bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Learning from Community-Company Conflicts: Practical Approaches
Authors: Orsini Yadaira
Published: March 2016

Are conflicts between extractive companies and communities on the rise? Or are they simply more visible now? The answer seems to be both. For the past year, International Alert has been working with companies in the mining sector in order to better understand the practical dilemmas faced by operational staff with respect to company/community conflict. The objective now is to bring this discussion to the oil and gas sector in order to share learnings as well as best practices in the field, with the aim of building a community of practice within the extractive sector.

The research process included the following activities: Survey of mining companies leading to the identification of 5 conflict drivers (water, land, consultations, distribution of benefits and community economic issues)Identification of practical challenges companies face when managing conflicts as well as ways in which some of them have responded to suchWorkshop in Chile with companies and NGOs to present and discuss findings and feed this into current thinking

The results of the research yield a set of dilemmas, all of which were grouped in six different categories mainly related to: stakeholder perceptions, issues of representation and information, legacy issues, others more process-oriented and a number of dilemmas related to specific contexts of operations.

When responding to community-company conflicts, the research also identifies some emerging trends that are slowly becoming standard practice. Some of those include: Grievance mechanisms consistent with the UN Guiding Principles' effectiveness criteria;Participatory approaches to performance monitoring complemented with capacity building on technical issues;Independent third parties to serve as experts, monitors/auditors, facilitators or mediators;Multi stakeholder dialogue processes.

It is widely recognised that many resources already exist to provide high-level guidance on management systems and approaches to understand and manage community-company conflict; where companies feel a gap exists is in responding to the type of practical challenges faced by operational staff in the course of their work. This research process seeks to contribute to fill that gap.
The Taninthayi Nature Reserve Project as a Model of Compensation of Impacts to Biodiversity
Authors: Pollard Edward , Victurine Ray , Tizard Robert , Hlaing Soe Win
Published: March 2016

The Taninthayi Nature Reserve Project (TNRP) has been operating in southern Myanmar since 2005. TNRP involves payments from three companies to support the creation and on-going management of a protected area as compensation for potential impacts to biodiversity from the construction and operation of three gas pipelines. This public-private partnership is unique in Myanmar and could form the basis of a model which can be applied to other developments in the country. We reviewed relevent literature and interviewed staff and stakeholders involved with the development and implementation of the TNRP in order to understand the model, identify some key lessons. As a framework for comparison the model was reviewed against current leading practice, primarily the International Finance Corporation (IFC) Performance Standard 6 (PS6), and the Business and Biodiversity Offets Program (BBOP) Standard on Biodiversity Offsets.

This review revealed that the project has broadly met its stated goals and objectives: The companies have met their financial commitments.Stakeholder criticism of pipeline biodiversity impacts has been limited.A protected area has been established and managed since 2005, with socio-economic development programmes delivered to surrounding communities.The capacity of government staff involved in the TNRP has been improved.

The TNRP was not originally developed to be in alignment with modern standards and the TNRP is not an offset. The TNRP thus does not meet current mitigation or offsetting best-practice in many areas. Our review does, however, highlight key lessons learned for developments to limit their impact on biodiversity and manage the associated risks effectively: Impact assessments should thoroughly analyse direct and indirect impacts to biodiversity.The mitigation hierarchy should be followed during the construction and operation of infrastructure.Should offsets be required, it is necessary to quantify biodiversity losses from development impacts and gains from conservation activities in order to identify how much compensation is enough.Monitoring of actions on the ground is the only way to determine their success in mitigating residual impacts to biodiversity.
A Joint Industry Research Programme to Improve Oil Spill Response Technologies and Methodologies for Use in the Arctic Offshore Environment
Authors: Mullin Joseph V.
Published: March 2016

For more than 50 years, the oil and gas industry has jointly funded and conducted research with industry, government, academia, and stakeholders to advance and improve arctic oil spill response technologies and methodologies and understand the potential impacts on the marine environment. This sustained and frequently collaborative effort is not commonly known and recognised by those outside the field of oil spill response. This research has included hundreds of studies, laboratory and basin experiments and field trials, specifically in the United States, Canada and Scandinavia (Potter et al 2012). Recent examples include the SINTEF Oil in Ice JIP (2006–2009) (Sørstrøm et al 2010) and research conducted at Ohmsett - The National Oil Spill Response Research and Renewable Energy Test Facility.

To continue to build on this existing research, nine international oil and gas companies (BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Eni, ExxonMobil, North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC), Shell, Statoil, and Total) are working collaboratively in the Arctic Oil Spill Response Technology - Joint Industry Programme (JIP). The purpose of the programme, the largest pan-industry programme dedicated to this area of research, is to further enhance industry knowledge and capabilities in the area of arctic oil spill response. The world's foremost experts on oil spill response, development, and operations from across industry, academia, and independent scientific institutions are being engaged to perform the scientific research.

