Hayekian insights into intra-firm coordination: exploring the rule following perspective

The purpose of this thesis is to examine intra-firm coordination by individuals following common rules of behaviour. Individuals within a firm have to coordinate their activities where each has knowledge that others in the firm do not have; there is a division of knowledge, just as there is a division of labour. Rule following may be a solution to that problem. Rule following behaviour may be consistent with much of the internal organisation of firms that is currently explained by 'command'; for example, hierarchy and the giving of orders. The thesis attempts to make three contributions: Firstly, the case for coordination by rule following within the firm is a minor tradition within organisational analysis theory and practice. The first contribution is to highlight and explore this literature. Secondly, the thesis describes two small-scale exploratory studies to test the propositions that rule following might be a coordination mechanism within the two examined firms and then to explore processes of change through the rule following perspective 'lens'. Finally, the thesis uses the first two contributions to tentatively conjecture the case for an invisible hand (of Mengerian) explanation for the emergence of the modern business firm. Some implications of this perspective and some opportunities for further research are outlined

Methods for the Identification of Important Areas of Plant Diversity in Ireland

Doctoral ThesisThe loss of biodiversity is an on-going global issue that not only results in the extinction of species but also threatens the ecosystem services and goods on which humanity depends. The global community has responded with ambitious targets to halt and reverse the loss of biodiversity. The causes of biodiversity loss are well understood and conservation measures can be deployed to protect biodiversity. However, conservation resources are limited and to be effective must be targeted to the most important areas of biodiversity. Using vascular plant distribution records for Ireland this research examined the distribution of plant species of conservation concern to determine if additional conservation measures should be targeted to these species. In an attempt to aid the targeting of conservation measures to the most important areas of biodiversity this research also investigated methods for the identification of priority areas for plant conservation. In an initial study vascular plant distribution records were collated and mapped for the island of Ireland. The tetrad scale (2km x 2km) data provided incomplete coverage for Ireland. Records for plant species of conservation concern were extracted and mapped at the tetrad scale for Ireland. The coincidence of the locations of the species of conservation concern and the distribution of areas designated for the protection of biodiversity in Ireland was examined. Between 22 – 40% of the locations of these species were found to occur outside of designated areas and for some individual species all of the locations occurred outside designated areas. The results indicated the importance of both designated areas and the wider countryside for biodiversity conservation. In particular the presence of species of conservation concern in non-designated areas highlights the need for conservation measures outside of designated areas. Subsequent research investigated a method for the identification of the most important areas of plant diversity at the tetrad and hectad (10km x 10km) scales in Ireland. A criteria-based scoring method was developed to characterise the landscape in terms of conservation value and identify the important areas of plant diversity. The effect of each of the criteria on priority area identification and on the representation of species (that is the extent to which species occur within a set of sites) within the priority areas was examined. The outcomes of this research identified a combination of criteria that allowed the identification of priority areas of high conservation value that contained a high species representation level. A subsequent investigation examined an alternative method for the identification of priority areas for conservation. A complementarity-based method using linear programming was used to identify the minimum number of priority areas in which species representation was guaranteed. Additional linear programs were formulated to identify restricted numbers of priority areas in which species representation was maximised. This research also developed a means of incorporating the outputs of the scoring method into the linear programming method. A combination of the plant distribution data, spatial environmental data, and a logistic regression method was used to build models to predict the distribution of the plant species of conservation concern group (SCC). The associations between the environmental data and SCC occurrence were examined and the predictive performance of both models was investigated using plant records in County Waterford. To conclude, this research showed that the tetrad-scale plant distribution coverage is patchy for most of Ireland. However, even with incomplete data the research indicated that conservation measures could be targeted to sites outside of protected areas. The plant distribution data can be used to characterise the landscape in terms of conservation value and both the scoring method and linear programming method can be used to identify priority areas for conservation. The scoring method and linear programming method can be combined to efficiently identify priority areas of high conservation value and the research showed the potential use of species distribution modelling for conservation planning in Ireland.Teagasc Walsh Fellowship Programm

Development of a scoring method to identify important areas of plant diversity in Ireland

peer-reviewedIn the face of accelerating biodiversity loss it is more important than ever to identify important areas of biodiversity and target limited resources for conservation. We developed a method to identify areas of important plant diversity using known species’ distributions and evaluations of the species importance. We collated distribution records of vascular plants and developed a scoring method of spatial prioritisation to assign conservation value to the island of Ireland at the hectad scale (10 km × 10 km) and at the tetrad scale (2 km × 2 km) for two counties where sufficient data were available. Each plant species was assigned a species conservation value based on both its conservation status and distribution in Ireland. For each cell, the species conservation values within the cell were summed, thereby differentiating between areas of high and low conservation value across the landscape. Areas with high conservation value represent the most important areas for plant conservation. The protected area cover and the number of species present in these important areas were also examined by first defining threshold values using two different criteria. Species representation was high in the important areas; the identified important areas of plant diversity maintained high representation of species of conservation concern and achieved high species representation overall, requiring a low number of sites (<8%) to do so. The coincidence of protected areas and important areas for plant diversity was found to be low and while some important areas of plant diversity might benefit from the general protection afforded by these areas, our research highlights the need for conservation outside of protected areas

Irish and British historical electricity prices and implications for the future

This paper compares retail and wholesale electricity prices in SEM, the market of the island of Ireland, and BETTA in Great Britain. Wholesale costs are much lower in BETTA. We show that this is mostly because the wholesale price in BETTA is set too low to cover generation costs, although it is compensated by large retail margins. The substantial need for new investment in generation in Great Britain suggests that returns to generators will have to increase. Developing a market mechanism to compensate generators fairly while simultaneously reducing retail revenue will help in achieving this goal

