Search results for: forest restoration project

Authors: Li Yan Hei, Au Wing Tung

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Knowledge sharing is a process in which individuals mutually exchange existing knowledge and co-create new knowledge. Previous research has confirmed that trust is positively associated with knowledge sharing. However, only few studies systematically examined the antecedents of trust and these antecedents’ impacts on knowledge sharing. In order to explore and understand the relationships between trust and knowledge sharing in depth, this study proposed a relationship maintenance-based model to examine the antecedents of trust in knowledge sharing in project teams. Three critical elements within a project team were measured, including the environment, project team partner and interaction. It was hypothesized that the trust would lead to knowledge sharing and in turn result in perceived good team performance. With a sample of 200 Hong Kong employees, the proposed model was evaluated with structural equation modeling. Expected findings are trust will contribute to knowledge sharing, resulting in better team performance. The results will also offer insights into antecedents of trust that play a heavy role in the focal relationship. The present study contributes to a more holistic understanding of relationship between trust and knowledge sharing by linking the antecedents and outcomes. The findings will raise the awareness of project managers on ways to promote knowledge sharing.

Keywords: knowledge sharing, project management, team, trust

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Authors: M. Kiarna, S. Junjira, S. Casey, M. Nolwazi, M. S. Marcos, A. T. Tatiana, L. Cassandra

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This paper details a rebrand design project developed for a non-profitable organization called Te Roopu Waiora (TRW), which is currently located in Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand. This social enterprise is dedicated to supporting the Māori community living with sensorial, physical and intellectual disabilities (whānau hauā). As part of a year three bachelor design brief, the rebrand project enabled students to reflect on Kaupapa Māori principles and appropriately address the values of the organisation. As such, the methodology used a pragmatic paradigm approach and mixed methods design practices involving a human-centred design to problem solving. As result, the student project culminated in the development in a range of cohesive design artefacts, aiming to improve the rentability and perception of the brand with the audience and stakeholders.

Keywords: design in Aotearoa New Zealand, Kaupapa Māori, branding, design education, human-centered design

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Authors: Medya Fathi

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Today, success in the construction industry is not merely about project completion in a timely manner within an established budget and meeting required quality considerations. Management practices and partnerships need to be emphasized as well. In this regard, critical success factors (CSFs) cover necessary considerations for a successful project beyond the traditional success definition, which vary depending on project outcomes, delivery methods, project types, and partnering processes. Despite the extensive research on CSFs, there is a paucity of studies that examine CSFs for public-private partnership (PPP); the delivery method, which has gained increasing attention from researchers and practitioners over the last decade with a slow but growing adoption in the transportation infrastructure, particularly, highway industry. To fill this knowledge gap, data are collected through questionnaire surveys among private and public parties involved in PPP transportation projects in the United States. Then, the collected data are analyzed to explore the causality relationships between CSFs and PPP project success using structural equation model and provide a list of factors with the greatest influence. This study advocates adopting a critical success factor approach to enhance PPP success in the U.S. transportation industry and identify elements essential for public and private organizations to achieve this success.

Keywords: project success, critical success factors, public-private partnership, transportation

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Authors: Pitigalage Chamath Chandira Peiris

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A widely researched domain in the field of image processing in recent times has been single image super-resolution, which tries to restore a high-resolution image from a single low-resolution image. Many more single image super-resolution efforts have been completed utilizing equally traditional and deep learning methodologies, as well as a variety of other methodologies. Deep learning-based super-resolution methods, in particular, have received significant interest. As of now, the most advanced image restoration approaches are based on convolutional neural networks; nevertheless, only a few efforts have been performed using Transformers, which have demonstrated excellent performance on high-level vision tasks. The effectiveness of CNN-based algorithms in image super-resolution has been impressive. However, these methods cannot completely capture the non-local features of the data. Enhancer is a simple yet powerful Transformer-based approach for enhancing the resolution of images. A method for single image super-resolution was developed in this study, which utilized an efficient and effective transformer design. This proposed architecture makes use of a locally enhanced window transformer block to alleviate the enormous computational load associated with non-overlapping window-based self-attention. Additionally, it incorporates depth-wise convolution in the feed-forward network to enhance its ability to capture local context. This study is assessed by comparing the results obtained for popular datasets to those obtained by other techniques in the domain.

Keywords: single image super resolution, computer vision, vision transformers, image restoration

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Authors: Phusit Phukamchanoad, Thananya Santithammakul, Suwaree Yordchim, Pennapa Palapin

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This research gathered local wisdom towards career building of people in Kamchanoad Community, Baan Muang sub-district, Baan Dung district, Udon Thani province. Data was collected through in-depth interviews with village headmen, community board, teachers, monks, Kamchanoad forest managers and revered elderly aged over 60 years old. All of these 30 interviewees have resided in Kamchanoad Community for more than 40. Descriptive data analysis result revealed that the most prominent local wisdom of Kamchanoad community is their beliefs and religion. Most people in the community have strongly maintained local tradition, the festival of appeasing Chao Pu Sri Suttho on the middle of the 6th month of Thai lunar calendar which falls on the same day with Vesak Day. 100 percent of the people in this community are Buddhist. They believe that Naga, an entity or being, taking the form of a serpent, named “Sri Suttho” lives in Kamchanoad forest. The local people worship the serpent and ask for blessings. Another local wisdom of this community is Sinh fabric weaving.

