A systematic approach for monitoring and evaluating the construction project progress

A persistent problem in construction is to document changes which occur in the field and to prepare the as-built schedule. In current practice, deviations from planned performance can only be reported after significant time has elapsed and manual monitoring of the construction activities are costly and error prone. Availability of advanced portable computing, multimedia and wireless communication allows, even encourages fundamental changes in many jobsite processes. However a recent investigation indicated that there is a lack of systematic and automated evaluation and monitoring in construction projects. The aim of this study is to identifytechniques that can be used in the construction industry for monitoring and evaluating the physical progress, and also to establish how current computer technology can be utilised for monitoring the actual physical progress at the construction site. This study discusses the results of questionnaire survey conducted within Malaysian Construction Industry and suggests a prototype system, namely Digitalising Construction Monitoring (DCM). DCM prototype system integrates the information from construction drawings, digital images of construction site progress and planned schedule of work. Using emerging technologies and information system the DCM re-engineer the traditional practice for monitoring the project progress. This system can automatically interpret CAD drawings of buildings and extract data on its structural components and store in database. It can also extract the engineering information from digital images and when these two databases are simulated the percentage of progress can be calculated and viewed in Microsoft Project automatically. The application of DCM system for monitoring the project progress enables project management teams to better track and controls the productivity and quality of construction projects. The use of the DCM can help resident engineer, construction manager and site engineer in monitoring and evaluating project performance. This model will improve decision-making process and provides better mechanism for advanced project management

Rethinking “Disinvestment”: Historical geographies of predatory property relations on Chicago’s South Side

As vacancy in Rust Belt cities becomes a focal point of planning and policy efforts, Chicago planners and private institutions attribute it to “disinvestment” and seek to remove barriers to real estate investment in order to unlock the market’s purported ability to bring land to “productive use.” Drawing on findings from an analysis of nearly 10,000 postwar property records in the South Side Chicago neighborhood of Englewood, this article demonstrates that vacancy stems not from disinvestment but from predatory and hyperextractive investments in housing that derive economic feasibility and legal sanction from property’s historical articulation with race. I argue that racial regimes of ownership are endemic to the operation of real estate markets and function as central modalities for the appropriation of ground rent. As an analytical lens into the political economy of land, racial regimes of ownership expand urban geographers’ capacity to address the mechanisms that mobilize difference to accommodate capital’s circulation and, more broadly, to account for the racial logics that configure the terrain of contemporary land struggles

Second- generation immigrants An arch between the past and the future of Albanian immigrants in Greece.

This paper addresses some of the hindering and encouraging factors which have been shaping Albanian migration in Greece since 1992. A set of migration drivers, such as political, economical, cultural and historical realities mediated and responded to the dynamics of both natives and migrants’ rights. Though being massive and ongoing in its character, Albanian migration got a temporary treatment by the Greek policy makers. The successive adoptions of the Greek regularization programs contributed to the decrease of various forms of exclusion patterns relating to Albanian migrants’ integration in the economy, education, housing and social security, but simultaneously, they prolonged Albanians’ relative legal stability. Alongside the Albanian migrants’ socio-economical accomplishments, achieved as the result of progressive regularizations, transformations in Greek ethnic culture and politics are introduced through new pluralist developments (the NGOs’ and political elite) in the Greek society. The citizenship law on second- generation migrants, signals a longterm investment on Albanian immigrants’ integration in Greek society as well as a lasting influence on future transnational developments

Acute decompensated left heart failure in a young patient revealing a large obstructive left ventricular mass

We report the case of a 21-year-old female patient with no prior cardiovascular history, at only 3 months postpartum, who was presented to the emergency room for rapidly worsening dyspnea, the physical examination showed low O2 stats and crackling lung sounds with signs of respiratory struggle, electrocardiograms (EKG) showed a regular sinus tachycardia at 145bpm with negative T waves in apicolateral leads. The patient was intubated and benefited from an emergency thoracic computed tomography (CT) angiography which showed a bilateral hilar alveolar-interstitial syndrome without signs of pulmonary embolism, the transthoracic echocardiography showed a huge obstructive mass of the left ventricle with segmental kinetic disorders .To better understand the nature of this mass a transoesophageal echocardiography was performed which was in favour of a thrombus, unfortunately, the patient died the same day before any procedure could have been done

Analisis kestabilan aliran genangan bagi bendalir mikrokutub terhadap permukaan mencancang dengan fluks haba ditetapkan

Tujuan penyelidikan ini adalah untuk mengkaji kestabilan aliran bendalir bagi masalah aliran genangan dalam bendalir mikrokutub terhadap permukaan mencancang yang telap dengan fluks haba ditetapkan. Persamaan menakluk dalam bentuk persamaan pembezaan separa tak linear dijelmakan kepada sistem persamaan pembezaan biasa tak linear menggunakan penjelmaan keserupaan seterusnya diselesaikan secara berangka menggunakan penyelesai masalah nilai sempadan, bvp4c dibina dalam perisian MATLAB. Keputusan berangka diperoleh bagi pekali geseran kulit, nombor Nusselt setempat serta profil halaju dan suhu bagi beberapa nilai parameter menakluk yang terlibat. Penyelesaian dual didapati wujud bagi julat-julat tertentu parameter keapungan atau parameter olakan campuran dalam kedua-dua aliran membantu dan aliran menentang. Analisis kestabilan dilakukan untuk menentukan penyelesaian yang stabil dalam masa panjang. Didapati bahawa hanya satu daripada penyelesaian tersebut yang stabil apabila masa berlalu

Non-excusable delays in construction

Existing literature and research findings indicated that delays are common amongst construction projects in many countries across the globe. Delays can be caused by one or more of the following: the client (excusable with compensation); force majeur or third party (excusable delays without compensation); or the contractors (nonexcusable delays or contractor responsible delays). Previous studies cited that approximately 50% of these delays can be classified as non-excusable delays. The root-causes (or factors) that cause non-excusable delays identified in these studies however, are given no detailed attention. Improving and constantly monitoring the factors causing non-excusable delays can help to determine and improve contractor's performance. This research explores issues related to the factors causing non-excusable delays. It includes establishing indicators to identify these factors and appropriate corrective actions. The research also develops an indicator that offers an alternative to intuitive judgement which can provide a consistent and standardised assessment of qualitative factor. The proposed indicator employs both quantitative and qualitative measures to evaluate qualitative factor which caused non-excusable delays. A correct determination of the root-causes (or factors) of non-excusable delays is vital for deriving an appropriate corrective action. This study offers a method of identifying these root-causes as well as identifying and establishing their corrective actions, a structured approach of deriving corrective actions was also developed. This approach was tested in a survey and proved to be consistent with the opinion of twenty nine contracting organisations. One of the significant contributions in this research was the development of an alternative indicator to assess "communication performance" using the concept of fuzzy logic control. The establishment of the common indicators that were used to identify the critical factors is another important achievement for this research. Fifteen critical factors were established and the findings indicate that resources schedule was the most effective indicators used to identify majority of the factors under consideration. Apart from the knowledge contribution in the subject of delays, the methodology employed to identify the factors of non-excusable delays using cause-and-effect analysis has helped to generate additional factors that previous studies did not focus on