This article aims to examine the sustainability of European and SADC states' practice of agreeing bilateral investment agreements (BITs) for the promotion and protection of…
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to examine the sustainability of European and SADC states' practice of agreeing bilateral investment agreements (BITs) for the promotion and protection of foreign investments in light of the latter's recent inauguration of Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) as a basic norm of regional customary international law and strategy for countering the social and economic legacy of apartheid rule on their territories for over half a century.
Design/methodology/approach
The approach taken is textual analysis and deconstruction of emergent SADC BEE legislation, substantive BIT legislation provisions, dispute settlement mechanisms and emergent jurisprudence on the tensions between BEE policy and BIT obligations.
Findings
The strong elements of exclusivity between European/SADC BIT dispute settlement mechanisms on the one hand, and the “ouster clauses” of SADC BEE legislation and regulations on the other, are mutually incompatible. This incompatibility threatens the sustainability of the EU/SADC states' BIT dynamic for the promotion and protection of foreign direct investments (FDIs).
Originality/value
Demonstration of BEE as SADC's emergent basic norm of social reconstruction for countering the social and economic legacy of apartheid rule in affected states and implications of that for EU/SADC policy on the promotion and protection of FDIs.
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The study aims to focus on the effectiveness of international investment agreements (IIAs) in helping or facilitating the influx of foreign direct investment (FDI) to host…
Abstract
Purpose
The study aims to focus on the effectiveness of international investment agreements (IIAs) in helping or facilitating the influx of foreign direct investment (FDI) to host developing countries.
Design/methodology/approach
To critically examine the topic, the black letter approach and the socio-legal analysis are adopted. The study has analysed how Mauritius, being a developing country, is responding to FDI needs from various bilateral and multilateral investment treaties concluded, and the research includes the analysis of official data publicly made available by the World Trade Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, International Monetary Fund and Mauritius governmental agencies’ reports.
Findings
From the methodologies used, it was found that other than IIAs, there are various key determinants which foreign investors consider prior to injecting their capital in developing countries in terms of environmental, social and cultural factors. Also, there are some inherent loopholes mostly in terms of monitoring, in the way IIAs are concluded and are applied in practice by and amongst signatory states.
Originality/value
This research is amongst the first studies to conclude the link between IIAs and FDI flows in developing countries with a particular focus on Mauritius. Additionally, an overwhelming number of studies have emphasised on the efforts to boost FDI, which are inspired mostly by action plans of developed nations, but this research will analyse the policy options adopted by China, being itself a developing country, and the extent to which such recommendations are applicable in the context of Mauritius will also be considered.
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Agnès Vandevelde-Rougale and Patricia Guerrero Morales
This chapter looks at the discursive dimension of the working environment in research and higher education organizations; more specifically at neoliberal managerial discourse and…
Abstract
This chapter looks at the discursive dimension of the working environment in research and higher education organizations; more specifically at neoliberal managerial discourse and at how it participates in shaping the way researchers, teachers and support staff perceive themselves and their experiences. It is based on a multiple case study and combines an intersectional and a socio-clinical approach. The empirical data is constituted by in-depth interviews with women conducted in Ireland and Chile, and includes some observations made in France. A thematic analysis of individual narratives of self-ascribed experiences of being bullied enables to look behind the veil drawn by managerial discourse, thus providing insights into power vectors and power domains contributing to workplace violence. It also shows that workplace bullying may reinforce identification to undervalued social categories. This contribution argues that neoliberal managerial discourse, by encouraging social representations of “neutral” individuals at work, or else celebrating their “diversity,” conceals power relations rooting on different social categories. This process influences one’s perception of one’s experience and its verbalization. At the same time, feeling assigned to one or more of undervalued social category can raise the perception of being bullied or discriminated against. While research has shown that only a minority of incidents of bullying and discrimination are reported within organizations, this contribution suggests that acknowledging the multiplicity and superposition of categories and their influence in shaping power relations could help secure a more collective and caring approach, and thus foster a safer work culture and atmosphere in research organizations.