The programme has completed phase one, which included technical assessments and state of knowledge reviews in the following six areas: dispersants, environmental effects, trajectory modelling, remote sensing, mechanical recovery, and in situ burning (ISB). Twelve research reports that identify and summarise the state-of- knowledge and regulatory status for using dispersants, in situ burn, mechanical recovery, and remote sensing in the Arctic are available on the JIP website (www.arcticresponsetechnology.org).

Phase two activities actively underway include modelling studies, laboratory and meso-scale basin testing and field experiments. Special emphasis is laid on gaining knowledge for the development of an Arctic Net Environmental Benefit Analysis (NEBA) tool to support operational decision-making for oil spill response strategy in the Arctic.
Sharing Information on Oil and Gas Activity in Marine Environments Using the IPIECA Marine Geospatial Bibliography
Authors: Ruck Philip , Plana Josep Oriol , Edmunds Paul
Published: March 2016

The objective of the paper is to provide information on the recently re-launched IPIECA Marine Geospatial Bibliography, highlighting the improvements that have been made to the tool since its initial launch in 2013, providing an example from an IPIECA member company on how they have made use of and contributed to the MGB, as well as explaining how using the tool can be beneficial to a wide range of audiences.

The objective of the MGB website itself is to centralise relevant information related to oil and gas activities in marine areas via a free online knowledge sharing platform which is accessible at http://mgb.ipieca.org. The MGB mission statement is to "identify and share sources of up-to-date scientific knowledge for management of oil and gas activities related to the marine environment, biodiversity, and ecosystems, whilst promoting ocean stewardship through increased transparency and greater awareness".

The paper will briefly explain the process IPIECA went through in 2014 and early 2015 to upgrade the MGB website, a collaboration with the GIS consultancy organisation Island GIS which culminated in the re-launch of the website in July 2015. Improvements include: –Technical updates, including integration of Google Maps and Maps Engine–Sharpened design and navigation functions–Increased accuracy of document locations–Easier content uploading for registered users

It will also explain how registered users of the MGB can get involved by uploading content, thereby allowing the MGB to continue to expand as further research and resources become available.

An additional focus of the paper will be a case study from IPIECA member company Repsol, who are a prominent contributor to the IPIECA-IOGP Biodiversity & Ecosystem Services Working Group and have been hugely supportive of the MGB. The paper will explain how Repsol have made use of the existing information available on the MGB, as well as Repsol's recent contribution of useful research to the tool. Repsol will also reflect upon the business benefits of using and contributing to the MGB.
Impact Investing: A New Opportunity for Oil and Gas
Authors: Briggs Barnaby
Published: March 2016

Oil and gas operators and other extractive companies can become drivers – and beneficiaries – of social impact investment partnerships. Impact investment is an innovative branch of the finance industry dedicated to obtaining a financial return as well as a social impact. The main constraint these investors face is the lack of ‘ready for market’ projects. This paper explains how oil and gas can help meet these needs.

Social impact investment represents a powerful means of mobilising very large volumes of capital - from foundations, pension funds, development agencies, and high net worth individuals - to drive sustained socio-economic development.

Our methodology consists of defining a specific problem that industry does not have the resources or mandate to resolve (for example crude oil theft for oil companies or artisanal mining for miners – along with a backdrop of population influx and growth, local content availability, and low SME development) and to identify a number of revenue generative opportunities; communicating clearly to targeted groups what they will save or gain from resolving this problem through these profitable opportunities; and communicating what they need to do to collaborate and make it possible.
Development of a Practical Evaluation Tool for Climate Driven Physical Risks
Authors: Buttini Patrizia , Marcelli Giulia , Petrella Chiara , Deffis Juan
Published: March 2016

As the challenges the O&G sector is facing have grown more complex, scientific evidence and environmental sensitivities are used to improve asset resiliency and making adaptation a cost effective strategy. The planet is experiencing water scarcity and extreme weather events that poses threats particularly to coastal areas and cities. It is thus necessary a simple and practical methodology to assess the risk of climate driven impacts on the O&G assets based on scenarios capable of detecting trends of change in climate risk.

The challenge is to develop a sufficiently detailed risk assessment across a broad range of assets and involving a long list of potential impacts resulting from extreme weather, coastal erosion, storm, ice, wind, land and biodiversity, water quality, regulatory, social and economic context.

An innovative risk assessment tool is under development using primary data from operational facilities, secondary data from internationally recognized databases, a suite of software tools and a customized vulnerability checklist applied at site operations. The trends of environmental and natural hazards are then assessed and managed both at the corporate and operational level. The vulnerability analysis needs to be customized on exploration and production, petro-chemistry and refining and must be applicable on site. A review of existing checklists has been conducted. These checklists complement and integrate the processes used in project development, with additional information on natural hazard and climate physical risks. Similarly to the methodology applied in the company's Water Resource Management guidelines, this approach would support the development of a resiliency management plan at the site level. The checklist gives a feedback on physical geographic location, the operating environment and local perceptions and implicitly suggests actions toward the improvement of resiliency.

