Professionalism of the built environment researcher

What is professionalism? How important is professionalism to any particular field of endeavour and to society as a whole? Does a researcher have to demonstrate professionalism? How is the professionalism of a researcher determined, and how is it assessed? How important is professionalism to the field of research on the built environment? What form does professionalism among researchers on the built environment take? Who should develop the professionalism of such researchers? How should studies of professionalism in the field the built environment be done; what is the method to be applied in such studies? Who will be the gatekeeper of professionalism in that field, and who will undertake the assessment of the levels of professionalism? The study is exploratory in nature. It seeks to address the questions outlined above on professionalism in the field of built environment research. It suggests that the community of researchers on the built environment should give professionalism greater attention. It recommends that further studies on the parameters of the area of research be undertaken and proposes some relevant topics

Fungal-Transformation of Surrogate Sulphides and Carbonaceous Matter in Refractory Gold Ores

Refractory gold ores contain metal sulphides that encapsulate gold and prevent its dissolution by cyanide, and carbonaceous matter (CM) that adsorbs (or preg-rob) gold cyanide complex during cyanidation. Pretreatment is therefore a necessary step to decompose the sulphides and liberate gold before cyanidation, and to deactivate CM and prevent it from adsorbing dissolved gold. To contribute to the pool of knowledge on the development of microbial-treatment techniques for refractory gold ores, this paper presents an overview of on-going research aimed at assessing the capability of the fungus, Phanerochaete chrysospo-rium, to degrade sulphides and CM. Pure pyrite and arsenopyrite, with initial sulphide sulphur content of 52% and 20% respec-tively, were used as surrogate for metal sulphides, whereas lignite, bituminous and anthracite coals were used to model the behavior of CM in refractory gold ores. The extent of biotransformation was primarily monitored by measuring sulphide sul-phur in the residual sulphidic materials, and by determining the preg-robbing effect of the treated CM. Within 21 days of treat-ment, there was 18% and 39% oxidation of sulphide sulphur in pyrite and arsenopyrite respectively. During the same period, preg-robbing effect of CM reduced by 70-95% in the order of lignite < bituminous < anthracite. Partial characterization of the treated anthracite using XRD confirmed reduction in the graphitic structure of carbon, whereas in the case of pyrite, there was a decline in the major sulphide peak after microbial pretreatment. The results indicate that the fungus biotransforms mainly by increasing the amorphous nature of the substrates through destruction of the ordered structure, followed by introduction of oxygen groups. The findings suggest a novel and technically viable alternative method for oxidative pretreatment of refractory gold ores

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

Ghana’s construction industry, yesterday, today and tomorrow: towards greater professionalism

The construction industry is of strategic importance to every country. It is required to create the physical basis for the actions necessary to improve the quality of life of the citizens. Countries which recognise the importance of the industry have sought to ascertain its needs, develop strategies, policies and regulations and institute measures to improve its performance. We should endeavour to ensure the emergence of the construction industry Ghana deserves. The lecture will address many questions on the construction industry in Ghana, including these: What is the construction industry and how important is it to Ghana? Why is it important to develop the industry? What does the development of the construction industry involve? What does a ‘good’ construction industry look like? What is good practice in industry development around the world? Where is Ghana's construction industry? What has been done to get the industry to this point; what have been the successes and challenges? What is being done now, and what are their chances of success? What is the ultimate to aspire to attain in the development of Ghana's industry? How can we attain the desired ultimate? Whose job is it to endeavour to attain it, and what should the role of the main actors be

Information Management of Health and Safety at the Tarkwa Mine of Goldfields Ghana Limited

The Tarkwa Mine (TM) of Goldfields Ghana Limited (GGL) undertakes open pit mining operations with gold recovery by heap leach technology. As a mine, it is susceptible to health and safety risks in its operations. In spite of health and safety policy and regulations put in place at the TM, there have been reported cases of some job-related injuries, accidents and diseases among the employees. Could it be that the employees are not aware of the health and safety policy and regulations? To answer this question, this paper sought to examine the level of employees’ awareness of the health and safety policy and regulations, the suitability of the medium of information provision and the quality of information given to the employees on health and safety. The level of awareness of, and the suitability of the medium of information provision on, health and safety policy and regulations were assessed by analysing employees’ responses obtained from questionnaire administration while the quality of information was assessed using the content of information from internal newsletters, brochures, notices and sign boards. It was found that majority of the employees are very much aware of the health and safety policy and regulations because of good mode and medium of information provision. Various ways of improving information provision at the TM of GGL to reduce health and safety risks have been provided. Keywords: Information Provision, Awareness, Risk, Health and Safety Managemen