Keywords: local wisdoms, careers, Kamchanoad Community, career building

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Authors: Yousef S. Al-Othman

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The growth and expansion of the industrial facilities comes proportional to the market increasing demand of products and services. Furthermore, raw material producers such as oil companies usually undergo massive revamping projects to maintain a synchronized supply. These revamping projects are usually delivered through challenging construction projects held and associated with daily site risks related to the construction process. Henceforth, a case study related to these risks and corresponding on-spot corrective measurements has been made on a certain number of construction project contractors at Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) to derive the benefits and overall effectiveness of the on-spot corrective measurements during the construction phase of a project, and how would the same help in avoiding major incidents, ensuring a smooth, cost effective and on time delivery of the project. Findings of this case study shall have an added value to the overall risk management process by minimizing the daily site risks that may affect the project lead time, resulting in an undisturbed on-site construction process.

Keywords: oil and gas, risk management, construction projects, project lead time

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Authors: Maria Ledinskaya

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This paper is part case study and part literature review. It seeks to introduce Agile, Lean, and Hybrid project management concepts from business, software development, and manufacturing fields to museum conservation by looking at their practical application on a recent conservation project at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts. The author outlines the advantages of leaner and more agile conservation practices in today’s faster, less certain, and more budget-conscious museum climate where traditional project structures are no longer as relevant or effective. The Morris Collection Conservation Project was carried out in 2019-2021 in Norwich, UK, and concerned the remedial conservation of around 150 Abstract Constructivist artworks bequeathed to the Sainsbury Centre by private collectors Michael and Joyce Morris. It was a medium-sized conservation project of moderate complexity, planned and delivered in an environment with multiple known unknowns – unresearched collection, unknown conditions and materials, unconfirmed budget. The project was later impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, introducing indeterminate lockdowns, budget cuts, staff changes, and the need to accommodate social distancing and remote communications. The author, then a staff conservator at the Sainsbury Centre who acted as project manager on the Morris Project, presents an incremental, iterative, and value-based approach to managing a conservation project in an uncertain environment. The paper examines the project from the point of view of Traditional, Agile, Lean, and Hybrid project management. The author argues that most academic writing on project management in conservation has focussed on a Traditional plan-driven approach – also known as Waterfall project management – which has significant drawbacks in today’s museum environment due to its over-reliance on prediction-based planning and its low tolerance to change. In the last 20 years, alternative Agile, Lean and Hybrid approaches to project management have been widely adopted in software development, manufacturing, and other industries, although their recognition in the museum sector has been slow. Using examples from the Morris Project, the author introduces key principles and tools of Agile, Lean, and Hybrid project management and presents a series of arguments on the effectiveness of these alternative methodologies in museum conservation, including the ethical and practical challenges to their implementation. These project management approaches are discussed in the context of consequentialist, relativist, and utilitarian developments in contemporary conservation ethics. Although not intentionally planned as such, the Morris Project had a number of Agile and Lean features which were instrumental to its successful delivery. These key features are identified as distributed decision-making, a co-located cross-disciplinary team, servant leadership, focus on value-added work, flexible planning done in shorter sprint cycles, light documentation, and emphasis on reducing procedural, financial, and logistical waste. Overall, the author’s findings point in favour of a hybrid model, which combines traditional and alternative project processes and tools to suit the specific needs of the project.

Keywords: agile project management, conservation, hybrid project management, lean project management, waterfall project management

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Authors: Yanto Santosa, Yohanna Dalimunthe, Intan Purnamasari

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Expansion of Indonesia oil palm plantations has contributed significantly to the national revenue annually and has been able to absorb millions of workers. Behind all these positive contributions, such expansion was accused as the cause of the decline in wildlife populations such as mammal and herpetofauna. Research was carried out in 8 oil palm plantations in Riau Province of Indonesia from March to April 2016, to determine the impacts of oil palm plantations on mammal and herpetofauna biodiversity. Direct observation was conducted simultaneously equipped with camera traps placed (for mammal) on various land cover types. For mammals' survey, line transect method was used, and for herpetofauna, Visual Encounter Survey (VES) method was used. Landsat imagery was used to interpret land cover types 3 years prior to the establishment of the oil palm plantations. The study revealed that one year before the oil palm plantations was established, most the land covers were comprised of 49.96% rubber plantations, 35.99% secondary forest, 10.17% bare land, 3.03% shrubs and 0.84% mixed dryland farming-shrubs. Based on the number of species found, it was identified that on the average, mammal diversity in 4 of 8 oil palm plantations, showed a decrease by 14.29%-100%, whereas 2 plantations did not experienced any changes in the number of species and one plantation showed an increased in the number of mammal species. The plantations that experienced a reduction in the number of mammal’s diversity were previously dominated covered by secondary forest (40%) and rubber plantation (40%), while those experiencing no changes in the number of species were also dominated by secondary forest. The area with an increased number of mammal species was historically dominated by rubber plantation. On the contrary, significant results were shown for herpetofauna, where all study sites showed a sharp increase in the number of herpetofauna species, by 100%-225.00%.

