NLO QCD corrections to W+ W- b anti-b production with leptonic decays in the light of top quark mass and asymmetry measurements

We present the NLO QCD corrections to the processes p p and p anti-p to W+ W- b anti-b including leptonic decays of the W bosons. Non-resonant contributions as well as diagrams with doubly resonant and singly resonant top quark propagators are fully taken into account. We employ the narrow width approximation to perform the decays of the W bosons; spin correlations are however preserved. We also calculate observables relevant for top quark mass measurements, and study the impact of kinematical requirements and different scale choices on t anti-t asymmetries.Comment: 29 pages, 14 figures, version submitted to and accepted by JHE

On the Appropriateness of Contractor-Led Procurement: an investigation of circumstances and consequences

Major clients of the construction industry have been found to organise construction work into fewer, but larger, contracts with more transfer of risk and responsibilities in response to a change from a sellers market to a buyers market, and facing a greater choice of procurement methods than ever before. Main contractors and consultants alike are moving towards multidisciplinary teams offering design and management services, challenging single service consultants or contractors and are in competition with each other over who is leading the process. A consolidation of firms at the upper end of the industry can be witnessed in order to access a wider market and new clients, and at the lower end a specialisation into specific skills or locations takes place, while medium sized firms are increasingly struggling to survive. A general procurement model serves to identify the appropriate procurement approach for construction needs, as neither clients or construction service suppliers represent a homogenous market. Clients demands for a ready purchase of design, procurement and management of construction from a single source have been found to be met most appropriately by contractor-led procurement under most, but not all, circumstances, particularly in respect of higher levels of efficiency, cost certainty and punctuality among other benefits. The consequences faced by a contractor in the leading role of the procurement process are significant, especially in terms of integrating and co-ordinating the entire supply chain to the satisfaction of the client and for anticipated repeat business. This is the chief factor of competitive strength for the struggle of long term survival. A classification model of procurement strategies in respect to parameters of supply risk, strategic importance and frequency of spend offers a tool for the appropriate choice of business relationship with different suppliers. It is to be anticipated that the future will see an intensification of the changes in the processes of construction procurement described and analysed, which may vary in extent from one market to another, but not in direction

Governance in the earthquake area and the Energy Port Region Groningen:Public-private partnerships as a panacea for a sustainable future?

Ever since the recognition of the causality between earthquakes in the Region Groningen, gas production and the ensuing damage to houses and buildings in that area, government faces big challenges in policy-making. On the one hand liability for damages must result in fast and effective repair of houses and buildings and in safety safeguards for the infrastructure. On the other hand public trust in governmental institutions in the Earthquake area Groningen has to be restored. As a result of the advice of the Commission ‘Sustainable Future North East Groningen’ a comprehensive package of measures called ‘Trust in restoration, Restoration of trust’ (‘Vertrouwen op herstel, Herstel van vertrouwen’) was announced in which public-private partnerships were introduced for the purpose and in favor of the economic perspective of the region, including the establishment of local initiatives on sustainable energy, damage repair and guaranteeing a confidential approach by the government. Multiple actors are involved in the execution of this package of measures, since the competence of decision-making lies at State, regional and local level. Together with the emergence of public-private partnerships this all results in a very complex case of multi-level governance and policy-making. The central research question this paper addresses is whether public-private partnerships contribute in a legal and effective manner to policy-making following the package of measures ‘Trust in restoration, Restoration of trust’ in the Energy Port Region Groningen. The central question in this paper is whether the chosen form of governance attributes to a sustainable future of the region. This is done by a critical analysis of the Economic Board Groningen, being a public-private partnership-initiative in the earthquake area Groningen and its additional value in achieving the objectives of the comprehensive package of measures, including the above mentioned economic perspective in the Energy Port Region Groningen and related local energy initiatives. Analytical notions of multi-level governance will be integrated in concepts and discourses found in the literature on modes of governance and policy-making related to public-private partnerships. We will demonstrate a gap between effectual approaches of governance and regulatory impediments as well as a description of policy-accumulation in this multi-level governance setting

Methoden en technieken voor de juridische wetenschap

Bespreking van Frans L. Leeuw and Hans Schmeets, Empirical Legal Research. A Guidance Book for Lawyers, Legislators and Regulators, Cheltenham, Edward Elgar Publishing, 201