Project Closure Research Articles

Mahler measures, elliptic curves, and L-functions for the free energy of the Ising model.

This work establishes links between the Ising model and elliptic curves via Mahler measures. First, we reformulate the partition function of the Ising model on the square, triangular, and honeycomb lattices in terms of the Mahler measure of a Laurent polynomial whose variety's projective closure defines an elliptic curve. Next, we obtain hypergeometric formulas for the partition functions on the triangular and honeycomb lattices and review the known series for the square lattice. Finally, at specific temperatures we express the free energy in terms of a Hasse-Weil L-function of an elliptic curve. At the critical point of the phase transition on all three lattices, we obtain the free energy more simply in terms of a Dirichlet L-function. These findings suggest that the connection between statistical mechanics and analytic number theory may run deeper than previously believed.

Consequence of Project Integration Management Process on Success of Project In Ethiopia

The objective of this investigation was to examine the consequences of the project integration management process on success of project in west guji zone road construction. This research employed descriptive and explanatory research design with quantitative and qualitative research approach. Both probability and non-probability sampling techniques were applied to select a sample of 250 respondents. From probability sampling stratified sampling and simple random were used to categorize heterogeneous people into strata. Also purposive sampling was used from non-probability. The primary data were collected through well-organized questionnaires. Data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential analysis. Descriptive data was expressed by average, mean and standard deviation. Inferential data were analyzed by regression, association with the aid of statistical tool SPSS version 20. The finding of the investigation indicates that project initiation, project planning, and project closure have positive and significant consequence on project success. However, project execution, project monitor and controlling have positive and insignificant consequence. The researcher suggests that Dudgadewa and Melka soda districts have to give first for project initiation, project planning, and project closure to improve the success of road construction. Furthermore, other researchers have to conduct investigation by taking project execution and controlling in west guji zone.

A Nexus between Project Management Lifecycle and Performance of Slums Upgrading Projects in Nairobi City County, Kenya

The alarming rate of urban sprawl poses a social menace for city planners and governments worldwide and Nairobi city of Kenya is not an exception. Challenges of access to appropriate and affordable housing has forced majority of city residents to occupy shanties with deplorable living conditions thus, the need to improve the infrastructure in the slums. In Kenya, the government has initiated various projects in a bid to carry out a facelift of slums countrywide. Although, involvement of key stakeholders in each of the phases of project management lifecycle (PMLC) that is, project initiation, planning, implementation, Monitoring & evaluation and closure remains a critical factor to the realization of slum upgrading infrastructure development, the affected communities are not fully engaged thus thwarting effective implementation of the planned activities. In this regard, the aim of the study was to examine the influence of PMLC on performance of slums upgrading projects (PSUP). A descriptive survey research design and a correlational research design were utilized whereby data was analysed and interpreted using means, standard deviations, correlation of coefficient and correlation of determination. A sample of 266 was drawn from a target population of 794, of which 208 responded to a 5-point Likert Scale questionnaire. Qualitative data collected was presented in narrative form. Results obtained indicated a linearly positive and a very strong significant relationship between PMLC and PSUP. When all phases were combined PMLC explained 62.9% of the overall variation in PSUP. The findings indicate that a unit increase in initiation and planning stages result to an increase in PSUP by 7.77% and 1.97% respectively whereas for a unit decrease in project implementation and project M&E, PSUP decreases by 2.07% and 1.72% respectively. It was thus concluded that PMLC significantly influences Performance of Slum Upgrading Projects. The recommendation of the study was that activities pertaining to project planning, M&E and project closure phases be efficiently executed for optimum performance of the projects.

Encouraging state of playwork in the UK

ABSTRACT Over the course of the last 15 years, the UK Playwork sector has experienced significant reductions in public spending, which has led to the closure of many community-based play projects. National bodies, representing the field, particularly in England, have been pared back in terms of scope and influence, and children's play and playwork have fallen down the political pecking order. Never to be deterred, however, the playwork sector has rallied and features a number of examples of play projects and organisations that have grown in size and influence during these lean times. This paper discusses a particular example of the playwork sector's resilience in the face of adversity, namely the development of the first UK-wide Adventure Playground Network, and discusses the encouraging state of playwork in the UK.

