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Flammability of natural plant and animal fibers: a heat release survey
No full textWith increased interest in sustainable materials for use in building materials and clothing, there is a renewal in the use of natural fibers (plant or animal-based) vs. synthetic fibers in a variety of applications. However, there is not as much information available on the flammability of these natural fibers especially when they are used in products where purification techniques used in conventional textile processing are not required. The literature to date suggests that all of the fibers can be grouped into two categories: cellulosic and animal, with the assumption that regardless of original species, the flammability is similar for fibers within each category. In this report, we have conducted a survey via micro combustion calorimetry to determine if all cellulose-based and all protein based fibers are the same from a heat release perspective. Our findings show that this is not the case, and there are notable differences in fiber types within each genus. Further, how the natural fiber has been treated prior to use can have some dramatic effects on heat release caused by residual impurity content. The results in this paper suggest there is more to be learned about these natural fiber types in regards to their inherent flammability
A Life Cycle Assessment of the Environmental Impact of Cruise Holidays
No full textDespite difficult economic conditions in recent years, the cruise industry has continued to grow strongly. Questions remain, however, as to the environmental impact of a cruise holiday. The noxious nature of the fuel employed, the sheer quantity required, and the effects of various discharges from vessels at sea are among the issues that impact upon the ‘green’ performance of the industry.Although the media have been quick to criticise various aspects of the industry in recent years, little research has been done to quantify the actual level of environmental harm caused by the industry. In this paper the authors describe the application of Life Cycle Assessment to produce a model of contributions to climate change that is compared with the impact of a holiday spent ashore
The impact of deviating from set guidelines and procedures in the implementation of road construction projects.
No full textDelay and cost overruns are common in construction projects and road construction projects in Malawi are not an exception (Yaw Frimpong, 2003). Road construction projects in Malawi have become a challenging activity to venture into due to uncertainty of whether payments for work done will be made on time for smooth running of the project. Public construction projects ought to be lucrative due to their sizes and availability of funding that they receive. However, in a situation where you have outstanding payments as huge as US$58,340,766 (Gala, 2014), and in a developing country, it is only clear that contractors working on these projects must be facing financial hardships. The aim of the research was to identify difficulties contractors are facing in view of the existing scenario. This was a quantitative descriptive study. Convenient sampling was used to obtain the sample size of 220. Self-administered structured questionnaire was used to collect data. A desk study of relevant secondary data was also done. The collected data was analysed using excel to obtain frequencies, percentages and mean.The respondents included contractors, consultants and clients. Sixty-five percent of them had between 11 and 20 years of experience in the construction of roads. Only 7.7% (n=17) were registered engineers. The study revealed that 59% (n=144) of the respondents reported delayed payments as a factor that affected performance negatively. Eighty three percent (n=183) reported lack of skilled labour force.Based on the results it is recommended that GoM should stop awarding new contracts until the arrears are cleared or unless other sources of funding are made available. GoM should make a deliberate effort to put aside funds for road construction purposes. Contractors should make deliberate programmes to send their staff for refresher courses. GoM should enforce observance of road reserves in accordance with Public Roads Act
Reflections on student assessment as measurement and guidance towards achievement: ‘I said I taught him. I didn’t say he learned it’.
No full textIntroductory paper for the second issue of 'Practice and Research in Education' the University of Bolton education research student journal
Technical fibres: recent advances
No full textFibres are the key constituents of all fibrous assemblies used in any technical and nontechnical applications; hence, to utilise these materials effectively, an in-depth knowledge and understanding of their physical and chemical properties are imperative to any design structures and their expected performance criteria. This chapter briefly introduces the traditional fibres and argues that, within the last 15 years or so, much has happened to elevate the status of fibres from mere conventional and nonconventional entities to highly sophisticated and engineered raw materials. The chapter discusses nanofibres, auxetic fibres, piezoelectric fibres, photovoltaic fibres, and shape-memory fibres (in some detail) and highlights the tendency of a shift from synthetics to natural fibres - with specific reference to required degradation mechanisms in medical applications. The chapter concludes by painting a promising picture for the future of fibre technology swayed by the evolutionary nature of natural habitat
An exploratory study on the management of services procurement process for different services
No full textThis research is focused on the management of services procurement particularly on the services procurement process. The Services industry has been perceived to be growing in importance in the emerging business market. However, from the literature review, research in this subject area is rather limited. This thesis focuses on gaining detailed insights about services including: 1) how services has been defined, 2) what are the characteristics of services, 3) how services are being managed, 4) what are the services procurement processes, 5) the challenges in managing the services and the anticipation of growth and future for the services industry. In order to gain more insight and detailed information, the “case study” has been selected as the research method in collecting the data. It is one of the research methods that allow greater insights and discussion on the selected subject area.Seven companies have been selected for interview sessions whereby each company represented a case study. Data that was collected