Monitoring of Corrosion in Structural Reinforcing Bars: performance comparison using in-situ fibre optic and electric wire strain gauge systems

Abstract This work addresses the problems of effective in situ measurement of the initiation or the rate of steel corrosion in reinforced concrete structures through the use of optical fiber sensor systems. By undertaking a series of tests over prolonged periods, coupled with acceleration of corrosion, the performance of fiber Bragg grating-based sensor systems attached to high-tensile steel reinforcement bars (ldquorebarsrdquo), and cast into concrete blocks was determined, and the results compared with those from conventional strain gauges where appropriate. The results show the benefits in the use of optical fiber networks under these circumstances and their ability to deliver data when conventional sensors failed.

Study on risk assessment and management and prevention of conflicts of interest in the prevention and fight against betting-related match fixing in the EU 28: Final Report

This report concerns the provisions and practices on betting-related match fixing in sports
within the 28 Member States. Carried out in late 2013/early 2014, respondents in each Member
State reported on that state’s gambling-related provisions in respect of football and tennis and
(in each country) a third sport determined on the basis of either its popularity (in terms of
participation or television viewing) or the existence of betting-related “scandals” in that sport
within that particular jurisdiction. Those reports helped the authors to compare the Member
States’ regulatory and self-regulatory frameworks relating to risk assessment and conflict of
interest management, with a view to indicating areas of best practice, identifying particularly
good legislative frameworks and highlighting areas where change was either desirable or
necessary. While some individual Member States have legislation which might provide
templates that others could adapt for their own use, the authors were not convinced that “more
law”, whether at the national or European level, was desirable. Rather, more effective
cooperation among the stakeholders was identified as being more likely to provide tangible
benefits than would new legal frameworks.

Match-fixing and Money-laundering

his essay is premised on the following: a conspiracy to fix or otherwise manipulate the outcome of a sporting event for profitable purpose. That conspiracy is in turn predicated on the conspirators’ capacity to: (a) ensure that the fix takes place as pre-determined; (b) manipulate the betting markets that surround the sporting event in question; and (c) collect their winnings undetected by either the betting industry’s security systems or the attention of any national regulatory body or law enforcement agency.

Unlike many essays on this topic, this contribution does not focus on the “fix”– part (a) of the above equation. It does not seek to explain how or why a participant or sports official might facilitate a betting scam through either on-field behaviour that manipulates the outcome of a game or by presenting others with privileged inside information in advance of a game. Neither does this contribution seek to give any real insight into the second part of the above equation: how such conspirators manipulate a sports betting market by playing or laying the handicap or in-play or other offered betting odds. In fact, this contribution is not really about the mechanics of sports betting or match fixing at all; rather it is about the sometimes under explained reason why match fixing has reportedly become increasingly attractive as of late to international crime syndicates. That reason relates to the fact that given the traditional liquidity of gambling markets, sports betting can, and has long been, an attractively accessible conduit for criminal syndicates to launder the proceeds of crime. Accordingly, the term “winnings”, noted in part (c) of the above equation, takes on an altogether more nefarious meaning.

This essay’s attempt to review the possible links between match fixing in sport, gambling-related “winnings” and money laundering is presented in four parts.

First, some context will be given to what is meant by money laundering, how it is currently policed internationally and, most importantly, how the growth of online gambling presents a unique set of vulnerabilities and opportunities to launder the proceeds of crime. The globalisation of organised crime, sports betting and transnational financial services now means that money laundering opportunities have moved well beyond a flutter on the horses at your local racetrack or at the roulette table of your nearest casino. The growth of online gambling platforms means that at a click it is possible for the proceeds of crime in one jurisdiction to be placed on a betting market in another jurisdiction with the winnings drawn down and laundered in a third jurisdiction and thus the internationalisation of gambling-related money laundering threatens the integrity of sport globally.

Second, and referring back to the infamous hearings of the US Senate Special Committee to Investigate Organised Crime in Interstate Commerce of the early 1950s, (“the Kefauver Committee”), this article will begin by illustrating the long standing interest of organised crime gangs – in this instance, various Mafia families in the United States – in money laundering via sports gambling-related means.

Third, and using the seminal 2009 report “Money Laundering through the Football Sector” by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF, an inter-governmental body established in 1989 to promote effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system), this essay seeks to assess the vulnerabilities of international sport to match fixing, as motivated in part by the associated secondary criminality of tax evasion and transnational economic crime.

