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The quest by architects for the ultimate in paint treatments for structural components — windows and door frames, partitioning etc… — where the need for colour variety is increasing, plus the demand for ever longer guarantees from suppliers, has been causing pressure on pretreaters for more sophisticated systems. The author, of ICI pretreatment department, has been looking into the effects of this on aluminium extrusions in an attempt to clarify possible misconceptions, reassert some basic principles, and describe appropriate pretreatment methods.

In an interesting article, which recently appeared in The New Statesman, relating to the prevalence of bovine tuberculosis, the writer observes that whenever the question of tubercle in milk is raised, reassuring statements are promptly forthcoming from official sources, but apparently they are not always based upon sound knowledge. For example, the Minister of Agriculture stated in the House of Commons some months ago that the working of the Tuberculosis Order of 1925 showed that only about two per cent. of the cattle in England are affected. This statement is in all probability not only wrong, but wrong to an extent that would surprise any save those who are in touch with actual conditions. Reliable statistics tend to suggest that more than 30 per cent. of the cows in the British Islands are affected by the disease, the only exceptions to this proportion being in those herds which have been submitted regularly to the tuberculin test and from which reactors have been eliminated. The whole question is so important that no apology is needed for dealing with it here and setting out facts rather than theories. In 1924 a herd of 84 cows and 2 bulls belonging to a leading agriculturist was submitted to the tuberculin test; both bulls and 54 cows reacted. A year later, when the herd consisted of 87 cows and 2 bulls, 12 cows and 1 bull were tested for the first time. The bull and 11 cows reacted; of the remaining 75 cows and 1 bull only 7 cows reacted. In 1926 the herd consisted of 108 cows and 3 bulls; 11 cows were tested for the first time and 4 reacted. Of the remainder of the herd, consisting of 97 cows and 3 bulls, there were only 5 reactors, all cows. Many of the reactors in 1924–25–26 were slaughtered and tuberculosis was found to be present in every beast examined. There are at least four methods of testing: intradermal, ophthalmic, palpebral and subcutaneous, the subcutaneous being reliable under laboratory conditions for the first time only, because the maximum period of nonreaction to this test is not yet ascertained. It is well to remember that a tuberculous cow does not necessarily give tuberculous milk; in fact, little more than one per cent. of the cows that are afflicted with the disease have affected milk, and this is usually found where there is udder trouble. The tuberculin test is optional and at present owners are left to report suspected cases in their herds to the police. It follows in a great majority of cases that the cows they report are wasters, only fit for the knacker, who will pay 10s. to 15s. a piece for them. It is likely that a high percentage of cows in herds of standing, where the tuberculin test is not given regularly, would react to it. Under the Milk and Dairies Order of 1926, which came into operation in October of that year, sanitary authorities are required to keep registers of all persons carrying on the trade of dairykeeper or cowkeeper in their district, and all farms and other premises which are used as dairies; no man may carry on the trade of dairykeeper or cowkeeper unless he and his premises are registered. County Councils and County Borough Councils may order inspections, and a cowkeeper may not permit any cow to be removed from his premises after he has received notice that the Inspector is about to make a call. Further provisions for light, air and water made under the Order have been postponed for the benefit of the trade, but they will come into working not later than 1929. The powers of the Medical Officer of Health are considerable; if he is of opinion that anybody is suffering from an infectious disease caused by the consumption of milk supplied within the district from any registered premises, he may stop that supply until he is satisfied that there is no longer any trouble. There are in the Order many other clauses of interest to the consumer and the cowkeeper is obliged to take a large number of precautionary measures which will tend to increase rather than to diminish. Unfortunately the Milk and Dairies Act of the Ministry of Health and the Tuberculosis Order of the Ministry of Agriculture are not administered with uniformity. The local authorities up and down the country appear to vary the procedure as they think best. In these days when so great an effort is being made to promote increased consumption of milk, and when the food value of the pure article is admitted on nearly every hand, herds should be inspected regularly by a qualified veterinary