was analysed through template analysis.The main aim of this research is to develop a best practice framework for services procurement. The research has developed a conceptual framework of a services procurement process based on the discussion in the literature review. From the literature reviews, it is inferred that different companies might have different procurement processes between raw materials/goods/products and services. However, from findings of the field research, almost all of the companies are maintaining the same procurement process for both raw materials/goods/products and services. This applies to all the case studies of Case Study A, B, C, D, E, F & G. Moreover, some of the companies interviewed in this research project argue that several types of services may be applied to a simpler procurement process when compared to a more complicated services type. This research will evaluate, compare and refine the services procurement process between the conceptual framework that has been developed from literature review and the services procurement process in the fieldwork. A refined and validated services procurement process has been proposed as a Best Practice Framework.The researcher recommends to extend the research in some other countries, locations or continents as future research, to further contribute to the wealth of knowledge in the research context relating to the procurement process. As an extension to this research, the researcher suggests to examine how supplier relationship management can assist in managing the services procurement processes
An Avuncular Socrates? Comment on A.-M. Schultz’ Socrates and Socrates: ‘Looking back to Bring Philosophy Forward’
No full textNumerical modelling and in-process expert system for the assessment of large scale seals
No full textThe design and development of large scale seals, under a variety of loads and how they can be monitored for fault diagnosis and life prediction, have been investigated in this study. The work builds upon ideas of developing a physically based mathematical model of an elastomeric lip seal. The approach utilised finite element analysis to simulate its in-service operating condition, in order to obtain parameters needed to be considered for credible life performance of such seal, and therefore allow an extension for new large scale problems, in which the application can be used under increased loads.Accurate modelling requires the knowledge of the boundary condition, material properties and some real life data, which are key parameters to developing a reliable optimised model and a system to enable condition monitoring of seal. The material properties of an elastomer, subjected to tension and compression loads are obtained in this work, whilst putting into consideration the large strain nonlinear elasticity exhibited by the materials. Hyperelastic material models were utilised, since they put into consideration material nonlinearity of elastomers. This eliminates the shortcomings of the conventional Hookean material law currently used in the industries for seal design study.Considering the potential for the demand of a seal monitoring and diagnostic system in the future, this thesis introduces a new, in-process cognitive expert system structure. The structure consists of a knowledge base and an inference model, that is able to evaluate the fault severity of a seal system based on the knowledge provided to it. A case study herein reveals that the structure is able to retain control rules taught to it for the assessment of a sealing process. A computer simulation has been used to analyse, illustrate and evaluate the reliability of the structure, and it shows that it can play a key role in successful application of artificial intelligence technique to monitor the seal and similar assets
Tools or traits : the path to successful continuous improvement implementation in a logistics environment
No full textThis thesis examines the opportunities to improve the implementation of a Continuous Improvement (CI) culture supporting the success of logistics organisations of the future.It is based on the proposition that the manner in which individuals and organisations behave will form greater influence on the success of CI implementation programs than the use of recognised CI tools and techniques taught in the classroom. By definition CI covers wide-ranging themes and its applications are not tied specifically to projects; the literature review will explore how CI can be utilised to improve organisational performance evaluating synergies between CI and associated domains. Enablers and blockers to successful CI implementation programs will be examined leading to an understanding of the amalgam between soft and hard skills and their interactions.Reflective practice is the chosen approach to the PhD, underpinned with over twenty years’ experience of the researcher working with CI as part of their roles and responsibilities. The literature review provided a theoretical base, including the development of content for the semi-structured interviews deriving qualitative data in support of the thesis aims and objectives. This process supported additional unexpected outputs, discussed within the conclusions and recommendations sections.The over-riding domain of the thesis is CI Implementation; however this was broken down into Organisational Learning, Organisational Frames of Reference, Learning Organisations, Culture, Emotional Intelligence and Appreciative Inquiry with supplemental areas of Knowledge Management, Innovation and Trust. The taskorientated elements of CI tools and techniques are described, providing the reader with an overview of their use and potential value to organisations.Conclusions are drawn regarding the importance of successful CI implementation in logistics organisations. Recommendations are proposed as to how to improve CI implementation by reducing the potential for blockers to stall or ultimately prevent the process from operating as a self-sustaining business as usual activity. This is achieved through a blend of task, organisational and individual cultures working in unison. The main contribution of the thesis is the provision of a CI Implementation Model, developed through the thesis and detailed within Chapter 7. Further contributions to theory and practice are derived from the research undertaken, specifically targeting a cultural rather than task-orientated approach. These include; the wider CI community, Deutsche Post (DP) DHL community, methods and practice. Methods by which colleague engagement can be improved are identified from individual and organisational perspectives targeting discretionary effort of colleagues as a key measure of successful implementation of a CI culture