Keywords: herpetofauna, impact, mammal, oil palm plantations

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Authors: Paritosh Goel

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The conservation of historic buildings and historic Centre’s over recent years has become fully encompassed in the planning of built-up areas and their management following climate changes. The approach of the world of restoration, in the Indian context on integrated urban regeneration and its strategic potential for a smarter, more sustainable and socially inclusive urban development introduces, for urban transformations in general (historical centers and otherwise), the theme of sustainability. From this viewpoint, it envisages, as a primary objective, a real “green, ecological or environmental” requalification of the city through interventions within the main categories of sustainability: mobility, energy efficiency, use of sources of renewable energy, urban metabolism (waste, water, territory, etc.) and natural environment. With this the concept of a “resilient city” is also introduced, which can adapt through progressive transformations to situations of change which may not be predictable, behavior that the historical city has always been able to express. Urban planning on the other hand, has increasingly focused on analyses oriented towards the taxonomic description of social/economic and perceptive parameters. It is connected with human behavior, mobility and the characterization of the consumption of resources, in terms of quantity even before quality to inform the city design process, which for ancient fabrics, and mainly affects the public space also in its social dimension. An exact definition of the term “smart city” is still essentially elusive, since we can attribute three dimensions to the term: a) That of a virtual city, evolved based on digital networks and web networks b) That of a physical construction determined by urban planning based on infrastructural innovation, which in the case of historic Centre’s implies regeneration that stimulates and sometimes changes the existing fabric; c) That of a political and social/economic project guided by a dynamic process that provides new behavior and requirements of the city communities that orients the future planning of cities also through participation in their management. This paper is a preliminary research into the connections between these three dimensions applied to the specific case of the fabric of ancient cities with the aim of obtaining a scientific theory and methodology to apply to the regeneration of Indian historical Centre’s. The Smart city scheme if contextualize with heritage of the city it can be an initiative which intends to provide a transdisciplinary approach between various research networks (natural sciences, socio-economics sciences and humanities, technological disciplines, digital infrastructures) which are united in order to improve the design, livability and understanding of urban environment and high historical/cultural performance levels.

Keywords: historical cities regeneration, sustainable restoration, urban planning, smart cities, cultural heritage development strategies

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Authors: Suzan Anwar, Utkarsh Goyal

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Heart rate (HR) is a predictor of cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and all-cause mortality in the general population, as well as in patients with cardio and cerebrovascular diseases. Machine learning (ML) significantly improves the accuracy of cardiovascular risk prediction, increasing the number of patients identified who could benefit from preventive treatment while avoiding unnecessary treatment of others. This research examines relationship between the individual's various heart health inputs like age, sex, cp, trestbps, thalach, oldpeaketc, and the likelihood of developing heart disease. Machine learning techniques like logistic regression and decision tree, and Python are used. The results of testing and evaluating the model using the Heart Failure Prediction Dataset show the chance of a person having a heart disease with variable accuracy. Logistic regression has yielded an accuracy of 80.48% without data handling. With data handling (normalization, standardscaler), the logistic regression resulted in improved accuracy of 87.80%, decision tree 100%, random forest 100%, and SVM 100%.

Keywords: heart rate, machine learning, SVM, decision tree, logistic regression, random forest

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Authors: Jang-Hwan Jo

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Implementing sustainable island forest management policies requires categorizing islands into groups based on key indicators and establishing a consistent management system. Building on the results of previous studies, a typology of forested islands was established: Type 1 – connected islands with high natural vegetation cover; Type 2 – connected islands with moderate natural vegetation cover; Type 3 – connected islands with low natural vegetation cover; Type 4 – unconnected islands with high natural vegetation cover; Type 5 – unconnected islands with moderate natural vegetation cover; and Type 6 – unconnected islands with low natural vegetation cover. An AHP analysis was conducted with island forest experts to identify priority ecosystem services (ESs) for the sustainable management of each island type. In connected islands, provisioning services (natural resources, natural medicines, etc.) assumed greater importance than regulating (erosion control) and supporting services (genetic diversity). In unconnected islands, particularly those with a small proportion of natural vegetation, regulating services (erosion control) requires greater emphasis in management. Considering that Type 3 islands require urgent management as connectivity to the mainland makes natural vegetation-sparse island forest ecosystems vulnerable to anthropogenic activities, the land-use scoring method was carried out on Jin-do, a Type 3 forested island. Comparisons between AHP-derived expert demand for key island ESs and the spatial distribution of ES supply potential revealed mismatches between the supply and demand of erosion control, freshwater supply, and habitat provision. The framework developed in this study can help guide decisions and indicate where interventions should be focused to achieve sustainable island management.

