Greed and grievance: the role of economic agendas in the conflict in Solomon Islands

This article investigates the applicability of the influential economics of civil war literature to the case of the conflict which occurred in Solomon Islands between 1998 and 2003. It is argued that a modified version of the greed thesis resonates with particular aspects of the situation in Solomon Islands, particularly during the latter phases of the conflict when a variety of actors, including politicians, businessmen and ex-militants, were clearly benefiting from the instrumentalisation of violence and disorder. The underlying causes of the conflict have much to do with historical patterns of uneven development which have created overlapping boundaries of social-economic inequality and ethrticity. As is the case with other recent armed conflicts in Melanesia, issues of land, identity, ethnicity and socioeconomic justice were central to the conflict

VHEeP: A very high energy electron-proton collider based on proton-driven plasma wakefield acceleration

Based on current CERN infrastructure, an electron-proton collider is proposed at a centre-of-mass energy of about 9 TeV. A 7 TeV LHC bunch is used as the proton driver to create a plasma wakefield which then accelerates electrons to 3 TeV, these then colliding with the other 7 TeV LHC proton beam. The basic parameters of the collider are presented, which although of very high energy, has integrated luminosities of the order of 1 pb$^{-1}$/year. For such a collider, with a centre-of-mass energy 30 times greater than HERA, parton momentum fractions, $x$, down to about $10^{-8}$ are accessible for $Q^2$ of 1 GeV$^2$ and could lead to effects of saturation or some other breakdown of DGLAP being observed. The total photon-proton cross section can be measured up to very high energies and also at different energies as the possibility of varying the electron beam energy is assumed; this could have synergy with cosmic-ray physics. Other physics which can be pursued at such a collider are contact interaction searches, such as quark and electron substructure, and measurements of the proton structure as well as other more conventional measurements of QCD at high energies and in a new kinematic regime. The events at very low $x$ will lead to electrons and the hadronic final state produced at very low angles and so a novel spectrometer device will be needed to measure these. First ideas of the physics programme of such a collider are given.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, presented at the DIS 2015 Workshop, Dalla

A Simple Theory of Smart Growth and Sprawl

This paper considers the simultaneous determination of residential density and the supply of local versus remote retail services. Possible equilibrium development patterns either correspond closely to what anti-sprawl activists describe as smart growth, or to its opposite. Equilibrium and optimal patterns of development do not always coincide. When equilibrium and optimal patterns of development diverge, optimal density is always discretely (as opposed to marginally) higher than equilibrium density. This occurs in the absence of congestion externalities, and is due to a free-rider problem and a coordination problem. The analysis indicates that a tax on large lots or a subsidy for small lots may be welfare improving under certain conditions.urban sprawl, residential land use, lot size, retail location, urban economics

Research Report on Phase 4 of Cornell University/Gevity Institute Study Human Resource Management Practices and Firm Performance in Small Businesses: A Look at the Effects of HR Practices on Financial Performance and Turnover

In this study, we found evidence that groups of HR practices that represent different strategies for managing employees were significantly related to the financial performance of small companies. In particular, we found that an employee selection strategy based on person-organization fit, employee management strategy based on self-management, and employee motivation and retention strategy based on creating a family-like environment were all significantly related to firm performance in terms of revenue and profit growth. In addition, we found that the relationships between these HR strategies and firm performance were stronger in firms that face greater competition, are pursuing growth strategies, and are larger in size

Clinical features of pneumonia in extreme old age

The clinical features of 70 people over the age of 85 with radiologically positive pneumonia were studied. It was shown that the classical presenting symptoms of pneumonia were often absent and 81 % had one or more acute ’geriatric’ features such as acute confusion, recent onset of falls, recent worsening immobility or recent onset of incontinence, at the time of presentation. An increased risk of mortality was associated with acute confusion, dementia, central cyanosis and long term immobility. Well kept body temperature and respiratory rate charts provide a useful early warning of possible pneumonia in very elderly in patients and the finding of a raised body temperature with a raised respiratory rate should always prompt the need to rule out lower respiratory tract infection.peer-reviewe

A Qualitative Investigation of the Human Resources Management Practices in Small Businesses

