Texaco Petroleum v. The Government of Libya: Arbtitration in a critical perspective

Arbitration could be studied in two different perspectives; what would be involved in the first perspective is the role that arbitration plays, among other methods, in avoidance of dispute. In this perspective a study would concentrate on the technique of drafting concession agreements, and the priority that would be given to arbitration clauses among the other methods, in addition to the precision and quality of these clauses. In the second perspective one would study arbitration at work, and its actual dealing with procedural and substantive issues. Here arbitration would be the mechanism of applying law to facts, and here is where arbitration would be expected to contribute to international law in so far as investment disputes are concerned. But for an arbitral tribunal to be successful in settling disputes and contributing to international law, a number of conditions (which will be referred to at a later stage of this section) must be present. This paper proposes to deal with arbitration in both perspectives, in the light of the TEXACO Arbitration. Thus the introductory chapter will be dedicated to analysing the role arbitration clauses played in the concession agreements through their historical development. It shall start by the arbitration clauses in the traditional concessions, and analyse the attempt to provide for an international forum through the ICSID convention, and the declining role of arbitration clauses since then, to the stage where arbitration became a mechanism of last resort, giving the primary role to the new technique of dispute avoidance. This technique has been achieved (as will be seen) in what is known as the modern concession, which is a contract divided into several sets of rights and obligations in an elaborate form 50 as to comply with the ongoing relationship between the parties. This new model is, in other words, a set of contracts embodied in a concession, with each contract with a different instrument for conflict avoidance. The parties would execute these mini contracts individually, one after the other: thus any disputes arising from one of these mini contracts would not destabilise the overall relationship. That is the role of arbitration as far as dispute avoidance is concerned in concession agreements. Concerning the second role, i.e. the actual settling of disputes, a combination of factors must be present for an arbitral tribunal to be successful in settling a dispute, and perhaps laying down new rules that may have a measure of significance in the build up of an international economic order, as well as declaring customary rules. These factors are: (1) full participation in the proceedings by all the concerned before an arbitral tribunal formed of three arbitrators or more (2) a clear reference to the law(s) that should govern the proceeding of the tribunal and the substance of the dispute. These factors are vitally important for, without full participation of all concerned the dispute would be presented by one side, and before a sole arbitrator usually (as was the case in the disputes relating to the Libyan nationalisations). In such a case (no matter how hard the arbitrator tried to anticipate the claims and counter claims that might have been submitted by the absent party) the argument would be one sided, A tribunal formed of a number of arbitrators is equally important, because there are different schools of thought relating to the position of individuals and their rights under both concession agreements and international law. An award delivered by a sole arbitrator would, most probably reflect only the opinion of one school, unlike a tribunal with three members which could firmly establish a rule that reflects a general acceptance, and could set precedents for other tribunals to follow. The lack of reference to a particular law to govern concession agreements has generated so many controversies before arbitral tribunals and elsewhere. The argument in short is whether in the absence of choice of law clause, the contract should be governed by the law of the host country alone, or by a combination of that and international law, whether there is a branch of international law to govern relationships emerging from concession agreements, and what should its position be in relation to the municipal law of the host country. These questions may have varying impacts on the outcome of international arbitrations, and they could be answered in different ways, which could be eliminated only by clear and well drafted choice of law(s) clause. This paper will attempt to produce a critical assessment of the TEXACO case by comparing it with other cases, and illustrate the significance of the parties participating .It shall also endeavour to analyse the relationship between international law and the municipal law in the light of the conflicting arbitrations" Recent case law shall be discussed where appropriate to show the recent developments relating to international arbitration and international investment. An assessment shall be made of the changes that have been brought about by these cases, and their significance to both foreign Investors and host countries

Analysis of RC Continuous Beams Strengthened with FRP Plates: A Finite Element Model