Although more detailed and precise modelling of local risk may exist; the pilot study presented has a widespread applicability and does not require specialized technical skills and preliminary improvement indications are identified.

The approach is innovative, as far as we know, for the O&G sector. It moves away from a prescriptive approach to a more risk based strategy, allowing resources to be prioritized in geographic locations, activities and services that present higher risks to the company.
Getting to Zero - The Perfect HSE Day
Authors: Kuykendall Dina , Hinton J. Jack , Peresypkin Sergey
Published: March 2016

As an oil and gas industry, we are committed to "Getting to Zero" and to collaborating on our mutual goal of an incident free workplace. This paper describes our company's journey to embrace our industry's collective learnings, take action, and achieve a step change in HSE performance using a concept called "The Perfect HSE Day".

The first phase of our journey involved benchmarking best efforts and addressing the learnings identified in various SPE "Getting to Zero" workshops since 2010. These learnings include visible leadership, engaging employees and the pervasiveness of lagging indicators. While we developed methods to address these issues, such as our leading indicator scorecards, we realized we needed to do more. We also needed to adjust our mindset and really embrace the idea that getting to zero is possible. The real barrier was quite simply that to achieve it, you must first believe it. It was absolutely essential for all company leaders to believe, take a stand, and publicly declare our goal to "Make Every Day a Perfect HSE Day".

The second phase included defining the standard and metrics. Instead of focusing solely on safety, we chose a broad, well rounded approach, incorporating personal safety, transportation and also environmental aspects. The most critical part was employee engagement, to capture their hearts and minds using personal testimonials and a host of other means. It also meant celebrating success through daily email progress updates and enhancements to our HSE recognition program, among others.

The third and final phase is the continual evolution of The Perfect Day. This is a journey, and we must keep the momentum going to keep it alive. We've used a variety of strategies, including a personal renewal of employee commitment through what has now become an annual "HSE Commitment Day".

Using The Perfect HSE Day concept, we've achieved step change HSE performance improvement, far surpassing the incremental progress from prior years. This trajectory is dramatic and continues, as we are on track to achieve a 500% improvement since the Perfect HSE Day concept was introduced in 2012. And, the concept has been embraced by Quality and other groups, further expanding towards true operational excellence.

This paper describes our journey to zero, using a novel approach that connects broadly with employees on a personal level, in a way that statistical improvement goals never could. HSE goals that change from year to year can leave employees disconnected and feeling that they are back at square one. Instead, "The Perfect HSE Day" illustrates how breakthrough performance improvement can be achieved using an evergreen concept that can evolve and grow indefinitely.
Risk At Arms Length: How Exploration And Production Companies Are Managing Risks In Non-Operated Joint Ventures
Authors: Zamora Tony
Published: March 2016

Exploration and production (E&P) companies enter joint-venture partnerships as a way to limit their risks in operations and projects. Over the past few years, most major international oil companies (IOCs) have grown their NOJV portfolios. Production figures from 2012 show that non-operated production accounted for more than 41% of all global production of the supermajor operators (e.g. 22% for Chevron, 40% for Shell, 41% for Eni and 44% for ExxonMobil).

While major E&P companies may employ rigorous systems for managing risks in their own operations, until recently they have largely maintained a "hands off" approach with their NOJVs. Now, in response to concerns over major liability risks, most major IOCs have begun to implement programs to assess and manage risk in their NOJV partners' operations. Many independent E&P companies continue to assess NOJV risk ad hoc or not at all.

This paper describes the challenges faced and the effective strategies discovered by E&P companies implementing risk management programs for their NOJVs. A literature review on the topic identified key limits faced by non-Operators and the opportunities available for managing NOJV risk. Interviews with HSE leaders in a variety of E&P companies (from "supermajor" to small independents) as well as with business and legal consultants revealed best practices and common challenges (e.g. contract restrictions, cultural biases and legal misperceptions). These insights are summarized in a list of successful strategies for NOJV risk management programs, which may be useful for leaders developing, implementing or improving NOJV risk management programs within their own companies.
Cutting Cost, Not Corners In Hes Organizational Capability
Authors: Roseborough Vanessa , Drinkwater Ashley
Published: March 2016

In a cost-constrained environment, operating companies in the industry turn to efficiency and cost- control measures, which often result in fewer resources for competency development and training of the workforce. Although business decisions such as cutting organizational capability (OC) programs have been observed in oil and gas, effective training of human resources is an important key to organizational success. Companies can gain a competitive advantage by building foundational capabilities that allow employees to effectively and efficiently execute on deliverables.

Various training and delivery methods can be used to deliver key messages and increase competency in a company's workforce. However, developing a structured program based on the needs of the learner is essential to the success of an OC initiative. Analyses demonstrate that employees will need different types of training and development experiences at different stages of their career; therefore, OC programs should be tailored to targeted audiences. For the Health, Environment and Safety (HES) function, building OC supports the value placed protecting the people and the environment in oil and gas operations. This paper explores three OC programs focused on effective, efficient, and tailored employee development through the sharing of best practices and lessons learned during a refresh of the programs. To achieve this objective, a literature review, project lookback, and cost analysis were conducted.