This report provides a summary of our findings from the first phase of our study on human resource practices in small businesses based on qualitative interviews with top managers and owners of small businesses. Below we include a brief description of the sample and an explanation of the hurdle that we experienced when using the terms human resource management practices. On the following pages, we report the main findings of the qualitative phase of our study. The findings are organized into three main sections around the areas of management philosophies, employee management practices, and key employee outcomes that link management practices to firm performance. The overall findings from this first report are summarized in a research model depicted in Figure 1. Funding for this research was provided by the Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies at Cornell University and Gevity, is a provider of comprehensive human capital management solutions to small and medium-sized businesses

The resumption of palm-oil production on Guadalcanal's northern plains

Palm-oil operations on the island of Guadalcanal are situated in an area that was a hot spot during the 'tension' years of 1998-2003. An analysis of the industry therefore provides an important case study of post-conflict development, and of how local animosities are tempered, or exacerbated, by new cash-earning opportunities. This paper examines the difference between the arrangements entered into by the Guadalcanal Plains Palm Oil Ltd (GPPOL) and its 1973-99 predecessor, Solomon Islands Plantations Ltd. It also looks at the impact on the industry of the 1998-99 Isatabu uprising, and the 2004 deal struck between local landowners and GPPOL, at the out-grower scheme, at land tenure arrangements, and at the trust funds established upon recommencement of operations. We analyse the oil-palm operations in the broader context of the socio-economic setting on the northern plains, with particular refeence to the way local villagers balance their time between participation in palm oil production and the supply of food to the Honiara market

Assessing price sustainability in the Irish housing market: a county-level analysis. ESRI Research Notes 2019/4/1

In the wake of a number of high profile property crashes, a question that has come to the fore recently is; are housing booms and busts clustered in specific areas within countries or do they tend to be more pan-regional? Within the United States for example, considerable variation in the boom-bust cycle has been experienced with the so-called ‘sand states’ (California, Florida, Arizona, and Nevada) showing much greater fluctuations in prices than other regions following the financial crisis.2 In an Irish context, a significant issue of interest is the apparent divergence between the Dublin property market and other regional markets as well as the difference between urban and rural areas

Entrepreneurial Human Resource Strategy

[Excerpt] Entrepreneurship is the process by which opportunities to create future goods and services are discovered, evaluated, and exploited (Shane and Venkataraman, 2000: 218). In other words, it is the process by which organizations and individuals convert new knowledge into new opportunities in the form of new products and services. Strategic human resource management (SHRM) has been defined as the system of organizational practices and policies used to manage employees in a manner that leads to higher organizational performance (Wright and McMahan, 1992). Further, one perspective suggests that sets of HR practices do not themselves create competitive advantage; instead, they foster the development of organizational capabilities which in turn create such advantages (Lado and Wilson, 1994; Wright, Dunford, and Snell, 2001). Specifically, this body of literature suggests that HR practices lead to firm performance when they are aligned to work together to create and support the employee-based capabilities that lead to competitive advantage (Wright and Snell, 2000; Wright, Dunford, and Snell, 2001). Thus, entrepreneurial human resource strategy is best defined as the set or sets of human resources practices that will increase the likelihood that new knowledge will be converted to new products or services

Cerebral Fat Microembolism and Its Potential Role in Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction After Major Orthopaedic Surgery: Commentary on an article by Anna N. Miller, MD, et al.: "Use of the Reamer/Irrigator/Aspirator Decreases Carotid and Cranial Embolic Events in a Canine Model".

Total joint replacement is one of the most commonly performed elective orthopaedic surgical procedures, with approximately 700,000 patients undergoing total knee replacement and 330,000 undergoing total hip replacement each year in the United States. Clinical results for contemporary implants and current-generation surgical techniques are both excellent and enduring, with >90% of implants expected to survive at least 10 years post-operatively for both total hip replacement and total knee replacement 2,3. In light of such outstanding clinical outcomes, it is easy to see how total hip and total knee replacement have come to be regarded as routine procedures, and yet as surgeons, we know that they still represent major surgical interventions with the potential for substantial morbidity or mortality.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Inc. via http://dx.doi.org/10.2106/JBJS.16.0004