MODERN APPROACH TOWARDS “STANDARD FORM” CONTRACTS: A LEGAL PERSPECTIVE

In “Standard Form” contracts, one party drafts the terms and conditions and the other party is invited to accept it or leave it. Only option for the invited party is either adhere to all the terms and conditions or leave it altogether. Standard forms are commonly used in the contemporary complex world of mass corporations, mass production of goods and services among others. The use of standard terms and condition is not only limited to contracts in commercial transactions but also in contracts with public authorities, multinational organizations and giant corporations, banking, insurance and transportations etc. These contracts are termed and named differently in different jurisdictions. Sometimes it is referred to as standard-form contract or boilerplate agreements. The Standard Form contracts s are used abundantly in every field. Examples include insurance contacts, employment contracts, banking contracts, transportation, online websites and software among others. This study aim to discuss the origin and historical evolution of the standard form contracts including its characteristics and features. This study will also provide a comparison between the standard contracts and the conventional contractual Paradigm. Additionally, the principle of freedom of contract and initial judicial response to the contracts of adhesion has also been discussed in this study. Finally, the application of strict contract theory and modern approach towards standard form contracts, doctrine of Unconscionability has been discussed from legal prospective. This study will help to understand the rights of weaker parties and to protect them in any unjust situation arises from any such contract

The behaviour of advanced quenched and tempered steels during arc welding and thermal cutting

Quenched & tempered (Q&T) wear-resistant plate steels with martensitic microstructures have been in use for many years in the mining, defence, and construction industry due to their excellent mechanical properties (up to 1700 MPa of tensile strength and \u3e10% elongation to failure). These mechanical properties are achieved by utilisation of up to 0.4 wt.% Carbon (C), \u3c1.5 wt.% Manganese (Mn), microalloying with Molybdenum (Mo), Chromium (Cr), Nickle (Ni), Titanium (Ti), and sometimes Boron (B), and a combination of carefully designed thermomechanical processing schedule and post rolling heat treatment. In the last 10 years addition of \u3c1.5 % Ti was shown to provide superior wear resistance at a moderate C content. Improvement in the wear resistance was achieved via the formation of TiC hard particles embedded in the tempered martensite matrix. Moderation of the C content in Ti-alloyed steels allowed to obtain steels with relatively low hardness, high toughness, and enhanced weldability (due to the low carbon equivalent of the steel composition). A combination of moderate hardness and high toughness positively influenced the wear resistance. Fabrication of tools and equipment from the Q&T steels is carried out using conventional fusion arc welding and thermal cutting with oxy-fuel or plasma jet. The main problem, in this case, is the formation of an edge microstructure highly susceptible to cold cracking or hydrogen-induced cracking (HIC), which results in deterioration of mechanical properties, making steel unsuitable for the required application. In the case of Ti-alloyed steels, the heat input associated with thermal cutting and welding alters the TiC particle size distribution, in addition to the tempering of the martensitic microstructure, occurring in conventional Q&T steels. However, fabrication parameters may be controlled to avoid catastrophic microstructure deterioration and product failure. Generally, a type of welding process, environment, alloy composition, joint geometry, and size are the main causes of cracking after cutting and welding. Cracking susceptibility increases as the weld metal hydrogen content, material strength, and thickness increase. Cold cracking will occur if three conditions are satisfied: susceptible microstructure; type and magnitude of residual stresses; and importantly, the level of diffusible hydrogen that enters the weld pool. Cold cracking can be avoided through the selection of controlled heat input (depends upon current, voltage, and travel speed of welding) and preheating temperature

Polymer Resonant Waveguide Gratings

This chapter deals with the advances in polymeric waveguide gratings for filtering and integrated optics applications. Optical polymer materials are widely used for planar and corrugated micro-optical waveguide grating structures ranging from down a micrometer to several hundred micrometers. Light in a polymeric waveguide is transmitted in discrete modes whose propagation orders depend on incident wavelength, waveguide dimensional parameters, and material properties. Diffracted optical structures are permittivity-modulated microstructures whose micro-relief surface profiles exhibit global/local periodicity. The resonant nature and location of such globally periodic structures (diffraction gratings) excite leaky waveguide modes which couple incident light into reflected/transmitted plane wave diffraction orders. It describes design & analysis, fabrication, and characterization of sub-wavelength polymer grating structures replicated in different polymeric materials (polycarbonate, cyclic olefin copolymer, Ormocomp) by a simple, cost-effective, accurate, and large scale production method. The master stamp (mold) for polymer replication is fabricated with an etchless process with smooth surface profile

Agency Problems, Product Market Competition and Dividend Policies in Pakistan

The present study investigates the influence of product market competition on the dividend policies of the listed companies at KSE 100 index in Pakistan. It identify whether product market competition mitigates agency problems between controlling shareholders and minority shareholders. In particular, we examine firm dividend policies in competitive market, the study use three statistical measures for the analysis of 30 textile firms. The result shows that the product market competition have no significant impact on dividend policies of Pakistan. This study recommends that the product market competition can be an effective tool that can force the managers to give cash to shareholders. Keywords: Agency Problem, Dividend Policy, Corporate Governance, Product Market Competition, Textile Industr

Social and Economic Determinants of Child Health: The Case Study of Pakistan

This study used cross sectional data from Pakistan demographic health survey (DHS) 2006- 2007 to determine the social and economic determinants of child health in Pakistan. The sample of children under five (0-4) years is taken. The DHS sample is taken from different regions of Pakistan which is divided into rural and urban areas. Logistic regression technique is used to measure the coefficients of the model. This study revealed that the male children are more likely to be indulged into diseases as compared to female children. Results showed that there are fewer chances for a child to become ill if the household head is male. The study indicated that child sex, household head gender, size of child at birth, region and place of residence affect child health in Pakistan. Whereas the variables like wealth status, mother education, twin children and source of drinking water do not affect the child health under five years. Measures should be taken to reduce the risk of child morbidity by reducing the pollution and by giving proper vaccination. Keywords: Child health, Logistic regression technique, Pakistan demographic health survey, social and economic determinants. JEL classification Codes: I1, I110