspects into purchasing practices has been recognised. However, little has been written in relation to purchasing green transport and logistics services. The aim of this paper is to explore practices in the buying of green transport and logistics services and to derive implications for small buyer companies. The paper analyses how general environmental company ambitions and environmental purchasing practices are reflected when green transport and logistics services are purchased in three different European countries (Italy, Ireland and Sweden) using a multiple case study research approach. The results of the paper indicate that while the case companies show a relatively high concern for green issues at corporate level, a lower importance is attributed to green issues at the purchasing function level. When green concerns in the purchasing of transport and logistics services are analysed the level of importance decreases further. Thus, a conflicting attitude is evident between the overall corporate level and the purchasing of transport and logistics services specifically. This suggests that there is potential for improvement especially in the area of green collaboration in buyer and supplier relationships.

SME resilience to extreme weather events:important initiatives for informing policy making in the area

Enhancing the resilience of local communities to weather extremes has gained significant interest over the years, amidst the increased intensity and frequency of such events. The fact that such weather extremes are forecast to further increase in number and severity in future has added extra weight to the importance of the issue. As a local community consists of a number of community groups such as households, businesses and policy makers, the actions of different community groups in combination will determine the resilience of the community as a whole. An important role has to be played by Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs); which is an integral segment of a local community in the UK, in this regard. While it is recognised that they are vital to the economy of a country and determines the prosperity of communities, they are increasingly vulnerable to effects of extreme weather. This paper discusses some of the exploratory studies conducted in the UK on SMEs and their ability to cope with extreme weather events, specifically flooding. Although a reasonable level of awareness of the risk was observed among the SMEs, this has not always resulted in increased preparedness even if they are located in areas at risk of flooding. The attitude and the motivation to change differed widely between SMEs. The paper presents schemas by which the SMEs can identify their vulnerability better so that they can be populated among a community of SMEs, which can be taken forward to inform policy making in this area. Therefore the main contribution the paper makes to the body of knowledge in the area is a novel way to communicate to SMEs on improving resilience against extreme weather, which will inform some of the policy making initiatives in the UK.

Putting policy initiatives into practice:adopting an “honest broker” approach to adapting small businesses against flooding

Purpose: Amidst the current economic climate, which places many constraints on expensive flood defence schemes, the policy makers tend to favour schemes that are sympathetic to the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and which promote empowering local communities based on their individual local contexts. Research has shown that although several initiatives are in place to create behavioural change among SMEs in undertaking adaptation approaches against flooding, they often tend to delay their responses by means of a "wait and see" attitude. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach: This paper argues that unless there are conscious efforts in the policy-making community to undertake explicit measures to engage with SMEs in a collaborative way, the uptake of adaptation measures will not be achieved as intended. With the use of the "honest broker" approach the paper provides a conceptual way forward of how a sense of collaboration can be instigated in an engagement process between the policy makers and SMEs, so that the scientific knowledge is translated in an appropriately rational way, which best meets the expectations of the SMEs. Findings: The paper proposes a conceptual model for engaging SMEs that will potentially increase the uptake of flood adaptation measures by SMEs. This could be a useful model with which to kick start a collaborative engagement process that could escalate to wider participation in other areas to improve impact of policy initiatives. Originality/value: The paper lays the conceptual foundation for a new theoretical base in the area, which will encourage more empirical investigations that will potentially enhance the practicality of some of the existing policies. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

A case study analysis on information and communication technology usage in small logistics service companies

The impact of ICT (information and communications technology) on the logistics service industry is reshaping its organisation and structure. Within this process, the nature of changes resulting from ICT dissemination in small 3PLs (third party logistics providers) is still unclear, although a large number of logistics service markets, especially in the EU context, are populated by a high number of small 3PLs. In addition, there is still a gap in the literature where the role of technological capability in small 3PLs is seriously underestimated. This gives rise to the need to develop investigation in this area. The paper presents the preliminary results of a case study analysis on ICT usage in a sample of 7 small Italian 3PLs. The results highlight some of the barriers to effective ICT implementation, as well as some of the critical success factors.

Technology influences on small logistics providers:a case study analysis

ICT has triggered many changes in the logistics service industry. New technology is reshaping the organisation and structure of this industry as ICT impacts significantly on the operations of 3PLs. Within this process, while large 3PLs are gaining substantial benefits from technology usage, the nature of changes resulting from ICT usage in small 3PLs remains unclear. This is critical particularly for those markets populated by a high number of small 3PLs such as the Italian logistics industry. From the research point of view, there is still a gap in the literature where the role of technological capability in small 3PLs are seriously underestimated. This gives rise to the need to develop investigation in this area. This paper presents the preliminary results of a case study analysis on ICT usage in a sample of 7 small Italian 3PLs. The results highlight some of the barriers to effective ICT implementation, as well as some of the critical success factors.

