Construction Dispute Resolution in Ireland during Recession: Best Practice for Small-to-Medium Enterprises

The purpose of this paper is to identify best practice construction dispute resolution in small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) within Ireland during the recent economic recession. A sequential mixed methodology encompassing a detailed literature review, case studies, and questionnaire survey is adopted, with results analyzed using both exploratory (data reduction) and confirmatory (structural equation modelling) factor analysis. The results show that four core aspects should be adopted by SMEs to achieve best practice construction dispute resolution in recession: third-party intervention, adoption of a streamlined process, proactive party characteristics, and the use of legal professionals. Numerous studies of this subject have been conducted; however, no research has been done to date documenting best practice in construction dispute resolution within SMEs, particularly in light of the economic recession in Ireland. It is clear that dispute resolution in Ireland is currently undergoing fundamental changes, and time is necessary to see if the new Construction Contracts Act 2013 will help this practice. Therefore, it is a fundamental requirement for project management and legal professionals to acknowledge the changing environment attributable to the economic downturn and the resultant SME best practices in dispute resolution. This paper fulfills a gap in knowledge with the emergence of the economic recession and the evolution of best practice in dispute resolution within SMEs in the Irish construction sector.

Keratinocyte Growth-Factor Promotes Epithelial Survival and Resolution in a Human Model of Lung Injury

Rationale: Increasing epithelial repair and regeneration may hasten resolution of lung injury in patients with the Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). In animal models of ARDS, Keratinocyte Growth Factor (KGF) reduces injury and increases epithelial proliferation and repair. The effect of KGF in the human alveolus is unknown.

Objectives: To test whether KGF can attenuate alveolar injury in a human model of ARDS.

Methods: Volunteers were randomized to intravenous KGF (60 μg/kg) or placebo for 3 days, before inhaling 50μg lipopolysaccharide. Six hours later, subjects underwent bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) to quantify markers of alveolar inflammation and cell-specific injury.

Measurements and Main Results: KGF did not alter leukocyte infiltration or markers of permeability in response to LPS. KGF increased BAL concentrations of Surfactant Protein D (SP-D), MMP-9, IL-1Ra, GM-CSF and CRP. In vitro, BAL fluid from KGF-treated subjects (KGF BAL) inhibited pulmonary fibroblast proliferation, but increased alveolar epithelial proliferation. Active MMP-9 increased alveolar epithelial wound repair. Finally, BAL from the KGF pre-treated group enhanced macrophage phagocytic uptake of apoptotic epithelial cells and bacteria compared with BAL from the placebo-treated group. This effect was blocked by inhibiting activation of the GM-CSF receptor.

Conclusions: KGF treatment increases BAL SP-D, a marker of type II alveolar epithelial cell proliferation in a human model of ALI. Additionally KGF increases alveolar concentrations of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-1Ra, and mediators that drive epithelial repair (MMP-9) and enhance macrophage clearance of dead cells and bacteria (GM-CSF).

Piezoelectric properties of PbTiO(3) thin films characterized with piezoresponse force and high resolution transmission electron microscopy

In this paper we investigate the piezoelectric properties of PbTiO(3) thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition with piezoresponse force microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The as-grown films exhibit an upward polarization, inhomogeneous distribution of piezoelectric characteristics concerning local coercive fields, and piezoelectric coefficient. In fact, the data obtained reveal imprints during piezoresponse force microscopy measurements, nonlinearity in the piezoelectric deformation, and limited polarization reversal. Moreover, transmission electron microscopy shows the presence of defects near the film/substrate interface, which can be associated with the variations of piezoelectric properties.

A high resolution study of complex organic molecules in hot cores

We present the results of a line identification analysis using data from the IRAM Plateau de Bure Inferferometer, focusing on six massive star-forming hot cores: G31.41+0.31, G29.96-0.02, G19.61-0.23, G10.62-0.38, G24.78+0.08A1 and G24.78+0.08A2. We identify several transitions of vibrationally excited methyl formate (HCOOCH$_3$) for the first time in these objects as well as transitions of other complex molecules, including ethyl cyanide (C$_2$H$_5$CN), and isocyanic acid (HNCO). We also postulate a detection of one transition of glycolaldehyde (CH$_2$(OH)CHO) in two new hot cores. We find G29.96-0.02, G19.61-0.23, G24.78+0.08A1 and 24.78+0.08A2 to be chemically very similar. G31.41+0.31, however, is chemically different: it manifests a larger chemical inventory and has significantly larger column densities. We suggest that it may represent a different evolutionary stage to the other hot cores in the sample, or it may surround a star with a higher mass. We derive column densities for methyl formate in G31.41+0.31, using the rotation diagram method, of $\times$10$^{17}$ cm$^{-2}$ and a T$_{rot}$ of $\sim$170 K. For G29.96-0.02, G24.78+0.08A1 and G24.78+0.08A2, glycolaldehyde, methyl formate and methyl cyanide all seem to trace the same material and peak at roughly the same position towards the dust emission peak. For G31.41+0.31, however, glycolaldehyde shows a different distribution to methyl formate and methyl cyanide and seems to trace the densest, most compact inner part of hot cores.

