Risk management for build, operate and transfer projects within Kuwait

Infrastructure projects, based on the Build-Operate-Transfer, (BOT), method, have been of interest to governments of developed and developing countries for some time, resulting in their worldwide use. Using the BOT method enables governments to reallocate risks and rewards to the private sector for larger infrastructure projects throughout the projects' operating life. In order to implement a BOT infrastructure project successfully, one of the essential requirements is to carry out a thorough analysis of risks relating to the project including the social, economic, environmental, political, legal, and the financial aspects. Due to the fact that the type of risk study required for large-scale projects is so sophisticated, and therefore expensive and time consuming, the government, due to lack of expertise and time, often obtains a project viability study from the private sector. This can cause problems in that the private sector may incur financial losses or even bankruptcy, unless the host government guarantees compensation to the losers of the bid. Because all parties have different targets which they wish to achieve from the project, a may conflict arise and cause lengthy negotiations, sometimes lasting for years which often result in the death of the project. The greatest opportunity for a successful outcome for a BOT project is obtained when the extensive efforts and costs involved in the risk study process are shared by all parties. The responsibility of the decision maker is to identify, understand and analyze the many risk factors both, qualitative, (linguistic in nature) and quantitative, that will affect funding, procurement, developing, construction and operation, before proceeding with the build stage of the project. Firstly, it is necessary to evaluate the quantitative Risk Factors subjectively, and list them in order of importance. Secondly, conduct an evaluation of the qualitative factors and since the consideration of qualitative factors is subjective, the decision maker will often limit the number of factors being evaluated possibly resulting in inconsistent results. This study proposes a decision framework, which would be useful in determining the influence of the qualitative Risk Factors on the project management of BOT infrastructure projects. A methodology is provided to enable the identification of interrelationships between the Risk Factors and their influence on the project. Using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) techniques, which model the relationships between the Risk Factors, a validation of this approach will be sought using a decomposed evaluation method and also information obtained from three existing case studies, (the Channel Tunnel, Sulaibiya Wastewater Treatment and Reclamation Plant and Marsa Allam Airport). The results of the decomposed approach were compared to experts' holistic evaluations for the same case studies mentioned above. The findings indicate that the decomposed approach showed a strong correlation to the holistic approach. An evaluation of the risks for the Sulaibiya Wastewater Treatment and Reclamation Plant study is provided and suggestions made to highlight risks attached to such a project before it is actually undertaken. Using the decomposed approach enables the decision maker to see the contribution of each risk compared to all of the risks in the total project and will help to determine and subsequently minimize or preventing any risk factors and so considerably improving the risk management of the project

The Shareholding Company from the Perspective of Hanbali Jurisprudence

This study aims at showing the Islamic Shariah ruling of the shareholding company from the perspective of the Hanbali jurisprudence, In order to address the problem of the study and answer its questions, the researcher has shown the meaning of company in language and as term according to Hanbali scholars, Then the researcher has tackled the legitimacy of company and its types according to Hanbali t scholars. After that the researcher has shown the meaning of Shareholding Company according to the contemporary scholars. And the has shown the juristic adaptation of the shareholding company according to Hanbali jurisprudence. The study found that the shareholding company meets the descriptions of a type of company namely AL Anan company Hanbali jurisprudenc

Risk management framework for build, operate and transfer (BOT) projects in Kuwait

Successful implementation of build-operate-transfer (BOT), infrastructure projects is dependent on a full and thorough analysis of factors that include social, economic and political, amongst others. Alongside the financially focused evaluations, qualitative factors will also have a strong impact on the project and so require specific techniques for the analysis. This paper presents a new evaluation framework, based on the analytical hierarchy process technique, for use in assessing the most common and significant decision factors relating to risks in BOT projects. Consultations with an expert group identified a series of risk decision factors. The results produced twenty-eight critical Risk Factors, which have a particular impact on the risks of BOT projects. The project risk framework was constructed by classifying the factors into five categories. The framework was successfully validated using a BOT project case study. This research seeks to make a valuable contribution to the field by having developed and validated a new risk evaluation framework, focused on BOT projects in Kuwait

