Decision making in Engineering Projects

Even though risk management is a vital aspect of project management, the way that risk-based decisions are taken in projects is not well documented. Economic theory employs the concept of utility and assumes that decision makers are rational. Behavioural economics and prospect theory challenge this idea, making a number of specific claims about how decision-making behaviour deviates from rationality in practice. Based on a focus group discussion with project managers, this research highlights the importance of risk management in underpinning decision making and investigates the extent of rationality and applicability of prospect theory in an engineering project context. Prospect theory’s claims of reference dependence and loss aversion are found to be important, but the claims of diminishing sensitivity and probability weighting appear to be less relevant

Attitudes to risk management in space projects

This paper aims to examine the personalities of people currently working in the delivery of space projects. The study employed an online survey which included twenty-fi ve Likert scale questions based on risk decision scenarios and personality questions. A total of 50 responses were collected from people with experience in the delivery of space projects. The results of this study suggest that people who have experience in space project delivery have a high level and long term view, are fair and pleasing, extroverted and logical decision takers, prefer to freeze scope and respect deadlines and to make team consensus decisions. The results also show that the respondents are prepared to make risky decisions depending on the situation and case

Attitudes to risk in petroleum projects

The paper identifies common personality traits and attitudes to risk management for people in the petroleum industry. The research was conducted with the aid of a survey and was addressed to people who have participated in the delivery of petroleum projects, with fifty responses obtained. The questions in the survey were based on Jung's personality theory and risk decisions identified from previous projects. Using Jung's personality classification, it has been concluded that people who deliver petroleum projects are judgers (Relationship with the world), more extrovert than introvert (Focus on attention), more intuitive than sensing (Seeking of information), and finally more thinkers than feelers (Decision makers). The results also show that the respondents are aware of different forms of risk in a project and prefer not to introduce any form of risk to a project

Implementation of a risk management simulation tool

Risk management is an essential part of project management. Proactive management of risk in projects helps increase the success rate of projects and the reduction of potential costs. The paper presents a new tool for implementing the risk management process in projects. The tool allows participants to understand a project further, and to analyse risks in a project using various methods such as risk exposure and Monte Carlo method. From the results of the study, the tool helps in improving the understanding and implementation of risk management in projects. The tool implementation and results are discussed in this paper

Diverse Spatial, Temporal, and Sexual Expression of Recently Duplicated Androgen-Binding Protein Genes in \u3ci\u3eMus musculus\u3c/i\u3e

Background The genes for salivary androgen-binding protein (ABP) subunits have been evolving rapidly in ancestors of the house mouse Mus musculus, as evidenced both by recent and extensive gene duplication and by high ratios of nonsynonymous to synonymous nucleotide substitution rates. This makes ABP an appropriate model system with which to investigate how recent adaptive evolution of paralogous genes results in functional innovation (neofunctionalization). Results It was our goal to find evidence for the expression of as many of the Abp paralogues in the mouse genome as possible. We observed expression of six Abpa paralogues and five Abpbg paralogues in ten glands and other organs located predominantly in the head and neck (olfactory lobe of the brain, three salivary glands, lacrimal gland, Harderian gland, vomeronasal organ, and major olfactory epithelium). These Abp paralogues differed dramatically in their specific expression in these different glands and in their sexual dimorphism of expression. We also studied the appearance of expression in both late-stage embryos and postnatal animals prior to puberty and found significantly different timing of the onset of expression among the various paralogues. Conclusion The multiple changes in the spatial expression profile of these genes resulting in various combinations of expression in glands and other organs in the head and face of the mouse strongly suggest that neofunctionalization of these genes, driven by adaptive evolution, has occurred following duplication. The extensive diversification in expression of this family of proteins provides two lines of evidence for a pheromonal role for ABP: 1) different patterns of Abpa/Abpbg expression in different glands; and 2) sexual dimorphism in the expression of the paralogues in a subset of those glands. These expression patterns differ dramatically among various glands that are located almost exclusively in the head and neck, where the sensory organs are located. Since mice are nocturnal, it is expected that they will make extensive use of olfactory as opposed to visual cues. The glands expressing Abp paralogues produce secretions (lacrimal and salivary) or detect odors (MOE and VNO) and thus it appears highly likely that ABP proteins play a role in olfactory communication

