Vital Project Research Articles

Effect of Project Control Practices on the Performance of Building Construction Companies in Uganda: A Case Study of the City of Kampala

This research paper analytically evaluates the project control practice levels used by the building construction companies within Kampala, Uganda. The research also assesses the impact of project control practices on the productivity of companies. The research was performed to ascertain the current control practices among 160 respondents from various construction companies registered with the Uganda Registration Services Bureau. This research used amalgamation from multiple studies in the literature to obtain the variables. This research adopts 34 standard control practices from 4 vital project control duties: planning, monitoring, analyzing, and reporting. These project control tasks were organized using mean response ratings grounded in their relevance to the construction companies. This process authorized researchers to prioritize tasks based on their perceived importance or relevance to the construction companies involved. Results showed that evaluating performance with the use of S-curves (4.32), timely access to information and encouragement (4.55), report representation using quantitative tools 4.75, and cost value comparison application during analysis (4.76) were rated least among the control practices. On the other hand, the top project control practices included formulation of the project schedule (8.88), project feasibility validation (8.86), budgeting for each activity (8.84), key project route definition (8.81), team awareness of the budget (8.77), setting realistic targets for projects (8.50), and consultation from subcontractors (8.74). From the results obtained by the sample respondents specified, it can be concluded that planning is the most vital project control task practiced in the building construction industry in Uganda. In addition, this research ascertained a substantial relationship between project control practices and the performance of building construction companies. Accordingly, this research recommends that project control practices be effectively observed by both contracting and consulting companies to enhance their overall performance and governance.

Biogas as Alternative to Liquefied Petroleum Gas in Mauritania: An Integrated Future Approach for Energy Sustainability and Socio-Economic Development

The global shift from conventional energy sources to sustainable alternatives has garnered significant attention, driven by the promise of economic benefits and environmental sustainability. The current study rigorously investigated the economic advantages and sustainability achieved from the transition of households in Mauritania from liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to biogas utilization. The study constitutes a robust case study that centers on assessing the multifaceted impacts of this transition on household finances and overall quality of life in Mauritania. This case focuses on biogas technology adoption and its role as a competitor of LPG in Mauritania. The energy poverty portfolio of the nation has been explored and livestock waste generation and biogas production potential have been estimated at 2451 million cubic meters annually. Biogas production can fulfill 50% of the energy requirement for cooking purposes within the country. The community scale fixed-dome-type biogas digesters have been recommended for Mauritania by considering a community of 100 families. The calculated payback period for the community project is 74 months, and after the payback period, continuous monthly benefits of USD 1750 will be started. Livestock manure is directly utilized for farming practices in Mauritania, which produces 10.7 Gg of methane emissions per year. Biogas production is a clean and economically viable option for Mauritania, which can also be beneficial for reducing the methane emissions footprints of the livestock sector. This case study will prove as a vital project for other African nations if successfully implemented. Multiple recommendations for the policy-makers of Mauritania have also been formulated, like tariffs on biogas production facilities and swift financing schemes, which can further strengthen the biogas production on a national scale. International funders should also take part in coping with the energy demand of Mauritania and its mission to mitigate climate change rather than utilizing LPG on a national scale. Biogas production and utilization are much cheaper compared with the fluctuating prices of LPG and ensure health when cooking.

Investigation on the Nature of Safety Rule Violations in High-Rise Construction Projects

The construction sector has consistently demonstrated a greater risk of fatal and non-fatal occupational accidents than other economic sectors, particularly with respect to high-rise building construction projects. Despite searing progress in the regulatory domain, and progressive formulation of new safety agenda for the industry, the truth is safety incidences involving fatalities and injuries still perpetuate with varying degrees of intensity. This is further aggravated by the loss of vital project resources of materials, equipment, and labours, which is counter-productive, unsustainable, and occasionally polluting. What is abundantly clear is that human factor when dealing with safety intricacies and observation still plays a considerable role in determining key safety objective accomplishment. With that in mind, it was the aims of this study to delve deeper into this issue among practitioners at the forefront of the high-rise building construction works in Malaysia. Specifically, it investigates, analyses, and ranks the degree of severity of the safety rule violation repercussion, the frequency, and perpetrators. A questionnaire survey approach was devised and distributed to respondents from among the developers, consultants, contractors, and relevant authorities. The data collected were analysed using SPSS package by determining the average index, standard deviation, variance, and frequency analysis. The results have shown that the lack of fire protection was perceived to lead to the most severe repercussion, while the lack of risky, near-miss, accident reporting, and the lack of Logout or Tagout (LOTO) procedures during servicing and maintenance activities were the most frequent safety rule violations. In addition, the contractor party was the most regular offender of the safety regulations, understandably by virtue of numbers. In conclusion, these outcomes could facilitate safety authorities and professionals in devising pragmatic schemes that best utilize both the persuasive and punitive mitigation measures for better safety outcomes.

