Development of a scale for factors causing delays in infrastructure projects in India

The objective of the paper is to develop a validated scale to measure the factors that cause delays in infrastructure projects. The study employed a standard three phase scale development procedure of Churchill (1979) which was augmented subsequently by Nunnally, Bernstein and Berge (1994) and Prakash and Phadtare (2018). In phase one, 73 factors that cause delays were identified, which were reduced to 45 based on literature review and expert opinions. These 45 factors were subjected to an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) in phase two and three, respectively, to refine and establish convergent, discriminant and nomological validity of the scale. The study confirms that delays in infrastructure projects happen due to six factors, i.e., Contractor Related Factors (CON); Consultant Related Factors (CS); External Factors (EX); Labour Related Factors (LR); Material Related Factors (MT) and Design Related Factors (DJ). The study is particularly useful for the firms engaged in the development of infrastructure projects globally, as it identifies and ranks the factors that cause delays in a project. However, the study being confirmatory in nature only confirms the grouping of factors causing delays and is also limited by the possibility of sampling error.&nbsp

A study of project planning on Libyan construction projects

Construction projects are regularly faced by scheduling problems causing the projects to finish beyond their predetermined due date; this is a global phenomenon. The main purpose of this study is to consider the problems associated with project planning generally, with specific reference to construction projects in Libya. This study is unique in two respects. First, despite the recent high volume of infrastructure work in the country, there have been few investigations into construction delays in Libya. Secondly, earlier studies have considered the causes or the effects of project delays, whereas the present aim is to evaluate the potential of applying a planning and scheduling technique that is entirely novel in the Libyan context. The paper reports the results of Phase I of this research

Digital Games and Second Language Learning among Tertiary-level EFL Learners: A Critical Review

Despite the increased interest in the possibilities of digital games in second language education, their use in higher education is a relatively uncharted territory. This review was carried out to examine how digital game-based language learning is used, and what its effects are on language learners at tertiary level in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts. Twenty-seven studies were short-listed from academic literature and were analysed for research methodology, theoretical frameworks, research foci, game types and specifications, research results, and pedagogical implications. The research revealed six types of digital games, each with its own affordances that could enhance language learning. It was also found that these games increased vocabulary uptake and long-term lexical retention, enhanced L2 reading and listening comprehension, fostered writing ability and communicative competence, and increased motivation and willingness to communicate in the L2. Therefore, it may be deduced that digital games can be employed as a beneficial tool for the development of L2 competence and for the enrichment of the language learning experience. Suggestions for further research and educational implications have been provided

Fabrication and mechanical testing of a new sandwich structure with carbon fiber network core

The aim is the fabrication and mechanical testing of sandwich structures including a new core material known as fiber network sandwich materials. As fabrication norms for such a material do not exist as such, so the primary goal is to reproduce successfully fiber network sandwich specimens. Enhanced vibration testing diagnoses the quality of the fabrication process. These sandwich materials possess low structural strength as proved by the static tests (compression, bending), but the vibration test results give high damping values, making the material suitable for vibro-acoustic applications where structural strength is of secondary importance e.g., internal panelling of a helicopter

Complementary reaction analyses and the isospin mixing of the 4- states in 16O

Data from the inelastic scattering of electrons, and of intermediate energy protons and pions leading to ``stretched'' configuration 4- states near 19 MeV excitation in 16O as well as from charge exchange (p,n) scattering to an isobaric analogue (4-) state in 16F have been analyzed to ascertain the degree of isospin mixing contained within those states and of the amount of d_{5/2}-p_{3/2}^{-1} particle-hole excitation strength they exhaust. The electron and proton scattering data have been analyzed using microscopic models of the structure and reactions, with details constrained by analyses of elastic scattering data.Comment: 25 pages, 12 figure

SOSIALISASI ALAT PELINDUNG DIRI SEBAGAI UPAYA MENJAGA KESELAMATAN DAN KESEHATAN KERJA KEPADA PEKERJA (LOKASI: PEMBANGUNAN EMBUNG BANDARA BUNGO, KABUPATEN BUNGO, PROVINSI JAMBI)

In the Muara Bungo Airport area, Jambi Province, there is a valley surrounded by hilly areas that have quite dense vegetation. Some of the morphology in the reservoir area is relatively lower than the surrounding area, so it is inevitable that there will be water flow in the airport area. This arises because of the process of collecting groundwater flow that flows from higher places (hills) to lower places (valleys). This condition continues both in the dry season and in the rainy season. In the rainy season the flow of water will be greater due to additional surface water (run off) from rainwater. This condition is evidenced by the constant flow of surface water in the form of rivers flowing in the airport area. With the current conditions, a Embung construction is needed that can anticipate flooding in the Muara Bungo Airport area. Based on the results of the socialization obtained (1) participants can recognize the types and specifications of the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) used in accordance with the hazard factors in the workplace. (2) participants can explain the physical feasibility and function of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and inappropriate PPE conditions in the workplace. (3) participants are accustomed to using PPE and always pay attention to the PPE used by service use and in accordance with workplace condition

How Responsive Are EU Coal-Burning Plants to Changes in Energy Prices?

The European Union (EU) Emissions Trading System (ETS) has implicitly made it more expensive to burn coal relative to natural gas because coal has a higher carbon content. Therefore, it is important to understand how much plants reduce their coal usage in response to higher coal prices to assess the effectiveness of the ETS in reducing carbon emissions. We analyze a novel panel of coal-burning large combustion plants from a subsample of eight EU countries and found that, holding constant the natural gas price, a 1% increase in the coal price results in a 0.36% decrease in coal consumption. At current ETS prices, this implies that the average large combustion plant in our sample EU countries is burning 7% less coal than it would be absent in the ETS. This suggests that the ETS has significantly reduced carbon emissions from coal-fired plants for the eight countries represented in our sample

CAUSES OF DELAY IN CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

The construction industry is struggling by numerous recorded incidents of delay due to improper planning and/or implementation of required construction measures. Globally, researchers have concluded that the construction environment is overloaded with more frequent delays when compared to other labor enforced industries. Over the past decade, infrastructure and project development in developing countries have experienced major growth. Since there are huge investments on construction activities that all of a sudden happen in a very narrow considerable construction period, it is expected that construction fields suffer from severe delays during construction. Construction stakeholders need to enforce huge efforts to facilitate the smooth flow of construction projects. The aim and objective of this project is to identify the most significant delay attributes affecting the construction industry. After a review of the literature, a list of 42 delay attributes were gathered and presented in a survey questionnaire. The survey was distributed through online website and sent to various experts in the construction industry. 179 complete responses were received and analyzed by importance index, Spearman’s rank correlation, T-Test, risk mapping and factor analysis. As a result, it was found “low productivity of labor”, “delay in decision making”, “changes to the project by owner”, “delays related to subcontractors work”, and “unqualified workforce” were ranked as the most significant delay attributes in construction industry respectively

Neoclassical versus frontier production models? Testing for the skewness of regression residuals

The empirical literature on production and cost functions is divided into two strands: 1) the neoclassical approach that concentrates on model parameters, 2) the frontier approach that decomposes the disturbance term to a symmetric noise term and a positively skewed inefficiency term. We propose a theoretical justification for the skewness of the inefficiency term, arguing that this skewness is the key testable hypothesis of the frontier approach. We propose to test the regression residuals for skewness to distinguish the two competing approaches. Our test builds directly upon the asymmetry of regression residuals and does not require any prior distributional assumptions.Firms and production; Frontier estimation; Hypotheses testing; Production function; Productive efficiency analysis