Nigel J. Smith

Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans: a clinicopathological and immunohistochemical study with a review of the literature

Forty‐one cases of dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans are presented. The clinical features and histopathological appearances are described. Immunohistochemical staining of thirteen cases with antisera to lysozyme, α1‐antichymotrypsin and S‐100 protein has provided no evidence to support either a histiocytic or neuroectodermal origin for these tumours. In reviewing the literature, the histogenetic origin, differential diagnosis and malignant potential of dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans are discussed.

Desmoplastic malignant melanoma. An immunocytochemical study of 25 cases

Using a panel of seven cell markers, we studied the value of immunocytochemical labelling in the histological diagnosis of desmoplastic malignant melanoma. Sections from routine formalin-fixed tissue of 45 surgical specimens were obtained from 25 cases of malignant melanoma that showed well-marked desmoplastic or neurotropic features. Routinely stained sections (Haematoxylin-and -eosin and melanin stains) were compared with the following panel of seven antibodies: S-100, neuron-specific enolase (NSE), vimentin, factor XIIIa (FXIIIa), desmin and the newer, supposedly more specific anti-melanoma antibodies HMB45 and NKIC3. S-100 and NSE were the most sensitive antibodies for desmoplastic malignant melanoma with strong labelling of spindle cells in most cases. In contrast, results for NKIC3 were more variable; results were negative in nearly half the tumours, but strong labelling was seen in six cases (27%). Positive labelling for HMB45 was noted in five tumours (22%); it was mostly confined to small groups of cells in the superficial part of the lesions. Tumour spindle cells were negative for FXIIIa in all cases; there was no increase in the number of positive dermal dendritic cells compared to conventional and spindle cell melanoma. All tumours were desmin-negative, but most were vimentin-positive. Our findings indicate that immunocytochemistry is of less value in the diagnosis of desmoplastic malignant melanoma that it is with other types of malignant melanoma. However, positive or negative labelling for S-100 protein and NSE is useful for suggesting or excluding a diagnosis of desmoplastic malignant melanoma; neither marker is specific and, in particular, positive labelling is also found in most neurofibromas and benign cellular naevi. NKIC3 and HMB45 label desmoplastic malignant melanoma much less consistently than other conventional malignant melanomas.

Stakeholder matrix for ethical relationships in the construction industry

The construction industry in general has a poor ethical reputation, being widely regarded by the public as a sector with corrupt practices, health and safety failures, and causing damage to the environment. A modern 21st century industry needs to consider how it orientates itself to the dilemma of conflicting stakeholder and ethical demands. The implications for stakeholders of the all pervasive drive for globalization in the construction industry is reviewed, leading to a consideration of the ethical relationship interfaces that construction organizations have with their stakeholders from the viewpoint of ethics, social contracts and corporate responsibility. Building upon earlier work a prototype stakeholder ethical responsibility matrix (SERM) is proposed as a management tool. Stakeholder management using an ethical perspective can meet the needs of both agency and stakeholder requirements. The increasingly complex global construction industry presents many challenges as key business decisions in construction are in reality moral decisions also. A completed version of the SERM offers a way forward for managing the ethical dimension of construction industry decision making.

An effective outline business case to facilitate successful decision‐making

Historically the public sector’s outline business case for Light Rapid Transit/Metro public–private partnership projects delivered in the United Kingdom has frequently failed to address the project affordability decision. As a consequence the business cases have had to be reworked, redeveloped or have required the project to be revoked, in each case wasting significant amounts of public and private sector time and money. The development and testing of an effective outline business case to facilitate successful project affordability decision‐making for PPP projects is described. A mixed methods research approach was adopted utilizing a case study research methodology, interviews with PPP experts to identify business case critical success factors and application of the analytical hierarchical process to assess their effectiveness. The Delphi technique was used to verify and validate the effectiveness of the outline business case. The findings demonstrated that the success of the outline business case in practice relies on three critical success factors: the degree of political support, achieving a balance between political PPP ideology and the market’s acceptance of the contractual model and the level of transparency and commitment from suppliers. These factors are major uncertainties, are difficult to represent accurately within the business case and signify a major constraint to the sponsor forecasting the project’s affordability.