Strengthening of reinforced concrete (RC) beams with externally bonded fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) plates/sheets technique has become widespread in the last two decades. Although a great deal of research has been conducted on simply supported RC beams, a few studies have been carried out on continuous beams strengthened with FRP composites.  This paper presents a simple uniaxial nonlinear finite-element model (UNFEM) that is able to accurately estimate the load-carrying capacity and the behaviour of RC continuous beams flexurally strengthened with externally bonded FRP plates on both of the upper and lower fibres. A 21-degree of freedom element is proposed with layer-discretization of the cross-sections for finite element (FE) modelling. Realistic nonlinear constitutive relations are employed to describe the stress-strain behaviour of each component of the strengthened beam. The FE model is based on nonlinear fracture mechanics. The interfacial shear and normal stresses in the adhesive layer are presented using an analytical uncoupled cohesive zone model with a mixed-mode fracture criterion. The results of the proposed FE model are verified by comparison with various selected experimental measurements available in the literature. The numerical results of the plated beams (beams strengthened with FRP plates) agreed very well with the experimental results. The use of FRP increased the ultimate load capacity up to 100 % compared with the non-strengthened beams as occurred in series (S). The major objective of the current model is to help engineers’ model FRP-strengthened RC continuous beams in a simple manner

Energy Consumption in Residential Buildings: Comparison between Three Different Building Styles

More than one-third of the electricity generated in the world is being consumed in the residential sector. This study aims to model, simulate, and estimate electrical energy consumption in three different building styles. That is in order to compare and contrast energy consumption categories and their related social and architectural aspects for an unaddressed region that have its particular weather conditions and its special social and environmental aspects. The simulation is done by detailed modeling of the buildings using EnergyPlus. The results demonstrate that water heating systems account for almost one-fifth of the annual energy consumption. Cooling loads were found to be more than 5 times the heating loads. The peak of energy consumption was recorded to be in July, while the lowermost recorded in April and in November. The Apartment style requires the lowest annual energy consumption by an amount of 10 kWh/m2 per person followed by the Duplex house with 13 kWh/m2 per person, while the Single-Story house comes with the highest energy consumption of 18 kWh/m2 per person. These represent local power consumption of 69, 79, and 90 kWh/m2, respectively. On average, the water heating, space cooling, plus interior lights consume about 60% of total energy requirements with a mostly equal share for each, while the equipment has the maximum share of 35% of the total, leaving about 5% for the rest. The results of this study may be used as a reference line in the future for the calculations of energy savings in similar regions

Open-Data and Data Acquisition for Smart Cities and Urban Mobility Studies: Potential Approaches and Current Challenges

The experience of urban users is shaped by cities—by their shapes, components, and how they function. An immense quantity of data is included in the process of how the city functions, how it affects its inhabitants, and how its residents view its components. Researchers need an extensive number of datasets on land use (type & quantification) and geometric dimensions of the built environment (3D, form, & pattern) to fully grasp this relationship. In addition to the need to collect data about users’ experience via using web-based/location-based surveys. The acquisition, exploration, and analysis of these datasets contributes to enabling a better understanding, operation, and monitoring of the city’s systems. Thus, facilitating the design, implementation, and operation of functional, efficient, and reliable smart cities. This paper focuses on transportation and mobility, and how can open-data sources be utilized for data acquisition for urban mobility studies. This highlights possible, simple, and accessible open-data acquisition tools for urban planners. It further outlines the limitations and challenges for data acquisition related to the global south context. The main aim is to explore the potential of integrating different open-data sources, web-based tools, and data analytics in defining travel time map and accessibility with respect to modality of mobility. It examines the accessibility, availability, and obtainability of data from these open-data sources (i.e., OpenStreetMap, Uber Movement, Jupyter Notebook) to be further used in urban studies, specifically in the context of the selected case study area. An exploratory approach is adopted to perform an analysis between the built environment and travel time during mobility, using Isochrone map acquired from open-data sources. The aim is to delineate an approach that could be adopted by urban planners who are not well acquainted with open-data sources, python scripts and codes. This approach could be utilized, modified, and replicated in further urban studies related to other regional contexts similar to the Egyptian context

The Motion of a Point Vortex in Multiply Connected Polygonal Domains

We study the motion of a single point vortex in simply and multiply connected polygonal domains. In case of multiply connected domains, the polygonal obstacles can be viewed as the cross-sections of 3D polygonal cylinders. First, we utilize conformal mappings to transfer the polygonal domains onto circular domains. Then, we employ the Schottky-Klein prime function to compute the Hamiltonian governing the point vortex motion in circular domains. We compare between the topological structures of the contour lines of the Hamiltonian in symmetric and asymmetric domains. Special attention is paid to the interaction of point vortex trajectories with the polygonal obstacles. In this context, we discuss the effect of symmetry breaking, and obstacle location and shape on the behavior of vortex motion

