Industrial Search Research Articles

King Cotton: A Tribute to Douglas A. Farnie

Professor Douglas Farnie made a lasting impression on everybody who was fortunate enough to meet him. His enthusiasm for, and his encyclopaedic knowledge of, Lancashire's industrial and regional history (and specifically the region's hallmark, the cotton textile industry) was unprecedented. As the pre-eminent historian of the Lancashire cotton industry, his best known work was The English Cotton Industry and the World Market, 1815–1896 (1979; rev. ante, xcv [1980], 635–6). This comprised an empirical examination of the industry's search for foreign markets and its internal structural constraints, while also introducing new topics to the field, including the problems attributable to the co-operative model of ownership and the rise and fall of vertically integrated firms. In addition to his exemplary scholarship, Farnie will also be remembered for the support and kindness he demonstrated to both students and fellow researchers. Many of us were privileged enough to receive at least one file card of information which either answered a specific question or provided material he thought might be helpful for our research. It is therefore only fitting that a Festschrift be written to honour one of the most acclaimed economic historians in recent years, who influenced scholars around the world and whose scholarship will continue to influence historians for years to come. And, to that purpose, this book fulfils its aims.

Cybrid human embryos – warranting opportunities to augment embryonic stem cell research

The recent vote in the British Parliament allows scientists in principle to create hybrid embryos by transferring human somatic cell nuclei into animal oocytes. This vote opens a fascinating new area of research with the central aim of generating interspecific lines of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) that could potentially be used to understand development, differentiation, gene expression and genomic compatibility. It will also promote human cell therapies, as well as the pharmaceutical industry's search for new drug targets. If this approach is to be successful, many biological questions need to be answered and, in addition, some moral and ethical aspects must be taken into account.

The Role of Pollution Regulation and Litigation in the Development of the U.S. Meatpacking Industry, 1865–1880

Business historians have treated the emergence of large, modern, vertically integrated meatpacking firms in the second half of the nineteenth century as the economically rational and inevitable product of the industry's search for ways to maximize profits through technological innovation, vertical integration, and the achievement of economies of scale and scope. This is only part of the story, however. Society's efforts to force the industry to abate its environmental pollution through government regulation and private lawsuits also stimulated and shaped these processes of modernization.

The Role of Pollution Regulation and Litigation in the Development of the U.S. Meatpacking Industry, 1865–1880

Business historians have treated the emergence of large, modern, vertically integrated meatpacking firms in the second half of the nineteenth century as the economically rational and inevitable product of the industry's search for ways to maximize profits through technological innovation, vertical integration, and the achievement of economies of scale and scope. This is only part of the story, however. Society's efforts to force the industry to abate its environmental pollution through government regulation and private lawsuits also stimulated and shaped these processes of modernization.

THE ROLES OF THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY AND DRUG DEVELOPMENT IN DERMATOLOGY AND DERMATOLOGIC HEALTH CARE

Drug development is becoming shorter, more high-tech and strategic, more costly, and more complicated. The pharmaceutical, biotech, and cosmetic companies, along with regulatory agencies such as the FDA, are struggling to cope with and master the scientific, medical, and economic implications of this new environment. There are rapidly growing new classes of drugs, including biologicals, genomics, antibodies, and novel receptor-ligand antagonists. Dermatologic drug development has several idiosyncrasies, including the vehicle in topical drugs. Development for dermatology is much cheaper than for other therapeutic areas but also generates much less sales. The pharmaceutical industry's search for blockbusters threatens to leave dermatology without access to these new technologies, therapeutic modalities, and drug classes. The pharmaceutical industry is interested, invested, and intertwined, at many different levels, in the efforts and practices of academic dermatology, dermatology specialty organizations, and clinical dermatologists.

Competence or Omniscience? Assessing Entrepreneurship in the Victorian and Edwardian British Paper Industry

In the literature on British economic decline entrepreneurship is typically assessed by its outcome. By contrast, this paper argues that the soundness of entrepreneurship is best tested by viewing it ex ante. In other words, it is the process, and not the product, of entrepreneurship that is important in determining its quality. When this is accepted, competence, rather than infallibility, becomes the criterion by which entrepreneurship is best judged. In the latter half of the article, this approach is applied to the British paper industry's search for a new source of cellulose in the second half of the nineteenth century.

