The Impact of Environmental Regulation on Competitiveness in the European Cement Industry - Results of a Matched Plant Comparison between Germany, Spain and the UK

Zementindustrie, Umweltauflage, Internationaler Wettbewerb, Vergleich, EU-Staaten, Großbritannien, Spanien, Deutschland, Cement industry, Environmental regulation, Global competition, Comparison, EU countries, United Kingdom, Spain, Germany

Media Regulatory Frameworks in the Age of Broadband: Securing Diversity

Professor Hitchens, writing from Australia, sees a dramatically different regulatory framework in a post-convergence Broadband Age. Future media policy and regulation, she says, will have to address the entire media ecosystem, viewed as a regulatory space in which self-regulation and the market are all part of the basket of regulatory tools. Its goal should be to maintain and strengthen the public sphere. Traditional rules limiting media ownership or setting content requirements are unlikely to be viable, and will be replaced by increased reliance on sectoral ex ante competition regulation, perhaps complemented by a code of behavior promoting self-regulation regarding content. Hitchens concludes that traditional media regulations rooted in spectrum scarcity are not sustainable in the long term

Selective removal of organics for water reclamation

Electrolysis has been investigated as a means of purifying waste water. The feasibility of the direct electrochemical oxidation of urea has been demonstrated. Urea levels were reduced from 1200 ppm to 1 ppm forming the basis for a new approach to urine purification where the only consumable is electrical energy. Preliminary estimates of the energy requirements are 270 W/hr per liter of urine. Urea oxidation rates of around 350 mg urea/hr/m2 were observed. It is anticipated that a 1 m2 geometric area of electrode could treat urine for a crew of several persons. The low levels of organic contaminants resulting from this treatment indicate that the approach may have an impact as a post treatment process. Experiments are planned to investigate this later possibility

Multilateralism in Space: Opportunities and Challenges for Achieving Space Security

Human activity in space has, from the dawn of the space age, been characterized by a “push me, pull you” dynamic between competition and cooperation. There is no doubt it was the Cold War rivalry between the United States and the then Soviet Union that drove initial efforts to breech the space frontier, and that military competition has long been, and continues to be, a central factor in states’ pursuit of space capabilities. At the same time, even during the height of tensions between the two superpowers, international cooperation in the space exploration and sciences was considered a high priority. Not only did the United States and the Soviet Union seek to cooperate with each other regarding human space flight, but they also reached out to other less-developed space players

Forwarding Multilateral Space Governance: Next Steps for the International Community

Over the past decade, concerns about ensuring sustainability and security in outer space have led the international community to pursue a range of governance initiatives. Governance issues regarding the use of space are complicated because of the physical realities of the space environment and because of the legal status of space as a global resource. As the number of space users grows and the types of activities in space expand, competition for access to space will only continue to grow. Different space actors have different priorities and perceptions regarding space challenges. As more and more militaries around the world turn to space assets, the potential development of counterspace weapons also increases tensions. Ongoing multilateral work on space governance has concentrated primarily on voluntary measures. There are currently three major multilateral governance initiatives in the field. The three—the EU Code of Conduct, the COPUOS Working Group on the Long-term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities, and the Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) on transparency and confidencebuilding measures—are related to each other, but each aims to address slightly different aspects of the governance problem. This paper reviews these initiatives and elucidates ways to forward their progress, for instance, by fully implementing the GGE recommendations, including a review of implementation of the Outer Space Treaty, the establishment of national focal points for data exchange, and by fully implementing the UN Registry. It also looks to identify additional steps beyond current activities at the multilateral level for establishing a foundational space governance framework, including institutionalizing the UN Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines; establishing a public space situational awareness database; and examining ways to move forward discussion on active debris removal, national legal obligations regarding military activities, and space traffic management

Jockey Falls, Injuries, and Fatalities Associated With Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse Racing in California, 2007-2011.

BackgroundDespite the popularity of the horse racing industry in the United States and the wide recognition that horse racing is one of the most hazardous occupations, little focused research into the prevention of falls by and injuries to jockeys has been conducted.PurposeTo describe the incidence rates and characteristics of falls and injuries to Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing jockeys in the state of California.Study designDescriptive epidemiology study.MethodsData on race-day falls and injuries were extracted from jockey accident reports submitted to the California Horse Racing Board from January 2007 to December 2011. Denominator data, number of jockey race rides, were obtained from commercial and industry databases. Jockey fall, injury, and fatality incidence rates and ratios in Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse flat races were estimated using Poisson regression. Characteristics of falls and injuries are described and compared.ResultsIn Thoroughbred races, 184 jockey injuries occurred from 360 reported jockey falls, 180,646 race rides, 23,500 races, and 3350 race meetings. In Quarter Horse races, 85 jockey injuries occurred from 145 jockey falls, 46,106 race rides, 6320 races, and 1053 race meetings. Jockey falls occurred at a rate of 1.99 falls per 1000 rides in Thoroughbred races, with 51% of falls resulting in jockey injury, and 3.14 falls per 1000 rides in Quarter Horse races, with 59% of falls resulting in jockey injury. The majority of falls occurred during a race, with catastrophic injury or sudden death of the horse reported as the most common cause in both Thoroughbred (29%) and Quarter Horse (44%) races. During the period studied, 1 jockey fatality resulted from a fall. Jockey fall rates were lower but injury rates were comparable to those reported internationally.ConclusionOn average, a licensed jockey in California can expect to have a fall every 502 rides in Thoroughbred races and every 318 rides in Quarter Horse races. While jockey fall rates were lower, injury rates were similar to those in other racing jurisdictions. The high proportion of jockey falls caused by horse fatalities should be further investigated