Study of Influencing Factors on The Site Productivity of Construction Projects in Khartoum State

Our current era is an age of competition and development in various fields, the most important of which is the field of industries, which is one of the important criteria for measuring the development of any society, there are many types of industries including the construction industry. The construction process is a creative process that uses six main sources and creates a unique origin. These elements are materials, machinery, labor, engineering technology, finance, and, construction management, despite the important role of construction projects in our country, they are exposed during various stages to several problems in order to achievetheirs objectives, the most important of which is low on the site productivity in construction projects There are certainly reasons for the decline, and it also has risks and negative effects on the feasibility of the project. This research aims to study the factors affecting on the site productivity of construction projects in Khartoum State by focusing on the concept of productivity and its importance and methods of measurement, as well as the most important factors affecting them, in order to achieve this goal, it was necessary to adopt a special approach, where was designed questionnaire and interviews to examine these factors plaguing the construction sites, the results of the questionnaire showed that the percentage of establishments operating in the construction industry that train workers represents 30%, and that establishments operating in the construction industry that do not have a specific methodology for training workers are estimated at 60%, and the results of the analysis showed that the most important factors affecting on-site productivity related with workers in construction sites, such as the physical and moral incentives, the use of Modern technology, lack of training institutions for employees and the application of quality system. Based on these results, the proposed solutions were developed to improve the current situation, the need to develop human resources and create an appropriate work environment and review wage formats and methods of motivation and the use of modern technologies

Incorporating collaboration and motivation for effective management of protected areas in Nigeria

Protected areas are areas of high ecological diversity, often associated with environmental, social and economic benefits at both local and global scales. To date, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) framework has been applied to manage protected areas. In Nigeria, there are over a thousand protected areas. However, most of these areas are continuously managed without considering the aspect of local communities, which result in ineffective management. Poorly motivated managers/rangers of protected areas have also affected the quality of management. Therefore, the research is aimed at extending the IUCN framework for protected area management by collaborating with the local communities and enhancing the role of managers. Using mixed method research design, questionnaires were administered to 191 managers/rangers from 3 protected areas namely Yankari, Lame-Burra and Sumu; 300 respondents from six communities located close to the protected areas; interview with 5 key informants; and field observation. Structural Equation Modelling was used in analysing data collected from managers/rangers; while differences in viewpoint of the communities were determined using Chi-Square. The overall perception of managers/rangers of the protected areas indicate that, collaboration has direct and significant influence, while motivation has direct but insignificant influence on protected area management. Communities that benefited from the establishment of the protected areas tend to have more interest in the management of the protected areas, and willing to accept management responsibilities. Based on the identified variables, the research developed a model for effective management of protected areas, and a framework within which local communities can be incorporated in management of the protected areas. The research further recommends the use of this empirical evidence by decision-makers in re-aligning management policies, and implementation of management programmes

Synthesis and applications of new modified magnetic sporopollenin and graphene oxide-based materials for removal of selected heavy metals from industrial wastewater