A cost-savings opportunity of over $6 million per year was revealed while continuing to increase competency and improve productivity throughout the various stages of an employee's career. The blended approach of learning was incorporated into the training and development programs allowing the organization "to adapt, compete, excel, innovate, produce, be safe, improve service and reach goals" in a downturn environment (Salas et al. 2012).
Performance evaluation of package plant for treatment of single household domestic wastewater
Authors: Sharma Meena Kumari , Kazmi Absar Ahmad
Published: March 2016

This study was carried out to evaluate the performance of an anaerobic packaged onsite system as an alternative to septic tank for the rural and semi-urban areas of developing countries where centralized sewerage facilities are not available. Potential application was identified on the basis of pollutant removal efficiency. The average per-capita wastewater generation was found to be 140 L/person/day with maximum contribution from the kitchen. The average removal efficiency of the system for chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids, total nitrogen, total phosphate and fecal coliform was 70.9 ± 11.8%, 68.7 ± 8.5%, 78.1 ± 4.7%, 20.2 ± 8.4%, 13.8 ± 3.7% and 86.5 ± 1.6%, respectively. Despite a satisfactory performance, the anaerobically-treated effluent did not meet the disposal standards and required subsequent post treatment. An electrochemical reactor with aluminium electrodes, at a potential difference of 12 V, showed appreciable potential for use in actual households as a post treatment option for further removal of the pathogens and COD. The treated domestic wastewater, with electrocoagulation as a post-treatment measure, was successfully reused for non-potable purposes. Therefore, the package system, in conjugation with electrocoagulation process, promises to be a highly efficient technology for the onsite treatment of domestic wastewater in developing countries while facilitating reuse of the treated effluent for various recreational purposes as well as a safe discharge.
An integrated sewage treatment pond-wetland challenges conventional process treatment performance
Authors: Personnaz V. C. , McKenzie R. B. , Kikkert I. A. A.
Published: March 2016

This paper presents a case example showing how integrating a constructed free water surface (FWS) wetland with sewage treatment ponds system can deliver effluent quality results that rival conventional sewage treatment plants (STP). Treatment ponds, commonly used in regional and remote communities, provide low cost and operationally simple wastewater treatment. Despite the benefits of sewage ponds, many systems struggle to achieve modern environmental standards. This paper focuses on the treatment performance of a pond-wetland STP throughout the initial 15-month establishment period of a 2,000 sqm FWS wetland at Helidon Queensland, Australia. The pre-existing STP comprised a two-stage pond with chlorination. In 2013, a two-cell FWS wetland was built to achieve long-term licence compliance at the STP for biological oxygen demand (BOD), total suspended solids (TSS) and pH. Post establishment, the effluent quality out of the wetlands was BOD <10 mg/L; SS < 20 mg/L; pH of 7–8 despite the influent BOD and TSS levels being well above the values used for the system's design. This paper demonstrates that FWS wetlands can easily integrate into existing or new sewage pond systems to deliver high quality and reliable treatment outcomes.
‘Fit-for-Purpose’ sustainability index: a simplified approach for U.S. water utility sustainability assessment
Authors: Ries M. , Trotz M. , Vairavamoorthy K.
Published: March 2016

The theoretical framework presented in this paper proposes a method for determining which practices will inform a set of key indicators provide a ‘snapshot’ sustainability assessment of U.S. urban water utilities. It describes the method used to gather data via two qualitative research approaches to inform a sustainability index: semi-structured interviews with an external advisory committee of 12 U.S. urban water utility leaders, and online surveys of water professionals using the freelisting technique. The utility leader interviews revealed public education and communication as the most frequently cited sustainable practice, followed by asset management, community return on infrastructure investment, financial management, green infrastructure, and resource recovery practices. The water professionals survey revealed resource recovery as the most frequently cited sustainable practice, followed by water conservation, asset management and financial management, and energy efficiency. A consensus did not emerge about what is needed to drive more widespread adoption of sustainability indictors. The most frequently cited barriers to more widespread adoption were the absence of a definition of sustainability, lack of incentives, and resource requirements.
Decentralized wastewater treatment using ‘Pumped Flow Biofilm Reactor’ (PFBR) technology
Authors: Fox Shane , Cahill Michael , O'Reilly Edmond , Clifford Eoghan
Published: March 2016

