Framework for risk management software system for SMEs in the engineering construction sector

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in construction sector are vulnerable and face exposure to risks whilst operating without risk management system in place. Evidence from market research and industry surveys confirm that SMEs underperform due to inability to manage operational risk challenges facing them. The objective of this study is to develop risk management software enabling SMEs in the construction sector to proactively identify, analyse and manage risks facing them to enhance business performance. Performance in the construction sector is assessed in terms of completion time, project execution cost and overall quality of delivery. Research framework based on balanced score card highlights risk indicators affecting performance. The risk software guides operator to avoid, minimise, mitigate or manage the relevant risks to enable successful performance outcome. The system will enable systematic risk management to achieve minimum cost and time overrun while optimising quality of delivery in a project management environment.EU FP7 Marie Curie Award27th International Conference on Flexible Automation and Intelligent Manufacturing, FAIM2017, 27-30 June 2017, Modena, Ital

Inconsistency in the Diagnosis of Functional Heartburn: Usefulness of Prolonged Wireless pH Monitoring in Patients With Proton Pump Inhibitor Refractory Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

Background/Aims The diagnosis of functional heartburn is important for management, however it stands on fragile pH monitoring variables, ie, acid exposure time varies from day to day and symptoms are often few or absent. Aim of this study was to investigate consistency of the diagnosis of functional heartburn in subsequent days using prolonged wireless pH monitoring and its impact on patients' outcome. Methods Fifty proton pump inhibitotor refractory patients (11 male, 48 years [range, 38-57 years]) with a diagnosis of functional heartburn according to Rome III in the first 24 hours of wireless pH monitoring were reviewed. pH variables were analysed in the following 24-hour periods to determine if tracings were indicative of diagnosis of non-erosive reflux disease (either acid exposure time > 5% or normal acid exposure time and symptom index >= 50%). Outcome was assessed by review of hospital files and/or telephone interview. Results Fifteen out of 50 patients had a pathological acid exposure time after the first day of monitoring (10 in the second day and 5 in subsequent days), which changed their diagnosis from functional heartburn to non-erosive reflux disease. Fifty-four percent of non-erosive reflux disease vs 11% of functional heartburn patients (P < 0.003) increased the dose of proton pump inhibitors or underwent fundoplication after the pH test. Outcome was positive in 77% of non-erosive reflux disease vs 43% of functional heartburn patients (P < 0.05). Conclusions One-third of patients classified as functional heartburn at 24-hour pH-monitoring can be re-classified as non-erosive reflux disease after a more prolonged pH recording period. This observation has a positive impact on patients' management

Do Muslim Village Girls Need Saving? Critical Reflections on Gender and Childhood Suffering in International Aid

Without contesting the idea that many Muslim girls around the world do constitute victims in very real ways. In this chapter, I want to raise a different set of questions. What does it mean when powerful actors in western-based international NGOs recognize the Muslim village girl as the ultimate savable victim? What gendered and racialized logics are at play in this category\u27s strategic deployment, and what are their tangible effects for both NGOs and village girls who receive aid

Barriers to the Adoption of Digitalization in the Construction Industry: Perspectives of Owners, Consultants, and Contractors

Construction organizations are moving toward adopting digitalization in response to Industry 4.0. However, the slow adoption of digitalization has been observed. This study aimed to assess the level of digitalization adoption and evaluate the barriers to adopting digitalization in the Jordanian construction industry by all project parties in the public and private sectors. The study targets were achieved through a structured questionnaire using SPSS software for analysis through the following statistical tests: Normality test, Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis H, and Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA). Most respondents used software at the design stage, and less than half did not use any software during the finishing stage. Regarding the barriers, twenty barriers to adopting digitalization were identified and grouped into five factors according to their importance: barriers related to the nature and system of the construction company, barriers related to the project parties, financial barriers, barriers related to system characteristics, and barriers related to construction project characteristics.&nbsp;Decision-makers should take the necessary measures to overcome such barriers depending on their importance. Previous studies have focused on the contractor's adoption of digitalization while neglecting other parties. This contributed to the full adoption of digitalization from the contractor side, with a noticeable delay from other project parties. This study focused on revealing the most critical barriers to adopting digitalization in the Jordanian construction industry from all project parties' perspectives based on their ranks. Furthermore, the study recommends effective strategies to overcome barriers as an update of past research

[Introduction to] Paradoxes of Care: Children and Global Medical Aid in Egypt.