On free and plus-one generated curves arising from free curves by addition–deletion of a line

In a recent paper, after introducing the notion of plus-one generated hyperplane arrangements, Takuro Abe has shown that if we add (respectively, delete) a line to (respectively, from) a free line arrangement, then the resulting line arrangement is either free or plus-one generated. In this paper, we prove that the same properties hold when we replace the line arrangement by a free curve and add (respectively, delete) a line. The proof uses a new version of a key result due originally to H. Schenck, H. Terao and M. Yoshinaga, in which no quasi-homogeneity assumption is needed. Two conjectures about the Tjurina number of a union of two plane curve singularities are also stated. As a geometric application, we show that, under a mild numerical condition, the projective closure of a contractible, irreducible affine plane curve is either free or plus-one generated, using a deep result due to U. Walther.

World Bank-Assisted Community-Based Development Project for High-Value Crop Production: Failures and Successes

The government of Punjab has recently implemented a World-Bank-assisted community-based development project for the enhancement of farm productivity in water deficit areas of the Punjab province for 11 years. This paper describes a case study from the Faisalabad division, wherein drip irrigation in conjunction with tunnel technology has improved crop and water productivity of fruits, vegetables and cash crops, optimizing farm incomes. Not only crop yields were optimized, but also there were savings on water (30-45%) and other inputs, reduced incidence of pests and diseases (15-20%), early spring production by 35 days and higher quality of produce, which substantially increased farm incomes (19-41%) along with some environmental benefits. A conservative estimate showed a reduction in unemployment by 5% in project areas. Despite these impressive achievements, a post-project survey showed that 93% of beneficiary farmers abandoned drip irrigation systems, soon after project closure. It emphasized that in the Thal area, only a 4% system rolled back, suggesting the better suitability of the high-efficiency irrigation system for water conservation and productivity enhancement in sandy areas. Post-project farmer-participatory rural appraisal (PRA) shows that drip irrigation was rolled back due to multiple constraints. For example, unsuitable/inefficient design, clogging of drippers/drip lines, non-availability of spare parts, poor response of troubleshooters and top-down approach of the project, prompting better planning and implementation, in the future, for similar projects.

A model for quantification of environmental risk in mining ventures

The premature termination of industrial projects, often triggered by insufficient revenue generation to cover liabilities, poses a significant challenge in project evaluation. Although the conventional discounted cash flow (DCF) method remains widely used, its inability to account for project failure probabilities can lead to resource misallocation. This study aims to address this limitation by applying real options theory to assess the risk of premature abandonment within the context of a mineral extraction project. In this proposed system, fluctuations in environmental remediation costs are modelled by considering the cumulative probabilities of cost increases or decreases at each time step. The simulated project value reflects the cumulative activities required for mine closure, where each ton of extracted ore generates an environmental liability demanding remediation. Through the application of this system, the study demonstrates its effectiveness in identifying an escalating probability of project closure over time. Particularly, the findings reveal the existence of a critical threshold date. Beyond this date, any operational suspension exceeding one year renders project closure the economically optimal choice. This closure encompasses all necessary environmental restoration activities. By integrating real options theory into project evaluation, this study offers a more comprehensive approach to assessing the risk of premature project abandonment in mineral extraction projects. Through the consideration of fluctuating environmental remediation costs and the cumulative probabilities of project closure, it provides valuable insights for decision-making in project management and resource allocation. The trigger curve generated allowed for the identification of the viability threshold of the venture. Identifying the threshold to initiate the mining closure project.

Scrutinizing the adoption of smart contracts in the MENA Region’s Construction Industry

ABSTRACT The construction industry embodies a paramount role in the economic growth of various nations, including the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Despite its significance, the industry faces construction disputes and payment issues, inducing financial losses and project postponements. Consequently, the construction industry has mutated smart contracts to enhance operational efficiency, which automates contract management tasks and offers perks, including transparency and efficiency. However, the adoption of smart contracts in the MENA construction sector remains limited, and the region lacks thorough research on this topic. This study addresses this gap by examining the level of cognizance and apprehension of smart contracts among construction industry stakeholders in the MENA region. The research employs Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to analyze the relative importance of implementing smart contracts within different project lifecycle phases and relevant practices and identify the hindrances impacting MENA’s smart contract deployment. A practical implementation of smart contract-based tendering employing the Trakti platform is paraded. The findings unveiled the infancy of smart contract adoption in the MENA construction sector. They revealed the substantial importance of implementing smart contracts in the Project Execution Phase, Project Closure, and Monitoring and Control Phase, attaining relative weights of 23.23%, 21.62%, and 20.50%, respectively.

