• Journal of Construction Engineering and Project Management
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.16-32
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• 2020

Cost and time control of projects is important in preventing project failure. However, achieving effective cost and time control in practice is often challenging. The challenges of project cost and time control in practice are investigated by carrying out a questionnaire survey on the top 150 construction contractors in the UK followed by in-depth semi-structured interviews of practitioners from 15 construction companies in the country. Quantitative analysis reveals that design change is the most important factor inhibiting the ability of UK contractors from effectively controlling both the cost and time of construction projects. Four of the top five factors inhibiting effective cost control are also the top factors inhibiting effective time control albeit in a different order. These top factors-design changes, inaccurate evaluation of project time/duration, risk and uncertainty, non-performance of subcontractors and nominated suppliers were also found to be endogenous factors to the project. Additionally, qualitative analysis of the interviews reveals 16 key challenges to prevent for effective project cost and time control in practice. These are classified into four categorised based on where they stem from as follows; from the organisation (1. Lack of integration of cost and time during project control, 2. lack of management buy-in, 3. complicated project control systems and processes, 4. lack of a project control training regime); from the construction management/project management approach (5. Lapses in integration of interfaces, 6. project control not being implemented from the early stages of a project, 7. inefficient utilisation and control of labour, 8. limited time devoted to planning how a project will be controlled at the outset); from the client; (9. Excessive authorisation gates, 10. use of adversarial and non-collaborative forms of contracts, 11. communication problems within client set-up, 12. obstructive client representatives) and; from the project team (13. Lack of detailed/complete design, 14. lack of trust among the project partners, 15. limited time devoted to project control on site, 16. non-factual reporting). The study posits that knowledge of these project control inhibiting factors and challenges is the first step at ensuring they are avoided and enable the implementation of a more effective project cost and time control process in practice.

• Journal of Korea Port Economic Association
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.109-124
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• 2019

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is gaining significance in various industries and academic research. However, shipping companies have a relatively less interest in CSR. Considering the International Maritime Organisation's (IMO) 2020 model and its focus on sustainability, it is time for shipping companies to consider the active use of CSR initiatives. This study aims to examine the leading factors influencing CSR implementation and job satisfaction. The analysis was conducted using partial least squares and statistical package for social sciences 18.0 to achieve the research objectives. The results showed that the internal and external factors of shipping companies play a positive role in CSR implementation, which was found to play a positive role in enhancing job satisfaction. The implications of this study are to identify factors that drive shipping companies to improve their CSR performance.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.38 no.8
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• pp.697-732
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• 2006

In this paper, a historical review of the developments in the safety of LWR power plants is presented. The paper reviews the developments prior to the TMI-2 accident, i.e. the concept of the defense in depth, the design basis, the large LOCA technical controversies and the LWR safety research programs. The TMI-2 accident, which became a turning point in the history of the development of nuclear power is described briefly. The Chernobyl accident, which terrified the world and almost completely curtailed the development of nuclear power is also described briefly. The great international effort of research in the LWR design-base and severe accidents, which was, respectively, conducted prior to and following the TMI-2 and Chernobyl accidents is described next. We conclude that with the knowledge gained and the improvements in plant organisation/management and in the training of the staff at the presently-installed nuclear power stations, the LWR plants have achieved very high standards of safety and performance. The Generation 3+LWR power plants, next to be installed, may claim to have reached the goal of assuring the safety of the public to a very large extent. This review is based on the historical developments in LWR safety that occurred primarily in USA, however, they are valid for the rest of the Western World. This review can not do justice to the many fine contributions that have been made over the last fifty years to the cause of LWR safety. We apologize if we have not mentioned them. We also apologize for not providing references to many of the fine investigations, which have contributed towards LWR safety earning the conclusions that we describe just above.

• Journal of Construction Engineering and Project Management
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.1-8
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• 2011

Available data on the recent global financial crisis (GFC) show that it lasted between the second quarter (Q2) of 2007 and the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2009. Australia is one of the first economies to fully recover from this crisis. This study explorles the role played by the Australian construction industry in stimulating economic growth during the recession. In order to investigate the macro-variability trend during the financial crisis, data were collected and analysed relating to the quarterly GDP of Australia and selected countries between Q1 2000 and Q4 2009. Specifically, changes in the construction industry's GDP were compared with aggregate GDP changes in Australian economy and similar indices in the 'Group of 7' (G7) countries and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Moreover, specific attention was focused on Germany, France, Japan, United States of America (USA) and United Kingdom (UK). Graphical and Pearson's correlation methods were used to analyse the relationships between changes in construction GDP and Australia's overall economic growth during the recession. In addition, an attempt was made to develop a regression model for predicting economic growth during the recent recession using changes in gross fixed capital formation (GFCF), changes in construction GDP and the impact of these changes on national economy. Analysis shows a slight contraction in construction activities during the crisis; however construction triggered significant growth in the economy during the crisis period and afterwards. This appears to be the major difference between Australia and other major economies that have experienced a longer recession.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.277-289
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• 2018

