A SWARA-COPRAS approach to the allocation of risk in water and sewerage public–private partnership projects in Malaysia

In a situation of growing water demand, inadequate public funding, poor asset condition and lack of maintenance in developing countries, public-private partnerships (PPPs) play an important role in the development of infrastructure, such as water supply and sewerage services. The purpose of this study is to develop a quantitative approach to appropriate risk allocation, with attention directed to the impact of positive and negative factors in water and sewerage projects. The paper presents a hybrid SWARA-COPRAS approach to examine risk allocation, particularly for PPP water supply and sewerage projects in the context of Malaysia. In addition to PPP infrastructure projects, the approach has the potential to be adapted to other applications. The proposed method enables decision makers to utilise qualitative linguistic terms in the allocation of risk between the public and private sector, and to select the best strategy for risk allocation in a contract. Finally, 24 significant risks were identified: six risks would preferably be allocated to the public sector, while seven risks would be assigned to the private sector, and eleven risks would preferably be shared by both parties. The finding from this study can help the government of Malaysia to determine an attractive political strategy for private investors to support a PPP water and sewerage infrastructure project

Efficiency of Silver Staining in Differential Diagnosis of Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma from Polymorphous Low-Grade Adenocarcinoma

Objectives The aim of this study is find a practical and easy way to histologically differentiate between two malignant tumors namely Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma (ACC) and Polymorphous Low-grade Adeno Carcinoma (PLGA) silver nitrate staining.Methods In this cross-sectional study, 30 parrafin-embedded blocks of ACC and nine paraffin-embedded blocks of PLGA with the most acceptable standards were selected and stained with silver nitrate. Then the number and quality (size and pattern) of the stained spots in five random microscopic fields at 100× magnification (at least 100 cells) were evaluated. T-test was used to compare the number of dots between the two tumors while the quality of dots was compared with the Mann-Whitney U test.Results The mean silver stainable nucleolus organizer region (AgNOR) count was 3/45 for ACC and 2/45 for PLGA. Significant differences were observed in the number of dots between ACC and PLGA (p=0.004), but there was no statistically significant difference between the two tumors in terms of quality of dots.Conclusion AgNOR count can be useful as an available method in confirm the diagnosis of ACC and differentiate it from PLGA

Wastewater treatment using integrated anaerobic baffled reactor and Bio-rack wetland planted with Phragmites sp. and Typha sp.

The purpose of this study is to examine the potential use of anaerobic baffled reactor (ABR) followed by Bio-rack wetland planted with Phragmites sp. and Typha sp. for treating domestic wastewater generated by small communities (751 mg COD/L, 500 SCOD mg/L, 348 mg BOD(5)/L). Two parallel laboratory-scale models showed that the process planted with Phragmites sp. and Typha sp. are capable of removing COD by 87% & 86%, SCOD by 90% & 88%, BOD(5) by 93% & 92%, TSS by 88% & 86%, TN by 79% & 77%, PO(4)-P by 21% & 14% at an overall HRT of 21 (843 g COD/m(3)/day & 392 g BOD(5)/m(3)/day) and 27 (622 g COD/m(3)/day & 302 g BOD(5)/m(3)/day) hours, respectively. Microbial analysis indicated a high reduction in the MPN of total coliform and TVC as high as 99% at the outlet end of the processes. The vegetated system using Phragmites sp. showed significantly greater (p <0.05) pollutant removal efficiencies due to its extensive root and mass growth rate (p <0.05) of the plant compared to Typha sp. The Phragmites sp. indicated a higher relative growth rate (3.92%) than Typha sp. (0.90%). Microorganisms immobilized on the surface of the Bio-rack media (mean TVC: 2.33 × 10(7) cfu/cm(2)) were isolated, identified and observed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). This study illustrated that the present integrated processes could be an ideal approach for promoting a sustainable decentralization, however, Phragmites sp. would be more efficient rather than Typha sp

Proposing a new hierarchical framework for the evaluation of quality management practices: a new combined fuzzy hybrid MCDM approach

This study aims to evaluate the quality management (QM) practices in Iranian hotels that are small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through the integration of the fuzzy set theory with both qualitative and quantitative methods. The criteria were collected through the literature survey and the fuzzy Delphi method (FDM). This study applied fuzzy multiple criteria decision making (FMCDM), including the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP), the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) and Vise Kriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR). In the FDM phase, 21 practice was selected and categorized into four main factors. Results of the study indicated that the quality assurance was ranked as the highest important fac- tor. From the practical viewpoint, this paper proposed new integrated model that applied FDM, FAHP, TOPSIS and VIKOR for the evaluation of QM practices in the hotel industry and introduced the environmental perspective as a new viewpoint of QM systems, espe- cially in hotels as SMEs. In addition, the proposed model highlights a new insight into MCDM and contributes to the present body of knowledge in the area of QM systems