The fourth and concluding parts of the essay spin from problems to possible solutions. The underlying premise here is that heretofore there has been an insularity to the way that sports organisations have both conceptualised and sought to address the match fixing threat e.g., if we (in sport) initiate player education programmes; establish integrity units; enforce codes of conduct and sanctions strictly; then our integrity or brand should be protected. This essay argues that, although these initiatives are important, the source and process of match fixing is beyond sport’s current capacity, as are the possible solutions.

Letter from the Secretary of War, transmitting documents containing the information required by the resolution of Mr. Wright, on the 22d inst. relative to the execution of the act fixing the military peace establishment. --

14th Congress, 1st session, 1815-1816. House. Document no. 33.

Letter from the Secretary of War, transmitting documents containing the information required by the resolution of Mr. Wright, on the 22d inst. relative to the execution of the act fixing the military peace establishment

14th Congress, 1st session, 1815-1816. House. Document no. 33. January 27, 1816. Read and referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.

When the Beautiful Game Turns Ugly: A Study of Fan Experiences of Perceived Match Fixing in Soccer

Limited academic attention has been given to the nexus between corruption in soccer and its impact on fandom. Consequently, the purpose of this qualitative study was to better understand the lived experiences of highly identified soccer fanatics living through this era of match fixing in the sport. Social networking site Twitter was utilized to recruit participants from three continents – Africa, Europe, and North America – based on submissions to the site in response to a perceived fix from a high-profile March, 2013 match. A total of 12 semi-structured interviews were conducted with highly identified soccer fans in accordance with Funk and James’ (2001) Psychological Continuum Model (PCM). Despite the majority of participants feeling skepticism about the purity of soccer today, half of the participants’ fandom remained unchanged in the face of perceived match fixing. Directions for future research and recommendations are considered and discussed.

The Steady-State and Transient Characteristic Analysis of Thermal Fixing a Photorefractive Hologram Grating in Lithium Niobate

The transient interaction between a refraction index grating and light beams during simultaneous writing and thermal fixing of a photorefractive hologram is investigated. With a diffusion- and photovoltaic-dominated carrier transport mechanism and carrier thermal activation (temperature dependent) considered in Fe:LiNbO3 crystal, from the standpoint of field-material coupling, the theoretical thermal fixing time and the space-charge field buildup, spatial distribution, and temperature dependence are given numerically by combining the band transport model with mobile ions with the coupled-wave equation

Studies on magnetic monopole solutions of non-abelian gauge theories and related problems

In 1931 Dirac studied the motion of an electron in the field of a magnetic monopole and found that the quantization of electric charge can be explained by postulating the mere existence of a magnetic monopole. Since 1974 there has been a resurgence of interest in magnetic monopole due to the work of ‘t’ Hooft and Polyakov who independently observed that monopoles can exist as finite energy topologically stable solutions to certain spontaneously broken gauge theories. The thesis, “Studies on Magnetic Monopole Solutions of Non-abelian Gauge Theories and Related Problems”, reports a systematic investigation of classical solutions of non-abelian gauge theories with special emphasis on magnetic monopoles and dyons which possess both electric and magnetic charges. The formation of bound states of a dyon with fermions and bosons is also studied in detail. The thesis opens with an account of a new derivation of a relationship between the magnetic charge of a dyon and the topology of the gauge fields associated with it. Although this formula has been reported earlier in the literature, the present method has two distinct advantages. In the first place, it does not depend either on the mechanism of symmetry breaking or on the nature of the residual symmetry group. Secondly, the results can be generalized to finite temperature monopoles.

Process Improvement of Coir Pith Degradation Involving White Rot Fungi By Substitution of Urea With Nitrogen Fixing Bacteria and Application of Biodegraded Coir Pith as Plant Growth Medium

In this study, a novel improved technology could be developed to convert the recalcitrant coir pith into environmental friendly organic manure. The standard method of composting involves the substitution of urea with nitrogen fixing bacteria viz. Azotobacter vinelandii and Azospirillum brasilense leading to the development of an improved method of coir pith. The combined action of the microorganisms could enhance the biodegradation of coir pith. In the present study, Pleurotus sajor caju, an edible mushroom which has the ability to degrade coir pith, and the addition of nitrogen fixing bacteria like Azotobacter vinelandii and Azospirillum brasilense could accelerate the action of the fungi on coir pith. The use of these microorganisms brings about definite changes in the NPK, Ammonia, Organic Carbon and Lignin contents in coir pith. This study will encourage the use of biodegraded coir pith as organic manure for agri/horti purpose to get better yields and can serve as a better technology to solve the problem of accumulated coir pith in coir based industries