Each year, billions of dollars are spent on global humanitarian health initiatives. These efforts are intended to care for suffering bodies, especially those of distressed children living in poverty. But as global medical aid can often overlook the local economic and political systems that cause bodily suffering, it can also unintentionally prolong the very conditions that hurt children and undermine local aid givers. Investigating medical humanitarian encounters in Egypt, Paradoxes of Care illustrates how child aid recipients and local aid experts grapple with global aid\u27s shortcomings and its paradoxical outcomes. Rania Kassab Sweis examines how some of the world\u27s largest aid organizations care for vulnerable children in Egypt, focusing on medical efforts with street children and out-of-school village girls. Her in-depth ethnographic study reveals how global medical aid fails to save these children according to its stated aims, and often maintains—or produces new—social disparities in children\u27s lives. Foregrounding vulnerable children\u27s responses to medical aid, Sweis moves past the unquestioned benevolence of global health to demonstrate how children must manage their own bodies and lives in the absence of adult care. With this book, she challenges readers to engage with the question of what medical caregivers and donors alike gain from such global humanitarian transactions.https://scholarship.richmond.edu/bookshelf/1394/thumbnail.jp

Progress in the development of non-​BET bromodomain chemical probes

The bromodomain and extra terminal (BET) family of bromodomains have been the focus of extensive research, leading to the development of many potent, selective chem. probes and recent clinical assets. The profound biol. associated with BET bromodomain inhibition has provided a convincing rationale for targeting bromodomains for the treatment of disease. However, the BET family represents just eight of the at least 56 human bromodomains identified to date. Until recently, there has been significantly less interest in non-​BET bromodomains, leaving a vast area of research and the majority of this new target class yet to be thoroughly investigated. It has been widely reported that several non-​BET bromodomain containing. proteins are associated with various diseases including cancer and HIV. Therefore, the development of chem. probes for non-​BET bromodomains will facilitate elucidation of their precise biol. roles and potentially lead to the development of new medicines. This review summarises the progress made towards the development of non-​BET bromodomain chem. probes to date. In addn., we highlight the potential for future work in this new and exciting area

Do Muslim Village Girl’s Need Saving?: Critical Reflections on Gender and the Suffering Child in International Aid

In her chapter, Do Muslim Village Girl’s Need Saving?: Critical Reflections on Gender and the Suffering Child in International Aid, Dr. Rania Sweis poses the following questions: What does it mean when powerful actors in western based international NGOs recognize the Muslim village girl as the ultimate savable victim\u27? What gendered and racialized logics arc at play in this category\u27s strategic deployment, and what arc their tangible effects for both NGOs and village girls who receive aid\u27? She argues that large-scale international aid projects that aim to speak for, uplift and save Muslim village girls in Egypt and other countries in the Middle East and North Africa produce complex paradoxical effects, which can ultimately conflict with and even undermine NGO project goals

High-resolution manometry-observations after 15 years of personal use-has advancement reached a plateau?

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: In the absence of mucosal or structural disease, the aim of investigating the oesophagus is to provide clinically relevant measurements of function that can explain the cause of symptoms, identify pathology and guide effective management. One of the most notable recent advances in the field of oesophageal function has been high-resolution manometry (HRM). This review explores how innovation in HRM has progressed and has far from reached a plateau. RECENT FINDINGS: HRM technology, methodology and utility continue to evolve; simple additions to the swallow protocol (e.g. eating and drinking), shifting position, targeting symptoms and adding impedance sensors to the HRM catheter have led to improved diagnoses, therapeutic decision-making and outcomes. Progress in HRM persists and shows little sign of abating. The next iteration of the Chicago Classification of motor disorders will highlight these advances and will also identify opportunities for further research and innovation