The engineer under FIDIC's conditions of contract for construction

FIDIC has over the years produced standard forms of contracts for the international procurement of projects. A source of continuing criticism of its Red Book concerns the duality in the traditional role of the engineer as the employers agent and as an independent third party holding the balance fairly between the employer and the contractor. In response to this and other criticisms FIDIC produced a replacement for it in 1999. The role of the engineer under the new Red Book is critically examined in the light of relevant case law, expert commentaries and feedback from two multidisciplinary workshops with international participation. The examination identified three major changes: (1) a duty to act impartially has been replaced by a duty to make fair determination of certain matters; (2) it is open to parties to allow greater control of the engineer by the employer by stating in the appropriate part of the contract powers the engineer must not exercise without the employers approval; (3) there is provision for a Dispute Adjudication Board (DAB) to which disputes may be referred. Although the duality has not been eliminated completely, the contract is structured flexibly enough to support those who wish to contract on the basis of the engineer acting solely as the agent of the employer.

Modelling business processes in steel fabrication

Abstract This paper outlines the utilization of the Structured Analysis and Design Technique (SADT) in developing a business process model as part of an IMI-LINK research programme. The project investigates the integration of design and construction through a demonstrator project using steel roof trusses. The SADT modelling technique is a graphical language-based methodology that generates activity models depicting, in a successively detailed manner, process activities and their relationships to each other. The paper highlights the problems and limitations encountered during knowledge acquisition process for the model, the modelling process, and outlines the research programme for the re-engineering of the fabrication process.

Financing Roads in Great Britain

The British tradition of road finance and procurement has been one of almost complete separation between decisions on road user taxation and expenditure on roads. Road users pay taxes which are set by the Treasury alongside income and indirect taxes as part of fiscal policy. Expenditures on roads are undertaken by a mixture of the Highways Agency for national roads and local authorities for local roads. It is worth noting two significant moments in history. The principal sources of taxation in Great Britain are from road vehicles are fuel duty and vehicle excise duty. Governments have adopted a rather loose policy that all classes of road user should pay taxes a t least to cover their road use costs. This was seen as an important principle for heavy goods vehicles, in order to assure “fair compensation” between road and rail-based freight transport. This led to engineering and economic studies of the cost structure of road provision and relationships with taxes. For many years, until the mid-1990s, an annual report of road use costs and taxes was produced, though there remained many questions about vehicle categories, allocated cost formulae, on average versus marginal costs, treatment of external costs and so on.

Best Practice in the Training, Appointment, and Remuneration of Members of Dispute Boards for Large Infrastructure Projects

AbstractThis paper reports part of a qualitative study into evolving practice in the implementation of the dispute adjudication board (DAB) construction dispute resolution technique, a variant of the dispute review board (DRB) concept used in the United States and Canada. Data were collected through a focus group interview of 20 highly experienced dispute resolution practitioners from engineering and the law. The group was assembled from members of FIDIC-NET with direct experience of project DABs. The part reported here concerns practice and procedure for establishing DABs. The main findings are that the constitution of DABs is often delayed because of either project owners’ ignorance of the DAB process or deterrence by the cost of the DABs; such owners also tend to insist on appointing DAB members from local engineers and lawyers without sufficient understanding of the DAB process; rates of remuneration of DAB members vary widely; the training provision for DAB membership and advocacy skills is inadequat...

Developing a Knowledge Based Expert System (KBES) for Seismic Risk Management

Seismic risk management is a multidisciplinary process in which a broad range of variables, as well as a great deal of uncertainty, is involved with both parameters and the modeling process.A disaster system can be seen as a combination of not only physical and structural consequence of a natural hazard, but also socio-economical and environmental impacts also influence the assessment process. Decision-making in such a complex system that often relies on subjective and objective knowledge should be handled though a knowledge-based approach. The study was launched to review and discuss the multifaceted character of seismic risk and examining the feasibility ofa knowledge base system to model such problems effectively and efficiently. Such a knowledge base system should be capable of: (1) integrating various perspectives of seismic risk; (2) conducting seismic risk assessment; and (3) handling uncertainty within risk assessment and to support mitigation strategies.

Seismic Risk Management: A System-Based Perspective

The deployment of seismic risk management is fraught with issues of complexity, ambiguity and uncertainty which pose critical challenges in assessing, modelling and management. The complexity of earthquake impacts and the uncertain nature of information necessitate establishing a risk management system to address the risk of many the effects of seismic events in a reliable and realistic way. This study was launched to review and criticize appropriate risk assessment methods for different seismic applications focusing on general characteristics from a systems perspective. The outcome of this study demonstrates the importance of a system perspective, providing a deeper insight into the background characteristics and the potential challenges involved within seismic risk management. This allows users to compare various systems and to choose the most appropriate approach according to the scope, size, accuracy and complexity of the application.