Keywords: ecosystem service, sustainable management, forested islands, Analytic hierarchy process

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Authors: Marzouk Benali, Jawad Jeaidi, Behrang Mansoornejad, Olumoye Ajao, Banafsheh Gilani, Nima Ghavidel Mehr

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Canadian forest industry is seeking to identify and implement transformational strategies for enhanced financial performance through the emerging bioeconomy or more specifically through the concept of the biorefinery. For example, processing forest residues or surplus of biomass available on the mill sites for the production of biofuels, biochemicals and/or biomaterials is one of the attractive strategies along with traditional wood and paper products and cogenerated energy. There are many possible process-product biorefinery pathways, each associated with specific product portfolios with different levels of risk. Thus, it is not obvious which unique strategy forest industry should select and implement. Therefore, there is a need for analytical and design tools that enable evaluating biorefinery strategies based on a set of criteria considering a perspective of sustainability over the short and long terms, while selecting the existing core products as well as selecting the new product portfolio. In addition, it is critical to assess the manufacturing flexibility to internalize the risk from market price volatility of each targeted bio-based product in the product portfolio, prior to invest heavily in any biorefinery strategy. The proposed paper will focus on introducing a systematic methodology for designing integrated biorefineries using process systems engineering tools as well as a multi-criteria decision making framework to put forward the most effective biorefinery strategies that fulfill the needs of the forest industry. Topics to be covered will include market analysis, techno-economic assessment, cost accounting, energy integration analysis, life cycle assessment and supply chain analysis. This will be followed by describing the vision as well as the key features and functionalities of the I-BIOREF software platform, developed by CanmetENERGY of Natural Resources Canada. Two industrial case studies will be presented to support the robustness and flexibility of I-BIOREF software platform: i) An integrated Canadian Kraft pulp mill with lignin recovery process (namely, LignoBoost™); ii) A standalone biorefinery based on ethanol-organosolv process.

Keywords: biorefinery strategies, bioproducts, co-production, multi-criteria decision making, tool

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Authors: Mohd Zamri Osman, Mohd Aizaini Maarof, Mohd Foad Rohani

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Human skin detection recognized as the primary step in most of the applications such as face detection, illicit image filtering, hand recognition and video surveillance. The performance of any skin detection applications greatly relies on the two components: feature extraction and classification method. Skin color is the most vital information used for skin detection purpose. However, color feature alone sometimes could not handle images with having same color distribution with skin color. A color feature of pixel-based does not eliminate the skin-like color due to the intensity of skin and skin-like color fall under the same distribution. Hence, the statistical color analysis will be exploited such mean and standard deviation as an additional feature to increase the reliability of skin detector. In this paper, we studied the effectiveness of statistical color feature for human skin detection. Furthermore, the paper analyzed the integrated color and texture using eight classifiers with three color spaces of RGB, YCbCr, and HSV. The experimental results show that the integrating statistical feature using Random Forest classifier achieved a significant performance with an F1-score 0.969.

Keywords: color space, neural network, random forest, skin detection, statistical feature

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Authors: Y. B. Sharma, K. B. Biswas

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This research project examines a 5000 cal yr BP sediment core record to reveal the consequences of human impact and climate variability on the tropical dry forests of the Mahi river basin, western India. To date there has been little research to assess the impact of climate variability and human impact on the vegetation dynamics of this region. There has also been little work to link changes in vegetation cover to documented changes in the basin hydrology over the past 100 years – although it is assumed that the two are closely linked. The key objective of this research project therefore is to understand the driving mechanisms responsible for the abrupt changes in the Mahi river basin as detailed in historical documentation and its impact on water resource management. The Mahi river basin is located in western India (22° 11’-24° 35’ N 72° 46’-74° 52’ E). Mahi river arises in the Malwa Plateau, Madhya Pradesh near Moripara and flows through the uplands and alluvial plain of Rajasthan and Gujarat provinces before draining into the Gulf of Cambay. Palaeoecological procedures (sedimentology, geochemical analysis, C&N isotopes and fossil pollen evidences) have been applied on sedimentary sequences collected from lakes in the Mahi basin. These techniques then facilitate to reconstruct the soil erosion, nutrient cycling, vegetation changes and climatic variability over the last 5000 years. Historical documentation detailing changes in demography, climate and landscape use over the past 100 years in this region will also be collated to compare with the most recent palaeoecological records. The results of the research work provide a detailed record of vegetation change, soil erosion, changes in aridity, and rainfall patterns in the region over the past 5000 years. This research therefore aims to determine the drivers of change and natural variability in the basin. Such information is essential for its current and future management including restoration.

Keywords: human impact, climate variability, vegetation cover, hydrology, water resource management, Mahi river basin, sedimentology, geochemistry, fossil pollen, nutrient cycling, vegetation changes, palaeoecology, aridity, rainfall, drivers of change

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Authors: Rukminingsih Rukmi

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This paper addresses the issue of L2 teaching speaking to ESL students by fostering their active learning through project-based learning. Project-based learning was employed in classrooms where teachers support students by giving sufficient guidance and feedback. The students drive the inquiry, engage in research and discovery, and collaborate effectively with teammates to deliver the final work product. The teacher provides the initial direction and acts as a facilitator along the way. This learning approach is considered helpful for fostering students’ active learning. that the steps in implementing of project-based learning that fosters students’ critical thinking in TEFL class are in the following: (1) Discussing the materials about Speaking Class, (2) Working with the group to construct scenario of ways on speaking practice, (3) Practicing the scenario, (4) Recording the speaking practice into video, and (5) Evaluating the video product. This research is aimed to develop a strategy of teaching speaking by implementing project-based learning to improve speaking skill in the second Semester of English Department of STKIP PGRI Jombang. To achieve the purpose, the researcher conducted action research. The data of the study were gathered through the following instruments: test, observation checklists, and questionnaires. The result was indicated by the increase of students’ average speaking scores from 65 in the preliminary study, 73 in the first cycle, and 82 in the second cycle. Besides, the results of the study showed that project-based learning considered to be appropriate strategy to give students the same amount of chance in practicing their speaking skill and to pay attention in creating a learning situation.