surgeon, once a year at least, and certain of the present methods should be very carefully revised. To show the danger of the present procedure the following authenticated instances are interesting. Not long ago the London County Council, in accordance with the Milk and Dairies Act, took samples of milk from four distributors and caused it to be examined biologically. This examination took six weeks and in every case the milk was found to be tuberculous. The Medical Officer of the County from which the milk came was notified and he caused the herds in question to be examined and samples taken once more for biological examination. Tubercle being found, the case was handed over to the police to deal with under the Tuberculosis Order, and the Veterinary Inspector under the Contagious Diseases of Animals Act repeated the examination. In one of these four cases the London County Council notified the County Medical Officer in October, 1926, and the alleged offender among the herd was discovered by a process of elimination over a long period in April, 1927! On discovery the Veterinary Inspector condemned the beast and arrangements were being made for its slaughter when the owner produced a certificate to show that this particular cow was free from tuberculosis; it had been submitted to the tuberculin test and failed to react. A further sample was taken and the cow was pronounced healthy. In none of the four cases referred to was any cow giving tuberculous milk traced. It is not difficult to understand why this should be so. In these days, when many leading dairymen record their milk, some of them sell cows as soon as they are going out of profit and buy down‐calvers in order to keep the herd in full profit It follows that by the time the milk has been submitted to two or three biological examinations and three or four months have passed, the cow that has caused trouble may be infecting another herd. When we come to remember how closely the cows stand together in most cow houses, and how quickly, in the heated atmosphere of most of them, germs would spread, particularly in the winter, it is very easy to realise that the healthy may be infected by the sick and that many a cow may be tuberculous long before the owner has any idea that there is trouble. Something should be done to shorten procedure without rendering it ineffective, and the testing should be compulsory. At present an animal reported under the Tuberculosis Order and condemned is valued by agreement between the Local Authority and the owner of the animal, and if they fail to agree by a valuer appointed by the local authority and the owner, and the market value is assumed to be the price which might reasonably have been obtained from a purchaser in the open market who had no knowledge of any trouble other than he might have been supposed to have learned from inspection. If an animal, after being slaughtered, is found to be free from tubercle, the local authority must pay the market value plus 20s. If the animal was suffering from tuberculosis that was not in an advanced stage the local authority must pay a sum equal to three‐quarters of the market value, or 45s., whichever is the greater. If the animal was suffering from advanced tuberculosis, the compensation is one‐fourth of the market value, or 45s., whichever is the greater. This system of compensation is not found satisfactory. The owner may be honestly unaware of his cow's condition, he may even be disposed to do his best in the public interest, but when a man has any doubt as to whether he will get a fair price or not for his beast, he is extremely unlikely to submit to these examinations; he would prefer, unless the symptoms are obvious, to take the chance of selling in the open market. One of the difficulties of the position is to find the most suitable method of dealing with reactors, because the tuberculin test does not tell to what extent any animal is affected. But undoubtedly the present practice would be much improved if the control of diseases in cows were looked after by a department of the Ministry of Health, with a chief veterinary officer at its head who would be directly responsible to the Minister. All orders under the Contagious Diseases of Animals Act should be administered in the same fashion in all counties, i.e., by a veterinary officer and not by the police. Under the Dairies Acts veterinary inspection of all milk‐giving cows should be obligatory and not optional, and the full market value should be paid to owners whose cows are slaughtered under the Tuberculosis Order. The excessive delay and the duplication of procedure that is now so common should be avoided in some fashion that may be found practical by those who are best qualified to handle an extremely difficult situation. It is important that we should not deal too optimistically with the question of tuberculosis in cows. There is a big movement to increase the consumption of milk, yet there is ample evidence to lead us to believe that, outside the tested herds at least, one cow in three or four is tuberculous.