Impacts of exile on mental health: Considerations with a differential approach. State of the art 2000-2019

Exile generates the fracture of the vital project and a high load of stress, which can induce the appearance of mental health disorders and health in general. The impact is subject to various demographic variables. The objective of this article is to present the product of a review of the impacts od exile on mental health based on age, gender and the most important risk and protection factors. Finally, reference is made to the most relevant approaches from the perspective of mental health A search was carried out in various databases of academic literature between the period 2000-2019 using terms in Spanish, English and Portuguese in relation to the impacts of exile on the mental health of women, minor and older adults. The saturation criterion was used. Although exile itself does not necessarily result in mental illness, the greatest risk is associated with armed conflicts; in women, the absence of an affective partner and the confluence of care roles; in older adults, loneliness, illness and poverty and in all ages and genders, being a victim of hostility or discrimination in the host society. As protective factors, younger age; family and social network; favorable economic conditions, higher level of educations, integration into social groups with cultural and linguistic affinity in the country of arrival. There is no single therapeutic approach. It´s important to highlight relevance of a comprehensive and cross-cultural perspective and the need for specific public policies.

VITAL - A Modular VR & AR Based Educational Toolkit to Help EU Adults Foster Climate Neutral Practices

The VITAL project is motivated by the EU’s Green Deal Action Plan and the exploitation of two Erasmus+ priorities - the fight against climate change combined with digital transformation, in this case in the adult education sector. Various studies, statistics and surveys show that the rate of natural resource extraction is rapidly growing and our planet and the home of mankind can come to exhaustion of its finite resources. In a nutshell, the behaviour and lifestyle of EU Citizens in terms of consumption and use of products and services need to be influenced so that we all contribute daily actions that are more sustainable and aligned with best practices leading to carbon neutrality. In the contribution, we would like to inform about a course and materials developed within our Erasmus+ project that could serve various target users (adult trainers, schools, NGOs, municipal authorities, etc.) to get information about the principles and provide a set of hands-on activities enriched with AR technology features.

Chemoproteomics, A Broad Avenue to Target Deconvolution.

As a vital project of forward chemical genetic research, target deconvolution aims to identify the molecular targets of an active hit compound. Chemoproteomics, either with chemical probe-facilitated target enrichment or probe-free, provides a straightforward and effective approach to profile the target landscape and unravel the mechanisms of action. Canonical methods rely on chemical probes to enable target engagement, enrichment, and identification, whereas click chemistry and photoaffinity labeling techniques improve the efficiency, sensitivity, and spatial accuracy of target recognition. In comparison, recently developed probe-free methods detect protein-ligand interactions without the need to modify the ligand molecule. This review provides a comprehensive overview of different approaches and recent advancements for target identification and highlights the significance of chemoproteomics in investigating biological processes and advancing drug discovery processes.

Edible oil wholesale price forecasts via the neural network

For a wide spectrum of agricultural market participants, building price forecasts of various agricultural commodities has always been a vital project. In this work, we approach this problem for the weekly wholesale price index of edible oil in the Chinese market during a ten-year period of January 1, 2010–January 3, 2020 through the exploration of the non-linear auto-regressive neural network as the forecast model. Specifically, we investigate forecast performance stemming from different settings of models, which include considerations of training algorithms, hidden neurons, delays, and how the data are segmented. With the analysis, a relatively simple model is constructed and it produces performance that is rather accurate and stable. Particularly, performance in terms of relative root mean square errors is 2.80%, 3.01%, and 1.80% for training, validation, and testing, respectively. Forecast results here could be utilized as part of technical analysis and/or combined with other fundamental forecasts as part of policy analysis.

