The use of Total Quality Management (TQM) concepts in public sector infrastructure project delivery

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Building, 2016South African public sector clients use a variety of Total Quality Management (TQM) practice in infrastructure project delivery. However, there is a dearth of information on the impact of TQM on these projects. The three main drivers of public projects delivery are time, cost and quality. In many instances, the quality of the work is lacking and this in return hamper service delivery and consequently cost and time overruns are experienced. Furthermore, The public sector in the South African construction industry is the main employer of consultants, contractors and professionals in the construction fraternity, could lead from the front by bring the culture of quality in the construction industry. The study is investigating the level of TQM adoption in the public sector and is motivated by the limited academic research that has been done locally in TQM with respect to construction industry, especially from the client’s perspective. Internationally there have been extensive studies that were conducted on the subject. In general, there are ten elements of TQM, if practiced, there is an opportunity for positive results which can be attained both in short and long term basis. A questionnaire was used to collect the qualitative data, from public sector engineers and technicians, Consulting engineers and Contractor, which is then analysed using a range of statistical techniques, tables and graphs. In general, TQM concepts are used in the South African public sector infrastructure projects. There public sector should work towards quality management certifications, which will translate into standardised quality process. TQM can only be achieved if there are already process in place. Keywords TQM, Infrastructure projects, Project management, Service delivery Public sector, South AfricaEM201

THE FATE OF THE CROSSBRIDGE AFTER PHOSPHATE REBINDING: IMPLICATIONS FOR FATIGUE

In response to repeated intense contractile activity, a muscle’s ability to generate force decreases due to the created state of muscular fatigue. This compromised force production state is dependent on changes within the microenvironment of muscle thought to alter the function of the force generating, contractile protein myosin. For example, phosphate (Pi), elevated during fatigue, has been suggested to alter how myosin generates force. However, the effects of Pi are not straightforward, as muscle fiber data suggest that Pi\u27s interaction with myosin may be force-dependent. In particular, Pi has no effect on maximal shortening velocity, but dramatically decreases isometric force development. These effects of Pi on muscle force development occur in a concentration dependent manner, but the mechanism underlying its effects on myosin has not been resolved. In fact, there are two competing explanations for how Pi reduces the force generating capacity of myosin. Each explanation generates different predictions of how Pi affects myosin. Therefore, to understand the mechanism underlying Pi effects on the crossbridge, we aimed to 1) characterize the force-dependent mechanism of Pi-rebinding in skeletal myosin and 2) identify a structural element coordinating this process. Our work has a) explained the force-dependent effect of Pi on skeletal muscle myosin’s force generating capacity, b) characterized a force sensitive region within the active site that mediates Pi-rebinding, and c) improved our understanding of the mechanisms of muscular fatigue at the crossbridge level

The symbiotic binary system RX Puppis: a possible recurrent nova with a Mira companion

We present an analysis of photometric and spectroscopic observations of the symbiotic binary system RX Pup with the aims of developing a reliable binary for the system and identifying mechanisms responsible for its spectacular activity. The binary is composed of a long-perod Mira variable surrounded by a thick dust shell and a hot white dwarf companion. The hot component produces practically all activity observed in the UV, optical and radio range, while variable obscuration of the Mira by circumstellar dust is responsible for long-term changes in the near-IR magnitudes. The observations show RX Pup underwent a nova-like eruption during the last three decades. The hot component contracted in radius at roughly constant luminosity from 1975 to 1986, and was the source of a strong stellar wind which prevented it from accreting material lost in the Mira wind. Around 1988/9 the hot component turned over in the HR diagram and by 1991 its luminosity had faded by a factor of about 30 with respect to the maximum plateau value and the hot wind had practically ceased. By 1995 the nova remnant started to accrete material from the Mira wind, as indicated by a general increase in intensity of the optical continuum and HI emission. The quiescent spectrum resembles the quiescent spectra of symbiotic recurrent novae, and its intensity indicates the hot component must accrete as much as about 1 per cent of the Mira wind, which is more or less the amount predicted by Bondi-Hoyle theory. The earliest observational records from the 1890s suggest that another nova-like eruption of RX Pup occurred around 1894.Comment: 23 pages, 12 figues, MNRAS - accepte

Improved SAAO–2MASS photometry transformations

Near-infrared photometry of 599 stars is used to calculate transformations from the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) JHK system to the Two-Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS) JHKS system. Both several-term formal regression relations and simplified transformations are presented. Inverse transformations (i.e. 2MASS to SAAO) are also given. The presence of non-linearities in some colour terms is highlighted.Web of Scienc

The effect of dust obscuration in RR Tel on optical and IR long-term photometry and Fe II emission lines

Infrared and optical photometric and spectroscopic observations of the symbiotic nova RR Tel are used to study the effects and properties of dust in symbiotic binaries containing a cool Mira component, as well as showing "obscuration events" of increased absorption, which are typical for such Miras. A set of photometric observations of the symbiotic nova RR Tel in different wavelength bands - visual from 1949 to 2002 and near-infrared (JHKL) from 1975 to 2002 - are presented. The variability due to the normal Mira pulsation was removed from the JHKL data, which were then compared with the AAVSO visual light curve. The changes of the Fe II emission line fluxes during the 1996-2000 obscuration episode were studied in the optical spectra taken with the Anglo-Australian telescope. We discuss the three periods during which the Mira component was heavily obscured by dust as observed in the different wavelength bands. A change in the correlations of J with other infrared magnitudes was observed with the colour becoming redder after JD2446000. Generally, J-K was comparable, while K-L was larger than typical values for single Miras. A distance estimate of 2.5 kpc, based on the IR data, is given. A larger flux decrease for the permitted than for the forbidden Fe II lines, during the obscuration episode studied, has been found. There is no evidence for other correlations with line properties, in particular with wavelength, which suggests obscuration due to separate optically thick clouds in the outer layers.Comment: 19 pages, 11 figures, 3 table

UBV(RI)C JHK observations of Hipparcos-selected nearby stars

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Surgical adverse outcome reporting as part of routine clinical care

Analysis and support of clinical decision makin