Knowledge transfer processes in PFI/PPP: critical success factors

Successful knowledge transfer is an important process which requires continuous improvement in today’s knowledge-intensive economy. However, improving knowledge transfer processes represents a challenge for construction practitioners due to the complexity of knowledge acquisition, codification and sharing. Although knowledge transfer is context based, understanding the critical success factors can lead to improvements in the transfer process. This paper seeks to identify and evaluate the most significant critical factors for improving knowledge transfer processes in Public Private Partnerships/Private Finance Initiatives (PPP/PFI) projects. Drawing upon a questionnaire survey of 52 construction firms located in the UK, data is analysed using Severity Index (SI) and Coefficient of Variation (COV), to examine and identify these factors in PPP/PFI schemes. The findings suggest that a supportive leadership, participation/commitment from the relevant parties, and good communication between the relevant parties are crucial to improving knowledge transfer processes in PFI schemes. Practitioners, managers and researchers can use the findings to efficiently design performance measures for analysing and improving knowledge transfer processes

Knowledge transfer processes in PFI: identification of barriers and enablers

Increasingly, the UK’s Private Finance Initiative has created a demand for construction companies to transfer knowledge from one organization or project to another. Knowledge transfer processes in such contexts face many challenges, due to the many resulting discontinuities in the involvement of organisations, personnel and information flow. This paper empirically identifies the barriers and enablers that hinder or enhance the transfer of knowledge in PFI contexts, drawing upon a questionnaire survey of construction firms. The main findings show that knowledge transfer processes in PFIs are hindered by time constraints, lack of trust, and policies, procedures, rules and regulations attached to the projects. Nevertheless, the processes of knowledge transfer are enhanced by emphasising the value and importance of a supportive leadership, participation/commitment from the relevant parties, and good communication between the relevant parties. The findings have considerable relevance to understanding the mechanism of knowledge transfer between organizations, projects and individuals within the PFI contexts in overcoming the barriers and enhancing the enablers. Furthermore, practitioners and managers can use the findings to efficiently design knowledge transfer frameworks that can be used to overcome the barriers encountered while enhancing the enablers to improve knowledge transfer processes

Analysis of Irrigation Water Requirements in Gezira Scheme Using Geographic Information Systems: Case Study Block Number 26 (Dolga)

Water scarcity has a direct impact on food security and a real threat to food production for millions of the population. To avoid the unwise and random consumption of available water resources, it is high time for using efficient system and appropriate policies for management of irrigated farms to control water overuse, starting by the analysis of the existing reality. Block number 26 (Dolga) in Gezira scheme had been chosen as a study area. The total area of the study area is about 24616 Feddans. The study aims to apply GIS in the data editing, manipulation, storage, processing, and presentation for the analysis of irrigation water requirements. GIS had been chosen for its capabilities of data capturing, data processing and efficient spatial analysis. Layers of geo-referenced spatial database including crops’ maps, irrigation canals network and its command area, each crop water requirements, irrigation water requirement, rainfall data, area cultivated for each crop and contour map of the study area had been created and used for the spatial analysis in ArcGIS software. Five course rotations are applied for the crops of cotton, wheat, sorghum, and groundnut. Each crop covers 20% of the total area and the remaining 20% are fallow and layer for each crop had been created. Crops’ water requirements had been calculated applying Penman-Monteith method and saved in the attributes Table of crops layer. It had been found that the seasonal crop water requirements per Feddan for each crop is 3,871.56 m3, 2,983.26 m3, 1,847.16 m3 and 2,007.6 m3 respectively, calculated using Penman-Monteith method. The total crops water requirements are 50,254,962.66m3(absorbed by plants), water allotment of the study area according to the ratio of the area is 67, 195,230.327 m3, irrigation water requirement is 64,537,716.5 m3 (including the water losses), where the actual water supply is 63,817,600 m3 which had been calculated applying ArcGIS tools and saved in the attribute Table of the crops and rotation layer. The study had concluded that cotton consumes the largest amount of water supply, rainfall water is in irrigation has the used only in the complementary irrigation of sorghum crop and the implementation of GIS capabilities enables efficient analysis and scheduling of irrigation water

Evaluation of Different Soil Salinity Mapping Using Remote Sensing Techniques in Arid Ecosystems, Saudi Arabia

Land covers in Saudi Arabia are generally described as salty soils with sand dunes and sand sheets. Waterlogging and higher soil salinity are major challenges to sustaining agricultural practices in Saudi Arabia principally within closed drainage basins. Agricultural practices in Saudi Arabia were flourishing in the last two decades. The newly reclaimed lands were added annually and distributed all over the country. Irrigation techniques are mostly modernized to fulfill water saving strategies. Nevertheless, water resources in Saudi Arabia are under stress and groundwater levels are depleted rapidly due to heavy abstraction that may exceed crop water requirements in most of the cases due to high evaporation rates. The excess use of irrigational water leads to severe soil salinity problems. Applications of remote sensing technique in agricultural practices became widely distinctive and cover multidisciplinary principal interests on both local and regional levels. The most important remote sensing applications in agricultural practices are vegetation indices which are related to vegetation and water especially in an arid environment. Soil salinity mapping in an arid ecosystem using remote sensing data is a demanding task. Several soil salinity indices were implemented and evaluated to detect soil salinity effectively and quantitatively. Thematic maps of soil salinity were satisfactorily produced and assessed