BOOK REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this articles:Taking Japan Seriously: A Confucian Perspective on Leading Economic Issues. By Ronald Dore.Flexible Rigidities. By Ronald Dore.Selling The State: Privatisation in Britain. By Cento Veljanovski.Thinking About Peace and War. By Martin Ceadel.War in International Society. By Evan Luard.Choices. By Oliver Ramsbotham.Open Government: A Study of the Prospects of Open Government Within the Limitations of the British Political System. Edited by Richard A. Chapman and Michael Hunt.Public Access to Government‐held Information: A Comparative Symposium. Edited by Norman S. Marsh.The Green Capitalists: Industry's Search for Environmental Excellence. By John Elkington with Tom Burke.Positive Discrimination: Social Justice and Social Policy. Moral Scrutiny of a Policy Practice. By John Edwards.Not Only the Poor: The Middle Classes and the Welfare State. By Robert E. Goodwin & Julian Le Grand with others.An Edwardian Mixed Doubles: The Bosanquets Versus the Webbs. A Study in British Social Policy 1890–1929. By A. M. McBriar.

The Industry Versus Its People

Abstract Clearly, a major factor influencing overall organizational viability and success in the energy industry during the next decade will be the ability of this strategic sector to maximize the inherent capabilities of its employees. The dramatic growth in requirements for the technical expertise necessitates a parallel revolution in human resource management. This paper will focus on future needs, the educational demands, opportunities resulting from this revolution, and various approaches open to the industry in order to meet its people challenge in the 80s. The susceptibility of the industry to the imperative of technical change is obvious. Unfortunately, its approach to human resource development is quite unclear and has lagged behind. Evidence of these ineffective and traditional approaches to human resource management can be seen in staff turnover, absenteeism, low commitment to training and development, and a general dissatisfaction with the level of management competence. The Challenge The decade of the 80s represents a critical challenge to the energy industry to improve its productivity through enhancing its management of human resources. Responsibility to attract, identify and develop human resource potential is directly related to the industry's search for stable, cost-efficient energy sources. The dramatic growth in technical expertise required by today's energy industry requires a parallel revolution in its human resource management. This human resource challenge has two closely interrelated components. The first is the responsibility to attract, retain and effectively utilize its competent professional employees. The second is the challenge to the industry to develop more highly qualified management personnel. Indicative of the human resource problems are high staff turnover, absenteeism, poor quality output, disinterest, soaring grievances, generally low commitment to training and development, and a pervasive overwhelming dissatisfaction with the level of management competency within the industry(l,2). The past three years have reflected an unprecedented growth in the petroleum industry. Despite rising unemployment in other areas, the industry has experienced critical manpower shortages in the skilled and professional sectors. In 1981, due to the National Energy Program, demands have stabilized, but the respite can only be viewed as short-term(J). Hopefully, this pause can be utilized to develop educational/training programs throughout the workforce, rather than cutting back on existing facilities. Often the latter is more prevalent in periods of uncertainty. The traditional strategies of the 70s are no longer viable and organizations must view their environments differently so as to develop long-range forecasting on radically altered assumptions(4). Such enterprises require both diverse and different management skills, as well as a new structure that reflects responsiveness and flexibility. Managers must be developed to reflect such a philosophy. Today's labour force is quite different in many ways from workers of earlier times, and in Alberta's highly reactive environment there is even greater instability. Individuals are mobile and have limited organizational loyalty. The labour force is generally more educated, job opportunities are abundant, the technology is challenging and the organizational climates are dynamic. The highly sophisticated nature of the technology required to deliver stable, cost-efficient energy requires specialized higher education.