Keywords: active learning, project-based learning, speaking ability, L2 teaching speaking

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Authors: Melissa Teo

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It is increasingly important that project managers develop greater capabilities to better manage the social, cultural, political, environmental and economic impacts on proposed construction projects. These challenges are best resolved in consultation with communities rather than in conflict with them. This is particularly important on controversial projects which are projects that have obtained government sanctioned ‘development approval’ but not ‘community approval’. While a rich body of research and intellectual frameworks exist in the fields of urban geography and planning to understand and manage community concerns during the pre-development approval stages of new projects, current theoretical frameworks guiding community engagement in project management are inadequate. A new and innovative research agenda is needed to guide thinking about the role of local communities in the construction process and is an important research gap that needs to be filled. Within this context, this research aims to assess the effectiveness of strategies adopted by project teams to engage with local communities so as to capture lessons learnt to apply to future projects. This paper reports a research methodology which uses Arnstein’s model of participation to better understand how power differentials between the project team and local communities can influence the adoption of community engagement strategies. A case study approach is utilizing interviews and documentary analysis of a large-scale controversial construction project in Queensland, Australia is presented. The findings will result in a number of recommendations to guide community engagement practices on future projects.

Keywords: community engagement, construction, case study, project management

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Authors: Jasem Al-Safran

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Nowadays Oil and Gas industry considered as one of the biggest industries around the world although it caused a lot of pollution to the world and it caused many damages to the mankind and the other creatures around the globe it still one of the biggest industries, it create millions of careers around the globe which reduced the poorness level and make the mankind life’s much more comfortable you may compare the humans life before the exploration of the oil and after the oil industries development. Construction project’s consist of 3 major sections also we call them EPC projects the first section is the detailed engineering, the second section is the procurements section and finally is the Construction section, each section required a specialized work force with a different skills in order to handle the work load for example in the oil sector and depending on the nature of the project and the project size the Construction team required mechanical engineer, civil engineer, electrical engineer and instrumentation engineer, also a work site supervisor for each disciplines also a huge number of labors, technicians and many equipment’s.

Keywords: Construction, EPC, Project, Work force

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Authors: Yulia Stukalina

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This paper explores the main issues related to implementing a cross-disciplinary research project (LEARNIT) based on collaboration between universities from three European countries. The paper discusses the importance of using the holistic approach to managing scientific projects with due account for the complicated nature of the educational environment of a modern university. To illustrate this approach, the author describes some actions to be taken for supporting different focus areas of LEARNIT project, in the process using integrated tangible, non-tangible, and semi-tangible resources of the partner university. The methodology of the paper is based on the academic literature and research papers analysis within management discipline. The analysis reported in the paper is also based on the author’s professional experience in the area of managing international research projects in a university.

Keywords: LEARNIT, focus area, project management, resources

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Authors: Archana Vadeyar, Smita Phatak

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Nurturing flora and fauna is the crux of Environment Education yet one tends to forget to nurture the human minds. Youth education presently is too academic, exam oriented and lacks all-round development. A project is whole-hearted purposeful activity proceeding in a social environment. Projects at +2 stages have become, just an easier way of securing marks. The purpose of this study was to explore the concept of an experiential environment education (EE) project for youth involving community interaction. Youth were encouraged to plan activities for children-based on EE through General knowledge (GK), language, math, science, fun games, quiz, sports, art and craft, stories. A purposive sample of 73 students was administered a self-prepared and validated questionnaire; supported by content analysis of reports from EE Journals of 21 students and some photos. Responses of students revealed that project was a joyful and motivating experience, with learnings and realizations, developed concern for others, made them feel responsible, happy and contented. Community interaction programs need to be included in the regular schedule to add more meaning to EE projects and cater to the needs of adolescents for diverting youth energy towards positive action.

Keywords: experiential, project, environment education, youth, community interaction

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Authors: Annette McArthur

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The traditional model of teaching and learning, where ICT sits as a separate entity is not a model for a 21st century school. It is imperative that teaching and learning embraces technological advancements. The challenge in schools lies in shifting the mindset of teachers so they see ICT as integral to their teaching, learning and curriculum rather than a separate E-Learning curriculum stream. This research project investigates how the effective, planned, intentional integration of ICT into a STEM curriculum, can enable the shift in the teacher mindset. The project incorporated: • Developing a professional coaching relationship with key STEM teachers. • Facilitating staff professional development involving student centered project based learning pedagogy in the context of a STEM curriculum. • Facilitating staff professional development involving digital literacy. • Establishing a professional community where collaboration; sharing and reflection were part of the culture of the STEM community. • Facilitating classroom support for the effective delivery innovative STEM curriculum. • Developing STEM learning spaces where technologies were used to empower and engage learners to participate in student-centered, project-based learning.

