Tribute to Judge Duffy | Kevin Thomas Duffy: A Masterful Trial Judge

Imagine sitting as a law clerk to a great judge watching him preside at trial. Any young lawyer in that spot could be forgiven for having a fleeting fantasy of what it would be like to have that responsibility. There were no grand delusions about the future, but fate and good fortune stepped in and for sixteen years that law clerk became the judicial colleague of Judge Kevin Thomas Duffy on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Today, my friend’s oil portrait hangs in my courtroom. In tough spots, I ask myself: What would KTD do? Judge Duffy successfully presided over many of the nation’s most difficult and significant trials of the late twentieth century. Because of his forty-four years of judicial service and the declining frequency of parties electing to proceed to trial, his impressive portfolio of trials will likely stand as a great achievement as long as the record number of championship rings on the fingers of Michael Jordan and Tom Brady. This Tribute will review those trials and focus on some of his unique practices

Screening for health risks: A social science perspective

Health screening promises to reduce risks to individuals via probabilistic sifting of populations for medical conditions. The categorisation and selection of 'conditions' such as cardiovascular events, dementia and depression for screening itself requires prior interpretive labour which usually remains unexamined. Screening systems can take diverse organisational forms and varying relationships to health status, as when purported disease precursors, for example 'pre-cancerous' polyps, or supposed risk factors, such as high cholesterol themselves, become targets for screening. Screening at best yields small, although not necessarily unworthwhile, net population health gains. It also creates new risks, leaving some individuals worse-off than if they had been left alone. The difficulties associated with attempting to measure small net gains through randomised controlled trials are sometimes underestimated. Despite endemic doubts about its clinical utility, bibliometric analysis of published papers shows that responses to health risks are coming to be increasingly thought about in terms of screening. This shift is superimposed on a strengthening tendency to view health through the lens of risk. It merits further scrutiny as a societal phenomenon

The role of CERN in the large construction contracts for LHC civil works

The contracts for the civil engineering construction of the LHC are based upon the standard FIDIC (Fédération Internationale des Ingénieurs Conseils) document entitled "Conditions of Contract for Works of Civil Engineering Construction". FIDIC is a reputable supra-national and world-wide Federation of Consulting Engineers focused on the definition and regulation of the role of many parties involved with the International Construction Industry. An overview of FIDIC's and other Organizations', such as the World Bank, standard documents is presented. The difference between standard Contract documents and standard Bidding documents is pointed out. In view of CERN's status as an intergovernmental Organization, the original FIDIC standard documents needed to be adapted. The modifications are identified and explained. A concise definition of the role of each party concerned by the LHC construction Contracts, i.e. the Contractor, the Engineer and the Client (CERN), is made. Finally, a brief cost-benefit analysis on this particularly contract drafting exercise is presented along with some preliminary conclusions and an outline of foreseen difficulties with the Contract management

Classification, characterisation and strategies for improvement of cattle and sheep pasture systems in marginal areas of Southern Chile

Pasture-based livestock systems in farms with medium or low size are especially important in less favored areas and are valuable for society. For these systems to survive, it is necessary to obtain an acceptable level of productivity and ensure commercialization of the products. This study was carried out in the district of Rio Ibáñez, General Carrera Province, in the XI (Aysén) Region of Chile. The sample consisted of 28 small-scale livestock farmers with dual-purpose cattle production; 16 of them also produced sheep for meat. The empirical data produced 55 variables which were subjected to multivariate analysis; three main components were obtained which explain 72.1 % of the variance. By cluster analysis it was obtained four groups with characteristics which varied by farm size, age and personal situation of farmers, farm management and farm profitability. The principal problems found are low productivity in the herds and the poor marketing channels of animals produced. In two groups, due to the low size and poor management, the profitability of the farms is very low and this may compromise their future. To improve production systems, the training and advice of farmers should be strengthened, investment should be supported, especially for young people, and the farmer partnership should be promoted. There is also a need to diversify the families' sources of income (sale of other farm products or handicrafts and touristic activities).Ministerio de Economía de Chile Innova-CORFO Project 11 NTEC 1279

Classification, characterisation and strategies for improvement of cattle and sheep pasture systems in marginal areas of Southern Chile

Pasture-based livestock systems in farms with medium or low size are especially important in less favored areas and are valuable for society. For these systems to survive, it is necessary to obtain an acceptable level of productivity and ensure commercialization of the products. This study was carried out in the district of Rio Ibáñez, General Carrera Province, in the XI (Aysén) Region of Chile. The sample consisted of 28 small-scale livestock farmers with dual-purpose cattle production; 16 of them also produced sheep for meat. The empirical data produced 55 variables which were subjected to multivariate analysis; three main components were obtained which explain 72.1 % of the variance. By cluster analysis it was obtained four groups with characteristics which varied by farm size, age and personal situation of farmers, farm management and farm profitability. The principal problems found are low productivity in the herds and the poor marketing channels of animals produced. In two groups, due to the low size and poor management, the profitability of the farms is very low and this may compromise their future. To improve production systems, the training and advice of farmers should be strengthened, investment should be supported, especially for young people, and the farmer partnership should be promoted. There is also a need to diversify the families' sources of income (sale of other farm products or handicrafts and touristic activities).Ministerio de Economía de Chile Innova-CORFO Project 11 NTEC 1279