Nation branding: resources, management, and performance

Nation Branding is imperative as nations compete in inviting inward investment, strengthening images, attracting talents, winning export markets, and garnering the trust of the population towards the ruling government. This study integrates the Resource-Based View (RBV) theory and Anholt’s hexagon model in order to examine the nation branding efforts in Kuwait from the perspectives of business communities. Quantitative analysis was performed to measure suitable variables for the Kuwait nation branding as a way of meeting the research objectives. The research is founded in the theoretical framework of the five main constructs namely Reputation Resources (investment, export, and tourism), Governance (power relation, region stability, and fair trade), Psychographic (attitude, cultural values, and behavior), Snowball sampling was carried out using the 210 usable data which were collected from businessmen from various cities of Kuwait. Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was utilized in analyzing the data. The results indicate a significant relationship between reputation resources and governance on branding performance with the mediation of the role of branding management. However, the psychographic aspects of the people which were hypothesized to influence the nation branding were found to be insignificant. The findings shed light on existing nation branding knowledge stock and provide valuable insights for the government in improving its Nation Branding Strategy

Intrauterine Growth Restriction: Cytokine Profiles of Trophoblast Antigen-Stimulated Maternal Lymphocytes

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is an important perinatal syndrome that poses several serious short- and long-term effects. We studied cytokine production by maternal peripheral blood lymphocytes stimulated by trophoblast antigens. 36 women with a diagnosis of IUGR and 22 healthy women with normal fetal growth were inducted. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were stimulated with trophoblast antigens and levels of the proinflammatory cytokines IL-6, IL-8, IL-12, IL-23, IFNγ, and TNFα and the anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-4, IL-10, and IL-13 were measured in culture supernatants by ELISA. IL-8 was produced at higher levels by blood cells of the IUGR group than normal pregnant women, while IL-13 was produced at lower levels. IL-8, IFNγ, and TNFα were higher in IUGR with placental insufficiency than in normal pregnancy. IL-12 levels were higher and IL-10 levels were lower in IUGR with placental insufficiency than in IUGR without placental insufficiency. We suggest that a stronger pro-inflammatory bias exists in IUGR as compared to normal pregnancy and in IUGR with placental insufficiency when compared to IUGR without placental insufficiency. Several ratios of proinflammatory to anti-inflammatory cytokines also support the existence of an inflammatory bias in IUGR

User’s hand effect on efficiency of 2-port 5 GHZ mobile terminal antennas

In this paper, the influence of user’s hand on mobile terminal antenna when it placed approximately on top of Multiple Input Multiple Output radiating element antennas (PIFAs) is studied extensively. The antenna is designed to operate at 5 GHz with 1.5 GHz of -6 dB bandwidth. The effect of user’s hand with different finger positions are studied at seven positions on slit at the ground plane, seven differences height above the antenna and nine different locations around the radiating element at 2 mm height from antenna. The losses due to presence of hand are studied in terms of scattering parameters, radiation efficiency and matching efficiency. The maximum loss in term of isolation in the presence of user’s hand is found at 6 mm on the slit and it decreased as the hand move away from the slitted area on the ground plane. The maximum efficiency loss is observed when the finger is placed right on top of the radiating element with -5.85 dB compare to antenna without the presence of user’s hand. On the other hand, the result for matching efficiency indicates approximately 0.2 dB losses occurred when the fingers are varied at different height and position