Evaluation of an in situ spatial resolution instrument for fixed beds through the assessment of the invasiveness of probes and a comparison with a micro-kinetic model

This paper reports the detailed description and validation of a fully automated, computer controlled analytical method to spatially probe the gas composition and thermal characteristics in packed bed systems. This method has been designed to limit the invasiveness of the probe, a characteristic assessed using CFD. The thermocouple is aligned with the sampling holes to enable simultaneous recording of the gas composition and temperature profiles. This analysis technique has been validated by studying CO oxidation over a 1% Pt/Al2O3 catalyst. The resultant profiles have been compared with a micro-kinetic model, to further assess the strength of the technique. 

Predicting the past: Understanding the causes of bank distress in the Netherlands in the 1920s

Why do some banks fail in financial crises while others survive? This article answers this question by analysing the effect of the Dutch financial crisis of the 1920s on 142 banks, of which 33 failed. We find that choices of balance sheet composition and product market strategy made in the lead-up to the crisis had a significant impact on banks’ subsequent chances of experiencing distress. We document that high-risk banks – those operating highly-leveraged portfolios and attracting large quantities of deposits – were more likely to fail. Branching and international activities also increased banks’ default probabilities. We measure the effects of board interlocks, which have been characterized in the extant literature as contributing to the Dutch crisis. We find that boards mattered: failing banks had smaller boards, shared directors with smaller and very profitable banks and had a lower concentration of interlocking directorates in non-financial firms.

Model checking support for conflict resolution in multiple non-functional concern management

When implementing autonomic management of multiple non-functional concerns a trade-off must be found between the ability to develop independently management of the individual concerns (following the separation of concerns principle) and the detection and resolution of conflicts that may arise when combining the independently developed management code. Here we discuss strategies to establish this trade-off and introduce a model checking based methodology aimed at simplifying the discovery and handling of conflicts arising from deployment-within the same parallel application-of independently developed management policies. Preliminary results are shown demonstrating the feasibility of the approach.

Forgoing primacy: Damaging democratic policing in the West Bank

Since the Oslo Accords were signed between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) in September 1993, the international community has supported civil policing programmes. It has done so as part of its development commitments to Palestinian state-building. Such programmes were, until the outbreak of the second Intifada in 2000, largely regarded as successful in terms of supporting the establishment of a Palestinian civil police (PCP). Such programmes were essentially Western imported models which loosely mixed community and public order policing approaches. With re-engagement in the Palestinian security sector (PSS) in the West Bank in 2007, the international community has once again sought to play a major role in PSS reform. This role includes supporting rehabilitation and retraining of the PCP as a principal institution of state-building. Such activities alongside the so-called transformation efforts within the wider realm of the PSS have re-established as their goal law and order. Within the transformation agenda, there are inherent demands with respect to Israel and the Palestinian National Authority's security and counterterrorism agendas. This analysis examines these activities, and accompanying political intent to contend that such approaches are undermining principles of democratic policing including civil police primacy (CPP). CPP reinforces police universality and means supporting rule of law by putting security under governmental control with proper mechanisms of accountability. This article argues that support to the security sector in the West Bank has increasingly only paid lip service or sought to subvert normative approaches to democratic policing.

Rapid single-nucleotide polymorphism-based identification of clonal Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates from patients with cystic fibrosis by the use of real-time PCR and high-resolution melting curve analysis

Pseudomonas aeruginosa genotyping relies mainly upon DNA fingerprinting methods, which can be subjective, expensive and time-consuming. The detection of at least three different clonal P. aeruginosa strains in patients attending two cystic fibrosis (CF) centres in a single Australian city prompted the design of a non-gel-based PCR method to enable clinical microbiology laboratories to readily identify these clonal strains. We designed a detection method utilizing heat-denatured P. aeruginosa isolates and a ten-single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) profile. Strain differences were detected by SYBR Green-based real-time PCR and high-resolution melting curve analysis (HRM10SNP assay). Overall, 106 P. aeruginosa sputum isolates collected from 74 patients with CF, as well as five reference strains, were analysed with the HRM10SNP assay, and the results were compared with those obtained by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). The HRM10SNP assay accurately identified all 45 isolates as members of one of the three major clonal strains characterized by PFGE in two Brisbane CF centres (Australian epidemic strain-1, Australian epidemic strain-2 and P42) from 61 other P. aeruginosa strains from Australian CF patients and two representative overseas epidemic strain isolates. The HRM10SNP method is simple, is relatively inexpensive and can be completed in <3 h. In our setting, it could be made easily available for clinical microbiology laboratories to screen for local P. aeruginosa strains and to guide infection control policies. Further studies are needed to determine whether the HRM10SNP assay can also be modified to detect additional clonal strains that are prevalent in other CF centres.

