Which governs - the relationship or the contract?

According to the transaction cost economics literature, a firm’s external contractual relationships must be ‘fit for purpose’. What is a ‘fit for purpose’ contractual relationship should not be a normative decision, but an objective one, to be made with regard to achieving transaction cost efficiency, while defending the core competencies of the firm. Data from a Hong Kong case study is used to examine whether or not the client’s choice of contractual relationship is ‘fit for purpose’ and also to evaluate the impact of such a choice. The findings suggest that maintaining a relationship of high quality as a strategic policy not only reduces recourse to the contract but, also improves the quality and predictability of project performance and, is an antidote to ill-aligned contractual elements. These findings lend support to the growing trend towards relationship or relational contracting in construction

A new and simple medium for phytoplankton culture

Results of the study using a simple medium with a higher concentration of phosphate, developed for isolating unicellular algae from Calicut region are presented in this paper. The new medium is found to be very simple for large scale culture of phytoplankton to develop larval feed in hatcheries. The medium is prepared by dissolving 350 mg of potassium di hydrogen phosphate and 900 mg of p'otassium nitrate in 125 ml di stilled water. One ml of this solution is added to a litre of boiled and filtered sea water. A stock solution of vitamin is made by dissolving 5 mg of B" and 95 mg of B, in 100 ml of distilled water and one ml of this solution is added to each litre of the nutrient mixed sea water. Chromulina sp. Pavlova sp. and Chlorella sp. are inoculated in 250 ml flasks containing the new medium and is simultaneously compared with another set of flasks containing Walne's medium under controlled conditions of light and at a temperature rangong from 28 to 30· C. After every twenty four hours, cell counts are made and it is observed that rapid multipli.:ation of cells occurs during the initial period itself and the exponential phase is continued from the sixth day upto 12th day with similar results in both the media. The results with dirt·erent concentrations of the nutrients in the new medium are also presented in the paper

System design for mussel culture

Mussel culture has been proved as one of the feasible progress for large-scale production of cheap protein food in many of the European countries having considerable potential for production to the tune of 600 tonnes/hectare as is reported from Spain

Multi crop farming system for farming marine animals for producing medicines

It is well known that all physicians who practised Ayurveda, Allopathy, Homoeopathy, Sidha, Unani, etc. were to depend on the phamlacopea systems of preparing medicinesfrom extracts of plants, minerals and elements in the crude forms as well as in the most sophisticated forms even from the pre-vedic periods dating back to 5000 to 7000 BC. Due to the recent advancements in the modern medicines, a new branch of science has been evolved for extraction of bio-active agents or substances from marine organisms and scientists developed many life saving medicine

Role of reproductive bodies of algae as ultra microscopic food of larval and planktonic animals: a new finding in environmental science

Scientis ts believe that the bivalve larval reed on diatoms, detritus etc. When large scale spawning of these animals happens in the sea releasing million of larvae into the environment, no noticeable change is observed in the environment to show a boost of the feed material and it is also out of question that these millions of larvae are feeding on the dia toms of the sea which arc larger in size than the larval forms

Applied ecology - a new discipline to be developed to support aquaculture

Aquaculture or cultivation in water has become a common practice in almost all countries during recent times in the context of the limitations of harvest from the sea, or from freshwater bodies. Planned development by modern approaches in this sector will normally make it possible for organising aquaculture in the same way as agriculture and in many countries large scale cultivation of fish, edible oysters, mussels, Prawns, pearls, algae etc. are streamlined on industrial basis with proper management networks at production, marketing and at consumer levels

