Exploring the role of formal bodies of knowledge in defining a profession - The case of project management

Since the mid 1970s, project management associations around the world have made serious attempts to conduct themselves as professional associations. Traditional professions distinguished themselves by emphasising standards such as service to the public and competence in their field, and by ensuring that their membership meets these standards. An important element of a profession is ownership of a body of knowledge that is distinctive to the professional group. Project management associations have spent considerable time and effort in developing Bodies of Knowledge (BOKs) and their associated certification programs, and indeed the popularity of these has been notable. Yet there are problems, some relating to the broader issue of whether the project management associations really are equipped to act as professional bodies, others related to the specific challenge of agreeing the 'distinctive body of knowledge' and to the value of certification. This paper draws on insights from the rethinking project management EPSRC project as well as several separate research programs to explore the development of project management as a profession and the role of the formal BOKs in this professionalization, and to suggest a research agenda for critiquing, contributing to, and maintaining both the formal BOKs and the more general body of knowledge relevant to the needs of the discipline. © 2006

A high-precision age estimate of the Holocene Plinian eruption of Mount Mazama, Oregon, USA

© The Author(s) 2015 The climactic eruption of Mount Mazama in Oregon, North America, resulted in the deposition of the most widespread Holocene tephra deposit in the conterminous United States and south-western Canada. The tephra forms an isochronous marker horizon for palaeoenvironmental, sedimentary and archaeological reconstructions, despite the current lack of a precise age estimate for the source eruption. Previous radiocarbon age estimates for the eruption have varied, and Greenland ice-core ages are in disagreement. For the Mazama tephra to be fully utilised in tephrochronology and palaeoenvironmental research, a refined (precise and accurate) age for the eruption is required. Here, we apply a meta-analysis of all previously published radiocarbon age estimations (n = 81), and perform Bayesian statistical modelling to this data set, to provide a refined age of 7682–7584 cal. yr BP (95.4% probability range). Although the depositional histories of the published ages vary, this estimate is consistent with that estimated from the GISP2 ice-core of 7627 ± 150 yr BP (Zdanowicz et al., 1999)

The Loess Chronology of the Island of Susak, Croatia

Zahlreiche infrarot optisch stimulierte Lumineszenz (IRSL)- und Radiokohlenstoff (14C)-Datierungen wurden an mächtigen Löss-/Paläobodenabfolgen der Insel Susak in der nördlichen Adria von Kroatien durchgeführt. Die Datierungsergebnisse zeigen, dass eine sehr detaillierte spätpleistozäne Sedimentabfolge auf Susak erhalten geblieben ist, die mit den marinen Sauerstoffisotopenstadien (OIS) 5 bis 2 korreliert. Hervorzuheben ist ein besonders mächtiges und gut gegliedertes Mittelpleniglazial. Aufgrund der großen Mächtigkeit von bis zu 90 m bildet der Löss auf Susak ein einzigartiges außerordentlich hoch aufgelöstes Klimaarchiv in dieser Region. Die zahlreichen im Löss zwischen geschalteten Paläoböden weisen auf Klimavariationen, die auf Susak wärmer gewesen sind als beispielsweise im benachbarten Karpatenbecken. Die große Mächtigkeit der Abfolge korreliert mit den während des OIS 3 allgemein höheren Staubakkumulationen in Europa. Basierend auf den nummerischen Altern kann die Löss-/Paläobodenabfolge aus Susak mit denen aus Norditalien und dem Karpatenbecken verglichen werden und ermöglichen eine detailliertere zeit-basierte Rekonstruktion der Klima- und Umweltveränderungen im Arbeitsgebiet.researc

Reading in the language arts for primary deaf children

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Reading in the language arts for primary deaf children

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

HERMESv3, a stand-alone multi-scale atmospheric emission modelling framework – part 2: the bottom–up module

We describe the bottom–up module of the High-Elective Resolution Modelling Emission System version 3 (HERMESv3), a Python-based and multi-scale modelling tool intended for the processing and computation of atmospheric emissions for air quality modelling. HERMESv3 is composed of two separate modules: the global_regional module and the bottom_up module. In a companion paper (Part 1, Guevara et al., 2019a) we presented the global_regional module. The bottom_up module described in this contribution is an emission model that estimates anthropogenic emissions at high spatial- (e.g. road link level,) and temporal- (hourly) resolution using state-of-the-art calculation methods that combine local activity and emission factors along with meteorological data. The model computes bottom–up emissions from point sources, road transport, residential and commercial combustion, other mobile sources, and agricultural activities. The computed pollutants include the main criteria pollutants (i.e. NOx, CO, NMVOCs (non-methane volatile organic compounds), SOx, NH3, PM10 and PM2.5) and greenhouse gases (i.e. CO2 and CH4, only related to combustion processes). Specific emission estimation methodologies are provided for each source and are mostly based on (but not limited to) the calculation methodologies reported by the European EMEP/EEA air pollutant emission inventory guidebook. Meteorologically dependent functions are also included to take into account the dynamical component of the emission processes. The model also provides several functionalities for automatically manipulating and performing spatial operations on georeferenced objects (shapefiles and raster files). The model is designed so that it can be applicable to any European country or region where the required input data are available. As in the case of the global_regional module, emissions can be estimated on several user-defined grids, mapped to multiple chemical mechanisms and adapted to the input requirements of different atmospheric chemistry models (CMAQ, WRF-Chem and MONARCH) as well as a street-level dispersion model (R-LINE). Specific emission outputs generated by the model are presented and discussed to illustrate its capabilities.This research has been supported by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (grant no. CGL2016-75725-R), the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (grant no. RTI2018-099894-B-I00), the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (grant no. RYC-2015-18690), and the AXA Research Fund (grant no. AXA Research Fund).Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Approaches to construction project managers

U radu je objašnjena uloga voditelja projekta u građevinarstvu. Analizirane su najznačajnije svjetske udruge za upravljanje projektima. Komparativna analiza hrvatske i svjetske prakse pokazala je različitosti u trendovima i načinu upravljanja građevinskim projektima. Iako su se u Republici Hrvatskoj dogoditi pozitivni pomaci pri definiranju zakonskih uvjeta za obavljanje djelatnosti upravljanja projektom gradnje, potrebno je njihovo daljnje usklađivanje sa svjetskom praksom.The role of project manager in construction industry is explained. Most significant international project management associations are analyzed. A comparative analysis of Croatian and international practices has revealed differences in trends and in the way in which construction projects are managed. Although positive steps have been made in the Republic of Croatia in the sphere of defining legal conditions for the realization of construction project management activities, a further harmonization of these activities with international practice is nevertheless needed