The presence of heavy metal ions in aqueous environment even at low concentrations is a serious concern and the polluting industries must conform to strict environmental limits and regulations. Conventional techniques such as evaporation, nanofiltration, precipitation and electrocoagulation have been used to remove heavy metals from wastewaters. However, these techniques are tedious, expensive or ineffective. Thus, adsorption is considered as a promising technique for heavy metals removal from wastewater and the search for cost effective, environmentally friendly and sustainable materials for this application has been intensified. In this study two new magnetic sporopollenin-based materials and one new magnetic graphene oxide-based material were synthesized for the removal of three selected heavy metals namely Pb(II), Ni(II) and Cd(II) from industrial wastewater samples. The first magnetic sporopollenin-based materials were synthesised from magnetite (M), sporopollenin (Sp), and 3- aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTMS) to give a ternary composite, MSp@SiO2-NH2, which was then modified with silica-coated graphene oxide (GO@SiO2) to finally form a quinary composite, GO@SiO2-MSp@SiO2-NH2. The other magnetic sporopollenin-based material was synthesised from magnetite (M), Sp, 3-Chloropropyltrimethoxysilane (CPTMS), and tetrakis(4-hydroxyphenyl) porphyrin (THPP) to give a quaternary composite, MSp@SiO2-THPP. The magnetic graphene oxide-calix-4-arene based material was synthesized from magnetite (M), GO, silica, calix-4-arene (Calix) and APTMS to give a quinary composite, MGO@SiO2-Calix@SiO2-NH2. These newly synthesized materials were applied for the first time as adsorbents for removal of three heavy metals namely Pb(II), Ni(II) and Cd(II) from aqueous solution of industrial wastewater samples. The newly synthesized materials were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, field emission-scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-Ray analysis and vibrating sample magnetometry. The effect of important adsorption parameters such as solution pH, temperature, contact time, adsorbent dose, initial concentration and co-existing ions were studied and optimized. Evaluation of the adsorption performance of the materials at optimum conditions using batch adsorption technique reveals that the heavy metal ions removal efficiencies of the adsorbents were in the order Pb2+> Ni2+> Cd2+ and maximum adsorption capacity (qmax) of GO@SiO2-MSp@SiO2-NH2 for Pb(II), Ni(II) and Cd(II) were 323, 278 and 256 mg/g, respectively. The qmax values of MSp@SiO2 -THPP for Pb(II), Ni(II) and Cd(II) were 454, 435 and 416 mg/g, respectively and the qmax values of MGO@SiO-Calix@SiO2NH2 for Pb(II), Ni(II) and Cd(II) were 256, 243 and 222 mg/g, respectively. MSp@SiO2-THPP was found to offer the highest qmax values probably due to the strong affinity of porphyrins for the metal ions. The initial and final concentrations of the metal ions in the wastewater samples were analyzed using flame atomic absorption spectroscopy. The adsorption behaviors of the respective metal ions on the adsorbents were studied using Langmuir, Freundlich, Dubinin-Radushkevich (DRK) and Temkin isotherms models. The experimental data and values of coefficient of determination (R2) showed that the adsorption fitted the Langmuir and DRK models better for all the materials and the divalent cations, suggesting chemisorption through monolayer coverage. According to thermodynamic studies, the adsorption processes are endothermic and spontaneous. Furthermore, kinetics studies reveal that the adsorption processes followed a pseudo second order rate model. The findings show that the synthesized materials are excellent adsorbents for the removal of the heavy metals from wastewater samples and could be reused for up to 10 cycles without significant deterioration of the signal response. Analytical ecoscale analysis confirmed the greenness of these developed methods

The effects of construction on environmental resources in peninsular Malaysia: the perspective of land use planning

Environment forms the basis upon which all human activities such as physical, social and economic take place. Malaysia is a nation that is blessed with the beauty of nature and at the same time advanced in terms of infrastructural development. Environmental resources are vital components of the environment that include land, vegetal resource, water bodies, atmosphere, flora and fauna. Nowadays, due to high rate of urbanization, rapid population and economic growth led to greater need of space for operation, which subsequently forced the construction industries to meet this demand. This gives rise to various forms of environmental degradations which lead to disruption of environmental equilibrium. The study assesses the effects of construction industries on the environment in the perspectives of land use planning. However, if proper measures are not taken, the consequences will never be of benefit to the country. Land use planning is an approach used to identify the relationship between construction activities and environmental resources. Generally, the study area covers Peninsula Malaysia because of the similarities of construction conditions and the environmental effects. The methodology employed in this study is based on the available data derived from the secondary sources of information. It also aims at suggesting ways of achieving sustainable construction activities so that our natural earth will not be harmed, destroyed or degraded

