Terms Of Settlement Research Articles

3D Numerical Modeling of Rigid Inclusion-Improved Soft Soils Under Monotonic and Cyclic Loading—Case of a Small-Scale Laboratory Experiment

This paper is based on small-scale laboratory tests (1:10) of a rigid inclusion-improved soil under normal gravity. A low area improvement ratio (2.4%) under monotonic and cyclic loading was used. 3D numerical calculations are performed to model these tests. The proposed numerical modeling is performed by the finite element method (FEM) using the ABAQUS software. A representative elementary volume model is suggested for reducing the calculation time. A hypoplastic constitutive model (HYP model) is applied for the load transfer platform (LTP). A total of three geometrical configuration cases of the experimental tests are numerically considered including a rigid slab over a mattress of 100 mm on the reinforced soil, a mattress of 100 mm on the reinforced soil, and a rigid slab over a mattress of 50 mm on the reinforced soil. The proposed numerical results are compared to the experimental data and the previous numerical results of Houda. The cyclic response of the systems is shown in terms of soil arching and settlements. The decrease in pile efficacy and the cumulative settlements are exhibited. The HYP model allows to better simulate the soil arching mechanisms inside the LTP than the CYsoil model used in the Houda’s research work. A good concordance between the proposed numerical results and the experimental data was obtained.

Receivables: control aspects

The article presents the key aspects of monitoring the current state of receivables in the organization, as well as the work of responsible executors with receivables for the timeliness and effectiveness of measures taken to prevent the transition of receivables to the category of hopeless ones. Special attention is paid to the issue of ensuring the reliability of accounting data and reporting in terms of settlements with debtors through the formation of a reserve for doubtful debts.

The Effect of Interference of Shallow Foundation on Settlement of Clay Soil

As a result of urban development, buildings were constructed adjacent to each other due to the limited construction area. As a result of this neighboring of buildings, there are often signs of damage to the structures that indicate a change in the soil’s behavior supporting the structure in terms of bearing capacity and settlement. This paper presents a numerical study using 3D Plaxis application finite element analysis to investigate the effect of the foundation interfering on the settlement of clay soils. This effect is investigated on two types of foundations, a strip foundation of 1 m wide and a square foundation of 1.5 m wide. Three cases of interference and their effect on the settlement are studied, the first case of two adjacent striped foundations, the second case of two adjacent square foundations, and the third case of two adjacent foundations, one of which is striped and the other is square. The study also adopts the imposition of a case study, in which a new building is constructed adjacent to an old building, where the effect of this juxtaposition on the settlement of the foundations of the old building is studied. The investigation results showed that the settlement in the case of adjacent strip foundations increased by 314% over the settlement of the isolated foundation, and the effect ratio decreased non-linearly with the increase in the distance between the two foundations until it fades at a distance of 7B. In the case of adjacent square foundations, the settlement increases by 194% compared to the settlement of the isolated foundation, and the effect ratio decreases non-linearly, with the distance between the two foundations increasing until it fades at a distance of 4B. In the case of a strip foundation adjacent to another square, the settlement of the strip foundation increases by 152% over the settlement of the insulated foundation, while the settlement of the square foundation increases by 164% over the settlement of the insulated basis. The aforementioned results make the option of two adjacent foundations of different types less effective and more acceptable than the two adjacent foundations of the same type. The results of the investigation of a new building adjacent to an old building also show an increase in settlement of up to 177% over the settlement in the isolated building, and also show that when increasing the depth of the foundation of the new building from 1m to 4m that reduces the risks for the old building by 42%.

Understanding Syrian refugees’ experience in terms of settlement and participation in Canadian labour market: A mixed method approach

This paper explores Syrian refugees’ experience in terms of settlement and participation in Canadian labour market. It discusses the findings of research on labour market integration in Canada of racialized immigrants and refugees, as well as the state of economic insecurity among newcomers, to identify systemic patterns of discrimination and policy implications. A mixed method approach with in-depth interview and questionnaire surveys were used for an analysis. Long-term benefit, second-generation success, and reliance on government support were commonly observed. Language barrier, lack of host country’s experience, and lack of transportation were cited as common barriers to employment. This research confirms that there is no uniform process for refugees entering into a host country. Canadian government needs to create a structured program to be implemented in each province and deliver the same process for every refugee entering.

