title: Redesigning clinical laboratory services: Securing efficient diagnoses for New Zealanders

authors: France, Necia

subjects: accounting

abstract: This monograph develops an evidence-based redesign plan for a key support service in the country’s health system. It is based on a doctoral thesis that evaluated the impact of market-style health resource control of New Zealand’s clinical laboratory services. The monograph summarises material detailed in the thesis, and extrapolates from it to make the following recommendations for improved cost-efficiency: 1) Competitive contracting as a means of price control for diagnostic laboratory services should be abandoned. 2) Laboratory remuneration should be cost-based and independent of specimen origin. 3) Costing methodology already developed and tested in Australia should be introduced here in order to define remuneration formulae. 4) A Laboratory Service Advisory Committee, representatives of clinical laboratories in both sectors, should provide service-related advice to the Ministry of Health. 5) Regionally representative laboratory committees should be charged with planning and co-ordinating district laboratory services, in the interests of cost-efficiency. 6) Interactive electronic expert systems should be developed in major regional laboratories as a counter to clinical laboratory misuse. 7) Technology retraining programmes aimed at achieving suitable medical laboratory technologist redeployment within the health system should be instated in main centres. Long-term, providers of workforce training should aim at developing greater flexibility in the health technology workforce.

text: Redesigning clinical laboratory services: Securing efficient diagnoses for New Zealanders This monograph develops an evidence-based redesign plan for a key support service in the country’s health system. It is based on a doctoral thesis that evaluated the impact of market-style health resource control of New Zealand’s clinical laboratory services. The monograph summarises material detailed in the thesis, and extrapolates from it to make the following recommendations for improved cost-efficiency: 1) Competitive contracting as a means of price control for diagnostic laboratory services should be abandoned. 2) Laboratory remuneration should be cost-based and independent of specimen origin. 3) Costing methodology already developed and tested in Australia should be introduced here in order to define remuneration formulae. 4) A Laboratory Service Advisory Committee, representatives of clinical laboratories in both sectors, should provide service-related advice to the Ministry of Health. 5) Regionally representative laboratory committees should be charged with planning and co-ordinating district laboratory services, in the interests of cost-efficiency. 6) Interactive electronic expert systems should be developed in major regional laboratories as a counter to clinical laboratory misuse. 7) Technology retraining programmes aimed at achieving suitable medical laboratory technologist redeployment within the health system should be instated in main centres. Long-term, providers of workforce training should aim at developing greater flexibility in the health technology workforce.

year: 2003-01

title: Interfacial microstructure and shear strength of Ti-6Al-4V/TiAl laminate composite sheet fabricated by hot packed rolling

authors: Kong, Fantao

subjects: Intermetallics

abstract: A two layer Ti-6Al-4V(wt%)/Ti-43Al-9V-Y(at%) laminate composite sheet with a uniform interfacial microstructure and no discernible defects at the interfaces has been prepared by hot-pack rolling, and its interfacial microstructure and shear strength were characterized. Characterization of the interfacial microstructure shows that there was an interfacial region of uniform thickness of about 250 μm which consisted of two layers: Layer I on the TiAl side which was 80 μm thick and Layer II on the Ti-6Al-4V side which was 170 μm thick. The microstructure of Layer I consisted of massive γ phases, needlelike γ phases and B2 phase matrix, while the microstructure of Layer II consisted of α₂ phase. The microstructure of the interfacial region is the result of the interdiffusion of Ti element from Ti-6Al-4V alloy layer into the TiAl alloy layer and Al element from the TiAl alloy layer into the Ti-6Al-4V alloy layer. The shear strength measurement demonstrated that the bonding strength between the TiAl alloy and Ti-6Al-4V alloy layers in the laminate composite sheet was very high. This means that the quality of the interfacial bonding between the two layers achieved by the multi-path rolling is high, and the interface between the layers is very effective in transferring loading, causing significantly improved toughness and plasticity of the TiAl/Ti-6Al-4V laminate composite sheet.

text: Interfacial microstructure and shear strength of Ti-6Al-4V/TiAl laminate composite sheet fabricated by hot packed rolling A two layer Ti-6Al-4V(wt%)/Ti-43Al-9V-Y(at%) laminate composite sheet with a uniform interfacial microstructure and no discernible defects at the interfaces has been prepared by hot-pack rolling, and its interfacial microstructure and shear strength were characterized. Characterization of the interfacial microstructure shows that there was an interfacial region of uniform thickness of about 250 μm which consisted of two layers: Layer I on the TiAl side which was 80 μm thick and Layer II on the Ti-6Al-4V side which was 170 μm thick. The microstructure of Layer I consisted of massive γ phases, needlelike γ phases and B2 phase matrix, while the microstructure of Layer II consisted of α₂ phase. The microstructure of the interfacial region is the result of the interdiffusion of Ti element from Ti-6Al-4V alloy layer into the TiAl alloy layer and Al element from the TiAl alloy layer into the Ti-6Al-4V alloy layer. The shear strength measurement demonstrated that the bonding strength between the TiAl alloy and Ti-6Al-4V alloy layers in the laminate composite sheet was very high. This means that the quality of the interfacial bonding between the two layers achieved by the multi-path rolling is high, and the interface between the layers is very effective in transferring loading, causing significantly improved toughness and plasticity of the TiAl/Ti-6Al-4V laminate composite sheet.

year: 2011

title: Personality and Representation in Environmental Law

authors: Daya-Winterbottom, Trevor

abstract: Jorge Vinuales from the University of Cambridge observed in his working paper on “Law and the Anthropocene” that law is founded on a series of core concepts, such as, “legal personality, representation, obligation, debt, causality or damage” (CEENRG Working Papers 2016- 4, page 49). This led him to note that a “significant problem” faced by environmental law is how to flesh out these core concepts in relation to the protection of the environment (page 53). For example, should we regard natural resources (e.g. rivers or mountains) as “subjects” of environmental law with their “own interests and capacity to act (through representation)”, or merely as the “objects” of environmental law – to be protected either “directly” as specific natural resources, or “indirectly” via the protection of the environment generally (page 53). This article interrogates these perspectives by reference to recent New Zealand developments.

text: Personality and Representation in Environmental Law Jorge Vinuales from the University of Cambridge observed in his working paper on “Law and the Anthropocene” that law is founded on a series of core concepts, such as, “legal personality, representation, obligation, debt, causality or damage” (CEENRG Working Papers 2016- 4, page 49). This led him to note that a “significant problem” faced by environmental law is how to flesh out these core concepts in relation to the protection of the environment (page 53). For example, should we regard natural resources (e.g. rivers or mountains) as “subjects” of environmental law with their “own interests and capacity to act (through representation)”, or merely as the “objects” of environmental law – to be protected either “directly” as specific natural resources, or “indirectly” via the protection of the environment generally (page 53). This article interrogates these perspectives by reference to recent New Zealand developments.

year: 2018-02-06