Accident prevention in cement plants

The cement industry as a whole took up accident prevention work along with the pioneers. With the organization of the Portland Cement Association, a Bureau of Accident Prevention was formed. This Accident Prevention Bureau, by sending out literature, holding competitions, collecting and tabulating results of accidents collected from every cement manufacturer and affiliating with National Safety Council as the Cement Section, has made rapid strides each year, until today it is doubtful if any other branch of manufacturers can show more improvement in accident records than the cement industry. In spite of their marked improvements each year, there were 47 fatal accidents in the cement industry in 1922, which shows that there is still room for improvement --page 3

The links between security sector reform and development

Executive summary: This paper explores the relationship between security and development, with a focus on how different types of violence inhibit development in fragile and conflict-affected states. This paper is based upon a comprehensive literature review of separate pieces of research including academic studies, datasets and policy analysis. It explores statistics and figures that illustrate the barriers that insecurity poses to achieving development outcomes in fragile and conflict-afflicted states. It also examines these dynamics in detail in four countries: Afghanistan, Solomon Islands, South Sudan and Timor-Leste. The assignment was not to come up with policy recommendations per se; rather it was to present a comprehensive synopsis of how different types of violence shackles and inhibits development in fragile and conflict-affected states. The research team believes that the material presented will be of use to inform policy debate and development, including in the field of security sector reform. The analysis is contextualised by focusing on three types of violence: political, criminal and interpersonal. The barriers these different types of violence pose to development is presented throughout the report, and embedded in the country case studies. The statistics uncovered in the course of the project are stark and unnerving. These statistics, among others, are used to highlight the barriers that different types of violence pose to development. It is not only the financial cost, but also the broader institutional and social costs that generate a series of barriers for meaningful development. Through synthesising these statistics, this paper contributes to the understandings of the links between security and development, paving way for policy recommendations and lines of action for Australia and development practitioners

A Study of the Reputation of the Victorian Criminal Bar: ‘Absolutely Pure’ or ‘Pernicious to Morals, Jurisprudence and Government’

This thesis examines the changes in public and press perceptions of the criminal Bar over the duration of the Victorian period. The reputational spectrum ranges from the intense criticism of the Bar and its institutions in the 1840s and 1850s, particularly as a consequence of the 1836 Prisoners’ Counsel Act which permitted defence counsel to address juries directly, to the more respectful regard from the 1880s onwards - by which time the public imagination had come to accept, and even laud, the leading practitioners as models who suited Victorian notions of professionalism. Ultimately, this work provides original insights into the nascence of modern professional habits and the requirements of professional qualification – in other words, the defining characteristics of the modern barrister. The principal research objective has been to determine the reasons for this improvement in the criminal Bar’s public standing. The thesis is founded on a thorough analysis of primary sources, notably mainstream and popular newspapers, periodicals and professional journals, which establishes a causal continuity between these ostensibly contradictory images. The thematic novelty of this particular study lies in the fact that it analyses the two most important components in the criminal Bar’s negative reputation – its courtroom behaviour and inadequate education – and sets them together within an overall historical process of change and improvement. It finds that the betterment of the criminal Bar’s external image was the direct outcome of internal shifts in behaviour and culture. These shifts were, in turn, responses to vehement press criticism. Accordingly, the last quarter of the nineteenth century came to be characterised by the gradual adoption of more measured courtroom styles which occurred in tandem with a belated engagement by the Inns of Court with systematic legal education and quality control

Changes in central venous to arterial carbon dioxide gap (PCO 2 gap) in response to acute changes in ventilation

Background Early diagnosis of shock is a predetermining factor for a good prognosis in intensive care. An elevated central venous to arterial PCO2 difference (∆PCO2) over 0.8 kPa (6 mm Hg) is indicative of low blood flow states. Disturbances around the time of blood sampling could result in inaccurate calculations of ∆PCO2, thereby misrepresenting the patient status. This study aimed to determine the influences of acute changes in ventilation on ∆PCO2 and understand its clinical implications.Methods To investigate the isolated effects of changes in ventilation on ∆PCO2, eight pigs were studied in a prospective observational cohort. Arterial and central venous catheters were inserted following anaesthetisation. Baseline ventilator settings were titrated to achieve an EtCO2 of 5±0.5 kPa (VT = 8 mL/kg, Freq = 14 ± 2/min). Blood was sampled simultaneously from both catheters at baseline and 30, 60, 90, 120, 180 and 240 s after a change in ventilation. Pigs were subjected to both hyperventilation and hypoventilation, wherein the respiratory frequency was doubled or halved from baseline. ∆PCO2 changes from baseline were analysed using repeated measures ANOVA with post-hoc analysis using Bonferroni’s correction.Results ∆PCO2 at baseline for all pigs was 0.76±0.29 kPa (5.7±2.2 mm Hg). Following hyperventilation, there was a rapid increase in the ∆PCO2, increasing maximally to 1.35±0.29 kPa (10.1±2.2 mm Hg). A corresponding decrease in the ∆PCO2 was seen following hypoventilation, decreasing maximally to 0.23±0.31 kPa (1.7±2.3 mm Hg). These changes were statistically significant from baseline 30 s after the change in ventilation.Conclusion Disturbances around the time of blood sampling can rapidly affect the PCO2, leading to inaccurate calculations of the ∆PCO2, resulting in misinterpretation of patient status. Care should be taken when interpreting blood gases, if there is doubt as to the presence of acute and transient changes in ventilation