Assessing the impact of amended building regulations on the operations of UK construction companies

The UK government continues to make regular amendments to building regulations. This is in order to keep these regulations relevant to today’s prevailing construction environment. More recently, UK building regulations have been amended to facilitate the introduction of the sustainability concepts in UK building design and delivery. This paper examines the impact that these amendments on the operations of UK Construction companies. To conduct the study, five major building practitioners were interviewed. We found from this preliminary study that changes to building regulations do have a considerable impact on the operations of UK Construction companies. It is however important to highlight that a full assessment of the impact of these changes in building regulations is still not fully assessed due to the limitations with the sample size

ICT adoption in developing countries : perspectives from small-scale agribusinesses

The purpose of this paper is to critically examine how social augmented parameters impact on the effective adoption of information and communication technology (ICT) by small-scale agribusinesses operating in Southeast Nigeria. The relevance of incorporating social imperatives in scholarship focused on technology adoption is due to its role in sustaining the process of adoption and diffusion. Data were gathered from a focus group made up of 27 agribusiness proprietors affiliated with a state cooperative based in the south-eastern Nigerian state of Ebonyi. This paper puts forward an argument that to ensure successful diffusion of innovation, a balance must be maintained between the amount of effort expended in the design of ICT and social factors such as language and traditional life. The paper finds that a willingness of indigenous ICT users is particularly influenced by the recognition and incorporation of visible social imperatives during the adoption process. The outcome of this study highlights important issues for ICT adoption. One particular area that must be taken into consideration is the adoption channel. Perceptions of ICT adoption will differ significantly among adopters. For this reason, the need for developing an appropriate adoption channel that ensures successful diffusion of the innovation should be recognised. This study contributes to ongoing research in ICT innovation adoption in small agribusinesses operating in indigenous societies. The theoretical implications of this paper are the development of a conceptual ICT adoption framework that emphasises social imperatives. The paper also demonstrates that agricultural enterprises should be treated as ‘normal’ firms in their own right

Deformation of a liquid film by an impinging gas jet: Modelling and experiments

© 2019, Avestia Publishing. We consider liquid in a cylindrical beaker and study the deformation of its surface under the influence of an impinging gas jet. Analyzing such a system not only is of fundamental theoretical interest, but also of industrial importance, e.g., in metallurgical applications. The solution of the full set of governing equations is computationally expensive. Therefore, to obtain initial insight into relevant regimes and timescales of the system, we first derive a reduced-order model (a thin-film equation) based on the long-wave assumption and on appropriate decoupling the gas problem from that for the liquid and taking into account a disjoining pressure. We also perform direct numerical simulations (DNS) of the full governing equations using two different approaches, the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) package in COMSOL and the volume-of-fluid Gerris package. The DNS are used to validate the results for the thinfilm equation and also to investigate the regimes that are beyond the range of validity of this equation. We additionally compare the computational results with experiments and find good agreement

Project failures : a comparative study of information and communication technologies (ICT) and construction projects

In the ICT industry, since de-regulation business objectives have been closely linked to the lowering of prices and improvement in quality of service. Unfortunately, the industry has arguably failed to deliver the majority of its projects. This research examines this described failure and considers the reasons why it occurs. As a starting point, the research suggests that the ICT industry might be better off by comparing its progress against that already made by the construction industry, an industry involved in projects with similar characteristics such as complex relationships, detailed information and long delivery periods over many phases. A framework demonstrating similarities and differences in project characteristics between construction and ICT was developed from available literature. The framework was examined and refined by carrying out in-depth interviews. It was then tested using data from a survey of professionals involved in Construction and ICT projects. The results of the analysis indicate that there are no fundamental differences either in the definition of projects or the application of project management systems, principles and methodologies between the two industries. Therefore this is not the reason for the failure of project delivery within ICT. The real problem appears to be in the method of project performance measurement, which is based on an approach to project success that is separate from progress measurement criteria