Evaluating the Impact of Risk Factors on Construction Projects of Foci in Nigeria

Risk management is a vital project management planning and control tool for reducing uncertainty and improving decision-making. Risk cannot be avoided but must be recognized, assessed and managed. One of the challenges facing the construction in Nigeria is how to assess the risk of cost overruns and deliver projects within budget. These risks can cause losses and lead to increase in costs, time delays and lack of quality project delivery. The purpose of this paper is to identify and assess the impact of the risk factors on construction projects of Federation of Construction Industry (FOCI) in Nigeria and likelihood of occurrence and degree of usage of risk analytical techniques. A total of 171 self-administered questionnaires were sent out to registered construction firms with the FOCI in Nigeria and 146 was returned representing 85.38% of respondent rate. Results of the study indicated that unavailability of funds, construction delay, inadequate specification with MIS 3.42, 3.18, 3.05, 3.04 and 3.03 ranked first, second, third, fourth and fifth, respectively as the most impactful risk factors to construction projects. Delphi Method, influencing diagram and portfolio with mean score of 3.38, 3.28 and 3.14, respectively were prominent among the analytical techniques on construction projects. However, Monte Carlo Simulation and Latin-Hyper-Cube with mean score of 2.82 and 2.92 respectively were the least from the rear. T-Test showed that only Sensitivity Analysis (111.425, P<0.05), Probabilistic analysis (55.534, P<0.05), Influence Diagram (26.164, P< 0.05), Decision Tree Analysis (25.726, P<0.05), Latin – Hyper-Cube (22.430, P<0.05), Monte Carlo Simulation (20.247, P<0.05), Delphi Method (18.493, P<0.05) as frequent of usage of alternative decision, have significant influence on risk analysis. From this study, various sets of risk factors impact differently on construction projects. Therefore, there should be adequate provision and incorporation of risks factors into the bid estimates and contractors should be encouraged to assess and consider these risks factors when bidding; so as to avert the problem of time and cost overrun.

Arithmetic: Craft or Art? A Recursive (Re)view of Paul Lockhart’s A Mathematician’s Lament and Arithmetic

Paul Lockhart is a former computer programmer, elementary teacher, research mathematician, university professor, and somewhat more recently a K-12 mathematics teacher and author. Lockhart’s first written composition appeared two decades ago in 2002. All of 25 pages, his essay A Mathematician's Lament began like this: A musician wakes from a terrible nightmare. In this dream he finds himself in a society where music education has been made mandatory ... Educators, school systems, and the state are put in charge of this vital project. Studies are commissioned, committees are formed, and decisions are made—all without the advice or participation of a single working musician or composer.” (p. 1)

Evaluation of Seepage Force and Overall Stability Factor Along Proposed Baghdad Metro Tunnel Across Tigris River

Baghdad Metro is a vital project to fulfill the rapidly increased traffic volume requirements. The proposed metro will connect both sides of Baghdad City, passing under the Tigris River. This study is employed finite elements software (PLAXIS 3D) to evaluate the seepage force developed around the sub-river segment during different construction stages and for other water levels of Tigris. The study found that when the water level changes from maximum to minimum, the developed seepage force decreases by (8 to 13%) and (22 to 27%) respectively. The seepage forces were found to be maximum during the excavation stage. The concrete lining process led to a noticeable reduction in seepage forces at all locations. The study also implemented the strength reduction theory to assess the overall stability of the tunnel. The study shows that the overall stability factor was minimum during the concrete lining process. As the water level decreased, the overall stability factor increased by (5% - 8%).

Scandinavian Exceptionalisms: Culture, Society, Discourse

Scandinavian Exceptionalisms: Culture, Society, Discourse

Nonhuman Value: A Survey of the Intrinsic Valuation of Natural and Artificial Nonhuman Entities

To be intrinsically valuable means to be valuable for its own sake. Moral philosophy is often ethically anthropocentric, meaning that it locates intrinsic value within humans. This paper rejects ethical anthropocentrism and asks, in what ways might nonhumans be intrinsically valuable? The paper answers this question with a wide-ranging survey of theories of nonhuman intrinsic value. The survey includes both moral subjects and moral objects, and both natural and artificial nonhumans. Literatures from environmental ethics, philosophy of technology, philosophy of art, moral psychology, and related fields are reviewed, and gaps in these literatures are identified. Although the gaps are significant and much work remains to be done, the survey nonetheless demonstrates that those who reject ethical anthropocentrism have considerable resources available to develop their moral views. Given the many very high-stakes issues involving both natural and artificial nonhumans, and the sensitivity of these issues to how nonhumans are intrinsically valued, this is a vital project to pursue.