Clean water resources are imperative for sustainable development. Thus, protection and management of waters receiving wastewater discharges have received significant attention from policy and regulatory bodies. The quality of wastewater effluent must meet regional (e.g. Water Framework Directive), national and local discharge standards. In addition, there is now significant pressure on engineers and operators to reduce energy consumption, sludge production and operation/maintenance issues, particularly at small-scale and decentralized wastewater facilities. Therefore, significant interest has risen in new technologies and operational insights which can (i) minimize operating costs; (ii) simplify and reduce the use of mechanical equipment; (iii) result in low sludge production; and (iv) ease operation/maintenance. This study investigated the performance of a small-scale municipal wastewater facility over 5 months from commissioning. The facility uses a new biofilm-based technology – the pumped flow biofilm reactor. Two experimental periods Phase 1 (28 to 36 days) and Phase 2 (Days 100 to 146) were examined. During Phase 2, removal rates averaged 98% for 5-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), 93% for total suspended solids, and 94% ammoniacal-nitrogen (NH4-N). Energy requirements averaged 0.22 kWh.m treated−3 and 1.74 kWh.kg-BOD5 removed−1. Extensive, camera-based studies revealed minimal excess sludge in the reactor tanks and sludge removal was not required during the study period. The use of vertically stacked plastic media to support the biofilm may have limited biofilm sloughing. Sludge yield during steady state operation was estimated at around 0.03 g-SS.g-COD removed−1. The study indicates that given careful design and operation, small-scale wastewater treatment systems can be as efficient as much larger, fully manned plants.
River continuity under difficult boundary conditions–useful steps and practical hints for designing a fish way
Authors: Weyand Michael , Kühlmann Markus
Published: March 2016

Most large and medium sized river basins in Germany have, over time, been affected by anthropogenic changes due to navigation, hydropower generation, and straightening and shortening of river courses for land reclamation. Consequently, there are many weirs inhibiting fish migration. The Ruhr River is affected by several such barriers or obstacles of which Baldeney Weir is the biggest. The search for an appropriate fish pass structure has not been easy given that the location is embedded in urban surroundings and used for traffic or recreation. This situation led to the establishment of an expert working group chaired by the Ruhrverband to discuss the problems and find a common solution. In a step by step approach, all necessary basic information was elaborated and evaluated, including consideration of diverse fish pass types. Setting up a working group of experts and responsible decision makers was found to be an appropriate method of overcoming differing opinions, sometimes based only on subjective, one-sided assessments, and reaching a mutually acceptable solution.
Characteristics of stable isotope and hydrochemistry of surface water, and their significance on the Huaibei plain, China
Authors: Chen Song
Published: March 2016

Eighteen river- and two ground- water samples were collected on Huaibei plain. The major ions, and hydrogen and oxygen isotope concentrations were determined, and statistical and other analyses carried out. The results showed that all of the waters are alkaline, with high Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) concentrations. Na+ + K+, and SO42− + HCO3− are the dominant anionic and cationic species, respectively, and the waters are mainly Na·K-SO4 and Na·K-HCO3 types. The δD and δ18O in river waters ranged from −53.07‰ to −22.07‰ and −6.97‰ to −1.23‰, with average values of −38.30‰ and −4.09‰, respectively. The δD and δ18O concentrations in groundwater were lower than in the river water samples. The correlation between δD and δ18O concentrations in the river water can be described by the formula δD = 5.32*δ18O − 16.54, which can also be considered the local evaporation line. The ionic content and character of the river water is mainly controlled by precipitation, evaporation and carbonate weathering, as deduced from the Gibbs diagram and principal component analyses.
Removal of micropollutants with coarse-ground activated carbon for enhanced separation with hydrocyclone classifiers
Authors: Otto N. , Platz S. , Fink T. , Wutscherk M. , Menzel U.
Published: March 2016

One key technology to eliminate organic micropollutants (OMP) from wastewater effluent is adsorption using powdered activated carbon (PAC). To avoid a discharge of highly loaded PAC particles into natural water bodies a separation stage has to be implemented. Commonly large settling tanks and flocculation filters with the application of coagulants and flocculation aids are used. In this study, a multi-hydrocyclone classifier with a downstream cloth filter has been investigated on a pilot plant as a space-saving alternative with no need for a dosing of chemical additives. To improve the separation, a coarser ground PAC type was compared to a standard PAC type with regard to elimination results of OMP as well as separation performance. With a PAC dosing rate of 20 mg/l an average of 64.7 wt% of the standard PAC and 79.5 wt% of the coarse-ground PAC could be separated in the hydrocyclone classifier. A total average separation efficiency of 93–97 wt% could be reached with a combination of both hydrocyclone classifier and cloth filter. Nonetheless, the OMP elimination of the coarse-ground PAC was not sufficient enough to compete with the standard PAC. Further research and development is necessary to find applicable coarse-grained PAC types with adequate OMP elimination capabilities.
Modelling High‐temperature EBPR by Incorporating Glycogen and GAOs: Challenges from a Preliminary Study
Authors: Liau Kee Fui , Yeoh Hak Koon , Shoji Tadashi , Chua Adeline Seak May , Ho Pei Yee
Published: March 2016