Об отдельных аспектах предупреждения неисполнения или ненадлежащего исполнения обязательств поставщиками по государственным контрактам на поставки продовольствия для нужд уголовноисполнительной системы Российской Федерации

The article deals with the problem of fulfilling the terms of state contracts for the supply of food for the needs of the penal system of the Russian Federation, associated with the receipt of low-quality products by customers. The subject of the study was the materials of judicial practice, accompanying documents of territorial bodies of the FPS of Russia, Russian civil legislation, scientific literature on the topic under study. The purpose of the work is to reveal and analyze the gaps in the legal regulation of food procurement for the needs of the penal system of the Russian Federation based on the materials of judicial practice. The practical significance of the work lies in identifying the difficulties in planning the public procurement to ensure the activities of the penal system in the event of non-performance or improper performance of obligations by suppliers. The methodological basis of the work was formed by the structural and logical method, methods of analysis, synthesis, comparison, induction. As a result of the work carried out, a comparative table of the terms of settlement of civil disputes between customers and suppliers of low-quality food products is presented, the problems affecting the proper execution of state contracts in the field of food procurement are highlighted, specific recommendations of the terms that can be included in the state contract with the aim of preventing unscrupulous food suppliers from participating in procurement are formulated. Key words: penal system, purchase of goods (works, services), contract system, provision for state needs, unscrupulous supplier, goods of inadequate quality.

Incentivizing Financial Regulators

Abstract I study how promotion incentives within the public sector affect financial regulation. I assemble individual data for all SEC enforcement attorneys between 2002 and 2017, including enforcement cases, salaries, and ranks. Consistent with tournament model, attorneys with stronger promotion incentives are involved in more enforcement, especially against severe misconduct, and in tougher settlement terms. For identification, I rely on cross-sectional tests within offices and ranks and on exogenous variation in salaries resulting from a conversion to a new pay system. The findings highlight a novel link between incentives and regulation and show that the regulator’s organizational design affects securities markets.

Lightweight blockchain framework for location-aware peer-to-peer energy trading

Peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading, as a new approach for energy management in smart grids, facilitates integration of a large number of small-scale producers and consumers into energy markets. Decentralized management of these new market participants is challenging in terms of market settlement, participant reputation and consideration of grid constraints. This paper proposes a blockchain-enabled framework for P2P energy trading among producer and consumer agents in a smart grid. A fully decentralized market settlement mechanism is designed, which does not rely on a centralized entity to settle the market and encourages producers and consumers to negotiate on energy trading with their nearby agents truthfully. To this end, the electrical distance of agents is considered in the pricing mechanism to encourage agents to trade with their neighboring agents. In addition, a reputation factor is considered for each agent, reflecting its past performance in delivering the committed energy. Before starting the negotiation, agents select their trading partners based on their preferences over the reputation and proximity of the trading partners. An Anonymous Proof of Location (A-PoL) algorithm is proposed that allows agents to prove their location without revealing their real identity. The practicality of the proposed framework is illustrated through several case studies, and its security and privacy are analyzed in detail.

