FDI and the Availability of Dublin Office Space. ESRI Research Notes 2015/3/2

Foreign direct investment (FDI) is an important component of industrial policy in Ireland. Having pursued this policy for many years, Ireland is one of the most FDI-intensive economies in the OECD. The factors underpinning Ireland’s success in attracting FDI have been well documented and include EU membership, native English-speaking, low corporate tax rate, young and skilled labour force and demonstration effects.2 A recent policy statement on FDI identifies the role of cities as becoming increasingly important in FDI flows and cites the attractiveness of Dublin as a key determinant in Ireland’s overall FDI performance (Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, 2014)

Impact of the introduction of machine gaming in Queensland on minor and major bingo

Material for this paper comes from as report commissioned by the Department of Family Services, Aboriginal and Islander Affairs. The report is the result of a multi strategy research project designed to assess the impact of gaming machines on the fundraising capacity of charitable and community organisations in Queensland. The study was conducted during the 1993 calendar year. The first Queensland gaming machine was commissioned on the 11 February, 1992 at 11.30 am in Brisbane at the Kedron Wavell Services Club. Eighteen more clubs followed that week. Six months later there were gaming machines in 335 clubs, and 250 hotels and taverns, representing a state wide total of 7,974 machines in operation. The 10,000 gaming machine was commissioned on the 18 March, 1993 and the 1,000 operational gaming machine site was opened on 18th February, 1994

Pyro shock simulation: Experience with the MIPS simulator

The Mechanical Impulse Pyro Shock (MIPS) Simulator at GE Astro Space Division is one version of a design that is in limited use throughout the aerospace industry, and is typically used for component shock testing at levels up to 10,000 response g's. Modifications to the force imput, table and component boundary conditions have allowed a range of test conditions to be achieved. Twelve different designs of components with weights up to 23 Kg are in the process or have completed qualification testing in the Dynamic Simulation Lab at GE in Valley Forge, Pa. A summary of the experience gained through the use of this simulator is presented as well as examples of shock experiments that can be readily simulated at the GE Astro MIPS facility

A Conceptual Definition of Quality of Life for People Living with an Implanted, Destination Therapy Left Ventricular Assist Device

BACKGROUND: People with advanced heart failure experience persistently severe symptoms with increasingly impaired capacity and quality of life. Treatment options beyond palliative care are limited to heart transplantation or implantation with a mechanical pump that replaces the weakened heart’s function. The left ventricular assist device (LVAD) serves as a temporary bridge to transplant or bridge to recovery, or a permanent replacement as destination therapy (DT). While DT-LVAD recipients initially accept the device to extend life, there is a gap in understanding how DT-LVAD recipients define a life worth living, and how nursing and the health care team can help reach that goal. PURPOSE: This study’s purpose is to determine the conceptual definition of “quality of life” in people with a DT-LVAD. METHODS: A grounded theory study was conducted using a theoretical sample and open, selected and theoretical coding processes within the constant comparison method. Theoretical saturation was reached with 11 participants (age 32-79 years). RESULTS: Normalizing emerged as the basic social process. Participants reported that a life supported by battery-powered equipment is still a normal, human experience. A process of acceptance and adjustment occurred to Normalize a machine-dependent life. Although extending life was the original LVAD objective, recipient goals and needs evolved over time. Dependence on a machine to extend life did not replace the need for a life worth living. The conceptual definition of quality of life when living with a DT-LVAD emerged as: I am able to live my life and do what I want, with some adjustments. CONCLUSION: This conceptual definition of quality of life from the DT-LVAD recipient perspective enhances the health care team’s understanding and ability to improve DT-LVAD recipient lives. Life with an LVAD is not simply about survival; it is survival of quality that makes a difference and defines success

Responsiveness of Demand for Irrigation Water: A Focus on the Southern Murray-Darling Basin

The Productivity Commission staff working paper, 'Responsiveness of Demand for Irrigation Water: A Focus on the Southern Murray-Darling Basin', was released August 2004. This paper explores the determinants of the elasticity of demand for irrigation water. It focuses on three main irrigated industries - rice, dairy and horticulture - to gain a greater understanding of the value that farmers place on water as an input. This paper provides detail relating to farm decision behaviour and biophysical production realities faced by irrigators in the southern Murray-Darling Basin. The views expressed in this paper are those of the staff involved and do not necessarily reflect those of the Productivity Commission.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

The Greek sophists : teachers of virtue

This dissertation is a study of the Greek sophists as teachers of aretê (virtue or human excellence) and a study of the conflict between sophistic and Socratic political values as portrayed in the dialogues of Plato. The first section offers a new definition of the term sophist based on ancient sources and attempts to present as clear a picture as is historically possible of the sophists\u27 activities. The second section examines and evaluates Plato\u27s criticisms of the sophists drawing attention especially to the dependence of certain criticisms upon a questionable set of epistemological assumptions about the role of knowledge in ethical action. And the final section describes in detail what the sophists understood aretê to entail and how they went about teaching it

The Hemp Controversy: Can Industrial Hemp Save Kentucky?

