International Arbitration in International Investments A study of the Essay

International Arbitration in International Investments A study of the effectiveness of The International Investments Arbitratio - Essay Example The aim of this dissertation is to study the current arbitration laws in the Kingdom and examine the extent of the effectiveness of investment arbitration. The new 2012 arbitration laws can be said to be a welcome change in the arbitration scenario in Saudi Arabia, as it tries to rectify the drawbacks of the old law. The new law traces many of its provisions to the model law, and therefore has concepts that have an international outlook. One major change in the new law is where the role of the court has been changed from a supervisory body to that of an advisory body. This marked change means that the arbitral bodies have extra powers in the enforcement of arbitral awards. The new 2012 law therefore has provisions that can calm the fears of foreign investors and bring about the effectiveness of arbitral awards in Saudi Arabia. Abstract Since the ARAMCO case, doubts have arisen about the effectiveness of international investment arbitration in Saudi Arabia. This dissertation will stud y and analyse the extent of the effectiveness of investment arbitration in the Kingdom. In the first chapter, the nature and scope of international investment arbitration will be discussed. ... The study of this approach includes analysing the ARAMCO case and the impact it has had. Also, the chapter discusses the basic principles of arbitration included in the SAL and the extent of its contribution to the effectiveness of arbitration. Chapter Four includes an analysis of the role of Saudi courts in the effectiveness of investment arbitration at the start of the arbitration process until arbitration award is rendered. The final chapter focuses on the obstacles of the recognition and enforcement of the arbitration award and analyses the defences, whether formal or substantive, that may lead to the nullity of the arbitral award according to the SAL. The last part of the chapter addresses the analysis of the conditions required for implementation of the arbitration award. Introductionntroduction Arbitration can be termed as â€Å"a private method of dispute resolution chosen by the parties themselves as an effective way of putting an end to disputes between them, without recou rse to the court of law†.1 For international investments, investors consider international arbitration to be the only vital mechanism to resolve disputes arising within the limits of the host state.2 It is an attempt to achieve some kind of balance between two parties whose legal statuses differ by one party being of Private International Law and the other of Public International Law. 3 Furthermore, it is also a way to not apply the authority of regulations and the local judiciary4, which increases in particular cases where these regulations are either unclear or investors are unaware of them. This happens to be true in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)5, where Islamic Shari’a (Shari’a)6 law dominates and controls the

Cyber Terrorism and other types of terrorism in Australia Research Paper

Cyber Terrorism and other types of terrorism in Australia - Research Paper Example The practical difficulty in controlling cyber crimes made it one of the most dangerous terrorist activities of modern era. Since most of the critical areas of human life are making use of computers and internet at present, cyber attack can affect the social life drastically within a second. For example, transporting systems, power supply, military operation and telecommunication systems etc are relying heavily on computers and internet for its routine jobs and functions at present. Any problems occurred in the functionality of computers and internet can affect these areas negatively and cause immense damages to public life. This paper analyses the terrorism threats faced by Australia in general and cyber threats in particular. It is not necessary that cyber attacks may create physical ham alone to Australia. In fact cyber attacks can be used to defame a country like Australia in front of others. The most common form of hacktivism is the defacing of web pages to carry a message to the audience of that web site. The site shown in Figure below – an Australian business defaced to accuse Australia of being a terrorist country, is a recent example of hacktivism – as well as illustrating the tensions of the war on terror being transferred to the electronic realm (Ellsmore, p.5) The above webpage is a clear example of how the cyber attacks happening against Australia. Australia is a strong supporter of war on terror which is going on in Iraq and Afghanistan. Terrorists target all the countries which support war on terror in some way. Since most of the countries like Australia have strengthened the security measures against a physical or direct terrorist attack terrorists now adopting channels of indirect attack. Cyber attacks give them the luxury of attacking their targets from a distance and the chances of arrest or punishment are extremely rare. â€Å"Evidence exist s to suggest that al-Qaeda have also been using the Internet to collect & collate information about potential critical infrastructure targets† (Ellsmore, p.6). Internet is an ocean of information. It is not necessary to visit a place to collect information about it. All the details about all the places in the world are available on internet at present. It is easy for terrorist groups to collect and analyze this information before planning an attack on a particular target. The electronic information can be used for cyber attacks or even for physical attacks. According to the CERT Co-ordination Centre, the number of reported computer security incidents increased from 9,859 in 1999 to 52,658 in 2001, and we are on track for almost 100,000 in 2023. Similarly, the 2002 Australian Computer Crime and Security Survey found that 67% of respondents suffered a security incident, twice the level of 1994 (Ellsmore, p.8). The above statistics are clear indications of growing threats faced b y Australia from cyber terrorism. Cyber attacks can affect the productivity of organizations and employment losses to the employees. In other words, cyber attacks can destroy affect the financial systems more than the lives of the people. The expenses needed to conduct a cyber attack are extremely cheaper compared to the expenses needed for a physical attack. At the same time cyber attacks can cause more damages to the target than a physical attack. Moreover, the publicity generated by cyber attacks may create panic and disgust among the people. The above facts motivate terrorist in selecting cyber medium for their future channel of attack. â€Å"

Pharmaceutical Industry Analysis