Low-Permeability Gas Well Performance At Constant Pressure

Presented here is an analysis of the long-term production performance of some low-permeability wells in the Big Piney-LaBarge Frontier gas field of Wyoming. A rigorous technique is proposed for predicting the abandonment pressure, and thus the recovery efficiency, of such gas wells. Introduction The petroleum industry's search for new natural gas reserves has progressively led to the development of reservoirs that have been assumed to be too tight to provide a reasonable return on invested capital. The Frontier reservoir in the Big Piney-LaBarge field of Wyoming is an excellent example of a lower-permeability field that, through the use of sophisticated sand-fracturing techniques, is now a profitable operation, with initial recoverable reserves in excess of 3 Tcf. The Big Piney-LaBarge Frontier gas field is located along the western margin of the Green River Basin in western Wyoming. It is approximately 25 miles long, has a maximum width of 16 miles, and is located on the LaBarge platform, which is basically a large anticlinal structure overridden by thrust faulting from the west. It is the largest gas field in Wyoming, in both size and production rate, currently producing approximately 160 MMcf/D from about 220 wells. Cumulative production to date is more than 550 Bcf. Overall spacing is essentially 320 acres/well, with recent infill drilling programs on 160 acres in selected areas. The Frontier formation, of Cretaceous age, has been separated into the First, Second, and Third Frontier zones. The average gross interval covered by these zones is 650 ft, with approximately 130 ft of gross sand and 35 t of net sand. All productive zones are commonly combined and produced as one "reservoir". The zones are very widespread but they are very heterogeneous both laterally and vertically, and vary from fine- to medium-grained, well sorted to conglomeritic, with variable amounts of silt and clay matrix. Eastward, the sands become progressively more silty and tighter. Porosities are rather uniform, but permeabilities are extremely variable, and generally quite low. Over-all average rock and gas properties are as follows:Effective porosity 16 percentWater saturation 40 percentPermeability (absolute) 1 mdPermeability (to gas) 0.5 mdAverage perforated depth 7,050 ft (+ 150 ft)Bottom-hole temperature 165°FCondensate content 5 bbl/MMcf

The Subsurface Telemetry Problem-A Practical Solution

Abstract A practical solution to the inherent "blindness" of the rotary drilling system has been developed and field tested successfully. It consists of a novel telemetry system which makes it possible to obtain at the surface, concurrent with the drilling of a well, continuous logs on one or more physical parameters of the freshly penetrated formation at the bit. The method will also be made available for various warning and control systems pertaining to the condition or operation of the drilling equipment at the bottom of the hole. A measurement at the bottom of the hole is translated into a pulse code which periodically triggers a hydraulic mud valve in the drill collar. Partial closings of this valve for a short period of time create pressure pulses in the in-going mud stream which are readily detected at the surface as small increases in pressure. After decoding this pressure-pulse pattern arriving at the surface, the resulting readings are automatically plotted on a recording paper strip which moves as the drill progresses downward. Examples of continuous logs are shown, and a general description of the equipment used in the telemetry system is given. Introduction The Need for Continuous Logging in Rotary Drilling of Exploratory WellsThe basic purpose of drilling exploratory wells is to find and evaluate new oil and gas reservoirs. The emphasis is therefore on gaining significant information about possible productive zones, and the drilling of the well itself in most cases merely a means to this end. While drilling, an exploratory well often encounters unexpected geological conditions and new potential reservoirs. Obviously, the best time to acquire pertinent information about such reservoirs is when they are freshly penetrated and least disturbed by mud filtrate. Also, optimum drilling speed and minimum drilling cost can only be obtained if the exact nature of the changing formations being drilled is known at all times. Because of these considerations, the search for a reliable and diagnostic method of gaining such information while drilling and not afterward is as old as the drilling industry itself. The following brief summary of the important stepping stones in the industry's search for better evaluation of the formations penetrated in exploratory wells will serve as a background for the discussion of the subject material of this paper. Early Developments in Intermittent Formation Evaluation of Rotary Wells Logging while drilling in the days of cable tools was no problem. In effect, the formations were being continuously sampled and production tested as the cable-tool bit drilled ahead. With the advent of rotary drilling, however, the industry suddenly found that its ability to "see" downhole while drilling was greatly impaired. The drilling fluids generally served to hold back formation pressures, and the analysis of cuttings obtained from the mudstream became much less diagnostic. In order to get some indication of the variations in lithology, the speed of drilling was often watched closely, and correlation of drilling breaks with the cuttings obtained could sometimes serve as a guide regarding the formations being penetrated. Coring The introduction of the rotary core barrel to the industry during the 1920's provided for the first time a means of obtaining a good sized sample of the formations penetrated. Its universal acceptance as a standard drilling tool was limited, however, by its ability to retain only a core before requiring time-consuming and costly recovery operations, and by the reduced drilling speeds generally required while coring. Drillstem Testing Introduction of drillstem testing, also during the 1920's, provided the operator with a means of obtaining actual samples of formation fluids from the penetrated formation without the need for setting pipe, and was another step forward in the search for improved formation evaluation. Electrical Logging Although the formation evaluation problem in rotary wells was greatly aided by the development of the rotary core barrel and the drillstem tester, the most important step forward in curing the inherent blindness of the rotary system came with the introduction of the electrical log around 1930, as a means of identifying and evaluating the formations penetrated. JPT P. 487ˆ