Softer perspectives on enhancing the patient experience using IS/IT

Purpose – This paper aims to argue that the implementation of the Choose and Book system has failed due to the inability of project sponsors to appreciate the complex and far-reaching softer implications of the implementation, especially in a complex organisation such as the NHS, which has multifarious stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach – The authors use practice-oriented research to try and isolate key parameters. These parameters are compared with existing conventional thinking in a number of focused areas. Findings – Like many previous NHS initiatives, the focus of this system is in its obvious link to patients. However we find that although this project has cultural, social and organisational implications, programme managers and champions of the Connecting for Health programme emphasised the technical domains to IS/IT adoption. Research limitations/implications – This paper has been written in advance of a fully implemented Choose and Book system. Practical implications – The paper requests that more attention be paid to the softer side of IS/IT delivery, implementation, introduction and adoption. Originality/value – The paper shows that patient experience within the UK healthcare sector is still well below what is desired

The impact of strategy on ICT projects

Strategic planning processes are oriented towards the selection of objectives and product/market choices by senior management. From this viewpoint strategic planning provides a mechanism for setting and reviewing objectives, focusing on choices of long-term significance, identifying strategic options, allocating resources, and achieving corporate-wide co-ordination, monitoring, and control. Current literature on strategic planning has recognised the problems with traditional approaches to planning. In this article, the authors seek to consider links between strategy and the implementation of ICT projects within the telecommunications industry

Use of Remote Sensing Data to Detect Environmental Degradation in the Oil Rich Region of Southern Nigeria between 2003 and 2015

The oil spill management system aims to achieve a knowledge- based system which can choose the most suitable method of response in shorter time by analyzing the various sensitivity factors of coastal environment, affecting parameters on oil spill movement, environmental concerns in oil spill response, and consequent monitoring and clean-up measurements. The major advantage of this integration is the ability to extract oil spill parameters such as location, linear size and spill areas. Spatial and temporal information, i.e. oil spill distribution at the sea, its frequency and evolution in time allow the scientists to establish the major cause and source of oil spills, and then outline the risk areas. This study has demonstrated the application of GIS and remote sensing as a decision support tool for oil spill management. Its objectives are to perform image classification and accuracy assessment, to perform post classification change detection for oil spill detection and to perform trend of change analysis for oil spill growth trend. Methodology involves planning stage, data requirements, data acquisition, data processing and results presentation. The results indicated that the annual growth rate of water bodies is decreasing at -0.16% from 2003 to 2015, settlements decreased at a rate of -1.16% from 2003 to 2015 while Mangrove and vegetation decreased significantly at the rate of -2.82% and -1.92% respectively from 2003 to 2015, this is by far the most significant decrease in the study area, as oil spill degrades farmland and plantations there by rendering it useless for economical purposes, the results also indicated that degraded environment increased at a rate of 3.39% from 2003 to 2015. It was further recommended amongst others that further studies should be on oil spill management in Gokana L.G.A as this will provide additional information on how to manage the effects of oil spill in Gokana L.G.A

Topographic Information System of Federal School of Surveying, Oyo East Local Government Oyo State Nigeria

The need for the production of Topographic Information System (TIS) of Federal School of Surveying, Oyo arose due to the absence of Topographic Information System for proper planning of the school. Therefore, TIS was carried out with the aim of producing a tool for effective planning and land management of the school. Field and Office reconnaissance were carried out in order to be familiar with the terrain and do proper planning on the methodology and equipment to be used for the acquisition and assembling of spatial and attribute data. The geometric (spatial) data were acquired by ground survey method using Total station (South S74301) through the process of traversing, detailing and obtaining spot heights which were carried out simultaneously. The data processing were adequately and effectively done using Leica Geo Office Tools and South NTS Software for Data downloading, Notepad and Microsoft Excel for editing and preprocessing, AutoCAD 2016 for draughting, Surfer 11 for generating the Digital Terrain Model (DTM) and 3D Wireframe Map while ArcGIS 10.0 version was used for spatial analysis, query generation and information presentation. A model database was created and structured using the relational table format. The interpretation of the maps and queries produced, supports decision making policy needed by the Land surveyors, Architects, Engineers, Urban and Regional planners to plan, design and execute vital infrastructural projects in the school. It was recommended that TIS should become a lasting tool for decision making and management of land and its resources for effective and sustainable development