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Lieven Degroote, Lieven Vandevelde, Bert Renders and Johan Gyselinck
The aim is to develop a nonlinear transformer model to achieve an accurate model to obtain the frequency components of the magnetizing current based on the harmonic voltages at…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim is to develop a nonlinear transformer model to achieve an accurate model to obtain the frequency components of the magnetizing current based on the harmonic voltages at the primary and secondary side. So, it can easily be implemented in a harmonic load‐flow program.
Design/methodology/approach
The transformer model is based on the harmonic balance method. The electric and magnetic equations of the transformer are derived from the electric and magnetic equivalent circuits.
Findings
The transformer model can be easily implemented in a harmonic load‐flow program. The accuracy of the model has been shown by comparing it with a finite element simulation. The transformer model can be used with asymmetrical supply voltages, because different saturation levels of the phases can occur. There is a coupling between the phases which can be concluded out of the asymmetrical currents in the transformer under symmetrical supply voltages.
Research limitations/implications
The transformer model does not consider the iron losses and the interharmonics. In future work the transformer model will be used to study the harmonic losses in distribution networks, so the transformer losses due to these harmonics have to be considered. This can be achieved with a postcalculation process where the magnetic flux density is used to calculate the eddy current losses and the magnetic field intensity will be applied in a static Preisach model to quantify the hysteresis losses.
Practical implications
The model can be used in a harmonic load‐flow program in order to obtain more accurate simulations for the power system analysis and design.
Originality/value
The model presented in this paper is more detailed than similar papers found in literature (saturation of the yokes, coupling between the phases, interaction between different harmonics) and still it takes a brief simulation time.
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Governments throughout the world have sought, and are seeking, to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) and, for that purposed, have liberalized their national regulatory…
Abstract
Governments throughout the world have sought, and are seeking, to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) and, for that purposed, have liberalized their national regulatory frameworks for FDI and established a strong international investment law regime. However, there are signs that, as a result of a number of important developments (which are being discussed in some detail in this chapter), governments are re-evaluating their stance toward FDI, or at least certain types of it. This re-evaluation has found its expression in a number of regulatory changes that may eventually lead to a regime that balances the rights of investors and host countries in a manner that places more emphasis on maintaining policy space for host-country governments while still protecting foreign investors.
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E. Theuns, J. Vierendeels and P. Vandevelde
This paper describes a one dimensional moving grid model for the pyrolysis of charring materials. In the model, the solid is divided by a pyrolysis front into a char and a virgin…
Abstract
This paper describes a one dimensional moving grid model for the pyrolysis of charring materials. In the model, the solid is divided by a pyrolysis front into a char and a virgin layer. Only when the virgin material reaches a critical temperature it starts to pyrolyse. The progress of the front determines the release of combustible volatiles by the surface. The volatiles, which are produced at the pyrolysis front, flow immediately out of the solid. Heat exchange between those volatiles and the char layer is taken into account. Since the model is used here as a stand‐alone model, the external heat flux that heats up the solid, is assumed to be known. In the future, this model will be coupled with a CFD code in order to simulate fire spread. The char and virgin grid move along with the pyrolysis front. Calculations are done on uniform and on non‐uniform grids for the virgin layer. In the char layer only a uniform grid is used. Calculations done with a non‐uniform grid are about 3 times faster than with a uniform gird. The moving grid model is compared with a faster but approximate integral model for several cases. For sudden changes in the boundary conditions, the approximate integral model gives significant errors.
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Herbert De Gersem, Johan Gyselinck, Patrick Dular, Kay Hameyer and Thomas Weiland
The sliding‐surface and moving‐band techniques are introduced in frequency‐domain finite element formulations to model the solid‐body motion of the rotors in an cylindrical…
Abstract
The sliding‐surface and moving‐band techniques are introduced in frequency‐domain finite element formulations to model the solid‐body motion of the rotors in an cylindrical machine. Both techniques are compared concerning their feasibility and computational efficiency. A frequency‐domain model of a capacitor motor is equipped with a sliding surface and compared to a transient model with moving band. This example illustrates the advantages of frequency‐domain simulation over transient simulation for the simulation of steady‐state working conditions of electrical machines.
