The dynamics of corporate governance in South Africa: broad based black economic empowerment and the enhancement of good corporate governance principles

This paper illustrates the effect of BBBEE on good corporate governance. Corporate governance and specifically directors’ duties relating to stakeholder protection are focused on. Traditionally, directors are expected to manage a company in the best interests of the shareholders collectively. The question arises as to whether directors should also consider the interests of other stakeholders, inter alia employees, creditors, the environment and the community. The South African Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment Act 53 of 2003, not only aims at correcting racial imbalances, but also strives to promote social investment and the empowerment of communities. By adhering to this act, directors will by implication consider the interests of the community and give effect to the triple-bottom line approach when managing a company. This paper will illustrate the unique dynamics of corporate governance in South Africa

Legal aspects regarding the use and integration of electronic medical records for epidemiological purposes with focus on the Italian situation

The "Observational Studies" working group of the Italian Association of Medical Statistics and Clinical Epidemiology (SISMEC) has undertaken to study the impact of recent healthcare sector regulations on the legal and organisational aspects of managing all EMR databases with emphasis on Legislative Decree No. 196/2003 (the Italian Personal Data Protection Law). This paper examines six issues relating to theirs legal implications. The first section, “Confidentiality”, provides definitions and the regulatory context for the terms "confidentiality" and "personal data". In the second, “Nature of data held in electronic medical record archives”, we discuss the problem of sensitive data and procedures to make the identification code anonymous. In “Data ownership” we highlight the difference between the data controller and the database controller. The fourth section, “Conditions for processing”, discusses problems associated with using research data from one study in other investigations. In the fifth, “Patient consent”, we address the problems related to patient consent. Finally in “Penalties” we outline the main civil and criminal liability issues applied in case of non-compliance with the provisions of the Personal Data Protection Code. Where possible, we provide suggestions on how to comply with the legal requirements of managing medical record archives in order to make it easier for researchers to remain in compliance with the relevant provisions

Perfecting the Condominium as a Housing Tool: Innovations in Tort Liability and Insurance

Sludge disposal is a worldwide problem due to increasing volumes and respective environmental regulations. Currently the most common ways to dispose sludge are agricultural use, disposal in landfills, incineration and sea dumping. By drying sludge volumes can be decreased and the respective heating value increased. Sludge mainly originates from wastewater treatment. The Swedish pulp and paper mills produce approximately 400 000 - 500 000 metric tons of dry sludge each year. This includes roughly 60 000 metric tons of dry biosludge which mainly consists of bacteria and is difficult to dry due to high amounts of intercellular water. New drying methods for biosludge are hence needed. The purpose of this project is to investigate the possibility to dry biosludge in a high-velocity cyclone dryer since the technology has been shown to be able to handle sticky materials. The sludge used in this project originates from the biological wastewater treatment at the pulp and paper mill Metsä Board Husum, located in Husum, Sweden. The achieved dry matter contents and the specific energy consumption have been examined and compared with established drying methods.  Design of experiments has been used during the trials for optimizing the information attained from a limited number of trials including effects of inlet air temperature, sludge feeding rate and recycling of drying air. The respective factors were varied in three steps and relevant temperature, pressure, humidity, flow and material mass values were measured for analysing the process.  Models for attained dry matter content, specific energy consumption (total and of the fan), removed water and fan power were developed and had high statistical significance. The models showed that sludge dry matter content up to 80% could be achieved. The total specific energy consumption was over 1.6 kWh/kg H2O, which is higher than for established drying methods, but the specific energy consumption of the fan was as low as 0.7 kWh/kg H2O. The specific energy consumption of the fan was used to approximate dryer operation with excess heat during which it could compete with all established drying methods. A case where the excess heat available at Metsä Board Husum would be used to dry generated biosludge was investigated and supported a need for a priority order between maximizing sludge dry matter content and minimizing specific energy consumption of sludge drying. If sludge dry matter content is prioritised alternative drying methods may prove more suitable. To attain a better understanding of the high-velocity cyclone dryer and drying of biosludge the evaporation energy of sludge at different dry matter contents, the effects of various sludge inflow temperatures and the effect of fan rotation speed should be included future investigations.Bortskaffande av slam har blivit ett världstäckande problem på grund av stora volymer och miljöreglering. De vanligaste sätten att bortskaffa slam är genom markanvändning, deponering, förbränning och dumpning i haven. Genom att torka slammet minskar volymen och värmevärdet ökar. Slammet har sitt ursprung i vattenrenings processer och svenska pappers- och pappersmassabruk producerar ungefär 400 000 – 500 000 ton slam per år i torrvikt. Av dessa är ungefär 60 000 ton biologiskt slam som till största del består av bakterier och är svårtorkat på grund av den höga andelen intercellulärt vatten. För att torka biologiskt slam behövs nya torkmetoder och syftet med detta projekt vara att undersöka möjligheten att torka biologiskt slam i en cyklontork då cyklontorken kan hantera kladdiga material. Slammet som använts under projektet kommer från pappersbruket Metsä Board Husum. Torrhalten som kunde uppnås och den specifika energin har undersökt och jämförts med etablerade torkmetoder. Design of experiments användes för att optimera informationen som går att få ut från ett begränsat antal försök och påverkan av inluftstemperaturen, matningshastigheten av slammet och positionen av spjället i luftåtervinningssystemet har undersökts. Faktorerna varierades i tre steg och temperaturer, tryck, luftfuktigheter, flöden och vikter har mätts för att analysera processen.  Modeller för torrhalten, den specifika energin (totalt och för fläkten), avdrivet vatten och fläkteffekten har beräknats med hög statistisk signifikans. Modellerna visar att upp till 80 % torrhalt kan nås. Den totala specifika energin ligger över 1.6 kWh/kg H2O vilket är högre än den specifika energin för etablerade torkmetoder men den specifika energin för fläkten kan understiga 0.7 kWh/kg H2O. Den specifika energin för fläkten kan approximera att torken körs med överskottsvärme och det är fallet kan cyklontorken konkurer med de etablerade torkmetoderna. Möjligheten att använda sig av överskottsvärmen på pappersbruket Metsä Board Husum för att torka deras biologiska slam har undersökts och en prioritering mellan hög torrhalt och låg specifik energi kommer behöva göras. Om hög torrhalt prioriteras kan andra torkmetoder vara att föredra. För att öka förståelsen för cyklontorken och torkning av biologiskt slam kan förångningsenergin för slammet vid olika torrhalter, effekten på torkresultaten från olika temperaturer på slammet in i cyklonen och effekten av olika effekter på fläkten undersökas

Shareholder representation and proxy voting in the European Union: a comparitive study

Paper, presented at the Conference on Comparative Corporate Governance Max-Planck-Institut für Ausländisches und Internationales Privatrecht Hamburg, May 15-17, 199

Board mechanisms and Malaysian Family Companies' Performance

Many overseas studies discussed the topic of corporate governance and performance in family companies, however, few studies have been conducted in Malaysia. The objective of this paper is to examine the board mechanisms and family companies’ performance using three performance indicators (Tobin’s Q, Earnings Per Share & Operating Cash Flow). The sample size is 189 family companies listed on Bursa Malaysia from 2003 to 2007. The findings from this study reveal that some of the board mechanisms influence family companies’ performance. This study evidenced that family companies with a large board size, low directors’ expertise and duality leadership contribute to higher family companies’ performance. However, this study found that the academic qualification of directors does not influence firm performance. Therefore, generally, regulators and investors need to be sensitive to the fact that family companies do have differences in corporate governance practices compared to non-family companies