China
Africa
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Case Study of Nigeria's Industrial Development Centers
Published in Adedeji B. Badiru, Systems Engineering Using the DEJI Systems Model®, 2023
There was a deep crisis in our industrial development during the 1980s. As a result, the aims and objectives of the “first” Industrial Development Decade for Africa (IDDA) were largely unfulfilled, and they have been re-stated for the “second” decade of the 1990s. Some of the lessons learned during the 1980s included:the need to reappraise policies and strategies;the need to reduce dependence on external factors for our development, and as a corollary; andthe need to create internal engines of growth so as to internalize the multiplier effect of investment.Therefore, the experience of the 1980s and of past development planning efforts convinced the government of the need for a change in the development planning strategy for the country. A plan for the industrial sector would define the sector’s forward and backward linkages with other sectors of the economy such as agriculture, transportation, construction, communication, mining, and energy. This led government to decide on the mechanism of a Perspective Plan and Three-Year-Rolling Plans, so as to put in place “plans that are subject to periodic reviews rather than fixed plans.” The plan is expected to forge a closer link with the annual budget.
Communications
Published in Len Holm, 101 Case Studies in Construction Management, 2018
“Communication” is a broad term that, loosely described, includes acquiring and transmitting different types of information. It is perhaps the most critical project management (PM) tool. A good technical project manager who knows how to estimate, plan, schedule, and execute a construction contract may fail, unless he or she also has good communication skills. Unless the project manager can communicate his or her needs, wants, and expectations, they likely may be unfulfilled. Any study of construction leadership shows communication skills as one of the strongest traits of both office and field construction leaders. Several formats and techniques have been developed to expedite the flow of information among members of the project team. There are many construction communication tools, including contracts, schedules, logs, and start-up documents. This chapter highlights case study examples of both good and bad uses of communications by contractors, designers, and project owners.
Fabrication Processes
Published in Manas Chanda, Plastics Technology Handbook, 2017
Whereas traditional coatings only protect the substrate to which they are applied by providing a barrier between the surface and the environment, smart coatings go much further as they are able to sense a change in conditions in the environment and respond to that change in a predictable and noticeable manner to mend or eliminate the problem. Stimuli for smart coatings can be any of a number of changes in environmental conditions, such as heat, pressure, pH, impact, vibrations, presence of pathogens and other organisms, certain chemicals (such as corrosive materials), humidity, electronic and magnetic fields, sunlight and other radiations, and others. The functional ingredient within the intelligent coating can be the resin itself or a variety of additives including microencapsulated ingredients, pigments, antimicrobial agents, enzymes or other bioactive species, nanomaterials (nanoparticles, nanotubes, nanocapsules, etc.), microelectromechanical devices, and radio-frequency identification devices. The potential applications for these numerous types of smart coatings are broad and varied, including corrosion control, camouflage, bio-weapon detection and destruction, and other safety applications. The need for smart coatings and functional surfaces exists in diverse industries, including aerospace, marine, automotive, construction, communication, textile, biomedical, electronics, energy, environmental protection, personal safety, and many others.
Acoustic behaviour of textile structures
Published in Textile Progress, 2021
Parikshit Paul, Rajesh Mishra, B. K. Behera
Among various inorganic fibrous materials, glass fibre has been extensively used in noise reduction because of its low cost and ready availability all over the world. Currently, it is widely used in many industrial fields, such as buildings, construction, communication, and transportation. Glass fibre can provide excellent mechanical properties at reduced weight compared with metallic materials and increasing the thickness of glass fibre panel can improve the acoustic absorption ability, especially in the low-frequency range (Wang & Torng, 2001). Recently, the application of glass fibre obtained from printed circuit boards in noise reduction has been reported (Sun, Shen, Ma, & Zhang, 2015). The results showed that the highly porous structure of the recycled glass fibre leads to an excellent acoustic absorption ability in a broad frequency range.
Logistics as a driving force for development under the Belt and Road Initiative – the Chinese model for developing countries
Published in Transport Reviews, 2018
Kevin X. Li, Mengjie Jin, Guanqiu Qi, Wenming Shi, Adolf K. Y. Ng
Taking into account the aforementioned significance of logistics infrastructure, governments have paid considerable attention to such investments and policy making (see Appendix 1), aiming to encourage economic growth (Melo, Graham, & Brage-Ardao, 2013). In such a context, the Chinese government proposed the remarkable “Belt and Road Initiative (B&R)” in 2013 (see Appendix 1). The main objective of the B&R Initiative is to promote the economic prosperity of the countries along the Belt and Road through cooperating based on mutual learning, particularly in areas of the logistics industry including transport infrastructure construction, communication network construction and trade cooperation. Indeed, this reflects an important role of logistics infrastructure in a country’s economy.