Keywords: e-learning, ICT, project based learning, STEM

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Authors: Chales Mumbere Musavandalo, Lucie B. Mugherwa, Gloire Kayitoghera Mulondi, Naanson Bweya, Muyisa Musongora, Francis Lelo Nzuzi

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The landscape of the Okapi Wildlife Reserve in the Democratic Republic of Congo harbors a large community of Mbuti indigenous peoples, often described as the guardians of nature. Living in and off the forest has long been a sustainable strategy for preserving natural resources. This strategy, seen as a form of eco-responsible citizenship, draws upon ethnobotanical knowledge passed down through generations. However, these indigenous communities are facing socio-cultural upheaval, which impacts their traditional way of life. This study aims to assess the relationship between the Mbuti indigenous people’s way of life and the preservation of the Okapi Wildlife Reserve. The study was conducted under the assumption that, despite socio-cultural upheavals, the forest and its resources remain central to the Mbuti way of life. The study was conducted in six encampments, three of which were located inside the forest and two in the anthropized zone. The methodological approach initially involved group interviews in six Mbuti encampments. The objective of these interviews was to determine how these people perceive the various services provided by the forest and the resources obtained from this habitat. The technique of using pebbles was adopted to adapt the exercise of weighting services and resources to the understanding of these people. Subsequently, the study carried out ethnobotanical surveys to identify the wood resources frequently used by these communities. This survey was completed in third position by a transect inventory of 1000 m length and 25 m width in order to enhance the understanding of the abundance of these resources around the camps. Two transects were installed in each camp to carry out this inventory. Traditionally, the Mbuti communities sustain their livelihood through hunting, fishing, gathering for self-consumption, and basketry. The Manniophyton fulvum-based net remains the main hunting tool. The primary forest and the swamp are two habitats from which these peoples derive the majority of their resources. However, with the arrival of the Bantu people, who introduced agriculture based on cocoa production, the Mbuti communities started providing services to the Bantu in the form of labor and field guarding. This cultural symbiosis between Mbute and Bantu has also led to non-traditional practices, such as the use of hunting rifles instead of nets and fishing nets instead of creels. The socio-economic and ecological environment in which Mbuti communities live is changing rapidly, including the resources they depend on. By incorporating the time factor into their perception of ecosystem services, only their future (p-value = 0, 0,121), the provision of wood for energy (p-value = 0,1976), and construction (p-value = 0,2548) would be closely associated with the forest in their future. For other services, such as food supply, medicine, and hunting, adaptation to Bantu customs is conceivable. Additionally, the abundance of wood used by the Mbuti people has been high around encampments located in intact forests and low in those in anthropized areas. The traditional way of life of the Mbuti communities is influenced by the cultural symbiosis, reflected in their habits and the availability of resources. The land tenure security of Mbuti areas is crucial to preserve their tradition and forest biodiversity. Conservation efforts in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve must consider this cultural dynamism and promote positive values for the flagship species. The oversight of subsistence hunting is imperative to curtail the transition of these communities to poaching.

Keywords: traditional life, conservation, Indigenous people, cultural symbiosis, forest

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Authors: Batool Ismaeel, Umair Farooq, Saad Mushtaq

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Construction projects in the oil industry can be very complex, having unknown outcomes and uncertainties that cannot be easily predicted. Each project has its unique risks generated by a number of factors which, if not controlled, will impact the successful completion of the project mainly in terms of schedule, cost, quality, and safety. This paper highlights the historic risks associated with projects in the south and east region of Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) collated from the company’s lessons learned database. Starting from Contract Award through to handover of the project to the Asset owner, the gaps in project execution in terms of managing risk will be brought to discussion and where a well-defined systematic approach in project risk management reflecting many claims, change of scope, exceeding budget, delays in engineering phase as well as in the procurement and fabrication of long lead items should be adopted. This study focuses on a proposed feasible approach in risk management for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) level projects including the various stakeholders involved in executing the works from International to local contractors and vendors in KOC. The proposed approach covers the areas categorized into organizational, design, procurement, construction, pre-commissioning, commissioning and project management in which the risks are identified and require management and mitigation. With the effective deployment and implementation of the proposed risk management system and the consideration of it as a vital key in achieving the project’s target, the outcomes will be more predictable in the future, and the risk triggers will be managed and controlled. The correct resources can be allocated on a timely basis for the company for avoiding any unpredictable outcomes during the execution of the project. It is recommended in this paper to apply this risk management approach as an integral part of project management and investigate further in the future, the effectiveness of this proposed system for newly awarded projects and compare the same with those projects of similar budget/complexity that have not applied this approach to risk management.

Keywords: construction, project completion, risk management, uncertainties

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Authors: M. A. N. Masrom, M. H. I. A. Rahim, G. K. Chen, S. Mohamed

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Large infrastructure project is one of significant category in the development of Malaysian construction industry. This type of project has been recognized as a high complexity project with numerous construction risks, large cost involvement, highly technical requirements and divers of resources. Besides, the development of large infrastructure such as highway, railway, Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and airport are also needed a large investment of public and private sector. To accomplish the development successfully, several challenges has to be determined prior the project commencement. To date, a comprehensive assessment of key success criteria particularly for large infrastructure in developing country such as Malaysia, is still not systematically defined and therefore, it needs further investigation. This paper aims to explore the potential success criteria that would be useful in gauging overall performance of large infrastructure implementation particularly in developing country. Previous successful criteria studies were used to develop a conceptual framework that possibly suitable for measuring large infrastructure performance. The findings show that successful criteria of infrastructure projects implementation could be grouped according to several key elements as it seems significant to the participants in prioritizing project challenges more systematically.