Pharmaceutical Industry Analysis In this chapter a basic understanding of how the pharmaceutical industry will be defined and which models will be used to analyse it will be given to the reader. 1.1 Definition of Industry The most important definition of industry was given by Michael Porter in 1979: a group of competitors producing substitutes that are close enough that the behaviour of any firm affects each of the others either directly or indirectly. Later, Porter defined the term more precisely as a group of companies offering products or services that are close substitutes for each other, that is, products or services that satisfy the same basic customers needs. This new definition emphasizes the importance of industry borders and industrys role as a market supplier or producer of goods and services, as distinguished from a market, defined as a consumer of goods and services. Furthermore, inside every industry there are groups of companies that follow similar strategies, defined by Michael S. Hunt in his unpublished 1972 Ph.D. dissertation as strategic groups. Between these groups there are differences in entry barriers, bargaining power with buyers and suppliers and skills and resources . Strategic groups compete against each other within the industry as a result of these differences. 1.2 Models to Analyse the Industry and Its Environment The literature agrees that comprehension of the industry structure is essential to developing a firms strategy and has a greater effect on the firms performance than whether it is business-specific or corporate-parent. The comprehension of the structure requires analyses of the industrys life cycle. It also requires step-by-step political, legal, technological, social and economic analyses as well as the five driving forces of business, provided by Michael Porter. By utilizing these analysis techniques, it is also possible to anticipate changes in industry competition and profitability over time. 1.2.1 Industry Life Cycle Analysis There are different phases during the development of an industry. Every phases is characterized by a different environments which make competition assumes different the form. Through studying the life cycle, the industry realizes its stake in the market and its influence on consumers. The industry life cycle model includes four different phases: introduction, growth, maturity and decline. The first phase, called introduction, is characterized by a low demand, whereas prices are high as a consequence of firms inability to realize economies of scale. For this reason profits are low and losses are possible due to high amount of investments in new categories. Barriers to entry are primary based on technologies and competencies. Strategy is focused mainly on RD and production, with the goal of enhancing novelty and quality. Competitors, attracted by the rising demand, attempt to replicate the new product. In the second phase, growth, the use of the product is extended, demand grows, prices decline due to economies of scale, barriers to entry are lower and the threat of new entry is high. At this phase the technology is usually not exclusive property of one or more firms, and the primary reaction to competition is marketing expenditure and initiatives; profits are not very high because prices decline as competitors enter the market. There is a transition period, or shake-out, between the second and the third phases. The shake-out involves finding and using all investment opportunities, because the market is near saturation and demand grows more slowly. In the third phase, maturity, market growth is low or non-existent, and the focus shifts to gaining market share; demand is represented only by the substitution of products, investment in RD decreases and there is little innovation. In this phase firms seek cost reductions, and competition is based primarily on advertising and quality because of the low differentiation between products. Big firms acquire smaller players, while others are forced to exit. As a consequence of high barrier to entry, the threat of new entrants are low. The last phase is decline, so called because of the continued decline in demand. Industries arrive at this stage for a variety of reasons. These include a change in social behaviours, demographic changes, international competition, technological innovations and increased customer knowledge. The buying process is based primarily on price rather than innovation. As a result, profit and revenues decline, and the industry as a whole may be supplanted. 1.2.2 PEST Analysis The word PEST is an acronym of several aspects that influence business activities at any given moment. An industry operates under Political, Economic, Social and Technological conditions. These conditions are identify and analyzed using the PEST Analysis technique. Due to their independent influence on any industry, it is essential that each be considered individually. The political aspect of analysis encompasses various factors that influence business activities in a given country at several levels: national, sub-national and supranational levels. These include trade policies control imports, exports and international business partners, government ownership of industry, attitude toward monopolies and competition and trade policies. Hence, failure to consider these policies may result in loss of revenue due to taxes or penalty fees. Government stability is also very important, because it eradicates the risks associated with wars and conflicts. For an industry to thrive, political stability must be uncompromising; otherwise, sales and business activities will be uncertain, and investors will lose interest. The internal political issues in any country influence the running of industries. Politics based on race or religion may define the course for certain industries, especially if an industry falls short of political expectations. Elections and changes in leadership also influence an industrys strengths and opportunities and thus should be considered during the analysis. In addition to internal issues, international pressures and influences may affect some industries, such as environmental degradation or product safety. Another factor is terrorism. Though uncommon in many countries, poor or unstable governance may attract terrorist activities, vengeful or otherwise, which can have adverse effects on the industries operating in that country. All these issues may influence industry and firm expansion and industry attractiveness from stake holders point of view. The economic aspect of analysis includes many factors. The first factor to consider is the current economic situation and trends in the country in which the industry is based. Companies should note inflation and economic decline so that when it comes to investing, they can avoid being financially affected. Failure to do this results in an economically blind platform that may cause the industrys sudden collapse. Another factor to consider in analysis is taxation rates. When there are high taxation rates in a given country, price-based competition may affect a given industry in the international market. International economic trends are also very important, because they define currency exchange rates, imports and exports. Other factors to consider are consumer expenditure and disposable income and, finally, legal issues, including all trade legislation in a given country and other legal regulations that inhibit or encourage expansion of business activities. Also to be considered are consumer protection laws, employment laws, environmental protection laws and quality standardization regulations. Industrial laws regulating competition, market policies and guidelines also play an important role in influencing industrys stability and future expansion possibilities . When considering the social aspect, factors including demographic changes, shifts in values and