Wetland management of Kuala Selangor Nature Park, Malaysia

Malaysia is a country blessed with wetlands of various sizes, types and functions. They are economically, socially, culturally and recreationally significant. Wetlands management in Malaysia has advanced from the traditional approach to modern one with strong support of governmental and nongovernmental organisations, legislation, and sophisticated technologies. Wetland is associated with values; among them are hydrological functions such as flood protection, maintenance of stream flow, recharging ground water. It serves as recreational area, habitats for both flora and fauna, and also promotes educational and research grounds. The study area, i.e. Kuala Selangor Nature Park is among the wetlands of significant role. Questionnaire survey was conducted on 100 respondents, asking their opinion on the aspect of wetland management of the site. Study indicated that relatively local visitors acknowledged the importance of wetland though they felt that government should enforce relevant legislation pertaining to wetland more seriously. Moreover, respondents thought that legislation can be used as a means to manage wetlands. In addition, there is a need to sustain the natural environment due to its combined effects as well as its relevancy towards sustaining the natural setting, so that man will continue enjoying the beautiful contributions of the natural environment

Empirical Relationships Between Index Properties and Compression Indices of Clayey Soils in Al-Nasiriya City

نظرا للتطور الحاصل في العراق و اقامة المشاريع الهندسية يتطلب معرفة معاملات أنضغاطية التربة الطينية  بأقصر زمن ممكن لاحتساب الهبوط المتوقع للمنشات المقامة عليها .حيث تجارب الانضغاط لحساب هبوط التربة الطينية تتطلب برنامج من التجارب المختبرية و ذلك  يستغرق وقتا طويلا .عمل الباحثون في هذا المجال  للحصول على علاقات تجريبية التي من خلالها يمكن اختصار زمن البرنامج المختبري . للوصول الى هدف البحث  يتطلب  دراسة العلاقة التجريبية بين معاملات  الانضغاط  و أعادة الانضغاط  من تأثير نسبة الفراغ الاولية  ,وكذلك تأثير معاملات اللدونة على قيم معاملات انضغاطية التربة الطينية المختارة في جنوب العراق . نم تحضير عينات مختلفة من التربة الطينية  ولمواقع مختلفة  بمواصفات هندسية متباينة  مختبريا و تحت تأثير ضغط متجانس و متماثل .  تشير النتائج الى وجود علاقة خطية لقيم الانضغاط وأعادة الانضغاط حيث كانت قيمة Cr تتراوح من 8.3 الى 10 %من قيمة  Ccوكذلك تأثرها بقيم نسب الفراغ و معاملات اللدونة لنماذج التربة الطينية . لذلك من خلال التحقيق الاولي للعلاقة التجريبية بين معاملات أنضغاطية التربة الطينية وخصائصها الهندسية  يمكن اختصار الزمن و الكلفة لبرنامج اختبار التربة الطينية . Due to rapid development many projects were adopted in Iraq so need many geotechnical investigations have been done on the soil to know the engineering properties. In order to reach the aim of this research, potential relationships between compression and recompression indices, initial void ratio, and Plasticity indices were investigated. All of the tests were conducted on clayey samples which had been prepared under isotropic pressure conditions which are different from those in the field of southern Iraq. The oedometer test takes a long time to measure the compression of clays. This will lead to a very demanding experimental working program in the laboratory. It has been found that the calculated values of Cr and Cc were affected by physical properties of the clayey soil, the Cr value ranged from 8.3 to 10 % of Cc value. Hence these correlations of compression index from physical properties will help in sparing time and reducing cost during the preliminary investigation for any construction projects

Aspects of the Penal Protection on the Right of Defense before the Investigative and Judicial Authorities: A Comparative Study