Keywords: successful criteria, performance, large infrastructure, Malaysia

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Authors: Matthew O. Ikuabe, Ayodeji E. Oke, Clinton O. Aigbavboa, Douglas O. Aghimien

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The use of technological innovations have been touted to be beneficial in the delivery of construction projects. Particularly, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology is widely regarded to be of immense advantage for the management of construction projects. This study focused on evaluating the barriers to the use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology for the delivery of construction projects. Using Gauteng Provincein South Africa as the study area, questionnaire was used in eliciting responses from construction professionals, which made up the population of the study. Retrieved data was analysed using Mean Item Score and One-Sample t-test. Findings from the study showed that the most significant barriers to the deployment of RFID for construction project delivery are high cost and lack of awareness. Conclusively, the study made recommendations that would aid in the abatement of the barriers to the use of RFID technology for construction project delivery.

Keywords: barriers, construction, project delivery, RFID

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Authors: Srikanth Nagarajan, P. Parthasarathy, Frits Lagers

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Lower crude oil prices increased the pressure on oil and gas projects. Being competitive becomes very important and critical for the success in any industry. Increase in size of the project multiplies the magnitude of the issue. Timely completion of projects within the budget and schedule is very important for any project to succeed. A simple idea makes a larger impact on the total cost of the plant. In this robust world, the phases of engineering right from licensing technology, feed, different phases of detail engineering, procurement and construction has been so much compressed that they overlap with each other. Hence constructability techniques have become very important. Here in this paper, the focus will be on how these techniques can be implemented and reduce cost with the help of a case study. Constructability is a process driven by the need to impact project’s construction phase resulting in improved project delivery, costs and schedule. In construction phase of one of our fast-track mega project, it was noticed that there was an opportunity to reduce significant amount of cost and schedule by implementing Constructability study processes. In this case study, the actual methodology adopted during engineering and construction and the way for doing it better by implementing Constructability techniques with collaborative engineering efforts will be explained.

Keywords: being competitive, collaborative engineering, constructability, cost reduction

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Authors: Ahmed A. A. Fadol, Guangji Tong, Wlaa Mohamed

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This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of food insecurity in Sudan, focusing on consumption patterns and their implications, employing the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) assessment framework. Years of conflict and economic instability have driven large segments of the population in Sudan into crisis levels of acute food insecurity according to the (IPC). A substantial number of people are estimated to currently face emergency conditions, with an additional sizeable portion categorized under less severe but still extreme hunger levels. In this study, we explore the multifaceted nature of food insecurity in Sudan, considering its historical, political, economic, and social dimensions. An analysis of consumption patterns and trends was conducted, taking into account cultural influences, dietary shifts, and demographic changes. Furthermore, we employ logistic regression and random forest analysis to identify significant independent variables influencing food security status in Sudan. Random forest clearly outperforms logistic regression in terms of area under curve (AUC), accuracy, precision and recall. Forward projections of the IPC for Sudan estimate that 15 million individuals are anticipated to face Crisis level (IPC Phase 3) or worse acute food insecurity conditions between October 2023 and February 2024. Of this, 60% are concentrated in Greater Darfur, Greater Kordofan, and Khartoum State, with Greater Darfur alone representing 29% of this total. These findings emphasize the urgent need for both short-term humanitarian aid and long-term strategies to address Sudan's deepening food insecurity crisis.

Keywords: food insecurity, consumption patterns, logistic regression, random forest analysis

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Authors: Paulo Cumbe

Abstract:

This work analyzes the economic and environmental impact of the exploitation of forest resources on populations and their sustainability in the regions where it occurs. There is an intensive and continuous activity of charcoal production, in the Massingir and Mabalane districts, in Gaza, Mozambique, to supply the most used fuel that is used by the population of the capital city, Maputo. Charcoal production is one of the sources of income for several families. However, it causes a negative environmental impact on biodiversity. We have analyzed different studies carried out in these communities that measure the speed, the level, and the impact of deforestation involving different actors, to deepen our understanding of this issue. The results of these studies reveal that the degraded area in five years would need one hundred years to be restored, which is unsustainable from an environmental point of view it is. Populations seek new areas for the same practice to maintain their livelihood, progressing with ecosystem degradation and increasing carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere. It is believed that environmental education, creation, and dissemination of new forms of charcoal production that are more profitable and less aggressive to the environment and forest repopulation actions need to be carried out to guarantee the sustainable development of the populations in these regions.

