Challenges facing green space: is statute the answer?

Against a backdrop of austerity, characterised by public-sector funding cuts and a devolutionary agenda, this paper explores how legislation might address two, inter-related challenges which face public urban green space ('greenspace') in England and Wales; namely, responsibility for provision, and identification of supporting funds. It focuses on two proposals; first, the introduction of legislative powers to enable local authorities to create user-charging schemes, and secondly, the imposition of a local authority statutory duty to provide greenspace

Resolving the Inconsistency between National and EU Motor Insurance Law. Was Factortame the Solution nobody Sought?

In this article we argue that the continued uncertainty of UK national motor vehicle insurance law when viewed in respect of its EU parent, the Motor Vehicle Insurance Directive (MVID), has not been satisfactorily addressed using the remedy available through the non-contractual liability of the State. The existing enforcement mechanisms have equally been haphazard in their effectiveness and success in affording rights to third-party victims. Given the link between the MVID and the free movement of persons and goods on which the harmonization of insurance protection was based, we present the first article establishing an argument for the offending aspects of UK national law to be disapplied. Whilst the UK has concluded its agreement to withdraw its membership from the EU and thus to be bound by EU law and the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice, until the transitional period is completed the UK remains aligned to EU law. It is committed to follow superior EU law and the judgments of the Court of Justice. Hence the remedy issued from the Factortame line of case authorities may prove to be the most effective way to grant access to rights which continue to be denied to victims in the UK

Biological Aspects of Keperas Fish (Cyclocheilichthys apogon) in Batutegi reservoir, Tanggamus Regency, Lampung Province

The research aims to analyze several biological aspects of the squeezed fish in Batutegi Lampung Reservoir. The study used an experimental method of capture used net capture tool with mesh-size 1.5-2.5 inches. Sample fish measured their total length, weighed in weight, and examined their stomachs to determine what type of food they had. We researched in February, August, and November 2017. The example of keperas fish caught amounted to 415 individuals. Analysis of long-weight relationships showed that February and August were allometrically negative, while November allometric was positive. The condition factor is worth one at each station and month.  The eating habits of squeezed fish are plants 50%, fish 15%, insects 10%, worms 9%, phytoplankton 8%, and zooplankton 8%. The growth pattern of fish squeeze in November is isometric and allometric positive due to the development of gonads. The food habits of fish keperas are omnivorous, with the composition according to food availability in the environment.

The Evolution of Smart Buildings: An Industrial Perspective of the Development of Smart Buildings in the 2010s

Over the course of the 2010s, specialist research bodies have failed to provide a holistic view of the changes in the prominent reason (as driven by industry) for creating a smart building. Over the 2010s, research tended to focus on remaining deeply involved in only single issues or value drivers. Through an analysis of the author’s peer reviewed and published works (book chapters, articles, essays and podcasts), supplemented with additional contextual academic literature, a model for how the key drivers for creating a smart building have evolved in industry during the 2010s is presented. The critical research commentary within this thesis, tracks the incremental advances of technology and their application to the built environment via academic movements, industrial shifts, or the author’s personal contributions. This thesis has found that it is demonstrable, through the chronology and publication dates of the included research papers, that as the financial cost and complexity of sensors and cloud computing reduced, smart buildings became increasingly prevalent. Initially, sustainability was the primary focus with the use of HVAC analytics and advanced metering in the early 2010s. The middle of the decade saw an economic transformation of the commercial office sector and the driver for creating a smart building was concerned with delivering flexible yet quantifiably used space. Driven by society’s emphasis on health, wellbeing and productivity, smart buildings pivoted their focus towards the end of the 2010s. Smart building technologies were required to demonstrate the impacts of architecture on the human. This research has evidenced that smart buildings use data to improve performance in sustainability, in space usage or for humancentric outcomes