culture and changes in lifestyle are important to note so as to strategize on expansion and growth . Certain factors, such as media and communities, influence an industrys growth and returns. Brand name and corporate image are also very important in influencing growth and returns since they shape customer loyalty and shareholder investment. The medias views on certain industrial products should be incorporated into the analysis, as should consumer attitudes and sensibility to green issues, that is, issues that affect the environment, energy consumption and waste and its disposal. A companys information systems and internal and external communications should also be analyzed to ensure that it keeps pace with its competitors. Other factors are the policies regulating education, health and distribution of income, all of which, in the long run, influence consumer use of products . The technological aspect of analysis encompasses a variety of factors. In addition to developing technologies, all associated technologies, along with their innovation potentials, speed of change and adoption of new technology, should be analyzed for a proper evaluation of the industry. Other technological factors are transportation, waste management and online business. The level of expenditure on RD should also be considered in order to secure the industrys competitive position to prevent losses and collapse . 1.2.3 Porters Five Competitive Forces Analysis Porters model, as described by Kay, is an evolution of the Structure-Conduct-Performance paradigm conceived by Edward Mason at Harvard University in the 1930s and detailed by Scherer in the 1980s. , The model aims to determine the intensity of industry competition, major issues in determining strategy and whether an industry is attractive or not. Porter identified five competitive forces that act on an industry and its environment: threat of entry, intensity of rivalry among existing competitors, threat of substitutes, bargaining power of buyers and bargaining power of suppliers. The first competitive force, threat of entry, refers to the threat of new entrants in an established industry or acquisition to gain market share. Reactions of participants and barriers to entry are the main factors used to establish whether the threat is high or low. Six major entry barriers have been identified: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ capital required to compete in the industry (especially in risky industry, such as advertising or RD) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ switching costs à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ access to distribution channels à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ economies of scale à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ cost disadvantages independent of scale, such as patents, access to know-how, access to limited resources, favourable locations, government subsidies or policies and learning or experience curves à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ product differentiation à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ expected retaliation from existing firms against the new entrants Strong barriers to the entry of new firms enable a few firms to dominate the market and thereby influence prices. The second force is intensity of rivalry among existing competitors. Rivalry takes place when one or more firms inside an industry try to improve their position using tactics such as price competition, new product introduction or new services. Rivalry depends on several factors: number and size of competitors, industry growth, product characteristics (which determine whether the rivalry is based on price or differentiation), cost structure, exit barriers, diverse competitors, operative capacity and high strategic stakes. If an industry is inhibited, then firms will experience difficulties when trying to expand. The growth of foreign competition and the corporate stakes should also be included in the analysis. Threat of substitutes is the third forces. Substitutes are those products manufactured by other industries but serving the same purposes as the initial product. These substitute products cause the demand to decline. The implications are reduced profits and reduced market command by the original capital investor. This is of particular importance when the buyer has no switching costs and can easily compare products in terms of price and efficiency. Bargaining power of buyers is the fourth force. High bargaining power positions weak firms inside the industry, forcing price down, enhancing competition between industry players and resulting in bargaining for higher quality or services. This power is particularly high under certain conditions, such as few and specific buyers, undifferentiated products, low switching costs, the possibility of backward integration and information about demand and the availability of market price to the buyers. Furthermore, bargaining power is high if product quality is not a crucial factor of decision-making and if what the buyer is acquiring is a modest fraction of his total costs. Bargaining power is even higher when the buyer is a retailer or a wholesaler able to influence the consumers purchasing decision. The fifth and last force is the bargaining power of suppliers. This can act on the industry in several ways: raising prices, lowering quality or privileging some buyers. Supplier power can be divided into several elements. One of these elements is supplier concentration. Suppliers are in a stronger position when there are few suppliers, switching costs are high, the industry they are serving account for a small fraction of their business or their products are an important part of the buyers business. The bargaining power of suppliers is low or non-existent when there are substitute products. Lastly, purchase volume and the suppliers influence on cost are very important. 2. Pharmaceutical Industry Analysis A general overview of the pharmaceutical industry is the primary objective of this chapter. First, this chapter will define the industry in order to identify the main players in the pharmaceutical market. Second, using the instruments and models described in the first section, it will highlight the main characteristics of the industry and the factors that influence it. 2.1 Definition of Pharmaceutical Industry The pharmaceutical industry is composed of companies developing, manufacturing and marketing products licensed for use as medications. Their goal is to prevent, diagnose or treat diseases. A medicinal product, also called a pharmaceutical, according to the EU, is an exogenous substance or a combination of exogenous substances that can be organic or inorganic, natural or synthetic, and able, once inside the human or animal body, to modify physiological functions or to make a medical diagnosis through physical, chemical or physicochemical action. This industry is subdivided into two sub-industries characterized by different business models and players: prescription and OTC pharmaceuticals. Prescription pharmaceuticals, also referred to as Rx, are medicines that are available to the consumers for purchase in a pharmacy or drug store only with a prescription from a physician or administered only in hospitals. These medicines target specific diseases and, therefore, are prescribed for and used by