Keywords: deforestation, emissions, sustainability, charcoal

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Authors: Umer Ayyaz Aslam Sheikh

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Non Apis bee like the bumblebees are important due to their utilization of diverse floral plants and belong to the richest and most conspicuous flower visitors in alpine, temperate and arctic environments for pollination in both natural and managed cropping systems. These bees generally construct underground nests and habitat devastation and crumbling are major causes for their decline in nature. The present study was conducted in the Himalayan range of Azad Jammu, and Kashmir, Pakistan, surveys were conducted during the early spring season to observe maximum Bombus haemorrhoidalis queens (emerged after winter diapauses) searching for a nesting place. Whole study area was grouped into four types of landscape (open field, relatively open , relatively wooded and wooded), five habitat types (field, field boundary, pasture forest boundary and forest) and these habitat further grouped into four different patch types including withered grass, new grass, tussocks and stones and moss. Maximum nest seeking bumblebee queens preferred relatively open field landscape followed by open fields and forest boundaries. Field boundaries were recorded as most proffered habitat along with withered grasses for nesting sites of B. haemorrhoidalis queens. A wooded landscape with stone and moss type of patches were found least preferred nesting sites. This study will be helpful in the future for conservation program this for declining bumblebee species in this region. It will also provide the baseline for the conservation of other bumblebee species of the world.

Keywords: bumblebee, Bombus haemorrhoidalis, habitat, nest seeking preference, Pakistan

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Authors: T. O. Ikpesu, I. Tongo, A. Ariyo

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This study was conducted to assess the effects of an organophosphate pesticide glyphosate formulation on neurological enzymes in the brain, liver and serum of juvenile Clarias gariepinus, and also to examine the antidotal prospect of Garcinia kola seeds extract. The fish divided into five groups were exposed to different treatments of glyphosate formulation and Garcinia kola seeds extract. Acetyl cholinesterase activities in the brain, liver and serum of the fish were estimated in the experimental and control fishes on day -7, 14, 21 and of 28 by spectrophotometrical methods. The enzyme was significantly (p < 0.05) inhibited in glyphosate formulation test. The inhibition percentages of AChE ranged for the brain, liver and serum between 40.7–59.4%, 50-57% and 27.5–51.3%, respectively. The aberrated parameters were recovered in G. kola seeds extract treated aquaria, and was dose and time dependent. The present study demonstrated that in vivo glyphosate formulation exposure caused AChE inhibition in the brain, liver and the serum. The brain tissue, however, might be suggested as a good indicator tissue for aquatic pollutants exposure in the fish and G. kola seeds extract has shown to be a good remedy for neurology restoration in a noxious circumstance. The findings has shown that xenobiotics could be eliminated from aquatic organisms, especially fish, and could be put into practice in areas at risk of pollutants. This approach can reduce the risks of biomagnification of poison in sea food. Hence, formulation of this plant extracts into capsule should be encouraged and supported.

Keywords: glyphosate, Clarias gariepinus, brain, Garcinia kola, acetyl cholinesterase, enzymes

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Authors: K. Bencherif, M. Bellifa

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The expected climatic changes in North Africa are the increase of both intensity and frequencies of the summer droughts and a reduction in water availability during growing season. The exiting coppices and forest formations in the national park of Tlemcen are dominated by holm oak, zen oak and cork oak. These opened-fragmented structures don’t seem enough strong so to hope durable protection against climate change. According to the observed climatic tendency, the objective is to analyze the climatic context and its evolution taking into account the eventual behaving of the oak species during the next 20-30 years on one side and the landscaped context in relation with the most adequate sylvicultural models to choose and especially in relation with human activities on another side. The study methodology is based on Climatic synthesis and Floristic and spatial analysis. Meteorological data of the decade 1989-2009 are used to characterize the current climate. An another approach, based on dendrochronological analysis of a 120 years sample Aleppo pine stem growing in the park, is used so to analyze the climate evolution during one century. Results on the climate evolution during the 50 years obtained through climatic predictive models are exploited so to predict the climate tendency in the park. Spatially, in each forest unit of the Park, stratified sampling is achieved so to reduce the degree of heterogeneity and to easily delineate different stands using the GPS. Results from precedent study are used to analyze the anthropogenic factor considering the forecasts for the period 2025-2100, the number of warm days with a temperature over 25°C would increase from 30 to 70. The monthly mean temperatures of the maxima’s (M) and the minima’s (m) would pass respectively from 30.5°C to 33°C and from 2.3°C to 4.8°C. With an average drop of 25%, precipitations will be reduced to 411.37 mm. These new data highlight the importance of the risk fire and the water stress witch would affect the vegetation and the regeneration process. Spatial analysis highlights the forest and the agricultural dimensions of the park compared to the urban habitat and bare soils. Maps show both fragmentation state and forest surface regression (50% of total surface). At the level of the park, fires affected already all types of covers creating low structures with various densities. On the silvi cultural plan, Zen oak form in some places pure stands and this invasion must be considered as a natural tendency where Zen oak becomes the structuring specie. Climate-related changes have nothing to do with the real impact that South-Mediterranean forests are undergoing because human constraints they support. Nevertheless, hardwoods stand of oak in the national park of Tlemcen will face up to unexpected climate changes such as changing rainfall regime associated with a lengthening of the period of water stress, to heavy rainfall and/or to sudden cold snaps. Faced with these new conditions, management based on mixed uneven aged high forest method promoting the more dynamic specie could be an appropriate measure.

Keywords: global warming, mediterranean forest, oak shrub-lands, Tlemcen

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