Study on the project supervision system based on the principal-agent theory

Purpose: In order to solve problems in the current project management system, the paper presents the asymmetric information games existing in construction projects through information economics viewpoints. Design/methodology/approach: The owner has private information about the project profitability and he exerts an unobservable level of effort in order to increase the feasibility of successfully completing the project in terms of meeting product specifications. The paper analyzes the principal-agent relationship between the owner and supervisor with “principal-agent theory” of the game theory. In addition, the paper validates the model through two project cases. Findings: We can conclude that the incentive contract plays an important role in reducing the moral hazard. The main contribution of this studyis to examine the influence of both pre-contractual private information and the sensitivities between the interrelated performance measures on the design of an optimal incentive contract. Social implications: At last, some advices are put forward to advance the project management system in China, and some external mechanism can effectively inhibit the"moral hazard" and "adverse selection" to occur. Originality/value: A model of principal-agent relationship between the owner and supervisor is formulated. This model takes consideration of the moral hazard, which isdifferent from most existing researches in this field.Peer Reviewe

Study on Dynamic Response Measurement of the Submarine Pipeline by Full-Term FBG Sensors

The field of structural health monitoring is concerned with accurately and reliably assessing the integrity of a given structure to reduce ownership costs, increase operational lifetime, and improve safety. In structural health monitoring systems, fiber Bragg grating (FBG) is a promising measurement technology for its superior ability of explosion proof, immunity to electromagnetic interference, and high accuracy. This paper is a study on the dynamic characteristics of fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors applied to a submarine pipeline, as well as an experimental investigation on a laboratory model of the pipeline. The dynamic response of a submarine pipeline under seismic excitation is a coupled vibration of liquid and solid interaction. FBG sensors and strain gauges are used to monitor the dynamic response of a submarine pipeline model under a variety of dynamic loading conditions and the maximum working frequency of an FBG strain sensor is calculated according to its dynamic strain responses. Based on the theoretical and experimental results, it can be concluded that FBG sensor is superior to strain gauge and satisfies the demand of dynamic strain measurement

Analysis of the Generating and Influencing Factors of Vertical Cracking in Abutments during Construction

In order to analyze the causes of cracking in abutments subject to concrete shrinkage and temperature variation during the construction process and to determine factors affecting the mechanical properties of the abutment, nonlinear calculations capturing abutment behavior are conducted with Midas/FEA software. Using these calculations, the cracking mechanism is identified, and the influence of the evaluated factors is analyzed. It is concluded that the deformation between the pile cap and abutment backwall as constrained by a pile foundation when subjected to concrete shrinkage and temperature changes is the basic cause of abutment cracks during construction; these cracks form over the piles and develop upward. For a given reinforcement ratio, the distribution of horizontal crack-control steel using small, closely spaced bars is more beneficial. When pile-bearing capacity meets the standard, the width of the generated cracks tends to decrease with the decrease in the diameter of the piles. The existence of a postcast strip in the abutment backwall also contributes to the decrease in the depth of the crack. Finally, the impact of age difference between the pile cap concrete and abutment backwall concrete on cracking is inconsequential

Study on Dynamic Response Measurement of the Submarine Pipeline by Full-Term FBG Sensors

The field of structural health monitoring is concerned with accurately and reliably assessing the integrity of a given structure to reduce ownership costs, increase operational lifetime, and improve safety. In structural health monitoring systems, fiber Bragg grating (FBG) is a promising measurement technology for its superior ability of explosion proof, immunity to electromagnetic interference, and high accuracy. This paper is a study on the dynamic characteristics of fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors applied to a submarine pipeline, as well as an experimental investigation on a laboratory model of the pipeline. The dynamic response of a submarine pipeline under seismic excitation is a coupled vibration of liquid and solid interaction. FBG sensors and strain gauges are used to monitor the dynamic response of a submarine pipeline model under a variety of dynamic loading conditions and the maximum working frequency of an FBG strain sensor is calculated according to its dynamic strain responses. Based on the theoretical and experimental results, it can be concluded that FBG sensor is superior to strain gauge and satisfies the demand of dynamic strain measurement

A Study Of Chinese Ancient Cometary Records

From 146 B.C. to A.D. 1760, 363 sets of cometary observations have been recorded in Chinese Ancient Records of Celestial Phenomena. The positions of all recorded comets, or their paths, on the sky are compared. Taking into account the perturbations of all nine planets and using the numerical method of N-body problem, the orbits of well-recorded comets are calculated. Identification of a periodic comet is presented. Key Words : ancient cometary records - Detemination of orbits - Identification of periodic comets I. INTRODUCTION In chinese history, there are a lot of astronomical observation records. A Compilation of Chinese Ancient Records of Celestial Phenomena (Zhaung et al, 1988) is a summary of all ancient and medieval astronomical observation records in China. Many obsrvation records of comets are found in this compilation. Some authors have calculated cometary orbits from those records (Ho, 1962; Kiang, 1972; Yeomans, 1977; Chang, 1979; Hasegawa, 1979, 1995; Marsden et al, 1996)..

Study on the project supervision system based on the principal-agent theory

Purpose: In order to solve problems in the current project management system, the paper presents the asymmetric information games existing in construction projects through information economics viewpoints. Design/methodology/approach: The owner has private information about the project profitability and he exerts an unobservable level of effort in order to increase the feasibility of successfully completing the project in terms of meeting product specifications. The paper analyzes the principal-agent relationship between the owner and supervisor with “principal-agent theory” of the game theory. In addition, the paper validates the model through two project cases. Findings: We can conclude that the incentive contract plays an important role in reducing the moral hazard. The main contribution of this studyis to examine the influence of both pre-contractual private information and the sensitivities between the interrelated performance measures on the design of an optimal incentive contract. Social implications: At last, some advices are put forward to advance the project management system in China, and some external mechanism can effectively inhibit themoral hazard and adverse selection to occur. Originality/value: A model of principal-agent relationship between the owner and supervisor is formulated. This model takes consideration of the moral hazard, which isdifferent from most existing researches in this field

A Finite Segment Method for Skewed Box Girder Analysis

A finite segment method is presented to analyze the mechanical behavior of skewed box girders. By modeling the top and bottom plates of the segments with skew plate beam element under an inclined coordinate system and the webs with normal plate beam element, a spatial elastic displacement model for skewed box girder is constructed, which can satisfy the compatibility condition at the corners of the cross section for box girders. The formulation of the finite segment is developed based on the variational principle. The major advantage of the proposed approach, in comparison with the finite element method, is that it can simplify a three-dimensional structure into a one-dimensional structure for structural analysis, which results in significant saving in computational times. At last, the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed finite segment method are verified by a model test