A Conceptual Risk Management Framework in the Construction of Mega Housing Projects in Egypt

Recent years have seen an increase in the number of Mega housing Projects around the world. This increase was to cater for increased population and urbanization. Construction of mega housing projects in Egypt faced a lot of challenges during the construction phase. There is no targeted framework that allows contractors to improve their risk management practice and project success during the construction of mega housing projects in Egypt. The aim of the paper is to design a conceptual Risk Management Framework for Mega Housing Projects in Egypt to improve risk practices and project success during the construction phase. The objective of the paper is to design a conceptual risk management framework to guide contractors to an efficient risk management practice during construction of mega housing projects in Egypt. The study is to review risk standards, to recognize developed risk frameworks, and to design a conceptual risk management framework (CRMF). The framework guide contractors’ in Egypt towards successful risk management practice. The CRMF included steps of risk identification, assessment, response, and risk control. Risk identification adopted risk principles from the International Standardization (ISO31000, 2018). Principles of risk management included knowledge, risk skills, challenges, and opportunities. Interviews and NVivo analysis are used as a technique of risk identification. Qualitative risk analysis included risks obtained from the identification process as input. Technique of questionnaire can guide contractors to prioritize risks based on their significance. Contractors can use Monte Carlo simulation as a quantitative technique to obtain time and cost contingency before and after adding responses. The technique of Monte Carlo analysis is used in the risk control process to highlight new contingencies after adding responsive strategies. The literature of risk management and standards were used as a backdrop to design a CRMF. The framework recognized contractors’ recent knowledge and skills and improves risk management practices during construction of mega housing projects. Contractors can use the designed conceptual risk management framework in reporting and communicating risk activities during construction of mega housing projects in Egypt

Strategies for Foreign Construction-Related Consultancy Firms to Improve Performance in China

© 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers. With China being a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), more foreign construction-related consultancy firms (foreign firms) are expected to operate in China. The aim of this research is to identify critical strategies and important practices that would improve a foreign firm's project performance. The results show foreign firms need to adopt a combination of both Western (differentiation, cost leadership) and Eastern strategies (risk responsiveness, swiftness) in order to achieve a higher level of performance in China. Foreign firms may assess their likely performance using the developed and validated models. Some instruments/practices to improve performance in China are also offered

Evolutionary Designed Building Skins with Embedded Biomimetic Adaptation Lessons

The ambition of this study is to create a computational design engine that develops testable simulated models that can adapt to various situations or environments by abstracting some adoption lessons from biology and their relationship to the evolutionary growth of natural systems. With an emphasis on the optimisation of thermal and visual comfort across specific floor areas, the abstracted principles of biology are used to develop building skin tissues. These designs, evaluations, and implementation principles are conceptualised and computationally simulated. The idea of nature as a repository of interconnected dynamic processes that are open to investigation and simulation has changed from a formal metaphor to credible applications that can be implemented to improve the built environment. Environmental catastrophes during the past 20 years have accelerated efforts to gain a deeper understanding of natural systems and processes. A greater congruence between architecture and nature is believed to be possible with the help of applying the principles of natural systems and processes to the construction of buildings. Examining and reflecting on the interrelations of forms, processes, and behaviours can yield useful strategies to develop architectural morphologies that require significant environmental performance enhancements. This paper aims to propose an evolutionary design process with embedded biomimetic principles to generate building skins with morphological characteristics that can be applied in the context of excessive solar radiation e.g. the Persian Gulf region, to maximise thermal comfort by blocking unwanted the solar radiatio

Recycling Potential of Waste Di-Isobutyl-Ketone (DIBK) and Recovery of Residual Gold

Di-Isobutyl-Ketone (DIBK) has been commonly used in most mining and allied industries to extract gold from aqueous solutions for analytical purposes. In most cases a complexing agent, methyl tricapryl ammonium chloride otherwise called aliquat 336 is added to the DIBK to give a 1% volume by volume solution. The DIBK containing aliquat 336 is then used to extract gold from aqueous solutions for subsequent analysis using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS). After the AAS analysis the DIBK-aliquat solution containing gold is stored as waste since its disposal is often associated with environmental and health problems. This paper investigated the possibility of using distillation to recover gold contained in the waste generated in Ghana as well as the recycling potential of the distillate (regenerated DIBK). It was established that distillation of the waste DIBK yielded about 92% distillate leaving a residue of tar, which contained all the gold in the waste. Thermal oxidation of the residue followed by conventional cyanidation of the resulting ash led to gold recovery of 98.97% and the gold extraction efficiency of the regenerated DIBK compares very well with that of fresh DIBK