In the wake of litigation over the responsibility of tobacco companies for harm caused by cigarettes and in the face of increased public hostility toward smoking, Kentucky\u27s tobacco farmers are apprehensive about the future. While not all growers depend entirely on tobacco for their income, the potential shrinking of the tobacco market will have serious ramifications throughout the state. Some farmers are turning to organic vegetable farming, or to com and soybeans as alternative crops, but the potential of industrial hemp as an option remains uncertain. Touted by many as the answer to the tobacco farmer\u27s quandary, industrial hemp remains an illegal crop under both federal\u27 and state law Furthermore, it is not entirely clear how large a market exists for industrial hemp and whether it would be a profitable crop for Kentucky farmers. This Note attempts to discern whether current laws should be changed to allow the cultivation of industrial hemp in Kentucky It begins with a discussion of the agronomy of industrial hemp and its relationship to marijuana m Part I. Part II addresses the environmental benefits that hemp offers. The current state of world markets and production of industrial hemp, along with estimates of profitability of Kentucky-grown hemp, is detailed in Part III. Part IV\u27 explores the long history of industrial hemp globally, in the United States, and in Kentucky where it was a staple crop for many years. The current and potentially changing legal status of industrial hemp at the federal level, m Kentucky, and m other states is offered in Parts V, VI, and VII. Part VIII addresses the enforcement and public perception problems posed by legalizing industrial hemp given its ties to marijuana. Part IX concludes with a proposal for Kentucky as it explores possible futures for industrial hemp

Microwave-assisted synthesis of a MK2 inhibitor by Suzuki-Miyaura coupling for study in Werner syndrome cells

Microwave-assisted Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reactions have been employed towards the synthesis of three different MAPKAPK2 (MK2) inhibitors to study accelerated aging in Werner syndrome (WS) cells, including the cross-coupling of a 2-chloroquinoline with a 3-pyridinylboronic acid, the coupling of an aryl bromide with an indolylboronic acid and the reaction of a 3-amino-4-bromopyrazole with 4-carbamoylphenylboronic acid. In all of these processes, the Suzuki-Miyaura reaction was fast and relatively efficient using a palladium catalyst under microwave irradiation. The process was incorporated into a rapid 3-step microwave-assisted method for the synthesis of a MK2 inhibitor involving 3-aminopyrazole formation, pyrazole C-4 bromination using N-bromosuccinimide (NBS), and Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling of the pyrazolyl bromide with 4-carbamoylphenylboronic acid to give the target 4-arylpyrazole in 35% overall yield, suitable for study in WS cells

Quantum Limits in Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy

We analyze the quantum limits of four-dimensional scanning transmission electron microscopy (4D-STEM). In estimating the moduli and phases of the Fourier coefficients of the sample's electrostatic potential, we find that 4D-STEM does not permit the quantum limit of precision. In particular, 4D-STEM can attain about half of the available quantum Fisher information. Preclusion of the quantum limit is the result of detection in the diffraction plane, and thus applies to all 4D-STEM techniques. Near-optimum information transfer is achieved by a delocalized speckled probe. We compare with Zernike phase-contrast imaging, which can attain the quantum limit for all spatial frequencies admitted by the optical system, though at lower spatial resolution. Our conclusions also apply to analogous imaging techniques employing other forms of coherent scalar radiation

Local symmetries as constraints on the motion of freely-falling extended bodies

Different extended objects can fall in different ways, depending on their internal structures. Some motions are nevertheless impossible, regardless of internal structure. This paper derives universal constraints on extended-body motion, both in Newtonian gravity and in general relativity. In both theories, we identify a weak notion of "local symmetry" which precludes certain force and torque combinations. Local symmetries imply that certain components of a body's quadrupole moment cannot affect its motion. They also imply that some forces arise only in combination with appropriate torques. Many of these symmetries are shown to be determined by the algebraic structure of the tidal tensor. In general relativity, we thus relate qualitative features of extended-body motion to the Petrov type of the spacetime. Doing so shows that local symmetries are in fact ubiquitous. In general relativity, there are at least two in all algebraically-special spacetimes. Some of these are generated by Killing vectors and some by conformal Killing-Yano tensors. However, many local symmetries do not fall into either of these classes.Comment: 25 page