Background: Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service (LFRS), the subject of this evaluative research document employs 1400 people. 80% of employees are operational firefighters and officers whom operate across a range of duty systems and support functions, providing prevention, protection and emergency response to the communities of Lancashire. Methods: The overarching purpose of this epidemiological study is to assess the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) amongst operational LFRS personnel and to analyse the effects upon those who may be suffering from it, whether brought about by a single traumatic event or by repeated exposure to traumatic occurrences over a period of time. A combination of primary and secondary research was carried out. Primary data was collated using two recognised clinical questionnaires and statistical analysis was conducted with the aid of the software package SPSS. Results: The findings and statistical analysis showed that out of the 100 people surveyed, 30% of respondents had signs of probable distress. Of this quota, 4% showed symptoms of PTSD. The study considers how an organisation can recognise and manage PTSD and provides recommendations to assist in better recognising and managing the associated risks. Conclusion: Based upon the findings, the authors conclude that the level of PTSD within LFRS is slightly lower than those found in other studies undertaken within the Fire and Rescue Service sector. The paper provides recommendations for future studies and a series of actions for consideration by LFRS senior management to improve PTSD support services for employees.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2017.05a
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• pp.467-467
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• 2017

토양수분 및 황사발생 연구에 있어 효율적인 광역 분석을 위하여 위성자료가 활용되고 있다. 활용 시나리오에 따라서는 준실시간 자료 수신, 처리가 필요하며 본 연구에서는 이에 대한 방안을 연구하기 위하여 유럽 EUMETSAT(European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites)의 ASCAT(Advanced Scatterometer) Metop-A 자료에 대하여 파악하였다. 자료 수신 프로토콜에 있어서 FTP, HTTP 등 전통적 방법에 대한 현황과 함께 비교적 최근 기법인 OGC(Open Geospatial Consortium)　 WMS(Web Map Service), WCS(Web Coverage Service) 방식의 지원 현황에 대하여 확인하였다. 제공되는 자료 Format부분은 EPS Native와 BUFR(Binary Universal Form for the Representation of meteorological data)을 살펴보되 데이터 프로바이더 측에서 대부분 채택되고 있는 NetCDF(network Common Data Form)를 중심으로 파악하였다. 수신된 자료의 처리 자동화를 위한 소프트웨어는 OSGeo(The Open Source Geospatial Foundation)의 GDAL(Geospatial Data Abstraction Library), 미국 NCAR(National Center for Atmospheric Research)의 NCL(NCAR Command Language)을 중심으로 확인하였다. 자료 가공기법은 격자(Raster) 자료에 대한 기본 메타정보 확인, 좌표참조체계 변환, 해상도 및 Format 변환을 중심으로 확인하였다. 한편 OGC WMS, WCS는 자료의 전송 프로토콜 기법이면서 동시에 서버 사이드에서의 자료 변환 기능을 구비하고 있다. 예를 들어 Http Request에서 영역(Extent), Format 형식, 좌표참조체계를 지정할 수 있다. OGC WMS에 대한 EUMETSAT 파일럿 서비스에서 반환 자료의 공간적 영역, 복수 시점 제공 현황, 반환 포맷 지원 상황은 실제 메서드를 사용하여 파악하였고, 향후 발전 방향을 전망하였다.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.247-255
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• 2019

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Accurate, early identification of acutely malnourished children has the potential to reduce related child morbidity and mortality. The current World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines classify non-oedematous acute malnutrition among children under five using Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) or Weight-for-Height Z-score (WHZ). However, there is ongoing debate regarding the use of current MUAC cut-offs. This study investigates the diagnostic performance of MUAC to identify children aged 6-24 months with global (GAM) or severe acute malnutrition (SAM). SUBJECTS/METHODS: Cross-sectional, secondary data from a community sample of children aged 6-24 months in Niger were used for this study. Children with complete weight, height and MUAC data and without clinical oedema were included. Using WHO guidelines for GAM (WHZ < -2, MUAC < 12.5 cm) and SAM (WHZ < -3, MUAC < 11.5 cm), the sensitivity (Se), specificity (Sp), predictive values, Youden Index and Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves were calculated for MUAC when compared with the WHZ reference criterion. RESULTS: Of 1161 children, 23.3% were diagnosed with GAM using WHZ, and 4.4% with SAM. Using current WHO cut-offs, the Se of MUAC to identify GAM was greater than for SAM (79 vs. 57%), yet the Sp was lower (84 vs. 97%). From inspection of the ROC curve and Youden Index, Se and Sp were maximised for MUAC < 12.5 cm to identify GAM (Se 79%, Sp 84%), and MUAC < 12.0 cm to identify SAM (Se 88%, Sp 81%). CONCLUSIONS: The current MUAC cut-off to identify GAM should continue to be used, but when screening for SAM, a higher cut-off could improve case identification. Community screening for SAM could use MUAC < 12.0 cm followed by appropriate treatment based on either MUAC < 11.5 cm or WHZ < -3, as in current practice. While the practicalities of implementation must be considered, the higher SAM MUAC cut-off would maximise early case-finding of high-risk acutely malnourished children.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.290-297
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• 2021

