Glass as ink: seeking spontaneity from the casting process

This practice-based research addresses internal form in cast glass. That is, ink- like imagery, which is wholly contained within clear, colourless glass. For the purposes of this project, ‘ink’ refers to liquid ink as is used in Chinese brush painting and calligraphy rather than to ink applications such as those used in print media. The aim is not to use ink itself. Rather, it is to emulate ink, rendered inside glass, while exploring the material similarities between the two media, including their liquid properties and their ability to be worked opaque or translucent. The project examines the interface between control and chance; where the artistic process ends and the unique properties of glass take over and are governed by heat, time and gravity. It also addresses the transformation of two- dimensional line drawing and ink wash into the third dimension. My research question is how the kiln and furnace casting processes can best be exploited to render the fluid, gestural and expressionistic immediacy of brush and ink painting, three-dimensionally, in solid glass. Following 14 years of studying and making art in Korea (1997‒2003) and China (2003‒2010), I have developed an affinity for brush and ink painting and, more specifically, for Chinese Grass script calligraphy and traditional landscape. This project aims to explore various methods of capturing apparent gesture and spontaneity in cast glass, in the form of ‘ink’ abstractions that evoke these styles of Chinese painting. My methodology includes identifying and isolating the elements that characterise Chinese brushwork in calligraphy and landscape painting, which are intimately linked fine art forms in China. Studio tests include manipulating different types of glass to create a dynamic, rhythmic, assured and graceful ink aesthetic, interpreted in the third dimension. I use flameworked inclusions to explore ink-like line and experiment with glass powders to evoke different intensities of ink wash. All tests are recorded in detail and are used to anticipate and loosely control glass movement. My research into Chinese brushwork characteristics is used to identify a framework within which the studio work sits. The variety, order and combination of techniques used to create the work constitute original knowledge in the field of cast glass. My method for reinterpreting the characteristics of Chinese painting, including line quality, ink wash, composition and balance, embedded three-dimensionally within the framework of cast glass, also contributes new knowledge. Based on systematic research and analysis, the terms ‘casting’, ‘moulds’, ‘spontaneity’ and the ‘third dimension’ are examined and defined anew

Carbon portfolio management

The aim of the European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) is that by 2020, emissions from sectors covered by the EU ETS will be 21% lower than in 2005. In addition to large CO 2 emitting companies covered by the scheme, other participants have entered the market with a view of using emission allowances for the diversification of their investment portfolios. The performance of this asset as a stand alone investment and its portfolio diversification implications will be investigated in this paper. Our results indicate that the market views Phases 1, 2, and 3 European Union allowance futures as unattractive as stand alone investments. In a portfolio context, in Phase 1, once the short-selling option is added, there are considerable portfolio benefits. However, our results indicate that these benefits only existed briefly during the pilot stage of the EU ETS. There is no evidence to suggest portfolio diversification benefits exist for Phase 2 or the early stages of Phase 3

Liquidity and market efficiency in the world’s largest carbon market

We investigate liquidity and market efficiency on the world's largest carbon exchange, IntercontinentalExchange Inc.’s European Climate Exchange (ECX), by using intraday short-horizon return predictability as an inverse indicator of market efficiency. We find a strong relationship between liquidity and market efficiency such that when spreads narrow, return predictability diminishes. This is more pronounced for the highest trading carbon futures and during periods of low liquidity. Since the start of trading in Phase II of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU-ETS) prices have continuously moved nearer to unity with efficient, random walk benchmarks, and this improves from year to year. Overall, our findings suggest that trading quality in the EU-ETS has improved markedly and matures over the 2008–2011 compliance years

Greening healthcare: systematic implementation of environmental programmes in a university teaching hospital

peer-reviewedThe provision of healthcare creates significant environmental impacts, and their mitigation is being attempted in a variety of ways which vary from nation to nation in line with differing policy priorities and resource availability. The environmental performance of hospitals has been enhanced through, for example, green building, waste and energy management, and product design. However, unpredictable occupant behaviour, new research outcomes and evolving best practice requires healthcare to react and respond in an ever challenging and changing environment, and clearly there is no one set of actions appropriate in all jurisdictions. Many authors have pointed up negative environmental impacts caused by healthcare, but these studies have focused on particular aspects of mitigation in isolation, and are for this reason not optimal. Here it is argued that tackling impact mitigation through a whole system approach is likely to be more effective. To illustrate what this approach might entail in practice, an evaluation of a systematic implementation of impact mitigation in Ireland's largest teaching hospital, Cork University Hospital is presented. This approach brings together voluntary initiatives in particular those emanating from governmental and non-governmental organisations, peer supports and the adaptation of programmes designed originally for environmental education purposes. Specific measures and initiatives are described, and analysis of results and planned future actions provides a basis for evaluation of successes achieved in achieving mitigation objectives. A crucial attribute of this approach is that it retains its flexibility and connectivity through time, thereby ensuring continual responsiveness to evolving regulation and best practice in green healthcare. It is demonstrated that implementation in Cork resulted both in mitigation of existing impacts, but also a commitment to continual improvement. For such a systems approach to be widely adopted, the healthcare sector needs both leadership from regulators and stakeholders, and strong supports. In Cork it was found that environmental education programmes, especially action and reward based programmes, as utilised by the campus's academic affiliates in particular University College Cork, were especially effective as a framework to address sustainability challenges and should be developed further. However, within healthcare implementation of environmental initiatives must prioritise patient safety. This approach has now been adopted for delivery across the health services sector in Ireland. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.ACCEPTEDpeer-reviewe