Critical success factors for projects in the petroleum industry

The paper identifies the critical success factors for petroleum projects. Factors have been obtained from existing literature and tested in the petroleum industry. The paper identifies 58 success factors that have been categorised into 11 groups. These factors were tested and grouped based on their individual relative importance index. The paper highlights the importance of project risk management and requirements management in achieving project success in the petroleum industry. The study also highlights the importance of the soft aspects of risk management in achieving successful implementation of project risk management and scope management in requirements management implementation

Integral length scales in a low-roughness atmospheric boundary layer

This paper discusses the integral length scales in a low-roughness atmospheric boundary layer (ABL), based on the high-fidelity measurements of wind velocity. Results from the analysis shows that longitudinal integral length scales follow a linear relationship with height in a low-roughness ABL that deviates significantly from semi-empirical Engineering Sciences Data Unit (ESDU) 85020 model derived for open country and urban terrains with larger surface roughness heights. Although the model accurately predicts the integral length scales non-dimensionalised relative to the boundary layer thickness for the majority of the profile, they are over-predicted by more than double in the lowest 10% of the ABL, corresponding to the atmospheric surface layer (ASL). The analysis shows that the largest eddies at lower heights in the ASL over a very low roughness desert terrain have length scales similar to the characteristic lengths of physical structures positioned on the ground, which corresponds to the maximum wind loads for buildings. Hence, it is recommended that the integral length scales in the ASL are characterised over an estimated range at each of the four terrain categories in AS/NZS 1170.2 to ensure that buildings and other large physical structures can be optimised in terms of their size and location.M.J. Emes, M. Arjomandi, R.M. Kelso and F. Ghanad

Achieving Sustainability through the Circular Economy in the Space Sector

Inspired by Industry 4.0, the Space 4.0 terminology is coined to reflect the new era where technologies have enabled more actors from the commercial sector or developing nations to participate in the value chain. This phenomenon has also prompted sustainability issues such as the vast amount of space debris orbiting Earth. Circular economy could offer a solution for the sustainability issue. However, the existing information system (IS) research shows limited work in integrating Industry 4.0 and circular economy in achieving sustainability, including the space sector. Therefore, this developmental paper aims to fill this gap by first studying the relevant concepts followed by illustrating the next phase of this research using case studies. This research intends to contribute to achieving sustainability by circular economy driven by Industry 4.0 in the space sector, which will be pivotal in expanding the domain knowledge of IS research

Transposon insertion mapping with PIMMS, Pragmatic Insertional Mutation Mapping System

The PIMMS (Pragmatic Insertional Mutation Mapping System) pipeline has beendeveloped for simple conditionally essential genome discovery experiments in bacteria.Capable of using raw sequence data files alongside a FASTA sequence of thereference genome and GFF file, PIMMS will generate a tabulated output of each codingsequence with corresponding mapped insertions accompanied with normalized resultsenabling streamlined analysis. This allows for a quick assay of the genome to identifyconditionally essential genes on a standar d desktop computer prioritizing results forfurther investigation

Identifying the cellular targets of drug action in the central nervous system following corticosteroid therapy

Corticosteroid (CS) therapy is used widely in the treatment of a range of pathologies, but can delay production of myelin, the insulating sheath around central nervous system nerve fibers. The cellular targets of CS action are not fully understood, that is, "direct" action on cells involved in myelin genesis [oligodendrocytes and their progenitors the oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs)] versus "indirect" action on other neural cells. We evaluated the effects of the widely used CS dexamethasone (DEX) on purified OPCs and oligodendrocytes, employing complementary histological and transcriptional analyses. Histological assessments showed no DEX effects on OPC proliferation or oligodendrocyte genesis/maturation (key processes underpinning myelin genesis). Immunostaining and RT-PCR analyses show that both cell types express glucocorticoid receptor (GR; the target for DEX action), ruling out receptor expression as a causal factor in the lack of DEX-responsiveness. GRs function as ligand-activated transcription factors, so we simultaneously analyzed DEX-induced transcriptional responses using microarray analyses; these substantiated the histological findings, with limited gene expression changes in DEX-treated OPCs and oligodendrocytes. With identical treatment, microglial cells showed profound and global changes post-DEX addition; an unexpected finding was the identification of the transcription factor Olig1, a master regulator of myelination, as a DEX responsive gene in microglia. Our data indicate that CS-induced myelination delays are unlikely to be due to direct drug action on OPCs or oligodendrocytes, and may occur secondary to alterations in other neural cells, such as the immune component. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first comparative molecular and cellular analysis of CS effects in glial cells, to investigate the targets of this major class of anti-inflammatory drugs as a basis for myelination deficits