Effects of rocking coefficient and critical contact area ratio on the performance of rocking foundations from centrifuge and shake table experimental results

The major objective of this study is to correlate rocking foundation performance parameters with their capacity parameters and earthquake demand parameters using results obtained from 142 centrifuge and shaking table experiments, which include a variety of soil conditions, foundation geometries, structural models, and types of ground motions. The analysis presented in this paper considers all experimental results together, collectively as big data, through nondimensional parameters to identify hidden relationships among different parameters in a capacity-demand-performance framework. Rocking system performance parameters such as seismic energy dissipation in soil, permanent settlement, peak and permanent rotation, tipping-over stability ratio, self-centering ratio, rocking moment capacity, and acceleration amplification ratio are correlated with rocking system capacity parameters such as critical contact area ratio, rocking coefficient, and slenderness ratio of rocking systems and the earthquake demand parameters such as Arias intensity and peak ground acceleration of earthquake. It is found that energy dissipation and settlement correlate reasonably well with rocking coefficient and Arias intensity of earthquake, while peak rotation and acceleration amplification ratio correlate reasonably well with slenderness ratio, rocking coefficient, and peak ground acceleration of earthquake. Rocking foundations in clayey soils show superior performance in terms of seismic energy dissipation and permanent settlement compared to those in sandy soils, especially for relatively small to medium intensity shakings, and the ability of rocking foundations to de-amplify the earthquake motion increases as the magnitude of shaking increases.

Organizational and economic relations in the chain supply of milk and dairy products

The article discusses the organizational and economic relations between the participants in the supply chain of milk and dairy products. Generally, organizational and economic relations are a set of relations between the participants of the dairy products chain, which are formed in the process of production, distribution and sale to consumers, as a result of which the economic interests of all its participants are realized. The peculiarities of dairy products of the chain are systematized and the basic principles, conditions for their balanced development are determined, contributes to the coordination of the economic interests of all its participants. It has been proved that economic interest is an important component of organizational and economic relations in the supply chain of milk and dairy products, and its main elements are: prices for raw materials and fnished products, costs of production, processing of raw materials, transportation, terms of mutual settlements, material interest of personnel, norms of fulfllment of contractual obligations, risks and the like. Review of the negative factors of organizational and economic relations in the dairy product chain and their impact on the effectiveness of each of its participants. As a tool to increase the production of raw milk, it is proposed to optimize the raw material zones of dairy processing enterprises, develop strategic programs for the development of the industry and stimulate consumer demand, as well as create industry clusters. The calculations for the distribution of costs and income between participants in the supply chain of milk and milk products prove the need to ensure the equivalence of exchange. In order to improve the efciency of the researcher, it was proposed to increase the volume of milk production and processing, as well as to establish mutually benefcial relations between its participants, connected by a single production cycle. The directions of innovation and investment development of the participants in the dairy products chain, especially the link of dairy cattle breeding, are highlighted. It is highlighted that the innovative renewal of the activities of the chain participants is a process of cyclical activities focused on the production of competitive dairy products of a new generation, which will contribute to an increase in turnover in order to obtain the highest proft of the chain participants and satisfy the demand of consumers with different income levels. Key words: dairy products chain, chain participants, exchange equivalence, organizational and economic relations.

On the Tail Risk of Cyberattacks in the Bitcoin Market

In the era of digitalization, cryptocurrencies have become an alternative asset for both retail and institutional investors. While the new emerging digital ecosystem based on blockchain technology has been praised for offering plenty of advantages such as decentralization, discretion or increased efficiency in terms of faster settlements among others, investors need to be aware of new types of risks such as hacking incidents. In the 2011-2018 period, about 1.7 million unit of Bitcoin have been stolen corresponding to losses accumulating more than $655 million highlighting the societal impact of this criminal activity. The novel aspect of our study is that it employs a recently proposed approach related to Extreme-Value-Theory to compute the quantity of the risk of cyberattacks. Our results show that employing naive statistics in risk management dramatically underestimates this risk. We argue that our findings have important implications for policy makers as they call for an urgent need for cryptocurrency market regulations from governments and regulatory agencies to protect investors.