The seasonality in the behavior of travelers is something that goes back to the origin of the trips themselves. This seasonality is due to multiple factors, some easy to counteract and others difficult to solve. But, regardless of the causes, it is a phenomenon that generates significant negative impacts on society and the environment in which the phenomenon of tourist seasonality occurs. All tourist destinations have seasonality, but in some cases, it is very high and in others it has a minimal incidence. The objective of this chapter is to ponder the impacts and consequences of seasonality in regions with a strong tourism development, allowing to put into context the aspects of society impacted by this phenomenon and the positive implications that the reduction of seasonality would have. For this, an analysis of a theoretical model with two regions in opposite situations is carried out, raising the possible effects of a high seasonality. The cases of the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands are also reviewed, as real examples of the regional typologies taken into consideration in the theoretical model. This seeks to ponder the problems attributable to seasonality. As a final reflection, the enormous typology of negative impacts generated and the need to continue analyzing the seasonality and its impacts are emphasized.

The impact of climate change on Australian freshwater ecosystems has been clearly acknowledged, yet little is known about how climate change affects Australian freshwater tourism. This rapid review of the literature aimed to explore this pressing issue using lenses of environmental, social and economic justice.

A systematic search of electronic databases and available grey literature was completed in February 2023. Database searching identified 417 records. After removal of 36 duplicates, 381 records were screened, with 336 articles excluded. Another four publications were identified through hand-searching and a final review of 20 publications was completed in May 2023.

Very few publications examined climate change impacts on Australian freshwater tourism, and there was a paucity of Indigenous-led research despite increased recognition of Indigenous water rights. Publications observing freshwater tourism’s vulner ability to climate change, particularly in the Murray Darling Basin, emphasised inaction and communities’ unpreparedness despite long-term acknowledgment of this issue.

This is the first review of literature that addresses climate change and Australian freshwater tourism. Research that centres Indigenous cultural knowledge of Country and is codesigned with rural communities is required to understand and respond to the urgency of climate change impacts on freshwater ecosystems and communities.

This study aims to investigate how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted and changed Airbnb market in the Greater Melbourne area in terms of its temporal and spatial patterns and identify possible shifts in underlying trends in travel activities.

A panel data set of Airbnb listings in Melbourne is analysed to compare temporal patterns, spatial distribution and lengths of stay of Airbnb users before and after the COVID outbreak.

This study found that the COVID disruption did not fundamentally change the temporal cycle of the Airbnb market. Month-to-month fluctuations peaked at different levels from pre-pandemic times mainly because of lockdowns and other restrictive measures. The impact of COVID-19 disruptions on neighbourhood-level Airbnb revenues is associated with distance to CBD rather than number of COVID cases. Inner city suburbs suffered major loss during the pandemic, whereas outer suburbs gained popularity due to increased domestic travel and long stays. Long stays (28 days or more, as defined by Airbnb) were the fastest growing segment during the pandemic, which indicates the Airbnb market was adapting to increasing demand for purposes like remote working or lifestyle change. After easing of COVID-related restrictions, demand for short-term accommodation quickly recovered, but supply has not shown signs of strong recovery. Spatial distribution of post-pandemic supply recovery shows a similar spatial variation. Neighbourhoods in the inner city have not shown signs of significant recovery, whereas those in the middle and outer rings are either slowly recovering or approaching their pre-COVID levels.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted short-term rental markets and in particular the Airbnb sector during the phase of its rapid development. This paper helps inform in- and post-pandemic housing policy, market opportunity and investment decision.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first attempts to empirically examine both temporal and spatial patterns of the COVID-19 impact on Airbnb market in one of the most severely impacted major cities. It is one of the first attempts to identify shifts in underlying trends in travel based on Airbnb data.

Spatial planning is globally identified as an effective strategy for providing climate change adaptation needs. However, there is a dearth of literature on how spatial planning relates to climate change control in Ghana, particularly at the local level. Hence, this paper aims to investigate whether spatial planning plays a significant role in the control of climate change and the adaptive capacities at the local level.

The authors adopt a mixed-method approach, where both qualitative and quantitative data were obtained using an interview guide and survey, respectively. The authors analyze the data using a qualitative content analysis method and descriptive statistics.

The results show that spatial planning plays an important role in climate change adaptation, though in a limited way. The physical planning department at the municipal level has varying amounts of capacities across various determinants, but there are opportunities for improving the capacity of the department.

The authors provide empirical evidence to support the need to prioritize spatial planning as a strategy for dealing with the impacts of climate change and the building of capacities at the national and community levels for improved adaptive capacity.

This study aimed to address a gap in subcontractor management by focusing on previously unexplored complexities surrounding subcontractor management in developing countries. While past studies concentrated on selection and relationships, this study delved into how effective subcontractor management impacts project success.

