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The purpose of this study was to carry out an analysis of the corrosion failure on a chrome-moly pipeline transporting highly concentrated sulfuric acid in a demineralization section at a petrochemical plant, along with the feasibility of using inhibitors to minimize the corrosive effects of sulfuric acid.

X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, high-resolution optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and accelerated corrosion experiments (ACE) were performed.

Erosion-corrosion failure was confirmed by the significant reduction in thickness of the internal surface of the material exposed to sulfuric acid, as well as the formation of an oxide scale/layer. ACE accurately predicted high material loss from exposure to sulfuric acid. Moreover, adding ascorbic acid as a corrosion inhibitor (even at low concentrations) was found to reduce the oxidation by more than 50% in the presence of sulfuric acid.

The main idea/purpose of this work relies on the analysis of recurrent real-life corrosion-attributed failures that are common in industry but are not properly addressed for a variety of reasons, poor management and lack of corrosion preventive strategies being the main ones. This study once again highlights readily available solutions/implementations that are capable of not only addressing technically the issue investigated but also, and as important, economically. By using microscopic imaging, reliable well-tested and widely used characterization methods, all combined with basic experiments and tests, the nature of the repetitive failure investigated was clearly demonstrated as well as readily available alternatives to minimize it in the short term. Nevertheless, implementing material selection techniques appropriately as effective corrosion prevention/control and cost-saving strategies must be enforced in any process.

The current study's purpose is to examine, through a case study, a community health centre board's governance during an expansion period with particular attention to the organizational and internal board relations that contribute to or inhibit expansion.

All board members on the slate during the expansion were invited to participate in one semi-structured interview. Administrative data (board documentation and correspondence) were also used to inform the study. Discourse analysis was used to analyze the data.

While board members agreed with the expansion they acknowledge that the expansion process should be examined. Board members identified missing board skill sets, comfort with governance and low organizational understanding as personal barriers to an enhanced process. External barriers included: absent decision support tools; documentation and information availability and historical decision making processes.

Half the board members agreed to participate in the interviews. Of those declining, 30 percent cited difficulties during the expansion period as their rationale for withdrawing.

Findings add to: the limited publications regarding primary healthcare service expansion; and understanding expansion and volunteer board members' roles and their governance process during this time.

This paper aims to provide a deeper understanding of behaviors effective technical managers and executives use to lead complex projects, programs and organizations.

Described is a qualitative study to identify and document behaviors and attributes of effective technical executives at NASA. Methods included observation, shadowing and interviews with 14 NASA executives, who possessed a technical background and a systems orientation, and whom agency leadership identified as highly effective in their roles. Included also is a review of related theoretical and empirical scholarship on leadership and managerial effectiveness, focusing on research describing leaders' behaviors and competencies and approaches to deal with project and organizational complexity.

The study surfaced 225 observable behaviors clustered into 54 elements, within six broad themes: leadership, attitudes and attributes (including executive presence), communication, problem solving and systems thinking, political savvy and strategic thinking.

Limitations include the small number of executives interviewed for 60‐90 minutes and observed for a brief period. Future studies might include more executives, from a variety of organizations, and/or employ a quantitative approach based on or incorporating these findings.

The study's rich data will serve as a framework to help develop technical executives where complexity and technology drive the need for systems‐oriented leaders with technical backgrounds.

The study and literature review provide a context for a deeper understanding of technical leaders' behaviors and use of systems thinking within complex situations.

This chapter is an overview of herstorical, political and theatrical developments in South Africa. It provides an overview of the background to the herstory of South Africa from 1912–1993.

Dates are included which have relevance to the herstory of South African Women; for example, 1912 was the year of the formation of the African National Congress (ANC); in 1913 Charlotte Maxeke led a march against pass laws for African women; the Native Land Act of 1913 stated that natives were no longer able to buy, sell or lease outside the stipulated reserves; the Influx Control and The Natives Urban Act of 1923 and amendments to the Act in 1937 had devastating consequences for African women as it severely restricted their movements from rural to urban areas. The year 1930 is important because this was when white South African women acquired the vote which gave political activists such as Helen Joseph and Helen Suzman a political voice. In 1948 the ANC Women’s League (ANCWL) was formed. Political events from the 1970s through to 1993, demonstrate how the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM), the African National Congress (ANC), other anti-apartheid organisations and the apartheid government realised the effectiveness of theatre as a political weapon

The purpose of this paper is to discuss credit card fraud in Trinidad and Tobago.

The paper describes credit card typologies in Trinidad and Tobago and the existing law governing such fraud. It outlines the success and inadequacies of the enforcement machinery and issues involving credit card fraud detection and prevention.

The law regarding credit cards is in a very confused and unsatisfactory state in Trinidad and Tobago. Education in counteracting the criminal activities of credit card fraudsters is vital. Informing the public of the various fraudulent typologies relative to credit cards and at the same time, advising members how to protect themselves are the most effective methods to address the fraud problem. The Bankers Association of Trinidad and Tobago should also play a critical role in addressing credit card fraud. The association should formulate credit card policies along similar principles as those formulated for cheque fraud to benefit all banks and merchants.

Credit card fraud has only been a recent phenomenon in Trinidad and Tobago. This paper is valuable in offering suggestions as to the way forward in the prevention of such fraud.

The purpose of this paper is to provide early assessments of the changes for corporate reporting processes, which an emerging initiative like integrated reporting (IR) will require. The authors also consider the potential for these changes to contribute towards resolving major problems such as financial and environmental crises. IR is gaining momentum globally, and the implementation of some form of future mandatory requirement in this regard appears likely.

The authors begin by developing a reporting checklist based on the requirements for IR, which they use to assess the gap between current “best practice” reporting processes and IR. They then propose systems thinking, a widely accepted approach to problem-solving, as a theoretical basis for assessing the IR Framework and for deeper consideration of the gap analysis. They demonstrate, at a paradigm level, how systems thinking can be used to assess IR and find that IR has the potential to offer specific and implementable strategies for operationalising systems thinking principles.

The authors assess 2011 annual reports and related online reporting practices for four New Zealand “best practice reporting entities”, using their reporting checklist. Although none of their sample entities published a full integrated report for 2011, reporting scores range from 70 to 87 per cent. The findings suggest that current reporting processes lack the integration, oversight and due attention to future uncertainties required by IR. While this appears to be a relatively small gap, systems thinking principles indicate that these deficiencies may be critical to sustainability and financial stability, the stated aims of IR.

The normal limitations which apply to small sample studies.

The IR reporting checklist and systems thinking proposal could be used by policymakers, standard setters and firms to assist in assessing IR’s potential and the additional requirements it will impose for corporate reporting.

This study answers calls in the literature for a reactivation of the normative research agenda by assessing IR against systems thinking, a widely accepted approach to problem-solving. It contributes further to an understanding of IR through the development of a unique reporting checklist and by offering empirical evidence derived from application of this checklist.

The purpose of this paper is to asses the role of social networking sites (SNSs) in the 25 January 2011 Egyptian Revolution, also known as the “Arab Spring”.

The research methods used were an adaptive form of snowball sampling of a heterogeneous demographic group of participants in the Revolution, used to select focus groups to explore a range of relevant issues.

SNSs are shown to have played a central and pivotal role in the events known collectively as the Arab Spring. Their importance as a source of non‐governmental information and as a means of informing the external and internal community of internal events is highlighted by all participants.

The paper outlines research into contemporary events of global significance.