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Existing depositional and facies models for ancient barrier island systems are primarily based on modern observations. This approach overlooks processes tied to geologic time scales, such as multi-directional motion, erosion, and reworking, and their resulting expressions in preserved strata. We have investigated these and other challenges of linking modern and ancient barrier islands through outcrop studies and through data compilation from the rock record compared to modern barrier island dimensions. Results emphasize key depositional and preservation processes, and the dimensional differences between deposits formed over geologic versus modern time scales. For example, when comparing deposits from individual barrier islands, thickness measurement comparisons between modern and ancient examples do not vary systematically, suggesting that local accommodation and reworking dictate barrier island thickness preservation. A complementary outcrop study focusing on paralic strata from the Upper Cretaceous Straight Cliffs Formation in southern Utah (USA) is used to update models for barrier island motion and preservation to include geologic time-scale processes. Barrier island deposits are described using four facies associations (FA): backbarrier fill (FA1), lower and upper shoreface (FA2), proximal upper shoreface (FA3), and tidal channel facies (FA4). Three main architectural elements (barrier island shorefaces, shoreface-dominated inlet fill, and channel-dominated inlet fill) occur independently or in combination to create stacked barrier island deposits. Barrier island shorefaces record progradation, while shoreface-dominated inlet fill records lateral migration, and channel-dominated inlet fill records aggradation within the tidal inlet. Barrier islands are bound by lagoons or estuaries and are distinguished from other shoreface deposits by their internal facies and outcrop geometry, association with backbarrier facies, and position within transgressive successions. Tidal processes, in particular, tidal inlet migration and reworking of the upper shoreface, also distinguish barrier island successions. In sum, these datasets demonstrate that improved depositional and facies models must consider multidirectional island motion, ravinement, erosion, inlet migration, and reworking when describing processes and predicting barrier island dimensions.

Evidence for sea-level change during and around Marine Isotopic Stage 5e (ca. 125 ka) in southern Africa derives from a wide variety of geomorphic and sedimentological sea-level indicators, supported in the past 2 decades by absolute chronological control. In addition to these proxies, data provided by both terrestrial (dune sediments and archaeological remains) and marine (lagoonal and nearshore littoral sediments) limiting points provide broad constraints on sea level. Here, we review publications describing these data points. Using the framework of the World Atlas of Last Interglacial Shorelines, we insert in a standardized database all the elements needed to assess former paleo relative sea level, and the chronological constraints associated with them (including uncertainties). Overall, we reviewed 69 studies, from which we extracted 35 sea-level indicators and 25 limiting points. As far as age attribution is concerned, early dating of molluscs and whole-rock beachrock samples using U-Series allowed ating of several sea-level indicators during the 1980s but the more widespread application of Optically Stimulated Luminescence dating since 2004 has yielded many more (and more accurate) dates from several sites. This has helped resolve the nature and timing of MIS5e shorelines and has the potential to further elucidate the apparent presence of two or more sea-level peaks at several South African sites during this interval. The standardized sea-level database presented in this paper is the first of its kind for this region. Future research should be directed to improve the stratigraphic description of LIG shorelines and to obtain better dating, high-accuracy elevation measurements with better palaeo-RSL interpretation.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to explore the causal link between procurement route and ongoing buyer‐supplier relationship.Design/methodology/approachThe research draws on literature in the areas of: facilities management (FM) outsourcing; purchasing and supply chain strategy; and collaborative business relationship management. The research methodology is qualitative, and comprised semi‐structured interviews with buyers and suppliers of FM services.FindingsFindings suggest that in general clients are seeking more collaborative relationships and this may determine a more relational procurement process. Some organisations appear more practiced than others in defining the level of collaboration and business benefits sought. Results support the view that a relational procurement process provides greater clarity of service requirements and facilitates cultural alignment between the buyer and supplier. However, additional time, effort, and cost are incurred, and concerns arise regarding the maturity of the supplier‐market and the sincerity of client intentions to collaborate.Practical implicationsA major practical implication is that facilities managers should recognise the importance of determining relationship objectives and the benefits sought within the context of FM procurement activity and select a purchasing route which supports the achievement of those objectives.Originality/valueOriginality exists in the qualitative approach used to inquire into the causality between relationships and procurement routes. The study offers potential value to both buyers and suppliers of FM services through describing the attributes of a successful collaborative relationship and how they link to a given procurement process, and identifying the potential risks and rewards involved.

A business organization should consistently meet the needs of its stakeholders. Any sub‐optimal position suggests that enhancement of business performance is possible in at least two areas: the effectiveness of the routes to achieving those stakeholder needs, and the efficiency of those routes. The support activities constitute an environment created by the integration and co‐ordination of people, processes and places. The challenge is to create the support environment that consistently meets the needs of the business, and then to manage it through the optimum use of resources. An organization that has created, sustained and managed a business‐aligned support environment is likely to have a competitive advantage over those that have not done so. If the author is able to confirm this assertion through his research, then the desired outcome would be a framework for achieving such alignment. This paper briefly describes the concept of Business Support Optimisation as an approach to improving such alignment at a moment in time, and suggests how it can be operationalised using value mapping to realise stakeholder expectations.

A project conceived as finding expert common ground on the future evolution of facilities management (FM) revealed, instead, differing perceptions of the FM role rooted in different backgrounds, mind‐sets, and cultures, and held by the business, property, and FM disciplines. We report it in the hope of starting the change process which will allow the changing facilities needs of businesses and clients to be met.

Transient expression of apoaequorin in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells and reconstitution with the co-factor coelenterazine resulted in a large, concentration-dependent agonist-mediated luminescent response following cotransfection with the endothelin ETA, angiotensin ATII, thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH), and neurokinin NK1 receptors, all of which interact pre-dominantly with the G alpha q-like phosphoinositidase-linked G-proteins. A substantially greater luminescence was obtained with mitochondrially targeted apoaequorin compared to cytoplasmically expressed apoaequorin. To generate a system amenable for the study of agonist activity at virtually any G-protein-coupled receptor the alpha subunit of the receptor promiscuous G-protein G alpha 16 was either transiently or stably expressed in CHO cells together with apoaequorin. In cells expressing G alpha 16, but not in its absence, agonists at a series of receptors which normally interact with either G alpha s or G alpha i were now able to cause a luminescent response from mitochondrially targeted apoaequorin. In the case of the A1 adenosine receptor, this response was clearly a result of activation of G alpha 16 and not a consequence of the release of the G alpha i-associated beta/gamma complex, as the luminescent response was unaffected by pertussis toxin treatment of the cells, whereas agonist-mediated inhibition of adenylyl cyclase activity was attenuated. These studies describe the use of coexpressed apoaequorin as a reporter for G-protein-coupled receptor-mediated calcium signaling. Furthermore, coexpression of G alpha 16 and apoaequorin provides a basis for a generic mammalian cell microplate assay for the assessment of agonist action at virtually any G-protein-coupled receptor, including orphan receptors for which the physiological signal transduction mechanism may be unknown.