Detect-alert-deter system for enhanced biosecurity and risk assessment

This project developed a prototype of a machine vision-based surveillance system to enhance wildlife biosecurity by automatically detecting and deterring target wildlife. It was programmed to recognise and target ducks, which are avian influenza (AI) reservoirs and a potential biosecurity risk. Other species may also be reservoir or bridge species that spread AI, and therefore seasonal surveys of wild birds on and around meat chicken farms were undertaken as wild bird migration patterns vary for wild birds at different times of the year

Just compensation? The price of death and injury after the Rana Plaza garment factory collapse

The 2013 collapse of the Rana Plaza factory building in Dhaka, Bangladesh was the most deadly disaster in garment manufacturing history, with at least 1,134 people killed and hundreds injured. In 2015, injured workers and the families of those killed received compensation from global apparel brands through a $30 million voluntary initiative known as the Rana Plaza Arrangement. Overseen by the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Rana Plaza Arrangement awarded payments to survivors using a pricing formula developed by a diverse team of ‘stakeholders’ that included labour groups, multinational apparel companies, representatives of the Bangladesh government and local employers, and ILO actuaries. This article draws from anthropological scholarship on the ‘just price’ to explore how a formula for pricing death and injury became both the means and form of a fragile political settlement in the wake of a shocking and widely publicised industrial disaster. By unpacking the complicated ‘ethics of a formula’ (Ballestero 2015), I demonstrate how the project of creating a just price involves not two sets of values (ethical and financial) but rather multiple, competing values. This article argues for recognition of the persistence and power of these competing values, showing how they variously strengthen and undermine the claim that justice was served by the Rana Plaza Arrangement. This analysis reveals the deficiencies of counterposing ‘morality’ and ‘economy’ in the study of price by reflecting upon all elements of price as situated within political economy and history

Managing the patient journey through enteral nutritional care

Nutritional support provision does not happen by accident. Clinical dimensions include screening and assessment, estimation of requirements, identification of a feeding route and the subsequent need for monitoring. Patients may need different forms of nutritional intervention during the course of their illness. Furthermore, these may need to be provided in different locations as their clinical status changes. If this is not properly managed there is potential for inappropriate treatment to be given. Clinical processes can only be effectively implemented if there is a robust infrastructure. The clinical team need to understand the different elements involved in effective service provision and this depends on bringing together disciplines which do not feature overtly on the clinical agenda including catering, finance and senior management. Excellent communication skills at all levels, financial awareness and insight into how other departments function are fundamental to success. Practice needs to be reviewed constantly and creativity about all aspects of service delivery is essential. Finally, it is important that key stakeholders are identified and involved so that they can support any successes and developments. This will raise awareness of the benefits of nutritional intervention and help to ensure that the right resources are available when they are needed