Comparison of cognitive function, socioeconomic level, and the health-related quality of life between epileptic patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and without

Background Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological conditions. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children with epilepsy proves to be very common. Both epilepsy and ADHD impair quality of life. We aimed to evaluate cognitive function, socioeconomic level, and quality of life (QOL) among children with ADHD and epilepsy. A total of 100 children were divided into 5 groups (20 children/group) as (I) epilepsy, (II) ADHD with epilepsy, (III) ADHD with EEG changes, (IV) ADHD without EEG changes, and (V) control. Children aged between 6 and 11 years were recruited for this study. Early Childhood Epilepsy Severity Scale (E-Chess), Conners’ Parent Rating Scale (CPRS), Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-3rd edition (WISC-III), socioeconomic scale for assessment of social burden and socioeconomic classes, and PedsQL (quality of life measure) assessed. Results Children with ADHD and epilepsy had the lowest PedsQL total scores and lower scores than other groups especially in performance IQ score. The highest percentage of low socioeconomic class (25%) was observed in the group of ADHD with epilepsy and the group of epilepsy. Conclusion ADHD with epilepsy is associated with low performance IQ, poor socioeconomic level, and quality of life. Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory scores show significant correlation with total IQ score in the group of ADHD with epilepsy

Comparative analysis of the efficacy of astigmatic correction after wavefront-guided and wavefront-optimized LASIK in low and moderate myopic eyes

AIM: To evaluate and compare the efficacy of the astigmatic correction achieved with laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) in eyes with myopic astigmatism using wavefront-guided (WFG) and wavefront-optimized (WFO) ablation profiles. METHODS: Prospective study included 221 eyes undergoing LASIK: 99 and 122 eyes with low and moderate myopic astigmatism (low and moderate myopia groups). Two subgroups were differentiated in each group according to the ablation profile: WFG subgroup, 109 eyes (45/64, low/moderate myopia groups) treated using the Advanced CustomVue platform (Abbott Medical Optics Inc.), and WFO subgroup, 112 eyes (54/58, low/moderate myopia groups) treated using the EX-500 platform (Alcon). Clinical outcomes were evaluated during a 6-month follow-up, including a vector analysis of astigmatic changes. RESULTS: Significantly better postoperative uncorrected visual acuity and efficacy index was found in the WFG subgroups of each group (P≤0.041). Postoperative spherical equivalent and cylinder were significantly higher in WFO subgroups (P≤0.003). In moderate myopia group, a higher percentage of eyes with a postoperative cylinder ≤0.25 D was found in the WFG subgroup (90.6% vs 65.5%, P=0.002). In low and moderate myopia groups, the difference vector was significantly higher in the WFO subgroup compared to WFG (P<0.001). In moderate myopia group, the magnitude (P=0.008) and angle of error (P<0.001) were also significantly higher in the WFO subgroup. Significantly less induction of high order aberrations were found with WFG treatments in both low and moderate myopia groups (P≤0.006). CONCLUSION: A more efficacious correction of myopic astigmatism providing a better visual outcome is achieved with WFG LASIK compared to WFO LASIK.Partially supported by a grant from Abbott Medical Optics

Chromohysteroscopy after failed intracytoplasmic sperm injection

Background: ICSI is the injection of a single sperm directly into the cytoplasm of the oocyte (ICSI). The failure to achieve pregnancy after ICSI has been studied over many years to reach the possible and preventable causes to avoid another failure. The aim of this study was to assess the value of using Chromohysteroscopy as a part of the work up of cases with one or more failed ICSI. The Ultimate goal is to detect the possible endometrial abnormalities and /or endometritis.Methods: Prospective cohort study was carried out with total of 50 infertile women recruited from infertility clinic in Elshatby Maternity University Hospital, Alexandria University, Egypt. Cases were allocated in 2 groups with 25 cases in each group. The first group included cases that had a failed trial of ICSI. The second group included control cases who were seeking for fertility treatment with no previous history of ICSI or any uterine surgery or anatomical abnormalities. In the postmenstrual period, Chromohysteroscopy was done by the same surgeon and documentation of all findings in the cavity and presence of endometritis.Results: There was a significant increase in the incidence of endometritis among the study group 68% in comparison to 16% in the control group.Conclusions: In this study endometrial dying with methylene blue at hysteroscopy improve the detection of chronic endometritis