Approaches to Risk Identification in Public–Private Partnership Projects : Malaysian Private Partners’ Overview

The complexity of public–private partnership (PPP) projects ensures that risks could emerge and spread in unpredictable ways if they are not well identified and managed. The emergence of PPP projects has brought major changes in the construction industry, the most notable being in procurement methods influencing risk allocation to private parties. Thus, it is crucial to have an effective risk management for public and private partners to eliminate or minimise risks. Formulating an effective risk management system is a crucial challenge faced by both of parties in order to minimise or optimise risks. The aim of this study was to investigate the process of risk identification of private partners in Malaysian PPP projects. Data were collected throughout a 2-month period using a survey with a sample of nine Malaysian companies engaged in PPP projects, and the survey results were analysed using mean scores. The findings indicate that due to a lack of knowledge and experience of Malaysian private partners in the risk identification process, a comprehensive database for risk identification is highly necessary for the private sector. Another issue emerging from the findings is that it may be reasonable to use a combination of risk identification tools for PPP projects with a high level of complexity. The findings of the present study can greatly assist public and private partners to select the most appropriate tools for risk identification at the early stages of PPP projects

PRIORITIZATION OF THREAT FACTORS FOR PIPELINE OPERATOR’S REPUTATION SUSTAINABILITY FROM CUSTOMER’S PERSPECTIVES

A company reputation solely depends on how their stakeholders perceive them and their attributes, e.g., onshore oil and gas pipeline damage; sustaining the company reputation level amidst this deadly event is a great challenge to the owner. This article aimed to prioritise the contributing indicators of reputation loss as influenced by the customer perspective. These indicators were identified according to the 10 major onshore oil and gas pipeline explosion case studies; about 72 respondents had participated in the survey for data collection. Fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) method was used to prioritise the factors and produced results as follows: factor A3 “Downgraded owner’s ranking by ranking agencies”, factor B2 “Bad word-of-mouth among customer”, factor C3 “Accident facts hidden for personal interest” and factor D3 “Accident severity” were chosen to be the highest priority based on the customers’ perception. This factor rioritisation process assists the owner to attend to these matter so that the impact of reputation loss, which influenced by the customer, may be avoided. Eventually the consequence assessment for pipeline damage can be successfully applied to evaluate the level of loss to be borne by the asset owner and eventually sustain the reputation of the company

Hybrid SWARA-COPRAS method for risk assessment in deep foundation excavation project: an iranian case study

Existing risks in deep foundation excavation projects is a major issue in developing cities. With the rapid in-crease in the number of various deep foundation and excavation projects in big cities of Iran, many accidents related to deep excavation have been reported every year. These accidents affected delay and increased cost of project implemen-tation. Therefore identification and assessment of risks of these accidents is essential. The aim of the research was to develop a framework to overcome limitations of previous approaches to assess of risks in excavation projects. According to the complexity of a problem and the inherent uncertainty, the framework adopted SWARA (Step-wise Weight As-sessment Ratio Analysis) and COPRAS (COmplex PRoportional ASsessment) methods through introducing new criteria for risk assessment. Data was collected through interview, a literature review and a questionnaire survey distributed to excavation project experts. A case study of deep foundation excavation in Shiraz was presented. The results have shown that the risks involving construction safety, unfavourable geological conditions, shortage of managerial experience, in-complete emergency plan and subsidence of ground are the most significant risks excavation projects in Shiraz. The proposed framework and the obtained results can help stakeholders of excavation projects in developing countries better to manage project risks

Effects of Preemptive and Preventive intravenous Paracetamol on postoperative pain and opioid consumption in patients undergoing laparoscopic nephrectomy

Background: Adequate pain control is a goal in post operative recovery. However opioids provide good analgesic effects, their side effects such as postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) limit their administration. Intravenous Paracetamol as a safe and well tolerated drug with lower side effects can be used instead of opioids for pain management.Objectives: The aim of this study is to compare preemptive or preventive administration of paracetamol with placebo group to investigate its effects on pain control and opioid consumption in patients undergoing laparoscopic nephrectomy.Patients and Methods: Ninety patients were randomly divided to three groups. Preemptive group received 1 gr paracetamol in 100 ml normal saline 30 minutes before induction of anesthesia, Preventive group received 1 gr paracetamol in 100 ml normal saline before closure of the skin and placebo group just received 100 ml normal saline. Post surgical pain was assessed using Verbal Rating Scale (VRS). Pethidine 0.25 mg/kg was administered and repeated each 10 minutes to control pain. Pain scores, total dose of opioid and symptoms like nausea and vomiting were recorded. Results: Preemptive and Preventive groups had lower pain scores than placebo group. Opioid consumption and PONV were significantly higher in placebo group. No significant differences were observed between Preemptive and Preventive groups.Conclusion: IV Paracetamol can provide an adequate pain control with low side effects and may be an effective choice in management of post operative pain in patients undergoing laparoscopic nephrectom