An environmental analysis of the human potential to invest in alternative energy in Najaf Governorate

Alternative energy is an important source of clean energy, as it is one of the ways to reduce environmental pollution, and it is renewable and inexhaustible energy. There are potentials available to invest in alternative energy in Najaf governorate, represented by solar, wind, water energy, and that Najaf governorate is an ideal location for the establishment of this vital project, which is used in a number of public and proposed projects for the production of electricity, as the study revealed the existence of serious steps in investing alternative energy in Najaf Governorate, the study proved that solar energy has been invested in the province through the establishment of many projects investing in solar energy and used for irrigation and lighting purposes in various parts of the province. Wind and this is an important step in the development of wind energy investment in Najaf Governorate. The amount of energy produced by the dams, the Kufa dam was limited to only 50 watts, while the Abbasid dam is currently disabled.

Stacking Engineering: A Boosting Strategy for 2D Photocatalysts.

Two-dimensional (2D) photocatalytic material is a vital project for modern solar energy conversion and storage. Despite a vast family of potential 2D photocatalysts that is demonstrated, their commercial applications are severely limited because of fast photogenerated electron-hole recombination. Here, based on first-principles, we propose a general paradigm to boost the separation of photoexcited charge carriers in 2D photocatalysts by stacking engineering. Taking the emerging water splitting photocatalyst MoSi2N4 as an example, we show that specific interlayer stacking-induced electric polarization plays a significant role in altering the electronic properties and thus the suppressed recombination rate of photoexcited carriers. Moreover, we find that the catalytic performance can be further controlled by vertical strain. These generalized findings not only highlight the importance of stacking-induced electric polarization but also offer new prospects for the design and application of 2D photocatalysts.

STRATEGIC CHALLENGES FOR SUCCESSFUL PROJECT MANAGEMENT IN THE ERA OF COVID-19 ENDEMIC

In project management, strategic challenges are likely to be issues or contentions that can have a significant impact on project success. Often project success depends upon how timely and effective strategic implementations were undertaken. Nowadays, Project-based organization cultures are observing a seemingly ever-increasing pace of change and evolving with emerging new technologies. Digital technologies are impacting the dynamics of workplaces by rapidly changing competitive thinking amongst employees including their horizontal and vertical collaborations. After the recent unprecedented times during Covid 19 pandemic, the working methodologies to accommodate remote work cultures have been inculcated into the organizations. This has led to change management, accountability, and productivity determination as a more stern challenge for strategic developments. Additionally, keeping the team focussed and strategically aligned with the organizational mission and vision has become a vital project management aspect. The objective of this article is to explain the strategic challenges faced by project management in strategy implementation in project-based organizations and the possible solutions to the challenges. The ways of succeeding with these challenges effectively are to put more consideration on strategy implementation and develop new strategies to meet with future technology advancements. Moreover, Management should articulate their strategy of how to improve employee capabilities and skills in certain job positions coupled with new technology, which can enhance behavioural strategies for employees. The study will contribute further on new knowledge to the existing body of knowledge on strategy implementation challenges faced by Project management. The study also established that employees' resistance to change and lack of skills to some extent affected the implementation of strategies within the organizations. However, practicing proper change management in the organization can minimize the resistance. The knowledge gained through this research will thus be useful in improving the overall performance of Projects.

Pakistan's Foreign Policy Towards Central Asia in Context with CPEC

Central Asia consists of five states: Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and rich with natural reserves. Pakistan has an important place in the South Asian region and occupies an important strategic location. Pakistan and Central Asian republics always keen to develop cordial relations. China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CEPC) is a game-changer project of the region. China has injected over 70$ billion under CPEC in various projects in Pakistan and wants to invest more. Central Asian states are willing to join CPEC and wish to get benefits from this vital project. Central Asian republics can capture a large-scale market beyond South Asia and Pakistan, with its prime location can provide an accessible route. Gawadar Port is fully functional now and provides a transit route to the Central Asian republics and can significantly enhance ties among Pakistan and CARs. Now Pakistan considers the Central Asian region an essential pillar in its foreign policy. Islamabad tried its best to connect with the Central Asian region but could not get the desired results due to the various regional issues. Afghanistan is a constant hurdle in the way of a prosperous region. Afghanistan has been in war for the last four decades, and peace looks like a dream in the country. Islamabad has hosted Tajik President in June and the Uzbek President at the virtual meeting in April this year. Pakistan has signed various MoUs with both Central Asian states and it shows the importance of relations among Pakistan Central Asian republics. This paper analyzes Pakistan's foreign policy towards Central Asia in the context of CPEC. The researcher uses a qualitative technique to complete his research paper and this research paper enables readers to understand the significance of CPEC and Pakistan's relations with Central Asian states.