Self-Stabilizing Byzantine Resilient Topology Discovery and Message Delivery

Traditional Byzantine resilient algorithms use $2f + 1$ vertex disjoint paths to ensure message delivery in the presence of up to f Byzantine nodes. The question of how these paths are identified is related to the fundamental problem of topology discovery. Distributed algorithms for topology discovery cope with a never ending task, dealing with frequent changes in the network topology and unpredictable transient faults. Therefore, algorithms for topology discovery should be self-stabilizing to ensure convergence of the topology information following any such unpredictable sequence of events. We present the first such algorithm that can cope with Byzantine nodes. Starting in an arbitrary global state, and in the presence of f Byzantine nodes, each node is eventually aware of all the other non-Byzantine nodes and their connecting communication links. Using the topology information, nodes can, for example, route messages across the network and deliver messages from one end user to another. We present the first deterministic, cryptographic-assumptions-free, self-stabilizing, Byzantine-resilient algorithms for network topology discovery and end-to-end message delivery. We also consider the task of r-neighborhood discovery for the case in which $r$ and the degree of nodes are bounded by constants. The use of r-neighborhood discovery facilitates polynomial time, communication and space solutions for the above tasks. The obtained algorithms can be used to authenticate parties, in particular during the establishment of private secrets, thus forming public key schemes that are resistant to man-in-the-middle attacks of the compromised Byzantine nodes. A polynomial and efficient end-to-end algorithm that is based on the established private secrets can be employed in between periodical re-establishments of the secrets

The role of Islamic legitimacy basis to combat the financial corruption in Kuwait

The study aimed at identifying the role of Islamic Sharia to prevent the tsunami of the financial corruption in Kuwait nowadays. The researchers depended on the descriptive method through reviewing the related literature review that has to do with the legitimacy basis on combating the financial corruption in general. The study also included interviews with some Kuwaiti` religion officials who have a long experience in the field of financial corruption issues. The results indicated that the role of Islamic Sharia is almost absent due to the absence of religion officials. That’s because their role in the field of combating financial corruption is just restricted in media means rather than the official ministries and organizations that are the only responsible to fight the phenomenon of financial corruption in the state of Kuwait. The successive governments always ignore the real role of sharia in the field of combating the financial corruption according to the annual financial corruption index

Avian Influenza A Virus (H5N1) Outbreaks, Kuwait, 2007

Phylogenetic analysis of influenza A viruses (H5N1) isolated from Kuwait in 2007 show that (H5N1) sublineage clade 2.2 viruses continue to spread across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Virus isolates were most closely related to isolates from central Asia and were likely vectored by migratory birds

Cigarette smoking alters sialylation in the Fallopian tube of women, with implications for the pathogenesis of ectopic pregnancy

Sialylation creates a negative charge on the cell surface that can interfere with blastocyst implantation. For example, α2,6-sialylation on terminal galactose, catalyzed by the sialyltransferase ST6GAL1, inhibits the binding of galectin-1, a β-galactoside-binding lectin. We recently reported the potential involvement of galectin-1 and -3 in the pathogenesis of tubal ectopic pregnancy; however, the precise role of galectins and their ligand glycoconjugates remain unclear. Here, we investigated the expression of the genes encoding α2,3- and α2,6-galactoside sialyltransferases (ST3GAL1−6 and ST6GAL1−2) and the localization of sialic acids in the Fallopian tube of women with or without ectopic implantation. ST6GAL1 expression was higher in the mid-secretory phase than the proliferative phase of non-pregnant women (P < 0.0001), whereas ST6GAL1 (P < 0.0001), ST3GAL3 (P = 0.0029), ST3GAL5 (P = 0.0089), and ST3GAL6 (P = 0.0018) were all lower in Fallopian tubes with ectopic implantations. α2,3- and α2,6-sialic acids, however, both remained enriched on the surface of Fallopian tube epithelium. Cigarette smoking, a major risk factor for tubal ectopic pregnancy, was associated with reduced mid-secretory-phase expression of ST6GAL1 (P = 0.0298), but elevated expression of ST3GAL5 (P = 0.0006), an enzyme known to be involved in ciliogenesis. Indeed, sialic acid-containing ciliated inclusion cysts, which are associated with abnormal ciliogenesis, were observed within the epithelium at a higher frequency in women who smoked (P = 0.0177), suggesting that abnormal ciliogenesis is associated with smoking. Thus, cigarette smoking alters sialylation in the Fallopian tube epithelium, and is potentially a source of decreased tubal transport and increased receptivity for blastocyst in the human Fallopian tube