Modelling of columns and fibre-reinforced load-transfer platform-supported embankments

A novel ground modification technique is proposed utilising a fibre-reinforced load-transfer platform (FRLTP) and deep cement mixing column-supported (CS) embankment constructed over soft soils. An equivalent two-dimensional finite-element model was developed to simulate the full geometry of a CS embankment reinforced without or with an FRLTP. A series of numerical analyses was first conducted on the proposed model for different improvement depths to assess the effectiveness of the introduction of FRLTP into the CS embankment system in terms of total and differential settlements, the stress-transfer mechanism and lateral displacement with depth. Subsequently, another extensive parametric study was conducted to further investigate the influence of the FRLTP key parameters, including elastic deformation modulus, shear strength properties and tensile strength, on the embankment performance during construction and consolidation time. The numerical results showed that the FRLTP effectively diminished the total settlement and the lateral deformation of the embankment, while improving the stress concentration ratio and the embankment stability to a great extent. The findings of the extensive parametric study indicate that the FRLTP's shear strength properties appear to be the most influential factors to be considered in the design procedure of a target CS–FRLTP–embankment system.

Investigating the Nonlinear Performance of Reinforced Concrete Shell Foundations

The present study involved a numerical investigation of two types of shell foundation having the same dimensions, these are the "Inverted" and "Upright" shell foundations. This type of foundation is considered as an alternative of the shallow foundations when the footing is subjected to a high load or used in a weak soil. The study includes a comparison between these two types of shell foundations. The results showed that the “Inverted” shell footing is superior to the “Upright” one in terms of Load carrying capacity, settlement and contact pressure. The study involved the effects of using different edge angles namely (10°, 20°, 30 and 40°). It was found that by increasing the angle the load-bearing capacity increased in case of “Inverted” shell footing, while it was decrease in the case of “Upright” shell footing. Different thickness of footing is considered, these are 160,200 and 240mm. it was found that by increasing the thickness of footing, the load-bearing capacity increased in both types of shell footing.

Numerical Investigation of Consolidation Induced by Prefabricated Horizontal Drains (PHD) in Clayey Deposits

In this work, the process of prefabricated horizontal drains (PHD) induced consolidation in clayey embankment fills is investigated by a numerical approach. Based on spacing parameters, the suitability of axisymmetric and plane strain conditions for modeling the drain has been studied, and the suitability zones and matching functions have been proposed. The implications of the use of elastoplastic models to simulate the behavior of in situ soil on the suitability zones and matching functions have also been studied. The numerical results were compared with the analytical unit cell solutions for axisymmetric and plane strain conditions. Further, the effect of PHD in improving the consolidation behavior of various soil types has been analyzed in terms of pore pressure dissipation and settlement. The studies showed that the drain improved ground is best modeled under axisymmetric conditions at lower spacing ratios, and plane strain conditions simulate the more distantly spaced cases. PHD was found to accelerate the consolidation process in soft soils significantly, and the effect was found to be most prominent in highly plastic soils.

Coastal Vulnerability Mapping by Integrating Geospatial Techniques and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) along the Vishakhapatnam Coastal Tract, Andhra Pradesh, India

The coastal area supports millions of population in terms of livelihood, settlement and social activities across the world and India. The increasing rate of socioeconomic activities made the coasts susceptible to various hazards. Therefore, this study is aimed to examine the coastal vulnerability of Vishakhapatnam Coastal district using remote sensing and geographic information system. To fulfill this objective, six physical indicators, i.e., geomorphology, land use/land cover, coastal slope, shoreline change rate, etc., were prepared using the multi-temporal datasets of 1991, 2001, 2011 and 2018 and mean tidal height has been considered to calculate the coastal vulnerability index (CVI). The indicators selected for the analysis of coastal vulnerability have been integrated using the rank and weighted methods. The shoreline change has been detected using the digital shoreline analysis system (DSAS). Analytical hierarchy process (AHP) has been used for calculating weights of various indices. The CVI values obtained using different indicators are 2.6 (min) and 14.39 (max). Based on the CVI values, the coast is classified as five classes of vulnerability, i.e., very low (0—4.9) covering 42.5 km, low (4.9—7.3) which covers 29.49 km, moderate (7.3—9.6) covering 23.46 km, high (9.6—12.0) which covers 34.61 km, and very high (12.0–14.39) covering 7.5 km. This integrated study is found useful for exploring the accretion and erosion processes and also for vulnerability mapping in the coastal tract of Vishakhapatnam district.