The Impact of Project Management Practice on Public Project Success in Jimma Town, Ethiopia

Purpose: The study aimed to examine the effect of project management practice on project success on selected public projects found in Jimma town, Ethiopia. Methodology/approach: The study was employed stratified simple random sampling techniques and total sample size of 155 was selected from public sector projects. The data were collected with self-administered questionnaires and key informant interview. The data coded and interred into the. The data were analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics such as Mean, ANOVA, Pearson correlation and the Multiple Regression Analysis Model using SPSS software application for analysis. Findings: The results of regrssion revealed that project initiation & planning was positively and significantly associated with project success (r =0.735, ρ<0.01). Further, project execution process was positively and significantly correlated to project success (r = 0.659, ρ<0.01). Moreover, monitoring & controlling was positively and strongly correlated with project success (r = 0.747, ρ<0.01) and also there is a positive correlation between project closure & project success (r = 0.348, ρ<0.01). Practical implications: These research findings have an impact on stakeholders and policy makers regarding project management. The study recommends the introduction of effective monitoring tools and documentation in order to improve the monitoring and control process. Originality/value: The study can contribute to knowledge sharing and capacity building within Ethiopia's project management community, leading to more effective implementation of projects and improved development outcomes.

Useful Project Management Practices in Collaborative R&D&I Projects

Collaborative Research and Development and Innovation (R&D&I) projects make an essential contribution to the development of knowledge-based, innovative products, processes, and services. The main objective of this paper is to gain a comprehensive understanding of project management (PM) in collaborative R&D&I projects, examining the usefulness of PM practices. The results are based on 465 valid responses from an online questionnaire survey on the perceptions of collaborative R&D&I project practitioners. The Relative Importance Index was used to classify the usefulness of the 35 key PM practices surveyed. The top 10 rank of the most useful PM practices cover the entire PM lifecycle and include well-known practices, such as ‘kick-off meeting’, ‘progress meetings’, ‘Gantt chart’, ‘project closure report’, ‘project closure meeting’, ‘milestone list’, ‘requirement analysis’ and ‘project scope plan’. Although, there are also less emphasised PM practices such as ‘alignment workshops’ and ‘project idea paper’. The paper contributes to supporting practitioners to decide which PM practices should be prioritised and implemented.

Projective closure of Gorenstein monomial curves and the Cohen–Macaulay property

Projective closure of Gorenstein monomial curves and the Cohen–Macaulay property

Fostering Values-Driven Sustainability Through an Ex-Post Capacities Lens

Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) work is driven by an array of values held by funders, implementers, M&E experts, and the project participants themselves. Some are explicit, such as embedding equity or democratization values into aid projects. Some are assumed, such as the truth of “values-neutral” evaluation or that long-term sustainability will result from projects. The author espouses Quinn Patton’s “activist interventionist change-committed evaluation” in pushing for ex-post evaluation of much development aid programming’s untested hypothesis about the sustainability of results without proof post-project. Programming approaches can make development results more sustained and can be monitored and evaluated. One set of activities is the participatory involvement of national and local stakeholders from the onset and during all stages of programming. The activism includes M&E experts pushing to include listening to local participants and partners via mixed-methods evaluations, especially by hiring local evaluators, and asking not only about donor-expected results but also about locally emerging outcomes, along with sharing learning at all levels, from local to donors. Focusing on the sustainability of outcomes and impacts involves those doing M&E and those involved in explicit sustainability planning from design, with national project stakeholders at every step. This chapter focuses on a roadmap of capacities and tools needed to foster sustainability pre-exit drawn from a decade of ex-post project closure evaluations. Current evaluators can help improve development practice and the durability of results by honing their capacities to evaluate the natural system on which most projects rest and how to foster resilience to climate change via M&E. Once this is built, transformations toward locally-driven development become possible.