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In 2013, Honduras Congress passed the Zones for Employment and Economic Development (ZEDE) Organic Law, along with some constitutional changes, to create ZEDEs, which are…
Abstract
Purpose
In 2013, Honduras Congress passed the Zones for Employment and Economic Development (ZEDE) Organic Law, along with some constitutional changes, to create ZEDEs, which are essentially special economic zones with some unique features. Prospera Honduras Inc., a company with substantial United States investment, invested in Honduras relying on the ZEDE Organic Law and the Free Trade Agreement between Central America, the Dominican Republic and the United States of America (CAFTA-DR). In 2022, Honduras cancelled the ZEDE Organic Law, allegedly harming Prospera Honduras Inc.’s investments. Prospera and some other foreign investors have initiated an investor-state arbitration against Honduras for several alleged breaches of CAFTA-DR provisions. Honduras has remained silent and decided not to participate in the arbitration. This paper aims to examine whether the cancellation of the ZEDE Organic Law gives rise to international investment law obligations under the CAFTA-DR.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a doctrinal research and contains qualitative analysis.
Findings
The article concludes that CAFTA-DR preserves some regulatory space for host states; therefore, it would be wrong to assume that the arbitral decision in Prospera Inc. and others v. Honduras will favour only the foreign investors. This article also argues that, drawing insights from this dispute, future International Investment Agreements should better preserve Indigenous people’s rights. Moreover, the host states should reconsider whether they intend International Investment Agreements (IIAs) to apply to special economic zones in future.
Originality/value
There is no existing scholarly work examining the international investment law issues relating to the cancellation of ZEDEs in Honduras. Therefore, the findings of this article will be novel.
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Muhammad Nubli Zulkifli, Zul Azhar Zahid Jamal and Ghulam Abdul Quadir
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the capability of finite element analysis (FEA) in performing the virtual thermal cycling reliability test to evaluate the reliability of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the capability of finite element analysis (FEA) in performing the virtual thermal cycling reliability test to evaluate the reliability of solder joints in a ball grid array (BGA) package.
Design/methodology/approach
Thermal cycling test has been used to evaluate the reliability or fatigue life of the solder joints in BGA package using commercially available FEA software, ANSYS™. The effect of different temperature cycling condition is studied by applying different value of dwell time and ramp rate. Two types of analyses are used namely, the physics‐based analysis and the statistical‐based analysis. Two screening design methods namely, central composite design (CCD) and Box‐Behnken Matrix Design method are used to isolate the most important factors amongst six selected design variables. The optimization process is carried out using response surface methodology (RSM).
Findings
It is observed that changes in ramp rate produce significant effect in solder fatigue life than changes in dwell time but the dwell time at high temperature has a negligible contribution to solder fatigue life. It has been found that the thickness of the mold has a significant effect on the performance of the solder joint reliability (more than 50 percent) as compared to that from other factors. Besides, the effect of individual factor, the interaction among factors also changes the solder joint reliability. RSM based on Box‐Behnken Matrix design offers the highest characteristic solder joint fatigue life with a value of 2,861 cycles.
Originality/value
This paper provides a comprehensive method to evaluate the reliability of solder joints in terms of physics and statistical‐based analysis.
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Freya Elizabeth Rose McCarthy and Stephanie Jane Simpson
The purpose of this paper was to investigate the utility of including emotional development (ED) assessment into a Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) approach in clinical practice…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper was to investigate the utility of including emotional development (ED) assessment into a Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) approach in clinical practice with a patient with an intellectual disability (ID) and challenging behaviour.
Design/methodology/approach
Interviews were conducted with four staff involved in the care of the patient. The interviews were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis and three reflective sessions were completed with the lead psychologist of the service.
Findings
Using thematic analysis, four themes were identified: getting everyone around the table: a collaborative approach, complementary approaches: a feedback loop, helping to make sense of the individual and ensuring a voice for service users.
Research limitations/implications
This was a case study selected from routine clinical practice and as such generalisability may be limited. This case study was designed as an exploration of the potential benefits of incorporating ED alongside PBS for ID and provides a basis for future research.
Practical implications
This study highlights the value of integration of ED assessment for people with ID and challenging behaviour within a healthcare team.
Originality/value
There is a lack of literature relating to ED and challenging behaviour within an ID population, particularly exploring ED within a PBS framework. This study provides a starting point for exploring how practice can be improved through incorporating ED assessment for individuals with ID and challenging behaviour.