Plankton Community in Ogan River, Kertapati District, Palembang, South Sumatra

Research on Plankton Community in The Waters of Ogan River Kertapati District, Palembang, South Sumatra Province, has been conducted from March to April 2018. This study aimed to identify the plankton community, i.e., abundance, diversity index, dominance index, similarity index between stations, and describe pollution level conditions based on saprobic coefficient. Sampling in this study using purposive random sampling method at five observation stations with three sampling locations, respectively. The physical and chemical parameters of the waters include temperature, brightness, current speed, pH, Dissolved Oxygen (DO), nitrates, and phosphates. The composition of plankton consists of 47 Genera derived from 8 Classes, with a total abundance value in March ranging from 13-27 ind./L, and the total value of abundance in April 2018 has a range of values of 12-21 ind./L. Plankton diversity index values in about 1.87-2.98 indicate the stability of the moderate biota community. Based on the index of plankton dominance with a range of 0.05-0.21, no species dominate other species or D = 0(<0.5). In contrast, the index of plankton similarity between stations shows the communities between stations are relatively different (<50%). The water quality of the Ogan River based on saprobic coefficients is light to very light.

Social exclusion : pathways or roadblocks? An analysis of advisory agencies

This article investigates the work of advisory agencies in a region of the UK and how these agencies aid individuals in accessing their employment rights. Organisations, including the Department of Constitutional Affairs, have identified the intrinsic link between access to justice and the role of not-for-profit and trades unions advice agencies, and how workers in particular require assistance to enforce and secure their employment rights. An empirical study was undertaken to establish the roles performed by these agencies in the areas of employment and European Union rights, and the factors which may influence the agencies’ opportunities to advise in these dynamic areas. The article concludes that the advisers and the agencies provide a valuable service for workers in ensuring workers have access to their employment rights; they are however restricted due to lack of funding and opportunities for research. This ultimately results in many workers being excluded from important employment protections and therefore a mechanism to ensure access is required to facilitate inclusion in rights’ protection

Anatomy of an employee

Obfuscation, uncertainty and opacity. These are just a few of the words that may be used to describe the judiciary’s attempt at producing a consistent and accurate identification of employment status of individuals. Given its significance, one may have considered that definitive instruction and guidance would be present to navigate interested parties. However, where clarity is required, only confusion remains. This is not to lay the blame at the door of the judiciary entirely. The ‘mix of law and fact’ involved in the identification process incorporates facts in each case which will invariably lead to contradictory decisions, but the underlying principles established in law – created by the judiciary in the absence of any specific and meaningful guidance from the legislation, must offer key criteria on which impartial decisions as to the employment status of an individual can be made. This paper attempts to identify those key criteria present in the judgments indicative of employee status and thereby provide instruction for interested parties

Access to justice: a deconstructionist approach to horizontal direct effect

Access to justice of European Community (EC) law rights has been a concern of the Member States, the EC Commission, and individuals who have experienced the effect of denial of these rights due to inaction or misapplication by the particular State. This problem has been exacerbated with the continued abjuration of Horizontal Direct Effect of Directives (HDE), which has been exemplified in employment relations where the majority of EC laws are enacted in the form of Directives. This paper considers the issue of HDE and how it impacts on access to EC laws for workers. It investigates the practical problems experienced with the denial of this method of enforcing rights in conjunction with the dismantling of the previous arguments as to its denial. The paper concludes by establishing that HDE can be given effect if the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and the Member States have the desire, and how it would offer true access to justice for workers of their EC rights

The end of the opportunistic breach of contract! The elective theory of repudiatory breach prevails : Societe Generale, London Branch v Geys [2012] UKSC 63

On the 19th December 2012 the Supreme Court provided an answer to the longstanding question as to the consequences of a wrongfully repudiated contract of employment. Was it for the innocent party to elect to accept the repudiation to bring the contract to an end? Or, was the contract automatically ended upon the wrongful repudiation? Previous authorities had moved between these elective and automatic theories. The elective theory held that a wrongful repudiation only became effective where the innocent party elected to accept the repudiation. Conversely, the automatic theory considered that the contract ended automatically upon the repudiation. Whilst in traditional contract law, the elective theory had been established as effective, this was not decided with authority in contracts of employment. In Geys, the Supreme Court had the opportunity to consider which was the applicable theory in relation to an employer’s use of a payment-in-lieu of notice (PILON) clause. The Court resolved the conflict (4-1 with Lord Sumption dissenting) by holding that the elective theory was preferred in instances of wrongful repudiation of a contract of employment. This judgment has significant implications for employers, but also for employees who wrongfully terminate the contract