Blockchain for next generation services in banking and finance: cost, benefit, risk and opportunity analysis

YesPurpose – The purpose of this paper is to help in providing a better understanding of the application of blockchain technology in the context of the banking and finance sectors. The aim is to outline blockchain’s benefits, opportunities, costs, risks as well as challenges of the technology in the context of banking and finance services Design/methodology/approach – Careful examination of the extant literature, including utilising relevant academic-based research databases has been carried out. It covered reviewing various research contributions published in peer-reviewed journals, academic reports, as well as technical reports to help in identifying related benefits, opportunities, costs, and risks. Findings – The findings reveal that there are limited contributions in utilising blockchain in the banking and finance sectors when compared with other sectors. As such, the study highlighted the relevant perspective of benefits, opportunities, costs, and risks within such sectors. Practical implications – This study helps in offering a focal point to banking and financial sector managers and decision-makers for realising the benefits of blockchain technology as well as developing strategies and programmes to overcome the identified challenges. Originality/value – This study highlights the need for a holistic understanding of the various aspects of cost, benefits, risk and opportunities to create blockchain applications that work for banking and finance sectorsNPRP grant # [11S-0117–180325] from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation)

The potential use of BIM to aid construction waste minimalisation

It is widely acknowledged that the construction industry has a major impact on the environment, both in terms of resource consumption and waste production. The construction industry is responsible for producing a whole variety of different onsite wastes; the amount and type of which depends on factors such as the stage of construction, type of construction work, direct or indirect stakeholders’ design change contribution, and practices throughout the project lifecycle. A number of construction waste minimisation (CWM) techniques and tools are currently available to assist contractors to divert waste away from landfill. However, literature reveals that there are insufficient techniques and tools for reducing construction waste during the design and procurement stages. The last few years saw the emergence of Building Information Modelling (BIM) techniques, which can be adopted to improve sustainable construction performance. BIM is a maturing modelling philosophy, which has been applied to several building-related functions such as visualising designs, automating quantity takeoffs, checking compliance with regulations, and scheduling construction processes. Furthermore, BIM, as a real-time interactive and collaborative communication system, has the potential to help project stakeholders to collaboratively attain waste minimisation for sustainable construction and building throughout design, construction and throughout the lifecycle by improving building construction performance. Hence, this paper, which is part of an ongoing doctoral study, explores the potential application of BIM to design out waste. An in-depth literature review was conducted to provide a foundation for the doctoral study that aims to investigate the use of BIM as a potential platform for building design waste minimisation. The paper explores construction waste origins and causes, current waste reduction practices; examines current industry BIM practices and investigates BIM tools for sustainable project construction and management; and identifies the knowledge gaps in existing literature that pave the way for the subsequent data collection stages

A BIM-aided construction waste minimisation framework

At present, there are insufficient design decision making tools to support effective construction waste minimisation evaluation and implementation throughout all design stages. A limited but growing body of recent literature suggests that building information modelling has the potential to assist architects to minimise design waste on their projects. The research reported in this paper is the first attempt to develop a design decision making framework for improving construction waste minimisation performance through building information modelling. The potential use of building information modelling to drive out construction waste in building design was investigated through a questionnaire survey and follow-up interview with the top 100 architectural practices in the United Kingdom. An industry-reviewed 'building information modelling-aided construction waste minimisation framework' was developed based on the results of the literature review, questionnaire data, and interview data. The Framework is intended to act as an integrated platform for designing out waste decision making, by providing informed building information modelling-driven guidance to address waste causes throughout design stages

Enhancement of urban pluvial flood risk management and resilience through collaborative modelling: a UK case study

This paper presents the main findings and lessons learned from the development and implementation of a new methodology for collaborative modelling, social learning and social acceptance of flood risk management technologies. The proposed methodology entails three main phases: (1) stakeholder analysis and engagement; (2) improvement of urban pluvial flood modelling and forecasting tools; and (3) development and implementation of web-based tools for collaborative modelling in flood risk management and knowledge sharing. The developed methodology and tools were tested in the Cranbrook catchment (London Borough of Redbridge, UK), an area that has experienced severe pluvial (surface) flooding in the past. The developed methodologies proved to be useful for promoting interaction between stakeholders, developing collaborative modelling and achieving social acceptance of new technologies for flood risk management. Some limitations for stakeholder engagement were identified and are discussed in the present paper