An exploratory study of ICT usage in small logistics service providers

Information and communication technology (ICT) developments have strongly affected supply chain management (SCM) in recent years. ICT has had a great impact on all supply chain processes including planning, purchasing, production management, stock management, physical distribution and related integration management. Technology has become an important dimension of third party logistics (3PL) service supply as competitive advantage increasingly depends on the ability to create value for customers through the effective application of ICT. Within this process, while large 3PLs are gaining substantial benefits from technology usage and implementation, the magnitude of changes spurred by ICT dissemination in small logistics service providers remains unclear. This is reflected by the existing gap in literature where the role and competitive developing processes of small 3PLs are seriously underestimated. This gives rise to the need to develop research and investigation in this particular area. The objective of this paper is to narrow the knowledge gap in the field of ICT adoption in small 3PLs through an empirical investigation. It presents the results of a survey on a sample of small Italian 3PLs.

Condensation-enhanced self-assembly as a route to high surface area α-aluminas

High surface area nanosized α-alumina has been obtained by thermally treating a sol-gel-derived mesophase at 1200 C; the mesophase was synthesized by a sol-gel route involving evaporation induced self-assembly (EISA) of a hydrolyzed gel from Al-tri-sec-butoxide in s-BuOH in the presence of a nonionic surfactant (EO20PO70EO20), HCl as catalyst, and water (H2O/Al = 6). The activated material renders moderate surface areas of about 8.4-10 m2 g-1, associated with significant crystallite coarsening. The key aspect to produce smaller crystallites is making the mesophase more resistant to coarsening. This was achieved by enhancing the condensation step by treating the hydrolyzed gel with tetrabutyl ammonium hydroxide (TBAOH) before evaporation. The characteristics of the mesophase indicate condensation of the primary particles with less AlO5 unsaturated sites, at the expense of a lower solid yield due to small crystallites dissolution. The activated TBAOH condensed EISA material is composed of α-alumina aggregated crystallites of about 60-100 nm, and the material possesses surface areas ranging from 16 to 24 m2 g -1 due to the improved resistance to coarsening. At least two aspects are suggested to play a role in this. The worm-hole morphology of the mesophase aggregates yields high particle coordination, which favors densification rather than coarsening. Furthermore, the decrease of the AlO5 defect sites by the TBAOH condensation makes the mesophase less reactive and consequently more resistant to coarsening. © 2013 American Chemical Society.

GPs' perspectives on managing the NHS Health Check in primary care:a qualitative evaluation of implementation in one area of England

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the implementation of the National Health Service (NHS) Health Check programme in one area of England from the perspective of general practitioners (GPs). DESIGN: A qualitative exploratory study was conducted with GPs and other healthcare professionals involved in delivering the NHS Health Check and with patients. This paper reports the experience of GPs and focuses on the management of the Heath Check programme in primary care. SETTING: Primary care surgeries in the Heart of Birmingham region (now under the auspices of the Birmingham Cross City Clinical Commissioning Group) were invited to take part in the larger scale evaluation. This study focuses on a subset of those surgeries whose GPs were willing to participate. PARTICIPANTS: 9 GPs from different practices volunteered. GPs served an ethnically diverse region with areas of socioeconomic deprivation. Ethnicities of participant GPs included South Asian, South Asian British, white, black British and Chinese. METHODS: Individual semistructured interviews were conducted with GPs face to face or via telephone. Thematic analysis was used to analyse verbatim transcripts. RESULTS: Themes were generated which represent GPs' experiences of managing the NHS Health Check: primary care as a commercial enterprise; 'buy in' to concordance in preventive healthcare; following protocol and support provision. These themes represent the key issues raised by GPs. They reveal variability in the implementation of NHS Health Checks. GPs also need support in allocating resources to the Health Check including training on how to conduct checks in a concordant (or collaborative) way. CONCLUSIONS: The variability observed in this small-scale evaluation corroborates existing findings suggesting a need for more standardisation. Further large-scale research is needed to determine how that could be achieved. Work needs to be done to further develop a concordant approach to lifestyle advice which involves tailored individual goal setting rather than a paternalistic advice-giving model.