Recently reported kinetic and stoichiometric parameters of the Activated Sludge Model no. 2d (ASM2d) for high‐temperature EBPR processes suggested that the absence of glycogen in the model contributed to underestimation of PHA accumulation at 32 °C. Here, two modified ASM2d models were used to further explore the contribution of glycogen in the process. The ASM2d‐1G model incorporated glycogen metabolism by PAOs (polyphosphate‐accumulating organisms), while the ASM2d‐2G model further included processes by GAOs (glycogen‐accumulating organisms). These models were calibrated and validated using experimental data at 32 °C. The ASM2d‐1G model supported the hypothesis that the excess PHA was attributed to glycogen, but remained inadequate to capture the dynamics of glycogen without considering GAOs activities. The ASM2d‐2G model performed better, but it was challenging to calibrate as it often led to wash‐out of either PAOs or GAOs. Associated hurdles are highlighted and additional efforts in calibrating ASM2d‐2G more effectively are proposed.
Torsion of elliptical composite bars containing neutral coated cavities
Authors: Wang Xu , Wang Cuiying , Schiavone Peter
Published: March 2016

Using complex variable methods and conformal mapping techniques, we establish
the existence of coated cavities of various shapes that do not disturb the
warping function in a host elliptical bar. These cavities are known as
?partly neutral cavities?. Our results show that the two axes corresponding
to the neutral elliptical coating are parallel to those of the host
elliptical bar and that the centre of the elliptical coating can be located
arbitrarily on the major axis of the host bar. Examples of neutral coated
non-elliptical cavities are provided.
Value-Added Modeling and Educational Accountability
Authors: Everson Kimberlee C.
Published: March 2016

Value-added estimates of teacher or school quality are increasingly used for both high- and low-stakes accountability purposes, making understanding of their limitations critical. A review of the recent value-added literature suggests three concerns with the state of the research. First, the issues receiving the most research attention have not always been the concerns of greatest importance to theorists or critics. Second, there has been insufficient research on the interactions among various issues or assumption violations. Third, some of the big issues in value-added modeling have been challenging to address and may require educators to step back and answer some underlying philosophical questions about the nature of teacher and school quality.
The World Wide Web as Complex Data Set: Expanding the Digital Humanities into the Twentieth Century and Beyond through Internet Research
Authors: Black Michael L.
Published: March 2016

While intellectual property protections effectively frame digital humanities text mining as a field primarily for the study of the nineteenth century, the Internet offers an intriguing object of study for humanists working in later periods. As a complex data source, the World Wide Web presents its own methodological challenges for digital humanists, but lessons learned from projects studying large nineteenth century corpora offer helpful starting points. Complicating matters further, legal and ethical questions surrounding web scraping, or the practice of large scale data retrieval over the Internet, will require humanists to frame their research to distinguish it from commercial and malicious activities. This essay reviews relevant research in the digital humanities and new media studies in order to show how web scraping might contribute to humanities research questions. In addition to recommendations for addressing the complex concerns surrounding web scraping this essay also provides a basic overview of the process and some recommendations for resources.
Penguin Books and the Translation of Spanish and Latin American Poetry, 1956–1979
Authors: Boll Tom
Published: March 2016

This article accounts for the social interactions that gave rise to Penguin's translation of Spanish and Latin American Poetry during the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. Drawing on the Actor-Network Theory of Bruno Latour, it traces the editorial discussions that led to the adoption and abandonment of different translation policies: the dual-language subseries of the Penguin Poets, which employed prose translation; and the verse translation of the Penguin Modern European and Latin American Poets. Often regarded as an institution, Penguin is revealed as a focal point for conflicting initiatives that came from within and without the organization.
Partisanship or Loyalty? Seeking Textual Traces of Poetry Translators' Ideologies
Authors: Jones Francis R.
Published: March 2016

Earlier studies have revealed how the ideological stances of teams publishing translations of Bosnian and Serbian poetry into English during and after the 1990s’ conflict are often reflected in translation projects’ ‘structural features’: which poems are selected, the host publication's or website's title, and paratextual comments. This study analyses the ideological implications of textual (semantic and stylistic) “shifts” between source and target in 143 poems from 43 Serbian-to-English poetry translation projects examined previously. It shows much less evidence of translator ideology at textual-shift than at structural level, probably because of the translator's professional ethic of source-poet loyalty.
Recent English Translations of Poetry from Argentina: Contexts and Strategies
Authors: Bollig Ben
Published: March 2016

Poetry features prominently amongst the works published with the support of the Argentine Foreign Ministry's ‘Programa Sur de apoyo a las traducciones’, including collections by internationally feted writers such as Jorge Luis Borges, as well as what might be called ‘semi-canonical’ authors such as Alejandra Pizarnik and Juan Gelman, and contemporary poets, including Tamara Kamenszain and Mori Ponsowy. The article explores the roles that these publications suggest for the translator of poetry, from within the ‘Sur’ programme and beyond. The article asks, further, whether the differing circumstances of translation and publication are reflected in the translation strategies on display.
DerIvaTario: An annotated lexicon of Italian derivatives
Authors: Talamo Luigi , Celata Chiara , Bertinetto Pier Marco
Published: March 2016