Characterization of Lipschitz normally embedded complex curves

The main result of the paper states that a connected complex affine algebraic curve is LNE in Cn if and only if its germ at any singular point is a finite union of non-singular complex curve germs which are pairwise transverse, and its projective closure is in general position with the hyperplane at infinity. To this aim, we completely characterize complex analytic curves of a compact complex manifold which are LNE (regardless of the given Riemannian structure), and therefore we can relate when a projective algebraic curve is LNE in CPn with the property of its general affine traces being LNE in Cn. This allows us to deduce that Lipschitz classification of LNE curves is topological. We describe a complete invariant for the (outer and inner) Lipschitz equivalence of affine LNE curves and show that most such curves cannot be bi-Lipschitz homeomorphic to a plane one.

Comprehensive economic analysis and assessment of project implementation efficiency

Subject. The article is devoted to comprehensive analysis of projects to improve the effectiveness of their implementation. Objectives. The aim is to develop a comprehensive methodology for evaluating the effectiveness of project implementation in conditions of uncertainty and risk. Methods. The study draws on systems approach, using general scientific research methods, like deduction, classification, systematization, synthesis, analysis, and empirical research tool, i.e. questionnaires. The theoretical basis of the study was the works of Russian scientists in the field of economic analysis. Results. We developed a methodology for complex economic analysis and evaluation of project implementation efficiency. It includes three analytical blocks: project closure risk assessment by life cycle phase, based on integrated indicators obtained under the method of multidimensional comparison; project ranking, using the hierarchical cluster analysis of time, resource and quality limitation indicators as part of the total portfolio of projects; scoring diagnostics of the level of organizational, methodological and functional maturity of project management system, using the proposed system of test indicators. Conclusions. It is necessary to organize analytical support for projects to increase the efficiency of their implementation and maintain the financial stability of an economic entity applying project management. The developed methodology enables evaluation upon project completion and after the end of individual phases, which makes it possible not only to prepare an information base for making operational management decisions, but also to generate data for adjusting the project management strategy in the organization.

Оценка качества предпринимательских инновационных проектов российских вузов на основе модели машинного обучения

By 2030 it has been planning to support more than 30 thousand entrepreneurial and innovative projects of students and graduate students, this idea has become one of the government initiatives in the sphere of social and economic development of Russia. It is known that the pursuit of quantity can lead to a decrease in quality and the subsequent closure of innovative projects. However now there is no generally accepted methodology that allows preliminary assessment of the quality of innovative projects of universities. The presented study empirically illustrates the ap-plication of machine learning methods for assessing the quality of entrepreneurial innovation projects of universities and predicting their success. The study analyzed the main reasons for the closure of Russian startups, resulting in a list of criteria for evaluating the quality of university innovation projects. A survey of managers of innovative projects implemented in universities in St. Petersburg, Moscow and Vladivostok was conducted, on the basis of which a sample was formed for training the quality assessment model of entrepreneurial innovation projects. As a result of the study, a machine learning model was built and trained, and its accuracy was evaluated. Random Forest was chosen as the ma-chine learning method; the reason for its choice was its high accuracy, resistance to outliers, and ability to process data with a large number of features and classes. The application of these results will simplify the process of assessing the quality of entrepreneurial innovation projects and allow predicting their success. Assessing the quality of entrepreneuri-al innovation projects at the early stages of their implementation will be beneficial not only for project managers, but also for business incubators at universities.

Viewing humanitarian project closure through the lens of an ethics of the temporary

PurposeIn this paper, the authors propose a new lens to examine international humanitarian organizations' responsibilities in the context of project closure, what authors call “an ethics of the temporary”. The authors offer this as an orienting ethical ideal to facilitate the moral imagination of humanitarian planners, practitioners and stakeholders.Design/methodology/approachThe authors drew on recent philosophical work on responsibilities for global justice to analyze an ethical concern inherent to humanitarian practice, the proper scope of responsibility in the context of closure of humanitarian projects.FindingsThe ethics of the temporary includes four elements: situating humanitarian action temporally with attention to the past and how it shapes a current crisis and crisis response, focusing attention on anticipating and seeking to mitigate potential harm, promoting sustainability and greater equity going forward and emphasizing inclusive, collaborative approaches. The authors propose a set of questions that can foster discussion and reflection about the scope of humanitarian responsibilities at project closure.Practical implicationsAlthough the authors' work is primarily conceptual, it has many practical implications for humanitarian policy and practice. It can support critical reflection and offers a process for considering the scope of responsibility at project closure and decisions around how to close a given intervention in a manner that avoids causing harm and advances equity.Originality/valueVery little work has been done on ethical closure of humanitarian projects. Most literature offers critiques. This essay contributes a new approach to closure, the ethical ideal and practice of an ethics of the temporary.

