Asbestos caused Lung Cancer: An issue ripe for review

Following the recent decision in the case of Heneghan v Manchester Dry Docks Ltd that a claimant succeeds in an asbestos related lung cancer claim where they can show defendants materially increased the risk of lung cancer occurring, this article considers the current state of the law and availability of compensation through statutory schemes, and looks at the different approach taken by Australian courts in developing the law in this area

Public perceptions and acceptance of drones, and the question of regulatory effectiveness

accessible librement en ligne (depuis longtemps mais je ne l'ai découvert que récemment

Economics and the Evolution of Non-Party Litigation Funding in America: How Court Decisions, the Civil Justice Process, and Law Firm Structures Drive the Increasing Need and Demand for Capital

This paper views civil litigation initiated by a party seeking money damages through the lens of the underlying economics that impact the civil justice system\u27s ability to achieve fair outcomes. It examines how access to capital has impacted the functioning of civil justice in the United States

Economics and the Evolution of Non-Party Litigation Funding in America: How Court Decisions, the Civil Justice Process, and Law Firm Structures Drive the Increasing Need and Demand for Capital

This paper views civil litigation initiated by a party seeking money damages through the lens of the underlying economics that impact the civil justice system\u27s ability to achieve fair outcomes. It examines how access to capital has impacted the functioning of civil justice in the United States

Student data: data is knowledge – putting the knowledge back in the students’ hands

Learning Management Systems are integral technologies within higher education institutions. These tools automatically amass large amounts of log data relating to student activities. The field of learning analytics uses data from learning management systems (LMSs) and student information systems to track student progress and predict future performance in order to enhance learning environments (Siemens, 2011). The aim of this paper is to describe a project where we utilized a system developed in Dublin City University to use information about student engagement with our LMS, Moodle, to create a model predicting pass or failure in certain modules. The project is divided into three distinct phases. An initial investigation was completed analyzing Moodle activity for the last six years. The purpose of this exercise was to determine automatically if “trends” could be identified linking Moodle engagement with student attainment. This was done by training a machine learning classifier to map student online behaviour, against outcomes. Once the classifier was trained, several modules were identified as suitable for building a predictor of student exam success.Ten modules were identified for semester 1 with a further seven identified for semester 2. The second phase involved analyzing current students’ engagement with these modules and sending students information about the predictions of their attainment for the module, based on their Moodle engagement. At this stage concerns were raised within the university that the data that we share with the students could actually have the opposite effect to what we are after, i.e. the student may look at the data and think that there is no point in putting in more effort as ‘I’m too far behind already’. Dietz-Uhler and Hurn refer to this as “instead of being a constructive tool, feedback becomes a prophet of failure” (Dietz-Uhler, 2013). This contention was addressed by conducting an online survey with students in an effort to explore their experiences of being provided with feedback regarding their engagement with the LMS. The third and final phase of this project was the development of a dashboard for lecturers to enable monitoring of their students’ engagement with their module on Moodle. This enables lecturers to have an overview of how students are engaging with their course on Moodle and quickly identify students who are not engaging with the LMS and who are potentially at risk of failure or non-completion. There are numerous examples of the use of learning analytics in higher education. This study focuses on the provision of data obtained through learning analytics to the student and qualitative analysis that was conducted in relation to this data. This research adds to the existing research into learning analytics being used for student retention

The micro-foundations of alignment among sponsors and contractors on large engineering projects

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2006.Includes bibliographical references (p. 216-230).Large engineering projects design, engineer and construct much of the world's energy, transportation and defense infrastructure. These large scale engineering endeavors are highly visible, have long lasting impacts and are of major economic significance. Yet despite their importance they frequently suffer from cost overruns and long delays and deliver systems with operational shortcomings. A contributing factor to the challenge of large projects is that the project enterprise is created by separate firms being brought together by the project sponsor, typically via formal contracts. Success requires multiple firms with hundreds (possibly thousands) of engineers working together to efficiently create complex product systems within an environment of high uncertainty. In an attempt to improve project outcomes, sponsors often endeavor to create "alignment" between themselves and their key contractors. In practice, alignment has proved difficult to create and to sustain. This research explores the policies and actions taken by firms that give rise to alignment. The large engineering projects studied for this research were offshore oil and gas field developments. grounded theory method, supplemented by formal dynamic model building, was used to investigate the causal mechanisms that support, or inhibit, the generation of alignment. The research revealed that alignment is founded on the collective understanding of the project, incorporating the firm's separate interests, and inter-firm trust. Furthermore the two antecedents of alignment act together to form a self-enforcing alignment mechanism. Six factors (system architecture, organizational design, contract design, risk, metrics and incentives) were identified that establish the inter-firm interactions through which collective understanding and inter-firm trust are created. These findings are organized into a framework that guides policy selection with a view to enabling the generation, and sustainment, of alignment.(cont.) A grounded theory method, supplemented by formal dynamic model building, was used to investigate the causal mechanisms that support, or inhibit, the generation of alignment. The research revealed that alignment is founded on the collective understanding of the project, incorporating the firm's separate interests, and inter-firm trust. Furthermore the two antecedents of alignment act together to form a self-enforcing alignment mechanism. Six factors (system architecture, organizational design, contract design, risk, metrics and incentives) were identified that establish the inter-firm interactions through which collective understanding and inter-firm trust are created. These findings are organized into a framework that guides policy selection with a view to enabling the generation, and sustainment, of alignment.by Nicholas McKenna.Ph.D

Executing major projects through Contractors

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2005.Includes bibliographical references (p. 112-115).Project based organizational structures are utilized in many industries. The firms engaged in these significant endeavors, project sponsor and contractor alike, risk both capital and reputation in the market-place with each new project. Delivering projects effectively provides all the firms involved with desirable financial outcomes and market advantage. This thesis sets out to identify and understand the mechanisms established by the contracting structure that in part determine the outcome of the project. It is suggested that the nature of the relationship between project sponsor and contractor shapes the outcome of the project to a significant extent. Complex and challenging projects are made more so by the adversarial relationships that frequently exist between the sponsor and contractor(s). This thesis unpacks the underlying mechanisms that determine that relationship and begins to establish a theory of the project organization that could lead to improved project execution performance.by Nicholas A. McKenna.S.M

Is rehabilitation cost effective?

It is imperative that health care resources are spent as efficiently as possible by committing them to demonstrably cost-effective treatments and procedures. The NHS reforms of 1989 aimed to help achieve this by separating out the roles of purchaser and provider. In doing so, ‘trade’ between them will be more explicit and accountable. Both purchasers and providers therefore require information about the costs and consequences of treatment options to enable them to make informed decisions about which treatments to fund. The current literature concerning the cost-effectiveness of rehabilitation options is, however, poor in terms of both quantity and quality. The majority of the studies reviewed evaluate rehabilitation options without first adequately establishing their effectiveness. Without such evidence, rehabilitation resources are potentially being wasted.cost-effectiveness