one person only. OTC pharmaceuticals are instead used by more than one person which present the same symptoms in the same or in different time. These medicines are available to the consumer at every time and the consumer dont need any prescription from a physician for purchase. Furthermore, inside this industry there are two types of firms: Big Pharma and Biotech. These two types, despite being in the same business, vary in several ways: IP, drug methodology, expenditure and productivity of RD . The primary drug RD techniques used by Big Pharma firms are chemoinformatics and in silico screenings. Biotech firms are companies that use biotechnology in RD . Biotechnology, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, is the application of science and technology to living organisms, as well as parts, products and models thereof, to alter living or nonliving materials for the production of knowledge, goods and services. Generally, Biotech firms tend to have a strong academic culture, are more risk treatment and spend less than half what Big Pharma spends on R&D; in 2004, Biotech firms spent $20 billion, versus $50 billion spent by Big Pharma. Generally, a Biotech product has multiple IP covering manufacture, formulation and stability, as opposed to Big Pharma IP, which covers only the product, allowing generics to be produced quickly. While they may appear to have the same phenotype, their genotypes are distinct, so much so that they can be considered two industries, as stated by Arthur D. Levinson, Chairman and CEO of Genentech. Nevertheless, this distinction is not always clear, as many Biotech and Big Pharma firms are hybrids to varying degrees. The focus of this thesis are Big Pharma involved in the development of prescription pharmaceuticals to treat and prevent human diseases in the EU market. 2.2 Analysis of the Pharmaceutical Industry The purpose of this chapter is to provide a brief overview of the pharmaceutical industry lifecycle and investigate the major force acting inside it . 2.2.1 Industry Lifecycle Analysis People over the years have always tried to discover diseases causes and to find remedies against it. The most complete medical test, the Ebers Papyrus, is dated 1550 BC and it was written by Egyptians . However, the industrial production of drugs dates back to the year 1827 when Heinrich E Merck in Germany founded the first company for the production of cocaine and morphine . This event started the introduction phase of the pharmaceutical industry in Europe. In Europe, this industry was born in different way, reflecting the different strategic groups inside it. In the German-speaking countries, pharmaceutical companies were born as a branch of the chemical industry, with firms like Bayer and Hoechst in 1863, BASF in 1865 and Schering in 1871 in Germany, and CIBA in 1884 and Sandoz in 1886. Only Hoffman-La Roche in 1894 in Switzerland was originally a drug firm. On the other hand, in Italy, France and the UK companies were born from small shop pharmacies, such as Glaxo which traces its origins to a pharmacy in Plough Court in 1715 . During the 1800s many compounds were already being isolated, but none was being synthetically produced. The first synthetic drug was Phenacetin, produced by Bayer and commercialized in 1888 . Ten years later Bayer commercialized Aspirin, which marked a milestone in the pharmaceutical industry. Many firms rose to prominence in the 1920s-30s with these kinds of pharmaceuticals, but also with a new class of pharmaceuticals: vaccines and serums . During the Second World War II the demand for drugs increased and mass production started, primarily with drugs such as antibiotics (penicillin, streptomycin and neomycin) and sulphonamide . The availability of these drugs dramatically changed the quality and the average life-span of people. In this period the German pharmaceutical industry, a leader along with the Swiss in pre-war times, was taken over by American firms who came to Europe to taking advantage of the condition of the continent after the war. The period 1950-60 was the start of the industrys growth phase , and this saw a proliferation of new drugs and high return to drug discovery. New drugs included tranquilizers such as MAO inhibitors in 1952, anti-tuberculosis drugs such as Isoniazid in 1952 and oral contraceptives in 1956. Other discoveries included Librium in 1960 and Valium in 1960. The latter was sold from 1963 and later became one of the most prescribed medicines in history before controversy emerged over its link to habituation and dependency. In the 1950s, legislation was put in place to regulate the industry, mainly touching on labelling and approval by health authorities as well as drawing distinctions between non-prescription and prescription medicines. In this apparently unstoppable process of pharmaceutical progression and optimism the industry was stalled by a drama concerning one drug sold in Europe and Japan, Thalidomide. This drug, synthesized in Germany in 1954, was introduced to the market to treat the symptoms of morning sickness and nausea in pregnant women. Between 1954 and 1960, it caused around 5,000 and 10,000 severe deformities in infants. In fact, the drug had not been sufficiently tested on animals to assess its safety, and after this revelation, in an attempt to better regulate the industry, drug oversight authorities were established to exercise control over the industry. The World Medical Association met in Finland and issued the Declaration of Helsinki, setting the standards for clinical research. Among other things, the declaration stated that pharmaceutical companies must prove the efficacy of a new drug in clinical trials before releasing it to the market, and subjects must consent to experiments done to test the efficacy of drugs in clinical studies. The industry remained small up to the late 1970s . Two events characterized the 1970s. First, chemical production for raw materials and early intermediates shifted out of Europe to low cost destinations such as India and China which later began producing active pharmaceutical ingredients and finally non-patented pharmaceuticals . Second, there was the birth of biotechnology. This new science had its roots many years before with the discovery of the double helix in 1953 by Watson and Crick, which followed the advances in molecular genetics, recombinant DNA technology, and molecular biology. Until then, drugs in commerce were produced by extraction from natural substances or chemical synthesis. These new techniques of molecular biology marked the birth of a new industry which became a competitor to and a substitute of the pharmaceutical industry. This new industry was pioneered by firms like Genentech and Amgen which introduced revolutionary drugs such as Epogen and recombinant human insulin. In the 1980s, legislation was passed in most European countries requiring adherence to strong patents for both the pharmaceutical products and their production processes. There were also new regulations such as the introduction of the Good Clinical Practices, which were guidelines regulating ethics and the reliability of clinical studies. In Europe, several states also initiated health maintenance organizations and managed care in an effort to limit rising medical costs, and a preference for preventive rather that curative medication took root. As the industry