We propose an annotation schema for derivational morphology featuring morphological, morphotactic and morphosemantic information concerning the base of the derivative as well as each derivational cycle. This schema was employed in the manual annotation of about 11,000 Italian derivatives, extracted from the CoLFIS corpus. The outcome is DerIvaTario, an annotated lexicon of Italian derivatives. The inter-annotator agreement was assessed over several variables of the annotation schema. DerIvaTario is available as an interactive database to be used for theoretical morphology and psycholinguistic research, and as a resource for automatic tagging of large Italian corpora.
The Management of Horses during Fireworks in New Zealand
Authors: Gronqvist Gabriella , Rogers Chris , Gee Erica
Published: March 2016

Within popular press there has been much coverage of the negative effects associated with firework and horses. The effect of fireworks has been documented in companion animals, yet no studies have investigated the negative effects, or otherwise, of fireworks on horses. This study aims to document horse responses and current management strategies to fireworks via an online survey. Of the total number of horses, 39% (1987/4765) were rated as “anxious”, 40% (1816/4765) “very anxious” and only 21% (965/4765) rated as “not anxious” around fireworks. Running (82%, 912/1107) was the most common behaviour reported, with no difference between property type (p > 0.05) or location (p > 0.05). Possibly as a consequence of the high frequency of running, 35% (384/1107) of respondents reported having horses break through fences in response to fireworks and a quarter (26%, 289/1099) reported that their horse(s) had received injuries associated with fireworks. The most common management strategy was moving their horse(s) to a paddock away from the fireworks (77%) and to stable/yard them (55%). However, approximately 30% reported these management strategies to be ineffective. Of the survey participants, 90% (996/1104) were against the sale of fireworks for private use.
Low Group Delay Dispersion Optical Coating for Broad Bandwidth High Reflection at 45° Incidence, P Polarization of Femtosecond Pulses with 900 nm Center Wavelength
Authors: Bellum John , Field Ella , Winstone Trevor , Kletecka Damon
Published: March 2016

We describe an optical coating design suitable for broad bandwidth high reflection (BBHR) at 45° angle of incidence (AOI), P polarization (Ppol) of femtosecond (fs) laser pulses whose wavelengths range from 800 to 1000 nm. Our design process is guided by quarter-wave HR coating properties. The design must afford low group delay dispersion (GDD) for reflected light over the broad, 200 nm bandwidth in order to minimize temporal broadening of the fs pulses due to dispersive alteration of relative phases between their frequency components. The design should also be favorable to high laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT). We base the coating on TiO2/SiO2 layer pairs produced by means of e-beam evaporation with ion-assisted deposition, and use OptiLayer Thin Film Software to explore designs starting with TiO2/SiO2 layers having thicknesses in a reverse chirped arrangement. This approach led to a design with R > 99% from 800 to 1000 nm and GDD < 20 fs2 from 843 to 949 nm (45° AOI, Ppol). The design’s GDD behaves in a smooth way, suitable for GDD compensation techniques, and its electric field intensities show promise for high LIDTs. Reflectivity and GDD measurements for the initial test coating indicate good performance of the BBHR design. Subsequent coating runs with improved process calibration produced two coatings whose HR bands satisfactorily meet the design goals. For the sake of completeness, we summarize our previously reported transmission spectra and LIDT test results with 800 ps, 8 ps and 675 fs pulses for these two coatings, and present a table of the LIDT results we have for all of our TiO2/SiO2 BBHR coatings, showing the trends with test laser pulse duration from the ns to sub-ps regimes.
Distributed Renewable Generation and Storage System Sizing Based on Smart Dispatch of Microgrids
Authors: Atia Raji , Yamada Noboru
Published: March 2016

This paper considers the contribution of independent owners (IOs) operating within microgrids (MGs) toward green power generation in deregulated energy markets. An optimization scheme is introduced for sizing distributed renewable generation (DRG) and a distributed energy storage system (DESS) based on a novel energy management system (EMS) that accounts for demand response (DR), DESS dispatch and performance degradation, dynamic pricing environments, power distribution loss and irregular renewable generation. The proposed EMS utilizes an iterative Newton-Raphson linear programming algorithm that schedules resources in order to minimize the objective function, to deal with the complicated nonlinear nature of the problem and to enable efficient long-term assessments. The EMS is used to evaluate candidate solutions that are generated by a genetic algorithm (GA) to determine the optimal combination of DRG and DESS. A case study for IEEE 34-bus distribution MG in Okinawa, Japan, is used for testing the algorithm and analyzing the potential for IO/MG investments and their strategies.
Impact of Urban Morphology on Infiltration-Induced Building Energy Consumption
Authors: Jurelionis Andrius , Bouris Demetri
Published: March 2016