Centrifuge and numerical modelling of earthquake-induced soil liquefaction under free-field conditions and by considering soil–structure interaction

Modelling earthquake-induced soil liquefaction and assessing its consequences to overlying buildings are still delicate and challenging tasks in geotechnical earthquake engineering. Having been carried out within the European H2020 LIQUEFACT project, this paper focuses on the application of both physical and numerical modelling techniques. We present the complete passage starting from the preparation of the physical models to ending with the comparison of recorded (experimental) and simulated (numerical) results. We discuss in detailed manner the dynamic response of two systems with and without the presence of a structure lying at the top of a uniform, medium-dense, saturated Ticino sand, whose main properties (physical, mechanical, hydraulic, and state) are well known. Through a set of numerical analyses carried out under homogeneous conditions, we provide in this paper insights to throw light into the effect of structure on the system response. Salient conclusion of this work suggests that the presence of structure changes the kinematic response of the system through beneficial effect in terms of increased vertical effective stress and detrimental effect in terms of concentrated strain field present nearby the foundations. Unfortunate combination of those beneficial and detrimental effects results in stronger response in terms of acceleration and larger settlements with the presence of structure with respect to the free-field counterpart.

The Subsoil Characterization of Matarbari Ultra Super Critical Coal-Fired Power Project, Bangladesh

In this research, the subsoil characteristics and geotechnical issues have been evaluated for ground improvement, land development and design facilitation of Matarbari Ultra Super Critical Coal-Fired Power Project, Bangladesh. The subsoil conditions and geotechnical issues are addressed by determining the geotechnical parameters of soil. The soil characteristics are obtained from soil investigation and executed under land development for the procurement of power plant facilities. The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM International) standard is used to estimate all the soil parameters in field and laboratory tests. The measured soil properties establish the area consists mainly of two types of soils, i.e., Cohesive Clayey and non-cohesive Sandy soils. The cohesive soils are mostly composed of gray to dark gray CLAY, CLAY with Sand, SILT with Sand, and Sandy CLAY with fine to mediumgrained Sand. The upper cohesive soil layer (Ac-1) is very soft to soft, normal to slightly consolidated with low undrained cohesion. This layer is expected to have a high potential for differential settlement because of the proposed design load. The lower cohesive soils (Ac-2 and Ac-3) are firm to very stiff and moderately over consolidated. These soils have moderate to high shear strengths with low compressibility relating to the expected range of the design loads. The non-cohesive Sandy soils consist of dark gray to gray SAND, SAND with Silt, Silty SAND, and Clayey SAND. The Sandy soils are poorly graded and loose to very loose at the upper part (As-1) and medium dense to dense in lower parts (As-2 & As-3) that expect less immediate settlement when a load placed on that. Geotechnical site conditions are challenging and deplorable. The soft soil layer Ac-1 (with As-1) complicates the design, especially in terms of foundation soil instability and settlement for certain structure types. Ground improvement techniques such as prefabricated vertical drain (PVD) and deep mixing method (DMM) can be applied to mitigate these challenges and for the improvement of the soft ground of the project area.