Impact of Credit on the Relative Well?Being of Women: Evidence from the Grameen Bank

summary This study examines the impact of credit on women's relative well?being in Grameen Bank's credit programmes. Using a bargaining model of the household, as extended by Amartya Sen, well?being has been defined in terms of three sets of capabilities: (i) autonomy, (ii) control over decision?making within the family, and (iii) relative access to household resources. It is hypothesised that the relative well?being of women and men depends on their respective bargaining power, which in turn depends on three factors: breakdown position, perceived contribution to the family and perceived self?interest. The hypothesis has been tested using a two?stage estimation method to avoid the potential problem of simultaneity bias that may be caused by the self?selection problem. Results indicate that involvement in credit has improved the relative well?being of women in some dimensions, but not in others. Some reasons are advanced for this partial success in improving women's well?being

Earth construction between tradition and modernity: Case studies on Algeria

In the south of Algeria, many indigenous settlements have been built using local earth construction techniques, whilst in the north, despite the availability of suitable earth, only a few rural contemporary settlements have been built using ‘improved’ earth construction. This paper adopts a case study approach to examine and compare structural deficiencies of two earth-built housing settlements in different regions in Algeria. In the indigenous earth settlement in the south, where adobe was used in combination with local timber and stones, the dwellings exhibited many structural defects. Stabilisation of the soil and introduction of modern materials in the contemporary rammed earth settlement in the north, have not however helped produce structurally adequate dwellings. These also exhibited many cracks and de-bonding of rendering, and thus not fulfilling the requirements and aspirations of their occupants. The study concludes for a potentially successful earth building scheme there are inter-related factors that should be considered, including: selection of appropriate soil and construction technique, implementing suitable design, construction and post completion processes, availability of relevant skills and provision of adequate training on the construction technique

Carvedilol targets beta-arrestins to rewire innate immunity and improve oncolytic adenoviral therapy

Oncolytic viruses are being tested in clinical trials, including in women with ovarian cancer. We use a drug-repurposing approach to identify existing drugs that enhance the activity of oncolytic adenoviruses. This reveals that carvedilol, a β-arrestin-biased β-blocker, synergises with both wild-type adenovirus and the E1A-CR2-deleted oncolytic adenovirus, dl922-947. Synergy is not due to β-adrenergic blockade but is dependent on β-arrestins and is reversed by β-arrestin CRISPR gene editing. Co-treatment with dl922-947 and carvedilol causes increased viral DNA replication, greater viral protein expression and higher titres of infectious viral particles. Carvedilol also enhances viral efficacy in orthotopic, intraperitoneal murine models, achieving more rapid tumour clearance than virus alone. Increased anti-cancer activity is associated with an intratumoural inflammatory cell infiltrate and systemic cytokine release. In summary, carvedilol augments the activity of oncolytic adenoviruses via β-arrestins to re-wire cytokine networks and innate immunity and could therefore improve oncolytic viruses for cancer patient treatment

Distribution, abundance and biological features of anglerfish (Lophius piscatorius and Lophius budegassa) (Osteichthyes: Lophiiformes) in the Mediterranean Sea

The distribution and biological features of anglerfish (Lophius piscatorius and L. budegassa) in the Mediterranean Sea were analysed from trawl surveys data (MEDITS project, years 1994-1999). The above-mentioned species were widely distributed in the Mediterranean, but differences in abundance were found according to geographic sectors and depths. Most of the collected specimens belonged to the first length cohorts and length distributions also differed at macroarea levels. Mean sizes at female sexual maturity were estimated at 68.5 cm and 66.2 cm total length, respectively for L. piscatorius and L. budegassaPublicado

Tracks and voids in amorphous Ge induced by swift heavy-ion irradiation

Ion tracks formed in amorphous Ge by swift heavy-ion irradiation have been identified with experiment and modeling to yield unambiguous evidence of tracks in an amorphous semiconductor. Their underdense core and overdense shell result from quenched-in ra