Leptolyngbya sp. KIOST-1 (LK1) is a newly isolated cyanobacterium that shows no obvious cytotoxicity and contains high protein content for both human and animal diets. However, only limited information is available on its toxic effects. The purpose of this study was to validate the safety of LK1 powder. Following Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) guidelines, a single-dose oral toxicity test in Sprague Dawley rats was performed. Genotoxicity was assessed using a bacterial reverse mutation test with Salmonella typhimurium (strains TA98, TA100, TA1535, and TA1537) and Escherichia coli WP2 uvrA, an in vitro mammalian chromosome aberration test using Chinese hamster lung cells, and an in vivo mammalian erythrocyte micronucleus test using Hsd:ICR (CD-1) SPF mouse bone marrow. After LK1 administration (2,500 mg/kg), there were no LK1-related body weight changes or necropsy findings. The reverse mutation test showed no increased reverse mutation upon exposure to 5,000 ㎍/plate of the LK1 powder, the maximum tested amount. The chromosome aberration test and micronucleus assay demonstrated no chromosomal abnormalities and genotoxicity, respectively, in the presence of the LK1 powder. The absence of physiological findings and genetic abnormalities suggests that LK1 powder is appropriate as a candidate biomass to be used as a safe food ingredient.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.149-163
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• 2021

Objectives This study is to review the effectiveness of exercise after lung cancer surgery. Methods Relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were searched in PubMed database. The systematic review was conducted through flow diagram. The risk of biases were assessed through the Cochrane guideline. Characteristics and outcomes were extracted from each study. Meta-analyses of forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), 6-minute walk test (6MWT), quality of life (QoL), pulmonary complications were conducted. Results 14 RCTs were selected. In meta-analysis, exercise improved FEV1 (mean difference [MD] 0.14; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.04 to 0.25; p=0.009; I2=55%) and mean change of FEV1 (MD 0.11; 95% CI 0.02 to 0.20; p=0.02; I2=0%). Exercise increased the distance of 6MWT, but there was considerable heterogeneity (MD 45; 95% CI 21.16 to 68.83; p=0.0002, I2=89%). There was no differences in QoL scores by 2 questionnaires (European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer quality of life questionnaire, short form-36). Exercise reduced the duration of hospital stay (MD -3.32; 95% CI -5.27 to -1.36; I2=0%; 2 studies) but not duration of chest tube intubation (MD -1.37; 95% CI -2.81 to 0.06; I2=0%) and incidence of pulmonary complications (pooled risk ratio 0.54; 95% CI 0.23 to 1.30; I2=0%). Conclusions Exercise might reduce the duration of hospital stay after lung surgery. There was not enough evidence to prove improvement of lung function, aerobic capacity, muscle strength, QoL, and decline of pulmonary complications. Low-quality risk of bias, different units or estimation of outcome, different exercise type and duration, heterogeneity among studies make the evidence of effectiveness weak. Future researches are required to redeem these defects.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.81 no.3
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• pp.293-303
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• 2022

As infrastructure ages and traffic load increases, serious public concerns have arisen for the well-being of bridges. The current health monitoring practice focuses on large-scale bridges rather than short span bridges. However, it is critical that more attention should be given to these behind-the-scene bridges. The relevant information about the construction methods and as-built properties are most likely missing. Additionally, since the condition of a bridge has unavoidably changed during service, due to weathering and deterioration, the material properties and boundary conditions would also have changed since its construction. Therefore, it is not appropriate to continue using the design values of the bridge parameters when undertaking any analysis to evaluate bridge performance. It is imperative to update the model, using finite element (FE) analysis to reflect the current structural condition. In this study, a FE model is established to simulate a concrete culvert bridge in New South Wales, Australia. That model, however, contains a number of parameter uncertainties that would compromise the accuracy of analytical results. The model is therefore updated with a neural network (NN) optimisation algorithm incorporating Monte Carlo (MC) simulation to minimise the uncertainties in parameters. The modal frequency and strain responses produced by the updated FE model are compared with the frequency and strain values on-site measured by sensors. The outcome indicates that the NN model updating incorporating MC simulation is a feasible and robust optimisation method for updating numerical models so as to minimise the difference between numerical models and their real-world counterparts.