entered the 1990s, new discoveries and projects, such as the Human Genome Project 1990, changed the business environment. Also, there was a huge wave of MA to build on synergies. This included Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz forming Novartis, Hoechst and Roussel-Rhone Poulenc-Rorer forming Aventis and Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline forming GlaxoSmithKline. In this way, the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals came to be concentrated in Western Europe and North America, with dominant firms and a few small companies that produced drugs in each country. The major European companies are still the dominant players not only in Europe but also in the global market. They include Novartis of Switzerland, Bayer of Germany, GlaxoSmithKline of the UK, Hoffman-la Roche of Switzerland and AstraZeneca of UK/Sweden. As the European pharmaceutical industry entered the 21st century, signs of the growth phase have become even more evident. This has been characterized by intense marketing to physicians and internet commerce. This, in part, has been facilitated by the liberalization of marketing rules requiring presentation of risks as well as the advertising message. Internet has enabled the direct purchase of raw materials by the manufacturers. The development of drugs has moved from the hit-and-miss approach to research and informed discovery. Alternative medicines and lifestyle medicines have presented new challenges and opportunities and have raised the level of competition in the industry. The ageing population in western European economies has increased opportunities for raising revenues. In fact, because of the ageing population in the developed economies, drug consumption will increase since the aged have a higher frequency of contracting diseases than younger people. New epidemics, such as the recent H1N1 flu outbreak, continue to batter the world population, and increased globalization makes them spread more quickly than ever. As the industry advances through the growth phase, companies are undertaking research and development initiatives both to develop new drugs and improve production processes. Further, the increased role of state-supported medical schemes across Europe, as well as other state-managed health programs around the world will greatly increase the reach of healthcare, extending it to more of the middle class and the poor who constitute the larger part of the population in most countries. As the medical programs continue to gain efficacy, the sales of pharmaceutical firms are expected to grow. In addition, the emerging economies like Brazil, Russia, India, China, Turkey, Mexico, and South Korea will add to potential consumer numbers in the industry for European manufacturers. Together, these countries constitute a huge percentuage of the worlds population, meaning that their entry into the high income category will no doubt present an enormous potential market for pharmaceutical products. In fact, the growth in these markets is expected to reach 14-17% by 2014, compared with only 3-6% growth in the developed markets. Thanks to agreements signed by the Asia-Pacific and Europe governments concerning liberalization of the Asia-Pacific pharmaceuticals and investments market, many companies have already started to establish relationships with emerging markets. An example is GlaxoSmithKline, who partnered in 2009 with Indias Dr. Reddy Laboratories. GlaxoSmithKline will distribute the drugs manufactured and supplied by Dr. Reddy in Africa, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America. Even with these last considerations, the European pharmaceutical industry has only a limited chance of entering the maturity phase of the cycle. The barriers to entry are so great that they choke any new entrant in almost every facet of operation: in research and development, in product distribution, and in compliance with rules and regulations. In fact, this industry has complex manufacturing capabilities which are hard to replicate, and are protected by way of patent, as well as huge consumer attachment to preferred brands from specific companies, often informed by experience. Furthermore Europe generic penetration is very low (less than 10% in total). Thus the industry might remain in the growth phase for a considerable time.

Analysis of Writing Womens Worlds by Lia Adu-Lughod Essay examples --

Analysis of Writing Women's Worlds by Lia Adu-Lughod Writing Women's Worlds is some stories on the Bedouin Egyptian people. In this book, thwe writer Lia Adu-Lughod's stories differ from the conventional ones. While reading, we discover the customs and values of the Bedouin people. We see Migdim, a dominator of the people. Even though her real age is never given, one can assume that she is at the end of her life, maybe in her mid to late eighties. Migdim's life seems to include all the changes inside the Boudin community. Throughout the narrative of her life, we are able to realize the life way and changes within this exclusive society. One of the more in depth stories that Migdim told was how she refused the marriage to the man her father chose for her. It is customary for a woman to get married to her paternal first cousin. Her female relatives made her the tent she was going to live in and brought her some bridal gifts. Migdim refused to eat as well as covering herself in color in order to holdup the wedding. After much objection, Migdim did not marry the man that her father chose. Actuality, her father failed twice trying to arrange a marriage for her. All the way through Migdim's incident with arranged marriages, we can understand the old customs that has to do with marriage. It is obvious that, although women were believed to be obedient, they were capable to effectively convince men. Yet, today there seems to be a sign toward polygamous marriages that are eventu...

Disciplinarily Process Essay

Introduction: The purpose of this report is to provide the background and reasons why the decisions by Fair Work Australia were made in Sam’s favour. It identifies areas the company needs to address and implement in order to prevent this type of situation from occurring again. Work History as Sam’s Team Manager As Sam’s Team Manager I was aware that my predecessors response when dealing with her lacked in encouragement and was poorly handled. Sam is a diligent worker however, due to the company changing programming language to one Sam was unfamiliar with she has been unable to meet specific deadlines. Time was spent with Sam trying to understand her issues and Resources relocated in order to allow Sam extra time until she was confident and competent using the new programming language. The offer of additional training was made , but no specific timelines for a performance review to discuss progress on meeting the required standard of performance were given. During the final meeting with Sam about her inability to meet her latest deadline, Sam physically struck myself and left the office. A Medical certificate was sent to the office the following day, advising Sam was unfit for work due to stress. The receipt of this medical certificate was confirmed over the phone by Sam, to the HR department and conformation made that it had been documented and filed accordingly. It was then the next day that the incident was reported by myself