Symposium on regulation and competition in utility industries: introduction

This collection of papers examines regulation and competition issues in the UK water, gas and electricity industries. These are three vitally important network industries that have undergone significant structural change over the last 15 years and where efforts to extend competition continue in those parts of the industries not deemed to be naturally monopolistic. This is a timely collection, given recent price reviews of the electricity distribution and water companies and the current Transco review. Further, current regulatory issues, such as implementation of the 2000 Utilities Act and the possible structural changes to water companies as some attempt to move away from the equity model, have far-reaching implications. A significant length of time has elapsed since the burst of privatisation activity in the 1980s, and most companies have been subject to two price reviews. As such, it is an appropriate time to reflect on the UK experience from which lessons are being drawn as regulatory regimes are designed and implemented around the world.

Policy instruments and greenhouse gas emissions from transport in the UK

A major focus of concern about the environment and the prospects for sustainable development is the transport sector. This sector has been growing rapidly, and growth is forecast to continue. Moreover, transport’s environmental consequences often appear to be difficult to control. In particular, transport is the fastest-growing contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in the UK, especially through the growth in road traffic. There is also concern about the health consequences of more localised emissions. In this paper, we review the impact of the sector on atmospheric pollution, and consider the alternative impacts of the different policy instruments available. The paper models the impact on passenger transport of the fiscal instruments adopted by the government, and contrasts them with alternative policies that have been advocated.

The Role of Serum Histones in Canine Heat Stroke

Rising temperatures all over the world has correlated with more frequent heat stroke related injuries and death. This statistic not only applies to humans, but to canines as well, who have similar body temperature thresholds. Recent studies have demonstrated that serum histones, released after cell death from heat stroke, play a role in heat stroke related injuries and death. This proposal aims to determine the severity of the effects caused by serum histone release after heat stroke by exposing selected canine cell lines to cell lysate and purified histones H2A, H2B, H3, and H4, which have been found to be associated with heat stroke injuries. Effectiveness of the histones will be determined by measuring the levels of apoptosis, NETosis, and necrosis in the cells, as well as the expression levels of heat shock proteins. Further research will also be done to determine whether toll-like receptors present on the cell surface are responsible for the mechanism utilized by serum histones to damage tissue in the body

Comparing Individual-Specific Benefit Estimates for Public Goods: Finite Versus Continuous Mixing in Logit Models

Multi-attribute stated preference data, derived through choice experiments, is used to investigate the consequence of a finite number of preference groups in a sample of Yorkshire Water residential customers on the conditional distributions of willingness to pay in the sample. The research focuses on ‘public good’ values, and retrieves the implicit customer specific welfare measures conditional on a sequence of four observed choices. We assess and contrast the sample evidence for the presence of a finite number of 2, 3, 4 and 5 latent preference groups (classes), and contrast these with the presence of a continuous distribution of parameter estimates using mixed logit models. The main focus is the conditional valuations in the form of marginal values for the consequence of waste water handling and treatment, namely: river water quality, area flooding by sewage, presence of odour and flies, and other water related amenities.Choice experiments, Mixed logit, Latent classes, Individual-specific estimates, Non-market valuation

Strategic HRD: Who drives the agenda and why?

A focus on strategic human resource development (HRD) has been emphasised as a key contributor to ensuring organisational effectiveness and the maximum return from their most important asset, the people in the organisation. It is argued that effective management and innovative approaches to the development of employees will enable organisations to capture and embed knowledge and skills. Organisations that are seeking not only to survive, but to maximise operational effectiveness in an ever-changing environment, need to ensure that at all levels, the HRD strategy is aligned with broader strategic imperatives, and that sufficient emphasis is placed on the HRD function. It is a role of management to ensure that the organisation and its people acquire the competencies and knowledge it needs through education, training and development activities. These training and development activities should deliver high quality outcomes that will sustain the organisation. In a study of employers in regional Queensland and the Northern Territory, the strategic importance placed upon the HRD function, and an indication of who is driving the HRD agenda have been analysed. This paper presents some findings from a pilot study undertaken to gauge initial feedback on these issues, and is the starting point for the development of future research into the HRD practices of organisations operating in regional and remote locations

Efficacy and dermal tolerance of a novel alcohol-based skin antiseptic in horses

Objective: To determine the efficacy and dermal tolerance of a novel alcohol‐based skin antiseptic (ABSA) in horses. Study Design: Experimental study. Animal Population Systemically healthy horses (n = 25) with no history or clinical signs of skin disease. Methods: Four clipped sites on the abdomen were randomly assigned to a skin preparation protocol: saline (negative control; NC), chlorhexidine gluconate followed by isopropyl alcohol (positive control; PC), saline followed by the ABSA (ABSA A), or a commercially available horse shampoo followed by the ABSA (ABSA B). Microbiological swabs were obtained from each site and cultured on MacConkey and mannitol salt agar plates. Colony‐forming units were counted 18‐24 hours later. All sites were scored for signs of skin reaction before, immediately after, 1 hour after, and 24 hours after skin preparation. Results: The PC, ABSA A, and ABSA B methods reduced skin microbial burden compared with the NC method (P < .001), but no difference was detected between antiseptic products. Preparation time did not differ between ABSA A and ABSA B methods (P = 0.108); both were faster than the PC method (P < 0.001 for both). Skin reactions were most abundant 24 hours after skin preparation (30.5%), but there was no significant association with antiseptic used, and no horses required veterinary treatment. Conclusion: The ABSA preparations tested in this study were as effective and well tolerated as a chlorhexidine gluconate‐based method, but required less time in healthy horses