How high growth economies impact global information technology departments

By the very nature of information technology (IT), change and dynamism have always been significant drivers on its path to further development—and it has traditionally been the Western countries leading these. Now the picture is changing. The new high growth economies of the world (also known as BRIC countries) are increasingly pressing forward as active IT development drivers. Internal IT organizations of international companies are experiencing these global shifts firsthand and are facing changes in their traditional roles. This exploratory research is aimed at clarifying the context of the impact of high growth economies on such IT departments of Western-rooted enterprises. Forty-six interviews were conducted with IT managers, HR managers and expatriates emphasizing the importance of intercultural interaction, maturing IT economies, change in IT landscape and entrepreneurship.     

Response of reinforced concrete beams to hydrostatic pressure acting within primary cracks

This paper investigates the response of reinforced concrete beams to hydrostatic pressure acting within primary cracks. Notched beams were initially pre-cracked before pressurised water was introduced into the primary crack. The deflection and strain increase at tensile reinforcement level (due to the pressurised water load) was measured. Tests were carried out using applied hydrostatic pressures of 0.2 and 0.325 MPa. Results show that both deflection and strain at tensile reinforcement level increases immediately after the introduction of hydrostatic pressure into open primary cracks. If the crack is held open and hydrostatic pressure is allowed to build up within the depth of the crack, additional deformation occurs. A finite element (FE) model was constructed to investigate the effects of greater hydrostatic pressures acting within the primary crack. The FE model was first validated against the test data, before being used to assess the structural response of the reinforced concrete section to applied hydrostatic pressures of up to 1 MPa. It was found that section deformations increased as hydrostatic pressure was increased. At applied hydrostatic pressures of 0.8 MPa and above, the increases in strain at tensile reinforcement level were shown to be significant. DNV-0S-C205, which is the Det Norske Veritas (DNV) standard for offshore concrete structures states that the ‘effects of water pressure within cracks may be neglected for structural elements exposed to less than 100 m (0.981 MPa) of water head.’ The current research suggests that the effects of water pressure within cracks for structural elements exposed to slightly less than 100 m water head may also be significant (based on a 10 % threshold criteria). However, it is accepted that a more comprehensive parametric study would be required to determine whether or not the DNV should be redressed.     

Biochemical markers of the mechanical quality of engineered hyaline cartilage

The aim of this study was to determine whether or not biochemical markers can be used as surrogate measures for the mechanical quality of tissue engineered cartilage. The biochemical composition of tissue engineered cartilage constructs were altered by varying either (i) the initial cell seeding density of the scaffold (seeding density protocol) or (ii) the length of time the engineered tissue was cultured (culture period protocol). The aggregate or Young’s moduli of the constructs were measured (by confined or unconfined compression respectively), and compared with the composition of the extracellular matrix by quantitative measurement of the glycosaminoglycan (GAG), hydroxyproline, collagen I and collagen II and collagen cross-links. The aggregate modulus correlated positively with both GAG and collagen II content, but not with collagen I content. Young’s modulus correlated positively with GAG, collagen II and collagen I content, and the ratio of mature to immature cross-links. There was no significant correlation of Young’s Modulus with total collagen measured as hydroxyproline content. These results suggested that hydroxyproline determination may be an unreliable indicator of mechanical quality of tissue engineered cartilage, and that a measure of collagen II and GAG content is required to predict the biomechanical quality of tissue engineered cartilage.     

The end of the Paris energy dialogue and the need for an international energy institute

Since 1973 energy has been in the forefront of international discussions about the political implications of supply and prices, especially as these factors affect the developing countries which are heavily dependent on imports (the OIDC). The author traces the history and organization of the Conference of International Economic Cooperation, its successes and failures, and focuses on the problems of the OIDC which, because they have not been fully recognized, account for the abundance of failures and point to the need for an international institutional mechanism for energy to go beyond the capacities of existing organizations.     

Composition and nutritional evaluation of microbial biomass grown on whiskey distillery spent wash

Microbial biomass produced from malt whiskey distillery spent wash, composed of a mixture of the filamentous fungus Geotrichum candidum and the yeasts Hansenula anomala and Candida krusei, had crude protein contents of 48 and 52 g 100 g^?1 and ‘true protein’ contents of 38 and 42 g 100 g^?1 when grown in batch and continuous culture respectively. Analyses of amino acid composition showed that the essential amino acid content was between 45 and 49 g 16 g^?1 N and the essential amino acid index between 0.66 and 0.70. The sulphur-containing amino acids were limiting, being between 49 and 59% deficient compared with the requirements of the growing rat. In rat feeding trials the biomass had a biological value of 0.53, a net protein utilisation value of 0.40 and a digestibility of 0.75 based on its crude protein content. Supplementation of the biomass with methionine and admixture in a ratio of 1:9 with distillers spent grains raised the NPU values to 0.49 and 0.55 respectively. Comparison of the composition and nutritional quality with that of distillers' dark grains demonstrated that the biomass was of a higher quality, and when either supplemented with methionine or mixed with distillers' spent grains was comparable with soya-bean meal.     

Synthesis and Characterisation of Some New Ferrocenyl- and Ferrocenylalkynyl-[60]Fullerene Compounds

We report the synthesis and characterisation of a series of ferrocenylfullerene compounds, and some new ferrocene derivatives required as intermediates. The new fullerene species are Fc-[60]fullerene, (8); Fc-C=C-[60]fullerene, (10); Fc-C=C-C=C-[60]fullerene, (12); and (η-C₅H₄SiBu₃)Fe(η-C₅H₄)-[60]fullerene, (14).     

Right-first-timendashthe role of automatic dispensing in the dyehouse

Adding dyes and chemicals accurately to the dyebath is critical in making dyeing right-first-time. Trevor Larkins looks at how automatic dispensing can help.