Route Network Analysis in Khartoum City

Road network has been viewed as a major dynamic force in influencing quality of life and shaping cities all over the globe. Sudan as developing country is witnessing growth in transport and infrastructure such as roads and bridges. Big cities such as Khartoum suffer from congestions of traffic. Nevertheless, finding correct route in the required time is a difficult problem for many drivers especially in emergency cases. The lack of adequate information to find the shortest route to the nearest service, together with the lack of tools to extract such information and presents it when needed. The purpose of the paper is to introduce a proposal to produce digital route guided maps and hence deploy digital spatially enabled location-based computer program to be downloaded in laptop and mobile as a platform to improve services in case of emergencies such as accidents. This had been done by utilizing the capabilities of GIS in network analysis and visualization to enhance decision making in route selection to the nearest hospital by mapping the services area based on travel time

Sequential ultrasound-microwave assisted extraction of water soluble proteins from Eurycoma longifolia roots

Even though Eurycoma longifolia was extensively studied, few researches investigated the protein content in its water extracts with the consideration of establishing the most suitable extraction method to increase their yields with high efficiency and less time consumption. The study applied a sequential extraction method to increase the yields of water soluble proteins (WSPs) in E. longifolia root extracts by the application of two nonconventional extraction methods, Microwave assisted extraction (MAE) and ultrasound assisted extraction (UAE). The study was established by circumscribed central composite designs (CCCDs) to indicate the optimum extraction conditions and the corresponding maximum WSPs yields for both the methods by investigating the MAE factors which were temperature (T); microwave power (W) and irradiation time (i) and UAE factors temperature (T); ultrasonic intensity (UI); and sonication time (s). The optimum conditions of MAE (T: 54oC, W: 301W and i: 15 min) led to the WSPs yield 23.101±1.647% .The optimum conditions of UAE (T: 46oC; UI: 1.84 W.cm-2 and s: 24 min) led to 24.181±0.321%. These predicted optimum conditions were then employed for the two proposed sequential extraction method, sequential ultrasound-microwave assisted extraction (SUMAE) and sequential microwave-ultrasound assisted extraction (SMUAE). Results revealed that the highest WSPs yield (27.172±1.086%) was obtained by initiating the sequential extraction with UAE for 10 minutes followed by MAE treatment for 5 minutes was the best extraction process. Therefore, SUMAE illustrated more efficiency than SMUAE. This concluded that the SUMAE is a more efficient extraction process than the one-step nonconventional extraction methods and was nominated for the upscaling of extracting proteins from E. longifolia roots in pilot and industrial scales

Mouth and Gut Development of Malaysian River Catfish Mystus Nemurus (Cuvier and Valenciennes) Larvae

Ontogenetic changes in mouth and gut during larval developmental stage of Malaysian river catfish, Mystus nemurus were studied for 21 days to facilitate and determine the suitable feed and feed particle size for the growing larvae. The eggs began to hatch at day 2 after fertilization (DAF) and most of the larvae hatched within 2-4 DAF. The larval mouth was opened at the end of the first day after hatching (DAR) and the commencement of exogenous feeding was began on the 4 DAH after the movement of jaws. The barbels began to appear on the upper jaw and lower jaw on 3 DAR, and two small barbels appeared around olfactory pits by 5 DAR. Free neuromasts were observed under the lower jaw on 7 DAR and around the olfactory pits, the eyes, and upper operculum by the 9 DAH. Strong (Ma = 5.5108 TL + 47.16, R2 = 0.9302 at 45° opening and Ma = 10.138 TL + 87.141, R2 = 0.9302 at 90° opening) relationships were found to exist between mouth size and total length of fish. The morphological and histological development of the gut in M nemurus larvae was observed using a profile projector and a light microscope. During the yolk absorption period, the gut was a simple, straight, undifferentiated tube throughout its length. By 4-5 DAR, the gut differentiated to the oesophagus, stomach, and intestine. At the first feeding, the larval gut was functional, but was structurally and functionally less complex than that of adults. By the 13 DAH, four developed tissue layers (mucosa, submucosa, muscularis and serosa) were observed in the larval gut which are the characteristics of the gut of an adult vertebrate

Socio-Demographic Characteristics of Malaria Vector and Prevention Measures in Elobied, West of Sudan

A transversal survey was conducted in Elobied, North Kordofan State, Sudan to evaluate the knowledge of the respondents about malaria vector and its relation with house characteristics, demographic characteristics and prevention measures.Most of the respondents reported that mosquito bite the main factor for causes malaria, most of interviewed lived in brackets houses while others in shanty houses and the majority of the respondents use bed nets. The study concluded that establishment of Anopheles arabiensis in the study area related to the type of house construction and stagnant water. The uses of bed nets are the most methods for personal protection against mosquitoes

The role of laboratory science in the battle against malaria in South Sudan

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