The right of defense in front of investigation and justice authorities is part of the right of litigation that is assured by constitutions, national laws and international treaties. It is one of the pillars of fair trial because it is an original natural right. The rights of defense are not only to the accused person but they are so for each person having the status of a litigant in front of investigation and justice authorities whether in a penal , administrative , commercial and sharia case and whether this litigant is a physical person or a moral one. The legislator has given to these rights two kinds of penal protection: objective protection and procedural protection. Our paper deals only with objective field. Law has given the right to the litigant to have a lawyer, so we dealt in the first part to the matter of criminalization of professional secret disclosure by the litigant’s representative in the case that is in front of justice, and the cases in which the lawyer is not concerned with the professional secret of his client, in so far as the lawyer’s obligation of keeping the professional secret is relative not absolute. The crime of professional secret disclosure by the lawyer is intentional. The good running of investigation and trial is a guarantee of the litigant’s right of defense protection in front of justice. The legislator has criminalized some actions because of their danger to the right of defense but he has not neglected admitting an immunity to the written and oral defense of litigants in front of courts or investigation authorities. The term “courts” or “investigation authorities” that appears concerning the permission of swearing is widened to include normal courts, exceptional courts, disciplinary courts, as well as police records, public prosecution and all other judicial authorities

Structural, optical and magnetic properties of nanostructured Cr-substituted Ni-Zn spinel ferrites synthesized by a microwave combustion method

Nanoparticles of Cr3+-substituted Ni-Zn ferrites with a general formula Ni0.4Zn0.6-xCrxFe2O4 (x = 0.0 - 0.6) have been synthesized via a facile microwave combustion route. The crystalline phase has been characterized by XRD, TEM, FT-I and XPS revealing the spinel ferrite structure without extra phases. Crystallite sizes of 23 - 32 nm as estimated by XRD analyses, after corrections for crystal stains by Williamson-Hall method, are comparable to the average particle sizes observed by TEM which indicates successfully synthesized nanocrystals. Rietveld refinement analyses of the XRD patterns have inferred a monotonic decrease behavior of the lattice parameter with Cr doping in agreement with Vegard's law of solid solution series. Furthermore, cations distribution with an increased inversion factor indicate the B-site preference of Cr3+ ions. The oxidation states and cations distribution indicated by XPS results imply the Cr3+ doping on the account of Zn2+ ions and a partial reduction of Fe3+ to Fe2+ to keep the charge balance in a composition series of (Ni2+)0.4(Zn2+, Cr3+)0.6(Fe2+, Fe3+)2(O2-)4. The optical properties were explored by optical UV-Vis spectroscopy indicating allowed direct transitions with band gap energy that decreases from 3.9 eV to 3.7 eV with Cr doping. Furthermore, the photocatalytic activity for the degradation of methyl orange (MO) dye was investigated showing largely enhanced photodecomposition up to 30% of MO dye over Ni0.4Cr0.6Fe2O4 for 6 hours. A vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM) measurements at room temperature show further enhancement in the saturation magnetization of Ni0.4Zn0.6Fe2O4 , the highest in Ni-Zn ferrites, from about 60 to 70 emu/g with the increase of Cr concentration up to x = 0.1, while the coercivity shows a general increase in the whole range of Cr doping.Comment: 21 page, 9 figure

The penalty of training on citizenship values as an innovative alternative to short-term freedom deprivation penalties in the French Criminal Law

This study focused on defining the training penalty on citizenship values as an alternative punishment to penalties depriving freedom of short duration, which was approved by the French legislator as an innovative punitive model with clear specificity, aiming at restricting the offender\u27s freedom rather than depriving it, in order to spare the convict sentenced to short freedom deprivation penalties mixing in prison with a convicted person on them for long periods, which leads to dire ill effects. The implementation of this punishment does not cost the state much compared to traditional penalties, and it reduces prison overcrowding. Through the extrapolation of the punitive texts in the French legislation, it becomes clear that the punishment for training on the values of citizenship takes several forms: it is an original punishment in misdemeanor crimes, and it may take the form of a complementary punishment in crimes of contravention and some misdemeanors, or as a special measure associated with the suspension of execution with the situation under test, or as a measure. An alternative to judicial follow-up. These penalties have been excluded from the penalties for felonies. This penalty can be imposed on adults and juveniles over the age of thirteen. The legislator determined the duration of this punishment, the number of daily training hours, and the cost of its implementation, which is borne by the convict. Upon pronouncing it, the legislator gave the court the power to determine the nature of this punishment, its content and how to implement it. Every breach by the convicted person renders him vulnerable to imprisonment and fine