Workplace safety implications of cultural diversity on Australian construction sites a pilot study /

Cultural diversity has become a distinctive feature of Australia's construction workforce. There is a need for a systematic investigation into the cultural divergences among workers in difference ethnic groups and their implications for the workplace health and safety management in the construction industry. This research was proposed to examine the workplace safety implications of cultural diversity issues on construction sites. As the pilot study of a 3-year research program, this paper aims to identify potential workplace safety issues caused by cultural diversity on construction sites. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 10 safety professionals. The results of the semi-structured interviews indicate that cultural diversity has an influential impact on many aspects of safety practices on construction sites, e.g., management commitment; communication; workers’ involvement; supportive environment; supervisory environment; personal risk appreciation; work pressure; training and education; and rules and procedures. The issues that were identified from the semi-structured interviews will be used to develop a quantitative data collection instrument which aims to develop a framework for managing construction safety in a multicultural workforce (the second stage of this research)

Simulation and Experimental Research on a Gas Liquid Separator with Rotary Impeller

Gas-liquid separation technology under microgravity is the basis for various gas and liquid treatments on a manned spacecraft, which has a wide range of applications in Environmental Control and Life Support System. Dynamic gas-liquid separator is commonly used for the separation of gas-liquid two-phase flow, which has two essential performance parameters called liquid outlet pressure and separating efficiency. Predicting these two parameters accurately under a specific structure has guiding significance for design and application of the dynamic gas-liquid separator. In this study, CFD simulations were conducted using the Volume of Fluid (VOF) model at steady state conditions. In addition, experiments were designed to verify the accuracy of numerical results. Finally, the performance of the separator under microgravity was predicted. It is showed that the simulation method can be utilized to determine the transport performance of dynamic gas-liquid separator, which has significant value in design and optimization

Learning on rework management of construction projects: A case study

Zhao, X ORCiD: 0000-0003-0153-5173Effective rework management (RM) not only increases profitability but also enhances management competence of contractors. However, little research has been conducted to explore the learning nature of RM from the perspective of contractors. Based on a longitudinal case study of three construction projects, this paper aims to present a holistic analysis on the RM learning process from the experience of a small-to-medium (SM) general contractor (GC) in China to explore the underlying facts determining the effectiveness of RM practices. It was found that a variety of causes led to rework in the three projects, which highlighted the importance to enhance GC's learning capacity to effectively reduce rework. A conceptual RM learning framework (CRMLF), which consists of people, approach, process, tool and project environment, was developed based on the analysis of influential factors of successful learning within the RM domain. This paper is valuable for practitioners and academics to understand the inherent nature of RM to continuously improve the project performance

Simulation and Experimental Research on a Gas Liquid Separator with Rotary Impeller

Gas-liquid separation technology under microgravity is the basis for various gas and liquid treatments on a manned spacecraft, which has a wide range of applications in Environmental Control and Life Support System. Dynamic gas-liquid separator is commonly used for the separation of gas-liquid two-phase flow, which has two essential performance parameters called liquid outlet pressure and separating efficiency. Predicting these two parameters accurately under a specific structure has guiding significance for design and application of the dynamic gas-liquid separator. In this study, CFD simulations were conducted using the Volume of Fluid (VOF) model at steady state conditions. In addition, experiments were designed to verify the accuracy of numerical results. Finally, the performance of the separator under microgravity was predicted. It is showed that the simulation method can be utilized to determine the transport performance of dynamic gas-liquid separator, which has significant value in design and optimization

Learning on rework management of construction projects: A case study

Effective rework management (RM) not only increases profitability but also enhances management competence of contractors. However, little research has been conducted to explore the learning nature of RM from the perspective of contractors. Based on a longitudinal case study of three construction projects, this paper aims to present a holistic analysis on the RM learning process from the experience of a small-to-medium (SM) general contractor (GC) in China to explore the underlying facts determining the effectiveness of RM practices. It was found that a variety of causes led to rework in the three projects, which highlighted the importance to enhance GC's learning capacity to effectively reduce rework. A conceptual RM learning framework (CRMLF), which consists of people, approach, process, tool and project environment, was developed based on the analysis of influential factors of successful learning within the RM domain. This paper is valuable for practitioners and academics to understand the inherent nature of RM to continuously improve the project performance.</p

Geochemical characteristics and source of crude oil from the eastern Shawan Sag, Junggar Basin

The Shawan Sag is one of the important exploration areas in the hinterland of the Junggar Basin. In order to better clarify the source of crude oil from the Permian, Jurassic and Cretaceous reservoirs in the sag and identify hydrocarbon accumulation processes and enrichment pattern, the authors conducted a carbon isotope and biomarker analysis on the typical crude oil samples from the eastern Shawan Sag in this study, and further carried out crude oil classification and oil-source correlation based on the analysis of geochemical characteristics of crude oil. The results indicate that the crude oil from different strata in the eastern Shawan Sag can be divided into three types. The first type mainly occurs in the Permian and Jurassic reservoirs, and its whole oil δ13C value and Pr/Ph ratio range from -31.0‰ to -29.0‰ and from 1.0 to 2.0, respectively. The relative contents of αααR regular sterane display the characteristics of C27 C23 TT and C24TeT/C26TT C21>C23TT. The distribution fraction of methyl phenanthrene reflects that the crude oil is in the stage of high-maturity evolution. All these indicate the mixing of crude oil generated in the Lower Permian source rocks. The second type occurs in the Middle Jurassic reservoirs. The whole oil δ13C value and individual n-alkanes δ13C value are higher than -29.0‰. The Pr/Ph ratio is relatively higher, ranging from 2.0 to 2.5, with C24TeT/C26TT>1, which indicate that this type of crude oil is mainly derived from the Jurassic source rocks. The third type occurs in the Lower Cretaceous reservoirs, and its whole oil δ13C value and Pr/Ph ratio are lower than -31.0‰ and 1.0, respectively. The αααR regular sterane contents display the characteristics of C27≈C28 <C29, with the gammacerane index higher than 0.50. The individual n-alkanes δ13C value gradually decreases with the increase of carbon number and is commonly lower than -31.0‰. This type of oil is demonstrated to be mainly derived from the Lower Cretaceous source rocks