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The stellar transformation: From interconnection networks to datacenter networks
No full textThe first dual-port server-centric datacenter network, FiConn, was introduced in 2009 and there are several others now in existence; however, the pool of topologies to choose from remains small. We propose a new generic construction, the stellar transformation, that dramatically increases the size of this pool by facilitating the transformation of well-studied topologies from interconnection networks, along with their networking properties and routing algorithms, into viable dual-port server-centric datacenter network topologies. We demonstrate that under our transformation, numerous interconnection networks yield datacenter network topologies with potentially good, and easily computable, baseline properties. We instantiate our construction so as to apply it to generalized hypercubes and obtain the datacenter networks GQ⋆. Our construction automatically yields routing algorithms for GQ⋆ and we empirically compare GQ⋆ (and its routing algorithms) with the established datacenter networks FiConn and DPillar (and their routing algorithms); this comparison is with respect to network throughput, latency, load balancing, fault-tolerance, and cost to build, and is with regard to all-to-all, many all-to-all, butterfly, random, hot-region, and hot-spot traffic patterns. We find that GQ⋆ outperforms both FiConn and DPillar (sometimes significantly so) and that there is substantial scope for our stellar transformation to yield new dual-port server-centric datacenter networks that are a considerable improvement on existing ones.</p
Examining the use of corporate governance mechanisms in operational Public-Private Partnerships:Why do they not deliver public accountability?
No full textThe paper examines corporate governance mechanisms which aim to ensure financial accountability in the context of long-term Public-Private Partnership (PPP) contracts in Britain, and assesses the degree to which they provide taxpayers with control and accountability. The corporate governance arrangements are drawn from the private sector, and therefore downplay the traditional concepts of probity and stewardship, in part due to the British Treasury’s adoption of private sector financial reporting.The paper draws on Shaoul et al.’s (2012) framework governance-based reporting framework to critique the corporate governance mechanisms of structure, financial reporting, contracts and scrutiny in relation to British PPP projects. It shows that the way these mechanisms are set up means there is a lack of control by the public sector, thus rendering public accountability ineffective.<br/
Does the business case matter? The effect of a perceived business case on small firms' social engagement
No full textThe business case for social responsibility (BCSR) is one of the most widely studied topics in the business and society literature that focuses on large firms. This attention is understandable because large firms have an obligation to shareholders who, as commonly assumed, seek to maximize returns on their investments, in turn, pressing corporate managers to show that firms’ expenditures in social engagement would pay off. Small firms, on the other hand, rarely face such pressures, yet the BCSR logic is increasingly applied to small firms as well. Our primary objective in this paper is to examine whether and how much do small firm owners’ perceptions of BCSR affect the firm’s social engagement. In finding a fine-grained answer to those questions, we consider BCSR as a two-dimensional construct consisting of tangible and intangible benefits, and also integrate the BCSR perspective with the slack resource perspective to offer a motivation-capacity lens to examine firm’s social engagement. Drawing on a multi-industry sample of 478 small firms in the US, we find that while small firm owners’ perceptions about potential tangible benefits of social engagement are not related to the firm’s social engagement, perceptions about potential intangible are positively related. Firm's financial performance is also positively related to its social engagement, but there is no interaction between potential benefits and financial performance. This study contributes to an improved understanding about small firms’ social engagement, which still remains an understudied area. Our results are in line with studies which argue that firms’ social engagement is a response to institutional factors
Psychosocial criminology:Making sense of senseless violence
No full textThis chapter begins with a quote from the relational psychoanalyst Thomas Ogden, who notes that it takes at least two people in dialogue—in the psychoanalytic context, therapist and client—to bring a dangerous thought to a point in consciousness where it can be articulated. It illustrates the point through the analysis of a single case study that can be read—if one is prepared to accept that it is a motivated account—both discursively and psychodynamically. The interviews focused on exploring how young men have come to understand violence through the examples they recalled and described. They also focused on young men's feelings toward their own parents and partners; the contingencies that make them feel sad, angry, defensive, and fearful; and their expectations about relationships with partners and children. The collation and production of complex qualitative data about offenders and offending has been critical to this work, though this has been less well discussed outside of psychosocial studies.</p
Simulations of the large-scale four point bending test using Rousselier model
No full textThis paper presents the numerical results of a structural integrity assessment of a large-scale four-point bending test performed on a repair welded Esshete 1250 pipe. In this work, a finite element (FE) model of the test was created in ABAQUS, and the weld residual stress was introduced to the model by an iterative technique. The Rousselier model was employed to describe the ductile fracture of test specimen including crack initiation position and growth. The prediction of final crack growth obtained from this analysis is compared with the results obtained from the fracture mechanics approach and the test outcome
What speeds up the internal clock? Effects of clicks and flicker on duration judgements and reaction time
No full textFour experiments investigated the effect of pre-stimulus events on judgements of the subjective duration of tones they preceded. Experiments 1 to 4 used click trains, flickering squares, expanding circles, and white noise as pre-stimulus events and showed that (i) periodic clicks appeared to “speed up” the pacemaker of an internal clock but that the effect wore off over a click-free delay, (ii) aperiodic click trains, and visual stimuli in the form of flickering squares and expanding circles, also produced similar increases in estimated tone duration, as did white noise, although its effect was weaker. A fifth experiment examined the effects of periodic flicker on reaction time, and showed that, as with periodic clicks in a previous experiment, reaction times were shorter when preceded by flicker than without
The role of structure in manipulating PPP accountability
No full textPURPOSE – The paper examines the accounting and governance of Public PrivatePartnerships (PPP) that are structured as joint venture partnerships. Drawing on Giddens’ structuration theory, the paper examines how human agents interact with these joint venture structures and analyses the effects on financial disclosures and public accountability for taxpayers’ investments.DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH – We adopt a cross case analysis to investigate two such PPP schemes, which form part of the UK’s programme of investment in primary health care, known as the Local Improvement Finance Trust (LIFT) policy. We employ a combination of interviews and analysis of financial statements and publicly available official documents.FINDINGS – The corporate structure of these LIFT schemes is very complicated so that the financial accounting is opaque. The implication is that the joint venture mechanism cannot be relied upon to deliver transparency of reporting. The paper argues that the LIFT structures are deliberately constructed by human agents to act as barriers to transparency about public expenditure.RESEARCH AND PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS – The financial reporting underminespublic accountability and transparency as both are necessarily restricted. Policy makers should pay attention to not only the private sector technologies but also the manner in which structures are used to reduce transparency and consequently undermine public accountability.ORIGINALITY/VALUE – The paper provides detailed analysis from the perspective of Structuration Theory to show how human agents use structures to impact on financial reporting and public accountability.<br/
