Is there a Correlation between Contractor’s Health and Safety Performance and their Profit Margin?

This paper analyses the relationship of on-site health and safety performance and the anticipated profit margin. It reports on the main findings of the research which includes the analysis of historical safety records of 22 construction projects and their profit margins. A scoring system was adapted to measure performance and profit. Analysis of the results indicates that the better the health and safety score of a project the more profit that project is likely to make and vice versa. In short, projects that recorded safety incidents during construction have also made a loss in their profit margins as a result of fall in productivity, disruption and penalties

Systemic transformative adaptation towards urban economic resilience

The socioeconomic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic are likely to increase further across economies. There is increasing apprehension on the status of rail transport infrastructure megaprojects which are already complex and face many uncertainties and it is imperative to initiate a restoration coupled with support to be implemented in a timely manner. Investors continue to invest in rail megaprojects that run high risks of being over-scheduled and over-budgeted, which has raised the need to improve rail megaporjects and their investments in order to establish the economic base of any society. Hence it is vital to analyse the systemic risks in rail megaprojects given their complexity and uncertainty towards developing an efficient risk management framework. To improve the performance of the procurement of rail megaprojects, the present study conducts a detailed literature review to explore the key procurement risk indicators and critical success factors for public procurement of rail megaprojects. The key findings are used to develop an integrated approach towards a systemic transformative adaptation to enable the effective incorporation of the procurement risk management process into the planning and decision-making of rail megaprojects in the UK. This study develops a conceptual framework that indicates that one of the most critical enablers of improvement in the performance of procurement of rail megaprojects is by enabling a collaborative approach. This is a unique study that presents key procurement risk indicators and critical success factors to derive sustainability based enablers to improve the performance of the procurement process of rail megaprojects

Description of the PMAD DC test bed architecture and integration sequence

NASA-Lewis is responsible for the development, fabrication, and assembly of the electric power system (EPS) for the Space Station Freedom (SSF). The SSF power system is radically different from previous spacecraft power systems in both the size and complexity of the system. Unlike past spacecraft power system the SSF EPS will grow and be maintained on orbit and must be flexible to meet changing user power needs. The SSF power system is also unique in comparison with terrestrial power systems because it is dominated by power electronic converters which regulate and control the power. Although spacecraft historically have used power converters for regulation they typically involved only a single series regulating element. The SSF EPS involves multiple regulating elements, two or more in series, prior to the load. These unique system features required the construction of a testbed which would allow the development of spacecraft power system technology. A description is provided of the Power Management and Distribution (PMAD) DC Testbed which was assembled to support the design and early evaluation of the SSF EPS. A description of the integration process used in the assembly sequence is also given along with a description of the support facility

On Measuring Condensate Fraction in Superconductors

An analysis of off-diagonal long-range order in superconductors shows that the spin-spin correlation function is significantly influenced by the order if the order parameter is anisotropic on a microscopic scale. Thus, magnetic neutron scattering can provide a direct measurement of the condensate fraction of a superconductor. It is also argued that recent measurements in high temperature superconductors come very close to achieving this goal.Comment: 4 pages, 1 eps figure, RevTex. A new possibility in the underdoped regime is added. Other corrections are mino

Infrastructure Development in the UK: Key Drivers and Implementation Challenges

Infrastructure is a critical factor in fostering strong and sustained economic growth, hence, sufficient attention should be given to the allocation of investment. Although UK infrastructure investment have risen in line with the global trend, the level of investment remains in the lower percentile when compared to other leading countries such as Singapore and China. The study examines the challenges of infrastructure development in the UK and explored the policies required to stimulate investment. Using semi-structured interviews, the views of key stakeholders involved in infrastructure operating across key sectors of transport and energy were captured to gain an insight into the key policy drivers of infrastructure investment. Findings from the research suggests that policy changes are required to stimulate significant investment if the UK is to become a world leader in infrastructure. Key criticisms of UK infrastructure policy focussed on comparatively low level of investment, inadequate collaboration between key stakeholders, and the regional bias of investment in favour of London which disproportionately affects the Northern regions. To facilitate economic growth, the identification of future investible pipeline of infrastructure projects, increasing collaboration with local stakeholders and addressing the regional biases will be critical to ensure synergy and ownership and to scale up the implementation of UK future infrastructure development plans. Considerations should also be given to the need to set up infrastructure banks similar to what is in operation in other countries such as China and Singapore to stimulate private investment and to complement public sector budget allocations. Improving infrastructure project implementation through institutional coordination will boost economic growth post Brexit, support the development of new trading agreements and enhance the country’s economic performance after the pandemi

A KINEMATIC ANALYSIS OF TRUNK ABILITY IN WHEELCHAIR FENCING: A PILOT STUDY

The purpose of this study was to explore the trunk ability differences between category A and B participants in wheelchair fencing. The result showed that category B participants might perform similar performance as category A participants in maximum lunge velocity, maximum lunge angle and maximum fast return velocity. This result may provide information to International Wheelchair Fencing Committee (IWFC) for the need of research on Wheelchair Fencing Classification (WFC) to clarify the differences between these two categories of participants

A KINEMATIC ANALYSIS OF TRUNK ABILITY IN WHEELCHAIR FENCING: A PILOT STUDY

The purpose of this study was to explore the trunk ability differences between category A and B participants in wheelchair fencing. The result showed that category B participants might perform similar performance as category A participants in maximum lunge velocity, maximum lunge angle and maximum fast return velocity. This result may provide information to International Wheelchair Fencing Committee (IWFC) for the need of research on Wheelchair Fencing Classification (WFC) to clarify the differences between these two categories of participants

Quantum Impurities and the Neutron Resonance Peak in YBa2Cu3O7{\bf YBa_2 Cu_3 O_7}: Ni versus Zn

The influence of magnetic (S=1) and nonmagnetic (S=0) impurities on the spin dynamics of an optimally doped high temperature superconductor is compared in two samples with almost identical superconducting transition temperatures: YBa$_2$(Cu$_{0.97}$Ni$_{0.03}$)$_3$O$_7$ (T$_c$=80 K) and YBa$_2$(Cu$_{0.99}$Zn$_{0.01}$)$_3$O$_7$ (T$_c$=78 K). In the Ni-substituted system, the magnetic resonance peak (which is observed at E$_r \simeq$40 meV in the pure system) shifts to lower energy with a preserved E$_r$/T$_c$ ratio while the shift is much smaller upon Zn substitution. By contrast Zn, but not Ni, restores significant spin fluctuations around 40 meV in the normal state. These observations are discussed in the light of models proposed for the magnetic resonance peak.Comment: 3 figures, submitted to PR

High energy spin excitations in YBa_2 Cu_3 O_{6.5}

Inelastic neutron scattering has been used to obtain a comprehensive description of the absolute dynamical spin susceptibility $\chi'' (q,\omega)$ of the underdoped superconducting cuprate YBa_2 Cu_3 O_{6.5} ($T_c = 52 K$) over a wide range of energies and temperatures ($2 meV \leq \hbar \omega \leq 120 meV$ and $5K \leq T \leq 200K$). Spin excitations of two different symmetries (even and odd under exchange of two adjacent CuO_2 layers) are observed which, surprisingly, are characterized by different temperature dependences. The excitations show dispersive behavior at high energies.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figure