In the Age of Web: Typed Functional-First Programming Revisited

Most programming languages were designed before the age of web. This matters because the web changes many assumptions that typed functional language designers take for granted. For example, programs do not run in a closed world, but must instead interact with (changing and likely unreliable) services and data sources, communication is often asynchronous or event-driven, and programs need to interoperate with untyped environments. In this paper, we present how the F# language and libraries face the challenges posed by the web. Technically, this comprises using type providers for integration with external information sources and for integration with untyped programming environments, using lightweight meta-programming for targeting JavaScript and computation expressions for writing asynchronous code. In this inquiry, the holistic perspective is more important than each of the features in isolation. We use a practical case study as a starting point and look at how F# language and libraries approach the challenges posed by the web. The specific lessons learned are perhaps less interesting than our attempt to uncover hidden assumptions that no longer hold in the age of web.Comment: In Proceedings ML/OCaml 2014, arXiv:1512.0143

Issues in evaluating tax and payment arrangements for publicly owned minerals

Many developing countries are still heavily dependent on mineral extraction to generate fiscal revenue and to earn foreign exchange. When minerals form a significant proportion of the country's asset base it is particularly important to have a framework to evaluate the adequacy of compensation schemes. Are these countries collecting enough in return for depleting their reserves? Are these countries carrying too much of the risk? This paper describes work in progress in developing such a framework. In many mineral dependent countries, the government holds the mineral rights and enters into compensation agreements with public or private firms that will extract the resources. Given the high degree of risk and uncertainty associated with mineral development, determining tax/payment arrangements is further complicated by the need to develop risk-sharing schemes between government and the resource extractors. This paper reviews these issues briefly and concludes that when objectives are not perfectly correlated it is preferable to use multiple instruments and to match each instrument to an objectives.Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Health Economics&Finance,Banks&Banking Reform,Insurance&Risk Mitigation

The importance of community development for health and well-being

Public health - Economic aspects

Designing a distillation process for a local brewery

Proper distillation of spirits is key in maximizing resource value and producing a consumable liquid. A local brewery owner is considering entering the distilling market, and he requested information regarding a small-scale continuous column. This project used CHEMCAD to determine an operating design for continuous distillation of ethanol at a few different feed compositions. Since this model was limited to CHEMCAD, it had to build off of previous research and engineering parameters without an experimental verification. The project determined that an eight stage distillation column produced 40-58% ethanol product when the feed ranged from 7.5-12% ethanol. Eight stages produced even temperature profile for 170-180°F preheated ethanol feed entering on stage four and product extracted on stage three. The columns approximate height was four feet with a six-inch diameter. The column produced approximately 13-16% product for the given feed. The feed rate was approximately 42.5 gallons per hour. Heat integration was used to preheat the feed and condense the ethanol product. This reduced the heating exchanging utility requirement and the reboiler duty

Integration Initiatives at CSIRO: Reflections of an Insider

These days CSIRO is focusing on providing holistic solutions to Australia's major problems. For example, the organisation hopes to address significant natural resource management problems of Australia by combining the wisdom of a wide array of disciplines. A number of recent measures have been initiated towards this end, which are described in this paper. Implicitly, CSIRO has recognised that cultural change is needed if the organisation is to contribute to the resolution of long-standing "wicked" problems. Innovations to achieve a more integrated approach are described and assessed in terms of their ability to meet recommendations derived from a formal review of past attempts to conduct multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary research. Much of the interpretation however is personal, reflecting changes observed in thirty years of service within CSIRO. The discussion concentrates on the pragmatics of the creation and performance of teams with differing disciplinary backgrounds in natural resource management. In addition the paper discusses the wider ongoing changes to the roles of scientists as society evolves. It outlines the issues of defining the appropriate questions for research and the changing interaction between scientific and community knowledge. The potential contribution of complex systems theory to assist in creating productive integrated research is discussed. It is concluded that the CSIRO case study provides compatible findings with other analyses of integrated research performance and also other descriptions of the evolving role of scientists within wider society

Acoustically controlled enhancement of molecular sensing to assess oxidative stress in cells

We demonstrate a microfluidic platform for the controlled aggregation of colloidal silver nanoparticles using surface acoustic waves (SAWs), enabling surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) analysis of a cell based model for oxidative damage. We show that by varying the frequency and the power of the acoustic energy, it is possible to modulate the aggregation of the colloid within the sample and hence to optimise the SERS analysis

Dmitri Shalin Interview with S. Leonard Syme about Erving Goffman entitled Erving Looked at the Room and Announced, “I See Everyone Is Observing the Rituals of Mourning”

This interview with S. Leonard Syme, Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, was recorded in Las Vegas on October 12, 2011. Dmitri Shalin transcribed the interview, after which Dr. Syme edited the transcript and approved posting the present version in the Erving Goffman Archives. Breaks in the conversation flow are indicated by ellipses. Supplementary information and additional materials inserted during the editing process appear in square brackets. Undecipherable words and unclear passages are identified in the text as “[?]”

Equal Opportunities: Towards a greater understanding of the fulfilment of Women’s career aspirations in senior management

Firms are beginning to understand that a key to economic growth and competitive advantage lies in gender diversity within senior leadership positons, yet the number of women who hold senior managerial positions remains disproportionately small. Research shows that many women who aspire to senior management plateau in middle management positons despite obtaining the necessary education, skills and expertise to advance. Therefore this exploratory study sought to understand how women approach their career decisions, within the context of their lived realities, by focussing on the research question “what factors or circumstances influence women middle managers career planning and advancement decisions? “. Eight women were interviewed who held middle management positons for at least 5 years. From analysis of the interview text five interconnected themes emerged: Trial and error, Mentorship, Self-confidence, Value alignment and Perceived organisational value. These themes add insight to the existing literature addressing how women approach their careers and lives. Furthermore the findings of this research indicate actions that can be considered by organisations to support the retention and development of women’s career pathway towards senior management. Areas for future research are also identified