The use of judgement by commercial property developers

In the UK, as in other developed market economies, commercial property is a multimillion pound industry that makes an important contribution to GDP and employment. Commercial development is a classic example of a high risk / high return business; a fact that is particularly apposite in times of economic uncertainty. Developers clearly take significant risks at various stages of the development process; and they do this in anticipation of the considerable financial rewards on offer. Equally, when their assessment indicates it, the decision will be taken not to proceed. On what basis do they make these decisions? Previous research by the author found that, while formal risk assessment is undertaken by developers, the process is heavily influenced by their risk attitude and ‘judgement’. The research seeks to explore these issues by generating empirical data on developers’ ‘judgement’ and setting them against existing theoretical work. The overall aim of the study is to examine the issue of ‘judgement’ in risk-related decisions in the property development process, and to determine whether this concept can be theoretically explained using existing work on risk, risk attitude and heuristics. The method of enquiry is predominantly in-depth, semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with experienced property developers. At this stage the data has been analysed by a sorting and sifting process to try and find similarities, differences and patterns in the responses. The research has found that property developers essentially believe that they adopt a fairly objective approach to risk related decision making however the use of judgement, intuition and experience was frequently referred to. A preliminary analysis of the data suggests that heuristics play a role in the decision making process. In particular the availability heuristic, confirmation trap and cautious shift heuristic are evident. The work reports on the interim findings of a continuing study, and conclusions are, as yet, provisional, but in terms of its aims, objectives and method the paper gives an insight into an important and little researched issue in the property development industry

Affordable housing definitions and Section 106 contributions in England

This paper examines whether Local Planning Authority definitions of affordable housing provide adequate clarity with which to negotiate affordable housing contributions with private sector house builders. The paper updates Government research, Delivering Affordable Housing through Planning Policy (ODPM, 2002), by systematically interrogating the affordable housing definitions of 51 Local Planning Authorities in England. LPA housing and planning documents were scrutinised in respect of the local definition of affordable housing, whether it conformed to the Governments ‘new’ PPS3 definition, the thresholds set at which the requirement for affordable housing is triggered and the target level at which Section 106 contributions are set. The findings indicate that although Local Planning Authority definitions of affordable housing have improved in terms of their quality, precision and clarity, one in five LPAs still did not provide a concise definition of affordable housing

The E-NTPDase Family of Ectonucleotidases: Structure Function Relationships and Pathophysiological Significance

Ectonucleotidases are ectoenzymes that hydrolyze extracellular nucleotides to the respective nucleosides. Within the past decade, ectonucleotidases belonging to several enzyme families have been discovered, cloned and characterized. In this article, we specifically address the cell surface-located members of the ecto-nucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase (E-NTPDase/CD39) family (NTPDase1,2,3, and 8). The molecular identification of individual NTPDase subtypes, genetic engineering, mutational analyses, and the generation of subtype-specific antibodies have resulted in considerable insights into enzyme structure and function. These advances also allow definition of physiological and patho-physiological implications of NTPDases in a considerable variety of tissues. Biological actions of NTPDases are a consequence (at least in part) of the regulated phosphohydrolytic activity on extracellular nucleotides and consequent effects on P2-receptor signaling. It further appears that the spatial and temporal expression of NTPDases by various cell types within the vasculature, the nervous tissues and other tissues impacts on several patho-physiological processes. Examples include acute effects on cellular metabolism, adhesion, activation and migration with other protracted impacts upon developmental responses, inclusive of cellular proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis, as seen with atherosclerosis, degenerative neurological diseases and immune rejection of transplanted organs and cells. Future clinical applications are expected to involve the development of new therapeutic strategies for transplantation and various inflammatory cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and neurological diseases

A protective packaging delivery and growing system for seeds (WO/PCT)

Protective seed case (A) comprising two casing sections (1, 3) interposed with a water soluble and/or hydrolytically degradable layer (2), said case (A) being biodegradable, hygroscopic and water soluble, and encasing seed articles (4) that are self-contained. The seed case (A) packages and protects the seeds (4) prior to planting, the seed case (A) is inserted at the normal to the surface of the growing medium (5) and once in contact with water moisture it provides an ideal moist environment for germination, the moisture then opens the seed case (A) up for root and shoot growth. The system can also encase beans and bulbs which can all be planted in hostile environments with a low moisture content without the need for any specific horticultural knowledge or specialist tools. A seed package comprises at least one such protective seed case (A) attached to each other

Lipoprotein metabolism in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), an escalating health problem worldwide, covers a spectrum of pathologies characterized by fatty accumulation in hepatocytes in early stages, with potential progression to liver inflammation, fibrosis, and failure. A close, yet poorly understood link exists between NAFLD and dyslipidemia, a constellation of abnormalities in plasma lipoproteins including triglyceride-rich very low density lipoproteins. Apolipoproteins are a group of primarily liver-derived proteins found in serum lipoproteins; they not only play an extracellular role in lipid transport between vital organs through circulation, but also play an important intracellular role in hepatic lipoprotein assembly and secretion. The liver functions as the central hub for lipoprotein metabolism, as it dictates lipoprotein production and to a significant extent modulates lipoprotein clearance. Lipoprotein metabolism is an integral component of hepatocellular lipid homeostasis and is implicated in the pathogenesis, potential diagnosis, and treatment of NAFLD

A protective packaging delivery and growing system for seeds (WO/PCT)

Protective seed case (A) comprising two casing sections (1, 3) interposed with a water soluble and/or hydrolytically degradable layer (2), said case (A) being biodegradable, hygroscopic and water soluble, and encasing seed articles (4) that are self-contained. The seed case (A) packages and protects the seeds (4) prior to planting, the seed case (A) is inserted at the normal to the surface of the growing medium (5) and once in contact with water moisture it provides an ideal moist environment for germination, the moisture then opens the seed case (A) up for root and shoot growth. The system can also encase beans and bulbs which can all be planted in hostile environments with a low moisture content without the need for any specific horticultural knowledge or specialist tools. A seed package comprises at least one such protective seed case (A) attached to each other

Response to comment on "solid recovered fuel: Materials flow analysis and fuel property development during the mechanical processing of biodried waste"

Laner and Cencic1 comment on Velis et al. (2013)2 clarifying certain points on the use of the material flow analysis (MFA) software STAN3. We welcome the correspondence and the opportunity this exchange provides to discuss optimal approaches to using STAN. In keeping with Velis et al.2 these physically impossible, and otherwise insignificant, negative flows have enabled improvements to STAN. Here, we elaborate on the practicalities of using STAN in our research and on the correctness and validation of our results, notwithstanding the inclusion of negative flows. We explain the contribution of our approach to solid waste management and resource recovery