An Empirical Study on Significance of BIM Adoption in Various Stages of Project Lifecycle

BIM adoption can be done in different stages of the project life cycle, from the Pre-Construction phase to post-Construction phase. This paper provides an overview of BIM adoption in different stages of the project life cycle and highlights the benefits and challenges associated with each stage. The Preliminary stage is pre-construction, BIM can play a significant role in improving the accuracy and efficiency of the design and planning processes. The secondary stage is construction which involves the use of BIM for coordination, sequencing, and construction management. The final stage is post-Construction operation, where BIM can be used for operation and maintenance. The paper describes the benefits of BIM adoption, including improved project performance, reduced errors and rework, and enhanced decision-making. The study identifies the adoption of BIM in different stages of the project lifecycle, including conceptual design, detailed design, construction & Operation and maintenance & Project closure phase discusses how BIM can be applied in each stages of the project

Betti sequence of the projective closure of affine monomial curves

We introduce the notion of star gluing of numerical semigroups and show that this preserves the arithmetically Cohen-Macaulay and Gorenstein properties of the projective closure. Next, we give a sufficient condition involving Gröbner basis for the matching of Betti sequences of the affine curve and its projective closure. We also study the effect of simple gluing on Betti sequences of the projective closure. Finally, we construct numerical semigroups by gluing, such that for every positive integer n, the last Betti number of the corresponding affine curve and its projective closure are both n.

Пандемия коронавируса как фактор трансформационных процессов в городской креативной среде(по результатам социологического исследования)

The article reveals the specifics of transformational processes in the urban creative environment of modern Russian society in the context of the coronavirus pandemic. The results of a sociological study (method of expert interviews) conducted in 2021 in Saratov as an empirical basis were used. The purpose of this paper is to present the assessment of the various experts who are respondents in this study regarding the pandemic factor of changes in the creative space of a typical Russian city. Almost opposite assessments were revealed regarding the nature of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the urban creative environment as a whole and its individual components. The respondents point out both the negative aspects (for example, a sharp decrease in the volume of client flow in the creative industry of the city, the closure of individual creative facilities and projects), and the positive aspects (the prompt introduction of modern formats for the work of objects in the creative sphere, the creation of new creative projects) of the influence of the phenomenon under consideration. In general, the experts admit that most of the subjects of the urban creative space have somehow adapted to the new, unprecedented conditions and challenges of the external environment, and some of them even received additional opportunities for development. The creative space of the Russian city as a whole demonstrated its stability, flexibility and adaptability and constructive response to challenges. But due to the importance of the creative environment as a factor of improving the quality of life of the population, the state support is needed. The results of the study can be used as the basis for management activities to develop and support the urban creative environment of modern Russian society in difficult socio-economic conditions.

Oka Domains in Euclidean Spaces

Abstract In this paper, we find surprisingly small Oka domains in Euclidean spaces ${\mathbb {C}}^n$ of dimension $n>1$ at the very limit of what is possible. Under a mild geometric assumption on a closed unbounded convex set $E$ in ${\mathbb {C}}^n$, we show that ${\mathbb {C}}^n\setminus E$ is an Oka domain. In particular, there are Oka domains only slightly bigger than a halfspace, the latter being neither Oka nor hyperbolic. This gives smooth families of real hypersurfaces $\Sigma _t\subset {\mathbb {C}}^n$ for $t\in {\mathbb {R}}$ dividing ${\mathbb {C}}^n$ in an unbounded hyperbolic domain and an Oka domain such that at $t=0$, $\Sigma _0$ is a hyperplane and the character of the two sides gets reversed. More generally, we show that if $E$ is a closed set in ${\mathbb {C}}^n$ for $n>1$ whose projective closure $\overline E\subset \mathbb {C}\mathbb {P}^n$ avoids a hyperplane $\Lambda \subset \mathbb {C}\mathbb {P}^n$ and is polynomially convex in $\mathbb {C}\mathbb {P}^n\setminus \Lambda \cong {\mathbb {C}}^n$, then ${\mathbb {C}}^n\setminus E$ is an Oka domain.