Irish and British historical electricity prices and implications for the future. ESRI WP452. April 2013

This paper compares retail and wholesale electricity prices in SEM, the market of the island of Ireland, and BETTA in Great Britain. Wholesale costs are much lower in BETTA. We show that this is mostly because the wholesale price in BETTA is set too low to cover generation costs, although it is compensated by large retail margins. The substantial need for new investment in generation in Great Britain suggests that returns to generators will have to increase. Developing a market mechanism to compensate generators fairly while simultaneously reducing retail revenue will help in achieving this goal

Irish and British Electricity Prices: What Recent History Implies for Future Prices. ESRI Research Bulletin 2014/02/06

This paper investigates wholesale and retail electricity prices in Ireland and Great Britain between 2008 and 2011, focusing on structural, technological and regulatory drivers of price differences. We determine how these factors are likely to affect future electricity prices, taking account of the move to increase the deployment of renewables and of the EU’s drive to integrate electricity markets through the Target Model

Beef production from feedstuffs conserved using new technologies to reduce negative environmental impacts

End of project reportMost (ca. 86%) Irish farms make some silage. Besides directly providing feed for livestock, the provision of grass silage within integrated grassland systems makes an important positive contribution to effective grazing management and improved forage utilisation by grazing animals, and to effective feed budgeting by farmers. It can also contribute to maintaining the content of desirable species in pastures, and to livestock not succumbing to parasites at sensitive times of the year. Furthermore, the optimal recycling of nutrients collected from housed livestock can often be best achieved by spreading the manures on the land used for producing the conserved feed. On most Irish farms, grass silage will remain the main conserved forage for feeding to livestock during winter for the foreseeable future. However, on some farms high yields of whole-crop (i.e. grain + straw) cereals such as wheat, barley and triticale, and of forage maize, will be an alternative option provided that losses during harvesting, storage and feedout are minimised and that input costs are restrained. These alternative forages have the potential to reliably support high levels of animal performance while avoiding the production of effluent. Their production and use however will need to advantageously integrate into ruminant production systems. A range of technologies can be employed for crop production and conservation, and for beef production, and the optimal options need to be identified. Beef cattle being finished indoors are offered concentrate feedstuffs at rates that range from modest inputs through to ad libitum access. Such concentrates frequently contain high levels of cereals such as barley or wheat. These cereals are generally between 14% to 18% moisture content and tend to be rolled shortly before being included in coarse rations or are more finely processed prior to pelleting. Farmers thinking of using ‘high-moisture grain’ techniques for preserving and processing cereal grains destined for feeding to beef cattle need to know how the yield, conservation efficiency and feeding value of such grains compares with grains conserved using more conventional techniques. European Union policy strongly encourages a sustainable and multifunctional agriculture. Therefore, in addition to providing European consumers with quality food produced within approved systems, agriculture must also contribute positively to the conservation of natural resources and the upkeep of the rural landscape. Plastics are widely used in agriculture and their post-use fate on farms must not harm the environment - they must be managed to support the enduring sustainability of farming systems. There is an absence of information on the efficacy of some new options for covering and sealing silage with plastic sheeting and tyres, and an absence of an inventory of the use, re-use and post-use fate of plastic film on farms. Irish cattle farmers operate a large number of beef production systems, half of which use dairy bred calves. In the current, continuously changing production and market conditions, new beef systems must be considered. A computer package is required that will allow the rapid, repeatable simulation and assessment of alternate beef production systems using appropriate, standardised procedures. There is thus a need to construct, evaluate and utilise computer models of components of beef production systems and to develop mathematical relationships to link system components into a network that would support their integration into an optimal system model. This will provide a framework to integrate physical and financial on-farm conditions with models for estimating feed supply and animal growth patterns. Cash flow and profit/loss results will be developed. This will help identify optimal systems, indicate the cause of failure of imperfect systems and identify areas where applied research data are currently lacking, or more basic research is required

Advice for journalists covering Covid-19: Welsh NHS confederation

The outbreak of COVID-19 is placing an unprecedented strain on health services in Wales and across the world. At the same time, coverage of the outbreak is essential, and there is a great demand from media organisations and their audiences to receive information about the outbreak and its frontline. This can put additional pressures on health care organisations and staff and may in certain cases interfere with their operations in dealing with the outbreak. This document has been prepared by Professor Karin Wahl-Jorgensen, Cardiff University, to support the work of the Welsh NHS Confederation. It draws on input from leading academics, journalists and PR practitioners (full list of contributors on p. 9). The document provides a number of suggestions for media organisations designed to facilitate coverage in and around healthcare facilities in Wales. The experts involved in preparing this document are independent from the NHS, and the document does not reflect official NHS policy. Here is a summary of our advice: 1. Responsible, detailed, and accurate reporting of COVID-19 is an essential public service. 2. Use credible experts as sources and be wary of unverified rumour 3. News organisations should use pooled materials whenever possible. 4. If looking for information verification, check other sources first before contacting NHS. 5. Ensure compliance with procedures for risk assessment and consent. 6. Enforce social distancing and ensure safe use of equipment. 7. Ensure risk assessments have been carried out prior to hospital visits and face-toface interactions with NHS staff. 8. Obtain consent from anyone interviewed or filmed. 9. When making requests for interviews or information, be specific about who you need to speak to, and where, what and how the information will be used

Beef production from feedstuffs conserved using new technologies to reduce negative environmental impacts

End of Project ReportThe three separate components with parallel objectives to this programme were to: 1. Develop technologies for conserving and optimally feeding alternative/complimentary feedstuffs to grass silage. 2. Quantify the use and re-use of plastic sheeting or film used to seal ensiled feedstuffs or mulch maize, and evaluate some new options. 3. Develop computer programs that will facilitate investigating prototype models of forage-based beef production systems