to my supervisor. A meeting was held with myself, my supervisor and the HR Department, the result was that Sam would be terminated on the basis of serious misconduct.. A letter was sent by registered mail to Sam’s personal address. It was two days later that the unfair dismissal claim was filed by Sam with Fair work Australia. Fair Work Australia Hearing: The outcome of the Fair Work Australia hearing between the company and Sam went in Sam’s favor, this was due to insufficient evidence and documentation provided by the company regarding Sam’s dismissal, on the basis of serious misconduct. See attached Risk Analysis (Appendix 1) for Mitigation/Contingencies on Area’s of risk for this case. The hearing was awarded in Sam’s favour because of the following grounds: * There was no formal disciplinary process. * There was no impartial investigation carried out on the act of misconduct. * There was insufficient documentation of claims of employee meetings and reviews. * The medical certificate given to the company by Sam in its original form was not produced by the company for the hearing. * Sam was able to produce a certified copy of the medical certificate as well as email correspondence between herself and the Human Resources department confirming the companies receipt of the medical certificate. * No records or documents of any meetings or coaching sessions were kept by our company. * No evidence of signed, agreed upon and documented performance management reviews or plans were presented by the company * No formal disciplinary process followed, allowing for an investigation in the lead up to Sam’s dismissal. * There was no evidence proving the misconduct claim had taken place or witnesses to call upon to verify the incident. * During meetings where Sam was warned of poor performance, there were no members of senior management present or human resource department specialists. * There were no documented written warnings in Sam’s file, any agreements made between myself and Sam were verbal. Thus no evidence to support the claim of misconduct by Sam. Proposed Company Strategy for defense against unfair dismissal claims: For the company in future to successfully defend itself against unfair dismissal claims should there be a case of serious misconduct of an employee it needs to ensure it brings its performance management procedure and staff professional development in line with Australian legislation, Fair Work Australia Act 2009 – Small business fair dismissal (See appendix 2 for website links) By ensuring the company has a clear concise format for performance management and professional development that is documented and filed and reviewed accordingly should employee misconduct occur there is clear evidence of the employees history with the company, management and Human Resources department and the events leading up to the case of misconduct. The company needs to conduct Monthly performance reviews on all staff ensuring that agenda’s are used and meetings following the reviews are documented and filed according and if poor performance is a topic on the agenda senior management and a human resources specialist is attendance. Decisions made in performance management reviews are to be documented and conducted using the recommended template (see appendix 3) Should the employee still not meet expectations as agreed upon in Performance reviews the following steps need to be followed and all actions taken need to comply with legislation (Fair work Australia Act 2009 – Small business fair dismissal) as set by Fair Work Australia. Proposed Company Strategy for Employee misconduct: The company needs to review its policy on what is deemed as employee misconduct and the consequences of employee misconduct, the review of this policy needs to be done by senior management and the Human Resources Department making sure the policy and consequences are clear, concise and in line with legislation as set by Fair Work Australia. The below procedure should be followed: Conclusion: By completing a review of company policies and procedures regarding Performance Reviews and Employee misconduct (and the consequences), implementing correct documentation (templates) and storage the company and staff will have a clear understanding of individual staff performance, and legal documentation. Recommendation: By implementing a structured Review process for all staff, and reviewing the companies policy on misconduct. Staff performance is recorded, plans/goals set and agreed upon by staff and management and reviewed by the Human Resources Department. In the case of Sam’s dismissal the recommendation would have been to follow the following steps: At the time of the assault it should have been reported to senior management straight away and Human Resources Department notified immediately. An incident/accident report made and an investigation initiated. The authorities should have been notified and a disciplinary hearing conducted with the conclusion/decision of Sam’s termination being verbally notified with a formal letter of termination given to Sam. This should have been done the same day and a soon as possible following the incident.

Numerical Analysis of Soil-Structure Interaction at Seismic Fault Pulses

Numeric Analysis of Soil-Structure Interaction at Seismic Fault Pulses Abstraction—Numeric analysis of soil–structure systems at seismal mistake pulsations has investigated. Vibration transmissibility of the soil–structure interaction has analysed for super-structures with different aspect ratios positioned on assorted dirt types and different foundations have studied. Soil construction interaction with geometric nonlinearity has been considered with forward directionality and fling measure types of mathematical seismal mistake pulsations. It has been analyzed that nonlinear SSI is tend to magnify the acceleration responses when subjected to low frequence incident pulsations below normalized threshold frequences. These thresholds associate with dirt categorization, so that different dirt type has assorted shear moving ridge speed. With increased shear wave speed of the implicit in dirt makes the threshold frequence additions. Keywords—Nonlinear soil–structure interaction, response analysis, seismal mistake, land daze, swaying isolation.IntroductionSHOCK and quiver isolation reduces the excitement transmitted to systems necessitating protection. An illustration is the interpolation of isolators between equipment and foundations back uping the equipment. The isolators act to cut down effects of support gesture on the equipment and to cut down effects of force transmitted by the equipment to the supporting construction. Isolators act by debaring and hive awaying energy at resonating frequences of the isolation system, thereby diminishing force degrees transmitted at higher frequences. The dampers act by dispersing energy to cut down the elaboration of forces that occur at resonance [ 1 ] . The chief thought in basal isolation is to cut down the seismal responses by infixing low–stiffness, high–damping constituents between the foundation and the construction [ 2 ] . This manner, th e natural period and damping of the construction will be increased, which can cut down the responses of the superstructure, particularly inter–story impetuss and floor accelerations [ 3 ] . Alternatively, base supplantings in those systems, particularly