The Role of Quality Assurance in Geological Investigations: A Case Study

Implementation of a Quality Assurance (QA) program in geological investigation is very significant and essential, especially when the investigation is carried out for selection and evaluation of strategic and vital project sites. The current work is a case study for selection and evaluation of a strategic site in Iraq where a QA program was implemented for the first time in the Iraq Geological Survey (as a Contractor) as a mandatory condition implied by the Client for all work carried out and included in the geological investigation. The geological investigation included six main activities: 1) geology, 2) hydrogeology, 3) geophysics, 4) engineering geology, 5) drilling and 6) laboratory work. The main roles of QA staff were to: 1) check the qualifications of all staff members involved in the six activities, 2) verify work procedures by means of which the staff members of each activity were performing their tasks, 3) follow-up all carried out works in the field, laboratory and office, 4) verify all types of work outputs by the staff members of the six activities, and 5) recognize any nonconformance in any type of carried out work before been recognized by the QA and/ or Quality Control (QC) staff of the Client. During the performance of the contract that lasted for 30 months, three nonconformance cases by the Contractor were recognized by the QA staff members and relevant corrective actions were performed. The three cases were not detected or recognized by the QA and QC staff members of the Client.

PIN65 Systematic Literature Review on Modelling of Infectious Diseases in Elderly

To collect and review the current state of infectious disease modelling in the elderly in six pre-selected diseases as part of VITAL H2020 project. MEDLINE (PubMed) database was searched for all published models, between 1/1/2000 and 25/6/2020, that have investigated infectious diseases in ageing adults. SLR focusses on the following infectious diseases identified as diseases with potentially high burden in the elderly: extra-intestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli, Respiratory Syncytial virus (RSV), influenza, pneumococcal disease, Staphylococcus aureus, and norovirus. We identified 88 eligible articles. Influenza was subject matter in 44, pneumococcal diseases in 36, while pneumococcal diseases and influenza were modelled together in 5 publications. Only 2 models were identified for norovirus, 1 for E. Coli and none for Staphylococcus aureus and RSV. Models of influenza are mostly built as cost-utility studies, with costs, QALYs and ICER being their main outcomes (32/44), more frequently static and of a decision tree structure (14/44 vs 7/44 for Markov model) with time horizon of one influenza season (13/24). They were mostly focused on analyzing the impact of vaccination strategies (36/44), considerably less assessing antiviral drugs (5/44). Elderly population was defined by the age limit of 65+(33/40). As for the pneumococcal models, effectiveness was expressed in QALYs (21/36), or life years gained (9/36). Models remain mostly static (31/36) with Markov model structure dominating (24/36). All selected pneumococcal models were focused on vaccines as interventions, conducted under a lifetime horizon (11/21) and elderly population defined by the same age limit of 65+(18/36). The two models concerning norovirus where of deterministic compartmental structure without estimates for costs or effectiveness. Majority of identified models concerned influenza and pneumococcal disease. Presented SLR collected information on several relevant categories per each of publication and can quantitatively explain predominant approaches in modelling selected diseases for the elderly.

Validation of a MS Based Proteomics Method for Milk and Egg Quantification in Cookies at the Lowest VITAL Levels: An Alternative to the Use of Precautionary Labeling.

The prevalence of food allergy has increased over the last decades and consequently the food labeling policies have improved over the time in different countries to regulate allergen presence in foods. In particular, Reg 1169 in EU mandates the labelling of 14 allergens whenever intentionally added to foods, but the inadvertent contamination by allergens still remains an uncovered topic. In order to warn consumers on the risk of cross-contamination occurring in certain categories of foods, a precautionary allergen labelling system has been put in place by food industries on a voluntary basis. In order to reduce the overuse of precautionary allergen labelling (PAL), reference doses and action limits have been proposed by the Voluntary Incidental Trace Allergen Labelling VITAL project representing a guide in this jeopardizing scenario. Development of sensitive and reliable mass spectrometry methods are therefore of paramount importance in this regard to check the contamination levels in foods. In this paper we describe the development of a time-managed multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) method based on a triple quadrupole platform for milk and egg quantification in processed food. The method was in house validated and allowed to achieve levels of proteins lower than 0.2 mg of total milk and egg proteins, respectively, in cookies, challenging the doses recommended by VITAL. The method was finally applied to cookies labeled as milk and egg-free. This method could represent, in perspective, a promising tool to be implemented along the food chain to detect even tiny amounts of allergens contaminating food commodities.

Information needs on vaccinations for older adults and the role of health care professionals in this

Abstract On behalf of all members of work package 4 from the VITAL project