Imminence in Refugee and Human Rights Law: A Misplaced Notion for International Protection

This article is the first scholarly output of a major research project examining the notion of imminence in the law on international protection. It is the first piece of scholarship to identify an emerging trend, namely the introduction of imminence—whether invoked implicitly or explicitly—as a potential barrier to refugee status or complementary protection. The article analyses the jurisprudence of relevant international bodies and courts and critiques the validity of this notion as a tool for assessing States’ protection obligations

A well-founded fear of being persecuted ... but when?

It is well established that the ‘well-founded fear’ test in refugee law requires a prospective assessment of potential future harm. Yet, the requisite timeframe involved in this test is rarely examined. Analysis of jurisprudence across a wide range of jurisdictions reveals that Australian courts have been unusually cognisant of the question of timing of harm. Indeed, they have been particularly insistent that a flexible and longer-range assessment is appropriate, encapsulated by the ‘reasonably foreseeable future’ test. This article provides an in-depth analysis of the principles set out by Australian courts, and identifies particularly challenging contexts in which timing has played an important role. It also assesses the extent to which decision-makers at the tribunal level adhere to the flexible approach formulated by the judiciary. It is hoped that our analysis of Australian jurisprudence may prove helpful in other jurisdictions in which the issue of timing of harm is equally pertinent but far less developed

Negotiating the female successor-leader role within family business succession in China

This article explores the approaches of identity construction used by Chinese daughters while negotiating the successor–leader role within family businesses. A qualitative interpretivist approach was adopted to understand daughter views on gender, family business leadership and succession, as well as the approaches adopted to negotiate the role of female successor/leader in the Chinese family business. Twenty semi-structured interviews were conducted with both actual and potential female successors. Three approaches of identity construction emerged based on the degree of conformity to traditional gender roles and Confucian family values: first, to abide by conventional gender expectations and perceive themselves as a temporary leader; second, to act as the ‘second leader’ and remain involved in decision making and third, to challenge conventional gender roles and strive to be an independent leader. This article contributes to debates on women in family business and gendered identity construction of daughters in family business in the Chinese context

The cost of a small membrane bioreactor

The individual cost contributions to the mechanical components of a small membrane bioreactor (MBR) (100–2,500 m3/d flow capacity) are itemised and collated to generate overall capital and operating costs (CAPEX and OPEX) as a function of size. The outcomes are compared to those from previously published detailed cost studies provided for both very small containerised plants (<40 m3/day capacity) and larger municipal plants (2,200–19,000 m3/d). Cost curves, as a function of flow capacity, determined for OPEX, CAPEX and net present value (NPV) based on the heuristic data used indicate a logarithmic function for OPEX and a power-based one for the CAPEX. OPEX correlations were in good quantitative agreement with those reported in the literature. Disparities in the calculated CAPEX trend compared with reported data were attributed to differences in assumptions concerning cost contributions. More reasonable agreement was obtained with the reported membrane separation component CAPEX data from published studies. The heuristic approach taken appears appropriate for small-scale MBRs with minimal costs associated with installation. An overall relationship of net present value = (a tb)Q(−c lnt+d) was determined for the net present value where a = 1.265, b = 0.44, c = 0.00385 and d = 0.868 according to the dataset employed for the analysis

The preparation and characterisation of monomeric and linked metal carbonyl clusters containing the closo-Si2Co4 pseudo-octahedral core

PhSiH3 reacts with [Co₄(CO)₁₂] at 50 °C in hydrocarbon solvents to give [(µ₄-SiPh)₂Co₄(CO)₁₁], 2c, shown by an X-ray crystal structure determination to have a pseudo-octahedral Si₂Co₄ core. Substituted aryl-silanes behaved similarly. Mixtures of PhSiH₃, H₃SiC₆H₄SiH₃ and [Co₄(CO)₁₂] in a ca. 2 1 2 ratio gave the dimeric cluster [{Co₄(µ₄-SiPh)(CO)₁₁Si}₂C₆H₄], 3a, which has the two Si₂Co₄ cores linked by a C₆H₄ group to give a rigid molecule which an X-ray structure analysis shows to be over 23 Å long. Related dimers linked by –(CH₂)₈– groups were isolated from mixtures of PhSiH₃, α ,ω-(H₃Si)₂(CH₂)₈ and [Co₄(CO)₁₂]. Electrochemical studies show the two cluster units in 3a do not interact electronically

4-[(E)-2-Ferrocenylethen­yl]-1,8-naphthalic anhydride

In the structure of the title compound, [Fe(C5H5)(C19H11O3)], the plane of the substituted ferrocene ring is tilted by 14.17 (6)° with respect to the mean plane through the naphthalene ring system. In the crystal structure, centrosymmetric dimers are formed through π–π inter­actions [centroid–centroid distance = 3.624 (2) Å] between the substituted ferrocene ring and the three fused rings of the naphthalic anhydride unit. Pairs of dimers are held together by further naphthalene–naphthalene π–π interactions [distance between parallel mean planes 3.45 (3) Å]. Each dimer inter­acts with four neighbouring dimers in a herringbone fashion through C—H⋯π inter­actions, so forming a two-dimensional sheet-like structure

Compositional Explanation of Types and Algorithmic Debugging of Type Errors

The type systems of most typed functional programming languages are based on the Hindley-Milner type system. A practical problem with these type systems is that it is often hard to understand why a program is not type correct or a function does not have the intended type. We suggest that at the core of this problem is the difficulty of explaining why a given expression has a certain type. The type system is not defined compositionally. We propose to explain types using a variant of the Hindley-Milner type system that defines a compositional type explanation graph of principal typings. We describe how the programmer understands types by interactive navigation through the explanation graph. Furthermore, the explanation graph can be the foundation for algorithmic debugging of type errors, that is, semi-automatic localisation of the source of a type error without even having to understand the type inference steps. We implemented a prototype of a tool to explore the usefulness of the proposed methods

Sustainable degradation of carbon tetrafluoride to non-corrosive useful products by incorporating reduced electron mediator within electro-scrubbing

The degradation of CF4 gas using existing technologies produces other types of greenhouse gas (CO2) and corrosive side products. The main aim of this study is to degrade CF4 gas at room temperature into useful products without producing corrosive side products by mediated electrochemical reduction (MER) process using an electrogenerated Cu1+[Ni2+(CN)4]1− mediator. Initial studies on the electrolytic reduction of the hetero-bimetallic complex in catholyte solution at anodized Ti cathode was monitored by oxidation/reduction potential (ORP) variation whether the Cu2+ or Ni2+ was reduced in the Cu2+[Ni2+(CN)4] and confirmed by electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy the Cu1+[Ni2+(CN)4]1− formation. The concentration variation of Cu1+[Ni2+(CN)4]1− during CF4 injection demonstrated the degradation of CF4 followed the MER by electrogenerated Cu1+[Ni2+(CN)4]1−. Maximum removal efficiency of CF4 using electroscrubbing process was 96% at room temperature. Through the variation in gas phase parameters, the gas phase mass transfer coefficient was calculated that can facilitate scale up the developed process. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis in both the gas and solution phases showed that CH3CH2OH was the main product that formed during the removal of CF4 by electrogenerated Cu1+[Ni2+(CN)4]1− at electroscrubber along with a small amount of CF3CH3 intermediate. Importantly, this mechanism also avoided formation of the corrosive product HF