under near–fault land gestures, are increased [ 4 ] . The first concerns about this issue were arisen after 1992 Landers and so 1994 Northridge temblors, where long–period pulse–type land gestures were observed in near–fault records. Evidence show that temblor records in near–field parts may hold big energy in low frequences and can do drastic responses in base stray constructions [ 5 ] . Past surveies in the literature reveal that nonlinear soil– construction interaction ( SSI ) including foundation upheaval and dirt output can exhibit basal isolating effects due to hysteretic damping of the implicit in dirt. These effects can be important during strong land gestures when the superstr ucture is mounted on a shallow foundation with sufficiently low inactive perpendicular burden bearing safety factor [ 6 ] . On the other manus, geometry of the superstructure should besides enable the swaying gestures of the foundation to emerge as a singular manner of quiver in seismal public presentation of the soil–structure system. In such status, the so–called inverted–pendulum constructions [ 7 ] can profit from energy absorbing capacity of the implicit in dirt viz. swaying isolation. This context motivated Koh and Hsiung [ 8 ] , [ 9 ] to analyze base isolation benefits of 3D rocking and upheaval. In their surveies, three–dimensional cylindrical stiff block rested on a Winkler foundation of independent springs and dashpots were examined. They compared response of the theoretical account under earthquake–like excitements when the foundation was allowed to elate versus no–uplift status. It was concluded that curtailing upheaval can prese nt higher emphasiss and accelerations inside the construction. The purpose of this paper is shock response analysis of the soil– construction systems induced by near–fault pulsations. Vibration transmissibility of the soil–structure systems is evaluated utilizing daze response spectra ( SRS ) . An in–depth parametric survey is conducted. Medium–to–high rise edifices with different aspect ratios every bit good as foundations with different safety factors located on different dirt types are studied. Two types of near–fault land dazes with different pulsation periods every bit good as pulse amplitudes are selected as input excitement. Linear versus nonlinear SSI status are considered instead and the corresponding consequences are compared. II. N UMERICAL MODEL The soil–structure system modeled in this survey consists of multi–story constructing constructions based on surface mat foundation located on dirt medium. Numeric theoretical account subjected to near–fault land dazes is schematically illustrated in Fig. 1. A. Superstructure Shear edifice theoretical accounts are most normally used in research surveies on seismically isolated edifices. To this purpose, a generic simplified theoretical account is created to stand for a category of structural systems with a given natural period and distribution of stiffness over the height [ 10 ] . In this survey, the superstructure is a 3D shear constructing habitue in program and height to avoid the effects of geometrical dissymmetry. Requirements for including near–field effects are considered harmonizing to ASCE7–10 [ 11 ] . Dead and unrecorded tonss are assumed 600 and 200kg/m2, severally. The narrative tallness of 3.0mand figure of narratives equal to 10, 15, and 20 are selected in order to stand for medium–to–high–rise edifices that can rationally hold shallow foundations on different types of dirt medium. First–mode natural periods of fixed–base construction are 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0sfor 10– , 15– , and 20à ¢â‚¬â€œstory edifices, severally. These natural periods are consistent with approximative cardinal period expressions introduced in ASCE7–10. The analyses have been performed utilizing OpenSEES package [ 12 ] . Rayleigh theoretical account with muffling ratio equal to 5 % of critical damping is assigned to the superstructure. In this instance, superstructure elements are assumed with no ductileness and P–Delta geometrical nonlinearity is included. FIG 1 B. Interacting System The interacting system called infrastructure consists of soil– foundation ensemble which induces base–isolating effects to the construction. The foundation is a square mat with thickness of 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0mfor 10– , 15– , and 20–story edifices, severally. Brick elements are used to pattern the foundation. Dimensions of the foundation program were designed harmonizing to perpendicular burden bearing capacity of dirt medium. Therefore, different foundation program dimensions are calculated sing to different dirt types every bit good as different safety factors. The foundation is assumed to be inflexible and no embedment is considered in this survey. In order to see dirt effects, four types of dirt media with a broad scope of shear–wave speed (Volt) were considered to cover soft to really heavy dirt in conformity with site categorization introduced in ASCE7–10 [ 11 ] . The dirt is considered as a homogeneous half–space medium and is non modeled straight in this survey. Simplified theoretical accounts are used to enforce substructure effects including dirt flexibleness, radiation damping, tenseness cut–off, and dirt output on the foundation. The horizontal ( sway ) electric resistances can be straight obtained utilizing Cone theoretical account expressions [ 13 ] . However, swaying and perpendicular electric resistances, because of part of foundation upheaval and dirt output nonlinear effects, could non be straight calculated utilizing lumped theoretical account in perpendicular and rocking waies. In perpendicular and swaying waies, the foundation country is discretized over a sufficient figure of nodes. The discretization of foundation program country has been done in conformity with so–called subdisk method recommended by Wolf [ 14 ] to cipher perpendicular and swaying dynamic electric resistance of dirt. In order to allow the foundation upheaval and dirt output phenomena contribute in finite component mold of soil–structure system the perpendicular nonlinear elastic–perfectly fictile spread stuff is assigned to the perpendicular contact elements. FIG 2 III. MATHEMATICAL NEAR–FAULT PULSES Idealized pulsations, used in this survey, are described by sinusoidal maps proposed by Sasani and Bertero every bit good as Kalkan and Kunnath that represent fling measure and frontward directionality type of land gestures [ 15 ] , [ 16 ] . The mathematical preparations of the acceleration clip history of fling–step and forward–directivity pulsations are presented in ( 1 ) , and ( 2 ) , severally. Fling–Step Pulse whereCalciferoldenotes the maximal amplitude of the land supplanting derived by dual clip integrating of land acceleration, ( )Ta, and so T andThyminedenote pulse period and pulse reaching clip, severally.IPulse amplitude and pulse period are the two cardinal input parametric quantities of the idealised pulsation theoretical accounts. In this research, pulse–to–fixed–base construction period ratio (ThymineT ) is assumed to fall within 0.5 to 2.5. Within this scope, existent near–field records can be replaced by idealised pulsations and outstanding belongingss of structural response are captured with sensible estimate [ 17 ] , [ 18 ] . Furthermore, pulse amplitude matching