Rail Privatisation: Financial Implications

INTRODUCTION My aim in this brief paper is not to argue the case for or against privatisation, but rather to comment on the likely financial implications of some of the options. Nevertheless, it does not seem possible to do this without briefly reviewing the advantages and disadvantages that are claimed to flow hm privatisation. I will then consider the existing organisation and financial performance of British Rail. Following this, I will discuss alternative ways of achieving the necessary level of profitability for private investors to be interested in owning and operating the railway system

Appraisal of Rail Projects.

This paper reviews the particular characteristics of rail investment projects, taking as a starting point four examples ranging from decisions on individual routes to national rail investment programmes. The motivation for rail investment, and the interdependence of projects are examined, before turning to the identification of base case and options and the measurement of costs and benefits. It is argued that the main problems in rail investment appraisal are not technical ones relating to measuring costs and benefits but are contextual ones relating to the interdependence between rail projects and with decisions in other sectors of the economy. For this reason it is essential that rail projects be appraised with an appropriate planning framework

Participants’ perceptions of groupwork in the management of cancer symptoms in older people

This paper explores groupwork within rehabilitative palliative care on three distressing cancer symptoms: pain, dyspnoea and fatigue. This was achieved through qualitative methodology using a phenomenological orientated psychological approach in a cohort with a median age of 66 years. Groupwork, which included: social, exercise and divertional therapy groups were seen as important components within rehabilitative palliative care. Through semi-structured interviews the participants’ perceptions of their symptoms, beliefs and attitudes towards their groupwork within rehabilitative palliative care were explored. The relevance and benefits of the groupwork were then identified using quality of life markers established during data analysis. The main factors uncovered and shown to contribute to the groupwork were: environmental factors, mobilisation and normalisation. However more research is required to comprehend how different forms of groupwork can help reduce pain, dyspnoea and fatigue in older people with cancer

Skeleton Islands of New Zealand and elsewhere

Skeleton Islands are a variety of the class of islands resulting from subsidence of dissected land, subcategory 4a of a classification of islands here offered. Such islands are characterised by development of a sprawling outline with a narrow axial ridge from which slender lateral spurs, or ribs, extend more or less at right angles. Extreme skeletonisation is associated with development before a final drowning, or redrowning, of amphitheatre heads in valleys already heading in the main divide. This may be a climatically induced change of the valley form related, in the case of the New Zealand example, Arapawa Island, to cryergic (periglacial) activity in the Pleistocene glacial ages. Kakeroma Island (Ryukyu Group), an example of a skeleton island described by W. M. Davis, has quite possibly a history different from that of Arapawa Island as regards both the development of the relief of the subsiding lands and. being in a low latitude, the possibly climatic process responsible for shaping its now submerged valley heads and thus emaciating the ribs of the island

Potentials for fisheries in the Niger Delta: Another green light for self sufficiency in regional food production

A discussion is presented on the potential for fishery development in the Niger Delta region, considering engineering activities and food production potentials of the freshwater zone and immediate hinterland, the brackishwater mangrove swamps and the estuaries. An examination of current trends in the environment indicates that a possible solution to improved exploitation of the region lies in hydraulic engineering, the manipulation of environmental conditions through varying freshwater and seawater inputs so as to increase aquatic and wetland productivit

Selection of elastomeric membranes for the removal of volatile organics from water

A wide range of homogeneous elastomeric membranes has been prepared using dicumylperoxide as a general cross-linking agent. The membranes have been used for both equilibrium sorption measurements and steady-state pervaporation experiments to study solution-diffusion phenomena in the removal of volatile organic components from aqueous solutions. Pervaporation experiments have been performed under identical hydrodynamic conditions in order to fix the boundary layer mass transfer coefficient at a constant and known value. For comparison of the permeabilities of different pervaporation membrane materials, this is of utmost importance. A wide range of selectivity factors up to a value of 100,000 are obtained, whereas usually the permeabilities for the organic component are in the range of 10-10-10-9m2/s and 10-14-10-12m2/s for water. The permeation and sorption data obtained for the various elastomers have been related to the chemical and physical nature of the elastomers through the solubility parameter and the glass transition temperature, respectively. Both diffusional and sorption effects seem to be important, determining the water-transport behavior in the elastomeric membranes. The solubility of the organic component appears to be independent of this combined solubility parameter. Differences in the permeabilities of the organic component can primarily be ascribed to structural parameters in the membrane material, like degree of unsaturation and presence of steric side groups

The formation of nodular structures in the top layer of ultrafiltration membranes

The formation of nodular structures in the top layer of ultrafiltration membranes is considered. A critical review of mechanisms described in the literature is given. Flat-sheet poly(ether sulfone) membranes and hollow-fiber poly(ether sulfone)/polyvinylpyrrolidone membranes were made by coagulation of a polymer solution in a nonsolvent medium under different circumstances. From these experiments, a number of empirical rules are found to describe the resulting morphology of the top layer. A new mechanism for the formation of a nodular structure is proposed. It is based on the small diffusion coefficient of the polymer molecules compared to the diffusion coefficient of solvent and nonsolvent combined with a high degree of entanglement of the polymer network. For unstable compositions, phase separation will proceed by growth in amplitude of concentration fluctuations. The rapid diffusional exchange of solvent for nonsolvent in the top layer leads to vitrification of the maxima of the concentration fluctuations that form the nodules. Complete disentanglement of the polymer chains between the nodules is not reached, which explains the small pores and the low porosity of ultrafiltration membranes

What else is new in Cancer care? Breathlessness in lung cancer patients. Telephone interview included in article by Jane Hobden in Frontline 3rd August 2005

Telephone interview with Caroline Belchamber, a Senior 1 Physiotherapist at Poole Hospita