Security of payment for Hong Kong construction industry

In Hong Kong, getting paid is not always easy and the construction industry stands as an illustration of how much effort may be needed to achieve this and how adverse impacts can escalate from payment problems. At the moment, many jurisdictions have adopted some form of legislation or practical measures to enhance the ease and security of payment in the construction industry. Experience and insights from their operations provide guidance to Hong Kong for its way forward. By studying practices and feedback in other jurisdictions, this paper outlines and reviews the options and alternatives implemented for securing payment in the construction industry in Hong Kong. In addition, it also seeks to appraise their respective practicability for Hong Kong and highlight those areas to be considered if they are to be adopted or adapted for use in the Hong Kong construction industry. The ultimate aim is to provide an objective, balanced and reasoned overview for further study and discussion among stakeholders in the Hong Kong construction industry when moving forward. This is not intended to be an exhaustive review of all means adopted to achieve security of payment but aims to discuss those methods which are more likely to be suitable to be adopted in Hong Kong in the light of the circumstances and environment prevailing there. Furthermore, this study did not investigate the many modes of procurement that are available and which may address the concern of security of payment but focuses on the traditional form of contracts in use in Hong Kong. Public-private partnerships or private finance initiatives which would call for different discussions are not covered.published_or_final_versio

Building integrated project and asset management teams for sustainable built infrastructure development

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the relevance of the relationally integrated value networks (RIVANS) concept for integrating project management (PM) and asset management (AM) for total asset management (TAM). The specific objectives are to test the RIVANS for TAM concept postulated by Kumaraswamy (2011) and Kumaraswamy et al. (2012); discover ways to enable PM and AM teams to work in an integrated manner; and recommend strategies and operational measures to promote greater team integration in the industry. Design/methodology/approach – This study is based in Hong Kong with parallel studies in the UK, Singapore and Sri Lanka. Through a comprehensive questionnaire, a case study on an organization engaged in both design and construction and operations and maintenance (O&M) works, interviews and hosting a workshop (all conducted with experienced industry practitioners and experts), a set of recommendations are derived to guide the industry toward greater team integration. Findings – Early involvement of O&M staff is important for better anticipating obstacles and learning from past experiences, but PM and AM teams generally work independently with limited interaction. Priorities of the stakeholders are often different. Knowledge management is increasingly important, but knowledge sharing is not always a priority. The three focus areas in the set of recommendations developed from Hong Kong are: organizational/management structure, procurement strategies and operational mechanisms; fostering culture of team building and providing additional means of communication; and informal communication tools. Originality/value – There has been little research into the communication, interaction and integration between PM and AM priorities and teams. However, increasing industry emphasis on sustainable buildings, end-user satisfaction and designing for maintainability dictates that PM and AM teams must work closer together, hence the imperative for mapping useful directions to be pursued.postprin

The clam resources

Che estuaries and backwaters along the coasts of India have immense clam resources which have been traditionally exploited by the coastal people. The clams form the basis of subsistence for the fishermen during seasons when sea fishing is at a low ebb and clam fishing is a regular activity in many coastal regions of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala on the west coast. Along the east coast, clam fishing is restricted to a few centres such as the Kakinada Bay although, here and there, they are collected for culinary purposes elsewhere. This is an activity where, besides men and women, children participate. Clam marketing is highly localised in centres of collection. Apart from introduction of improved clam-scooping devices, the fishing method of hand-picking has largely remained unchanged over the years

Networking of Tracking Radars of Two Different SAM Weapons to Protect the Missile in Intensive Jamming Environment

Many countries including India use the Russian made SAM-3 (Pechora) surface-to-air missile (SAM) weapon systems to protect their strategic and tactical infrastructure. The mathematical computations done in this paper, conclusively proves that SA-125 low-blow tracking radar of Pechora is vulnerable to jamming. A project was undertaken to overcome the jamming vulnerability of Pechora aiming to design and develop an electronic counter counter measure system. This system networked the Pechora tracking radar with a western tracking radar, Flycatcher, developed by HSA Holland. The latter radar works in a MMW band. When jamming (x band) is employed by enemy aircraft the Low blow radar failed to provide target coordinates. But the flycatcher tracking radar which is tracking in Ka band provided the tracking coordinates (after parallax correction) to the command guidance computer. This way the missile guidance is protected until missile warhead in missile blasts near the target. Extensive trials carried out with a number of aircraft sorties proved the success of this developed system against jamming