to different excitement degrees varies from moderate to really strong land gestures in this survey. For this intent, peak land speed ( PGV ) varies from 20 to 220cm/sto stand for moderate to really strong land gestures, severally. In this survey, unidirectional excitement is exerted to th e base when the simplified pulse theoretical accounts of fling measure and forward directionality are used. IV. PARAMETRIC STUDY It is good known that the response of soil–structure system depends on geometric and dynamic belongingss of the construction and the beneath dirt. These effects can be incorporated into the studied theoretical account by the undermentioned non–dimensional parametric quantities [ 19 ] , [ 20 ] : where a0,hole,Hydrogen,Volt,Strontium, andBacillusbase for non– dimensional frequence, round frequence of the fixed–base construction, superstructure tallness, shear–wave speed of dirt, slenderness ratio, and breadth of the superstructure, in the same order. Non–dimensional frequence parametric quantity,a0, is introduced as an index for the structure–to–soil stiffness ratio. In this survey, this parametric quantity is assumed 0.25, 0.5, 1, and 2 to cover different degrees of dirt flexibleness. Harmonizing to ( 1 ) , the a0 peers to 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 is matching to shear–wave speed of dirt 754, 377, 188, and 94samarium, severally. Sing to ( 4 ) ,Strontiumparametric quantity bases for slenderness of + [ ] T + + the superstructure. In this paper, values of 2 and 4 are assigned toStrontiumparametric quantity in order to stand for low every bit good as highaandStrontium, are typically considered as the cardinal parametric quantities of the soil–aspect ratio. These two mentioned parametric quantities, 0structure system [ 19 ] . Besides, with respect to nonlinear SSI incorporated in this parametric survey, the undermentioned non– dimensional parametric quantity is besides considered: whereNitrogen,uouN, andSFdenote the dirt bearing capacity under strictly perpendicular inactive burden, the perpendicular applied burden, and factor of safety against perpendicular burden bearing of the foundation, severally.Degree fahrenheitis set equal to 1.2, 1.85, and 2.5 to stand for severely–loaded, instead heavily–loaded, and instead lightly–loaded foundations, severally [ 21 ] . For daze response analysis of the soil–structure system, maximal response acceleration at a givenIth narrative (MRA) is defined as time–domain utmost value of absolute response acceleration of theIth floor. Peak value ofMRAiialong tallness of the construction is defined asPMRA. This index is compared in two alternate linear every bit good as nonlinear SSI status as introduced in Fig. 2. In 2nd instance, foundation upheaval and dirt output is permitted during dynamic time–history analyses. Comparison of the two SSI status reveals swaying isolation effects of foundation upheaval and dirt output on commanding accelerations transmitted to the superstructure when subjected to near–fault land dazes. To quantify the rocking isolations effects of nonlinear SSI on commanding familial accelerations, the undermentioned index is defined: whereqacceldenotes maximal response acceleration ratio which is equal toPMRAat nonlinear SSI status,( NLSSI ) PMRA ( LSSI ) PMRAdivided by the same value at additive SSI status, . V. S HOCK RESPONSE SPECTRA ( SRS ) OF THE SOIL–STRUCTURE SYSTEMS Vibration transmissibility of the soil–structure systems is evaluated in this subdivision utilizing daze response spectrum. As illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, the ordinate of each SRS curve represents theQratio as introduced in ( 6 ) . The abscissa T/Tof the SRS represents the ratio of the excitement pulsation continuanceaccelT to the natural periodThymineof the swaying isolation ( or natural period of swaying response of the foundation ) . Almost 16000 clip history analyses are performed in this survey. Consequently, the SRS braces with uninterrupted and dash lines in Figs. 3 and 4 represent mean and standard divergence ( s ) of the primary SRS curves ensemble, severally. The SRS braces are plotted with regard to different incident pulsation periods t to demo the consequence of daze strength. In Fig. 3 the consequence of dirt type on quiver transmissibility of the soil–structure systems is investigated through comparing SRSs for different values ofa, ( 3 ) . The consequences show that nonlinear SSI is likely to magnify the acceleration responses when subjected to long–period incident pulsations with0normalized period T/Ttranscending a threshold. It is shown that this threshold T/Tcorrelatives with dirt type. In more precise words, whenalessenings ( i.e. at more dense sites ) the threshold T/Tmoves to left as displayed in Fig. 3. For case, 0 the incident pulsation with normalized period greater than the threshold, T/T= 1.25, leads to response elaboration in a 10–story edifice located on really heavy site (a=0.25 ) . On the other manus, comparing single SRS curves on each graph of Fig. 3 reveals that increasing the land daze strength consequences in steeper inclines of SRSs. This fact shows that nonlinear SSI is more activated topic to incident pulsations with greater amplitudes. In Fig. 4 the consequence of incident pulsation type on quiver transmissibility of the soil–structure systems is examined through comparing SRSs of frontward directionality versus fling measure pulsations. The consequences show that long–period frontward directionality pulsations can ensue in important response elaboration, particularly when the pulse amplitude intensifies. In contrast, nonlinear SSI topic to short–period frontward directionality pulsations with high amplitudes can cut down the acceleration responses down to about 50 % for the 15–story edifice as presented in Fig. 4. In add-on, the two graphs of Fig. 4 depict that quiver transmissibility of nonlinear SSI is more period–dependent topic to send on directionality pulsations compared to fling measure land daze. VI. C ONCLUSION This paper concerns shock response analysis of the soil– construction systems induced by near–fault pulsations. To this terminal, quiver transmissibility of the soil–structure systems is evaluated utilizing daze response spectra. An in–depth parametric survey including about 16000 clip history analyses are performed. Medium–to–high rise edifices with different aspect ratios every bit good as foundations with different safety factors located on different dirt types are studied. Two types of near–fault land dazes, i.e. forward directionality and fling measure pulsations, with different pulsation periods every bit good as pulse amplitudes are selected as input excitement. Linear versus nonlinear SSI status are considered. Maximal response acceleration ratioQ is selected as quiver transmissibility index in additive compared to nonlinear SSI status. The consequences show that nonlinear SSI is likely to magnify the acceleration responses when subjected to long–period incident pulsations with normalized period T/Ttranscending a threshold. This threshold T/Tcorrelatives with dirt type, so that increasing shear–wave speed of the implicit in dirt, the threshold T/T lessenings. On the other manus, addition in land daze strength consequences in steeper inclines of SRSs, i.e. greater period dependence. 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