In situ, high-resolution imaging of labile phosphorus in sediments of a large eutrophic lake

Understanding the labile status of phosphorus (P) in sediments is crucial for managing a eutrophic lake, but it is hindered by lacking in situ data particularly on a catchment scale. In this study, we for the first time characterized in situ labile P in sediments with the Zr-oxide diffusive gradients in thin films (Zr-oxide DGT) technique at a two-dimensional (2D), submillimeter resolution in a large eutrophic lake (Lake Taihu, China, with an area of 2338km²). The concentration of DGT-labile P in the sediment profiles showed strong variation mostly ranging from 0.01 to 0.35mgL^-1 with a considerable number of hotspots. The horizontal heterogeneity index of labile P varied from 0.04 to 4.5. High values appeared at the depths of 0-30mm, likely reflecting an active layer of labile P under the sediment-water interface (SWI). Concentration gradients of labile P were observed from the high-resolution 1D DGT profiles in both the sediment and overlying water layers close to the SWI. The apparent diffusion flux of P across the SWI was calculated between -21 and 65ngcm^-2d^-1, which showed that the sediments tended to be a source and sink of overlying water P in the algal- and macrophyte-dominated regions, respectively. The DGT-labile P in the 0-30mm active layer showed a better correlation with overlying water P than the labile P measured by ex situ chemical extraction methods. It implies that in situ, high-resolution profiling of labile P with DGT is a more reliable approach and will significantly extend our ability in in situ monitoring of the labile status of P in sediments in the field.

High resolution X-ray spectroscopy in fast electron transport studies

A detailed knowledge of the physical phenomena underlying the generation and the transport of fast electrons generated in high-intensity laser-matter interactions is of fundamental importance for the fast ignition scheme for inertial confinement fusion.

Here we report on an experiment carried out with the VULCAN Petawatt beam and aimed at investigating the role of collisional return currents in the dynamics of the fast electron beam. To that scope, in the experiment counter-propagating electron beams were generated by double-sided irradiation of layered target foils containing a Ti layer. The experimental results were obtained for different time delays between the two laser beams as well as for single-sided irradiation of the target foils. The main diagnostics consisted of two bent mica crystal spectrometers placed at either side of the target foil. High-resolution X-ray spectra of the Ti emission lines in the range from the Ly alpha to the K alpha line were recorded. In addition, 2D X-ray images with spectral resolution were obtained by means of a novel diagnostic technique, the energy-encoded pin-hole camera, based on the use of a pin-hole array equipped with a CCD detector working in single-photon regime. The spectroscopic measurements suggest a higher target temperature for well-aligned laser beams and a precise timing between the two beams. The experimental results are presented and compared to simulation results.

High-resolution electron energy-loss spectroscopy of Ba Ti O 3∕ Sr Ti O 3 multilayers

The dielectric properties of BaTiO3 thin films and multilayers are different from bulk materials because of nanoscale dimensions, interfaces, and stress-strain conditions. In this study, BaTiO3/SrTiO3 multilayers deposited on SrTiO3 substrates by pulsed laser deposition have been investigated by high-energy-resolution electron energy-loss spectroscopy. The fine structures in the spectra are discussed in terms of crystal-field splitting and the internal strain. The crystal-field splitting of the BaTiO3 thin layer is found to be a little larger than that of bulk BaTiO3, which has been interpreted by the presence of the internal strain induced by the misfit at the interface. This finding is consistent with the lattice parameters of the BaTiO3 thin layer determined by the selected area diffraction pattern. The near-edge structure of the oxygen K edge in BaTiO3 thin layers and in bulk BaTiO3 are simulated by first-principle self-consistent full multiple-scattering calculations. The results of the simulations are in a good agreement with the experimental results. Moreover, the aggregation of oxygen vacancies at the rough BaTiO3/SrTiO3 interface is indicated by the increased [Ti]/[O] element ratio, which dominates the difference of dielectric properties between BaTiO3 layer and bulk materials.