Intrusion of Geomesh in Gypseous Soil Under Single Footing

Methods to improve bearing capacity of footing resting of collapsing soil can, in fact, take two approaches, improving soil strength properties and intrusion of reinforcing sorces into soil. The footing is modeled by a square steel plate 0.1 by 0.1 m. The footing is loaded as to have a stress of 40 kPa and settlement is receded in dry and in soaking conditions. Two depths of the geo-mesh reinforcement are used, one B (B is width of footing) and 0.5B. For one B depth, three different square sizes of geo-mesh are used, 4B, 6B, and 8B. For the reinforcement depth of 0.5B the three sizes of the geo-mesh used are, 3.5B, 5.5B, and, 7.5B. Results reveal that the best improvement obtained is the case of square geo-mesh width of 7.5B and located at depth of B/2 under footing, with an improvement in terms of collapse settlement of 35%, and a settlement reduction in dry condition of 50%. The least improvement is the case of square geo-mesh with width of 4B and depth of one B, and it was really negligible, about 4% decrease in collapse settlement. Other cases varied between the two mentioned ratios. For findings of study, author recommends not to use geomesh size less than size of footing and not to place it in a depth more than half footing width. As such, in a whole, the effectiveness of geomesh in reducing the settlement of collapsing soil is obvious if used in proper way.

Effect of geogrid reinforcement on soil - structure – pipe interaction in terms of bearing capacity, settlement and stress distribution

In this study, the contribution of single and multiple layers of geogrids to bearing capacity and stress behavior was determined by laboratory experiments. The effects of parameters such as the depth of the first geogrid, the vertical spacing between the geogrid layers and the number of geogrid layers on the bearing capacity and settlement behavior of soil and stress distribution on geogrid and pipe by using strain gauges have been investigated. The results of experiments were given in dimensionless form of bearing capacity ratio (BCR), settlement reduction factor (SRF) and stress capacity ratio (SCR). As a result of experiments, the contribution of the geogrid on the soil-structure-pipe interaction has been observed together with the stress distribution on the geogrid contributed to the efficient use of the appropriate geogrid capacity.

До питання правового регулювання трудових відносин у сільськогосподарських кооперативах

The article analyzes the problems of the current state of legal regulation of labor relations in agricultural cooperatives. Prospects for the settlement of these relations in the context of labor reform and updating of agricultural legislation are investigated. According to the results of the study, a conclusion was made about the low degree of regulation of agrarian labor relations in agricultural cooperatives by the norms of agrarian law. It is determined that in the existing drafts of the Labor Code in terms of settlement of the studied relations a prominent place is given to the local level, which again brings us back to the problem of low level of labor relations with members of agricultural cooperatives by local acts. It is established that based on the provisions of the Law of Ukraine «On Agricultural Cooperation» dated 21.07.2020 № 819-IX the most acceptable way of legal registration of labor participation of members of agricultural cooperatives, will be the conclusion of employment contracts with such persons. It is stated that the abolition of mandatory labor participation of members of the cooperative in its activities and the complexity of regulating such relations in the future may lead to the spread of the practice of not establishing this condition in the statutes of such entities. It is proposed to develop a bylaw that would regulate the method and procedure for registration of relations on labor participation of members of the cooperative in its activities, determine the characteristics of the work of members of the cooperative. A proposal was made to include in the Law of Ukraine «On Agricultural Cooperation» № 819-IX norms on the peculiarities of the regulation of labor relations in agricultural cooperatives. Keywords: agrarian labor relations, cooperative, legal regulation, labor in agriculture, agricultural cooperative, labor relations, membership

Policing corporate bribery: negotiated settlements and bundling

ABSTRACT The rapid increase of negotiated out of court settlements in corporate crime cases has attracted significant academic attention. How the terms of settlements are constructed, however, remains under-studied. To address this gap, the paper observes that the terms of settlements often include a basket of allegations widely spread across time and geography. The paper conceptualises this as a form of ‘bundling’. The paper empirically explores the unique dynamics of corporate bribery cases that enable prosecutors to engage in bundling, and deconstructs bundling into two typologies (allegation bundling and enforcement bundling). From this perspective, this paper analyses official enforcement documentation relating to international bribery cases, supplemented with data from interviews with key informants who have experience of settlement negotiations in the US, the UK, and other countries. The analysis reveals that bundling provides efficiencies when resolving corporate crime cases, offers discounts to corporate defenders, and incentivizes coordinated multilateral enforcement. The practice of bundling allegations and enforcers confirms the character of negotiated settlements as a symbolic criminal law tool designed to reform the accused corporation through negotiation, persuasion and compliance.