This study used the Bayesian Network analysis approach, through a meticulously developed questionnaire survey refined through a piloting stage involving experienced industry professionals. The survey was ultimately distributed among participants based in Accra, Ghana, resulting in a response rate of approximately 63%.

The research identified diverse components contributing to subcontractor disruptions, highlighted the necessity of a clear regulatory framework, emphasized the impact of financial and leadership assessments on performance, and underscored the crucial role of main contractors in Integrated Project and Labour Cost Management with Subcontractor Oversight and Coordination.

Previous studies have not considered the challenges subcontractors face in projects. This investigation bridges this gap from multiple perspectives, using Bayesian network analysis to enhance subcontractor management, thereby contributing to the successful completion of construction projects.

The purpose of this paper is to describe a seven stage community engagement process to develop and disseminate community uptake strategies which encouraged cybersafety as part of a positive transition from primary to secondary school among Australian young people.

The combined principles from socio-ecological models, community development models and student participation models formed the foundation for the strategies. Resources were developed for all members of the community – students, parents, teachers and the broader community. The methods included: the formation of a steering committee and a Youth Advisory Board; review of the current literature; development of online resources; a youth resource development activity; development of youth resources; translation of resources into health promotion initiatives; and the dissemination of resources at community events and facilities such as schools, libraries and recreation centres and through print and social media.

Community engagement strategies – in particular a partnership between a Western Australian university and local government body, the steering committee consisting of local organisations, and the student advisory board – were used to successfully design and promote resources developed by young people for young people.

This study utilises a community-level approach to develop resources to encourage cybersafety and a positive transition from primary to secondary school.

In continuous improvement (CI) projects, cause-and-effect diagrams are used to qualitatively express the relationship between a given problem and its root causes. However, when data collection activities are limited, and advanced statistical analyses are not possible, practitioners need to understand causal relationships. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

In this research, the authors present a framework that combines cause-and-effect diagrams with Bayesian belief networks (BBNs) to estimate causal relationships in instances where formal data collection/analysis activities are too costly or impractical. Specifically, the authors use cause-and-effect diagrams to create causal networks, and leverage elicitation methods to estimate the likelihood of risk scenarios by means of computer-based simulation.

This framework enables CI practitioners to leverage qualitative data and expertise to conduct in-depth statistical analysis in the event that data collection activities cannot be fully executed. Furthermore, this allows CI practitioners to identify critical root causes of a given problem under investigation before generating solutions.

This is the first framework that translates qualitative insights from a cause-and-effect diagram into a closed-form relationship between inputs and outputs by means of BBN models, simulation and regression.

This study aims to focus on exploring the construction productivity of building projects under the influence of potential factors. The three primary purposes are (1) determining critical factors affecting construction productivity; (2) identifying causal relationship and occurrence probability of these factors to develop a Bayesian network (BN) model; and (3) validating the accuracy of predictions from the proposed BN model via a case study.

A conceptual framework that includes three performance stages was used. Twenty-two possible factors were screened from a comprehensive literature review and evaluated through expert opinions. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire-based survey and case-study-based survey. The sampling methods were based on non-probability sampling.

Worker characteristic-related factors significantly affect labour productivity for a construction task. Construction productivity is dominated by the working frequency of workers (overtime), complexity of the task, level of technology application and accidents. Labour productivity is defined as nearly 50% of the baseline productivity using the BN model created by the caut 2sal relationship and probability of factors. The prediction error of the BN model was 6.6%, 10.0% and 9.3% for formwork (m²/h), reinforcing steel (ton/h) and concrete (m³/h), respectively.

The evaluation or prediction of productivity performance has become a necessary topic for research and practice.

Managers and practitioners in the construction sector can utilise the outcome of this study to create good productivity management policies for their prospective projects.

Worker-related characteristics are dominant among critical factors affecting labour productivity for a construction task; the proposed BN-based predictive model is built based on these critical factors. The BN approach is highly accurate for construction productivity prediction. The findings of this study can fill gaps in the construction management body of knowledge when modelling construction productivity under the effects of multiple factors and using a simple probabilistic graphic tool.