External air movement within built neighborhoods is highly dependent on the morphological parameters of buildings and surroundings, including building height and street cavity ratios. In this paper, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methods were applied to calculate surface pressure distributions on building surfaces for three city models and two wind directions. Pressure differences and air change rates were derived in order to predict the heating load required to cover heat losses caused by air infiltration. The models were based on typical urban layouts for three cities, and were designed of approximately equal built volumes and equal air permeability parameters. Simulations of the three analyzed building layouts resulted in up to 41% differences in air change rates and heat losses caused by air infiltration. In the present study, wind direction did not have a significant impact on the relative difference between the models, however sideward wind direction caused higher air change rates and heat losses for all simulated layouts.
Concurrent Heroin Use and Correlates among Methadone Maintenance Treatment Clients: A 12-Month Follow-up Study in Guangdong Province, China
Authors: Luo Xiaofeng , Zhao Peizhen , Gong Xiao , Zhang Lei , Tang Weiming , Zou Xia , Chen Wen , Ling Li
Published: March 2016

Objective: To assess concurrent heroin use and correlates among Methadone Maintenance Treatment (MMT) clients in Guangdong Province, China. Method: Demographic and drug use data were collected with a structured questionnaire, and MMT information was obtained from the MMT clinic registration system in Guangdong. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infected status and urine morphine results were obtained from laboratory tests. Logistic regressions were employed to investigate the factors associated with concurrent heroin use. Results: Among the 6848 participants, 75% continued using heroin more than once during the first 12 months after treatment initiation. Concurrent heroin use was associated with inharmonious family relationship (OR (odds ratio) = 1.49, 95% CI (confidence intervals): 1.24–1.78), HIV positivity (OR = 1.25, 95% CI: 1.01–1.55), having multiple sex partners (OR = 1.34, 95% CI: 1.07–1.69), having ever taken intravenous drugs (OR = 0.81, 95% CI: 0.69–0.95), higher maintenance dose (OR = 1.13, 95% CI: 1.01–1.28) and poorer MMT attendance (OR<20% = 1.32, 95% CI: 1.13–1.53; OR20%– = 1.33, 95% CI: 1.14–1.54; OR50%– = 1.69, 95% CI: 1.44–2.00). Among those who used heroin concurrently, the same factors, and additionally being older (OR35– = 1.26, 95% CI: 1.11–1.43; OR≥45 = 1.63, 95% CI: 1.30–2.05) and female (OR = 1.60, 95% CI: 1.28–2.00), contribute to a greater frequency of heroin use. Conclusions: Concurrent heroin use was prevalent among MMT participants in Guangdong, underscoring the urgent needs for tailored interventions and health education programs for this population.
MicroRNAs in Osteoclastogenesis and Function: Potential Therapeutic Targets for Osteoporosis
Authors: Ji Xiao , Chen Xiang , Yu Xijie
Published: March 2016

Abnormal osteoclast formation and resorption play a fundamental role in osteoporosis pathogenesis. Over the past two decades, much progress has been made to target osteoclasts. The existing therapeutic drugs include bisphosphonates, hormone replacement therapy, selective estrogen receptor modulators, calcitonin and receptor activator of nuclear factor NF-κB ligand (RANKL) inhibitor (denosumab), etc. Among them, bisphosphonates are most widely used due to their low price and high efficiency in reducing the risk of fracture. However, bisphosphonates still have their limitations, such as the gastrointestinal side-effects, osteonecrosis of the jaw, and atypical subtrochanteric fracture. Based on the current situation, research for new drugs to regulate bone resorption remains relevant. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a new group of small, noncoding RNAs of 19–25 nucleotides, which negatively regulate gene expression after transcription. Recent studies discovered miRNAs play a considerable function in bone remodeling by regulating osteoblast and osteoclast differentiation and function. An increasing number of miRNAs have been identified to participate in osteoclast formation, differentiation, apoptosis, and resorption. miRNAs show great promise to serve as biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets for osteoporosis. In this review, we will summarize our current understanding of how miRNAs regulate osteoclastogenesis and function. We will further discuss the approach to develop drugs for osteoporosis based on these miRNA networks.
Biosynthesis of Bacterial Cellulose/Carboxylic Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes for Enzymatic Biofuel Cell Application
Authors: Lv Pengfei , Feng Quan , Wang Qingqing , Li Guohui , Li Dawei , Wei Qufu
Published: March 2016

Novel nanocomposites comprised of bacterial cellulose (BC) with carboxylic multi-walled carbon nanotubes (c-MWCNTs) incorporated into the BC matrix were prepared through a simple method of biosynthesis. The biocathode and bioanode for the enzyme biological fuel cell (EBFC) were prepared using BC/c-MWCNTs composite injected by laccase (Lac) and glucose oxidase (GOD) with the aid of glutaraldehyde (GA) crosslinking. Biosynthesis of BC/c-MWCNTs composite was characterized by digital photos, scanning electron microscope (SEM), and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR). The experimental results indicated the successful incorporation of c-MWCNTs into the BC. The electrochemical and biofuel performance were evaluated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV). The power density and current density of EBFCs were recorded at 32.98 µW/cm3 and 0.29 mA/cm3, respectively. Additionally, the EBFCs also showed acceptable stability. Preliminary tests on double cells indicated that renewable BC have great potential in the application field of EBFCs.