Ahmed Fouda, Ahmed Shalaby and Mootaz Farid
The real estate development processes involves complex sets of decisions that are related to both technical and financial issues. Some of these decisions could be made…
Abstract
The real estate development processes involves complex sets of decisions that are related to both technical and financial issues. Some of these decisions could be made simultaneously where the others would be made sequentially. Sequential decisions, especially at early stages of the process, are the most critical for the success of any project. Reliable information at early stages is hard to be found, which makes these decisions rather risky. Budget overruns is also a real risk, which usually appears at last stages of developments especially at tender phase.
Developers apply cost saving and/or value engineering / management exercises to reduce the expected cost in order to re-meet the budget again. Value management is preferred since it maintains the same planned quality, provides needed functions and reduces cost. Some of developers succeed where the others are obliged to cancel their developments after wasting a lot of time and money.
In order to mitigate some of those risks, enhance development process and optimize the product, developers need to apply a systematic approach in the form of a Heuristic Model as a pro-active tool to assist them performing better. The main objective of this research is to re-utilize the core principle of the value management, which is eliminating unnecessary functions and costs in order to develop this model. Thus, a descriptive analytical approach was applied as a methodology for doing the targeted synchronization and integration between the value management tools and techniques within the real estate development process. The heuristic model proposed a certain order of the development process and selected tools and techniques to achieve the value management philosophy. It is designed to be strategic and flexible in order to guide the developers to create their own model according to their vision and surrounded circumstances.
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The urban population in the developing world will double by the year 2030 increasing the pressure in the housing sector that already suffers from the lack of adequate and…
Abstract
The urban population in the developing world will double by the year 2030 increasing the pressure in the housing sector that already suffers from the lack of adequate and affordable housing. Egypt, similar to most countries in the developing world, witnesses a huge deficit in the housing units needed for low-income groups. Since the mid Nineteen Seventies, the Egyptian government adopted and implemented a variety of low-cost housing development strategies including: site and services schemes, core housing projects, partially completed housing units in apartment blocks, and totally finished housing projects. The huge informal housing sector in Egypt has proved the ability of the low-income groups to build for their own-selves. Thus, the incremental housing approach was one of the approaches that were adopted by the Egyptian government to solve the housing problem. Ebny Baitak or “Build Your House” is an incremental housing approach and one of the approaches undertaken by the Ministry of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Development within the National Housing Program to solve the housing problems of low-income groups in Egypt. This paper discusses the recent Egyptian experience in encouraging the participation of low-income groups in the construction process of their own houses through an incremental housing program “Ebny Baitak project”. The paper also derives the implications that could be learned from this experience towards better application in the future.
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Tamer ElSerafi, Dalila ElKerdany and Ahmed Shalaby
Historic districts are unique with its urban fabric, which hosts various activities and land uses. Such districts in the city center of cities are very active with many different…
Abstract
Historic districts are unique with its urban fabric, which hosts various activities and land uses. Such districts in the city center of cities are very active with many different users. Each activity attracts different users. Thus, urban mobility is very essential issue for these districts to function properly. Recent urban mobility needs are very different to those in former times, when these districts were built. Therefore, these districts are no longer compatible for contemporary urban mobility, thus, there are many problems facing these districts in reference to the urban mobility.
Zamalek, as one of the most important colonial district in the city center of Cairo, suffers from deteriorated urban mobility situation. This deterioration is mainly due to concentration of activities and densification. This paper is analyzing the existing condition in Zamalek in terms of urban mobility. This, also, includes the urban planning analysis in relation to the urban mobility. The current problems are very challenging, thus innovative concepts shall be implemented to ensure sustainable urban mobility in Zamalek. This paper recommends a set of action plans localized for the current condition in Zamalek and based on successful practices in other cities.
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Mohamed F.A. Ebrahim, N. David Pifer, Saad Ahmed Saad Shalaby, Karim Mohamed Mahmoud El Hakim, Hosam El Dien El Sayed Mubarak and James J. Zhang
The Egyptian Premier League (EPL) holds a prominent place in Egypt’s sporting culture and serves as the stage for some of Africa’s most competitive soccer clubs. However, the…
Abstract
Purpose
The Egyptian Premier League (EPL) holds a prominent place in Egypt’s sporting culture and serves as the stage for some of Africa’s most competitive soccer clubs. However, the actual competitive balance in this league has come under scrutiny in recent years as the two historically dominant Cairo clubs, Ahly and Zamalek, continue to retain the EPL championship. A major concern is that the competitive imbalance of the EPL may actually be hampering the league’s progress and the progress of soccer in Egypt. In order to more closely assess this situation, the purpose of this paper is to use historical EPL performance data to conduct a series of competitive balance analyses on league results from 1948 to 2014. The findings revealed that competition in the league is almost nonexistent as Ahly and Zamalek continue to enjoy a number of direct and indirect financial benefits that are unrealized by their competitors. The dominance of these clubs has compromised the elements of match uncertainty and drama that are traditionally viewed as being important to the prestige and financial achievements of leagues and teams. Discussion is therefore offered for how the EPL could go about resolving some of its organizational and competitive balance issues.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopted four basic measures of competitive balance to conduct descriptive analyses on EPL data that were collected from egyptianfootball.net and the Rec Sport Soccer Statistics Foundation. These analyses began with the EPL’s inaugural season (1948-1949) and extended to the conclusion of the 2014-2015 season. During this timeframe, seven seasons were canceled due to global and political tensions and four more went unfinished. Because these seasons were excluded, the total sample size consisted of 56 seasons, each of which contained between 10 and 24 EPL teams. The data were analyzed using variations of the following competitive balance measures: the range and standard deviation of winning percentages, the ratio of the standard deviation/Noll-Scully approach, the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index, and five-club concentration ratio.
Findings
The results confirmed that the league is largely imbalanced, leading the authors to recommend systemic and structural changes that could help promote competitive balance in the league. The call for competitive balance in the EPL was bolstered by a literature review of studies that advocated for parity in professional sports leagues. In the end, the researchers recommend the EPL to improve its organizational policies and consider a revised revenue-sharing system that would allow the small-market teams to survive and thrive.
Originality/value
The EPL holds a prominent place in Egypt’s sporting culture and serves as the stage for some of Africa’s most competitive soccer clubs. The primary purpose of this study was to perform a series of competitive balance analyses on EPL results from 1948 to 2015 in an effort to better understand the various degrees of competitiveness in the league during this time.
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This study aims at identifying the extent of the pioneering role of digital transformation technology in developing the accounting profession in Jordan from the point of view of…
Abstract
This study aims at identifying the extent of the pioneering role of digital transformation technology in developing the accounting profession in Jordan from the point of view of Jordanian Certified Public Accountants. It also aims at identifying the obstacles that may limit the benefit from the pioneering role of utilizing this technology. To achieve the objectives of the study, the researcher developed a questionnaire to collect data, where the study population consisted of 362 certified accountants. A random sample of 218 certified accountants has been selected including accountants and workers in the auditing offices in Jordan, and the branches of major international audit firms (Big Four), which constitute almost 60% of the study population. The number of distributed questionnaires was 218, 124 questionnaires were recovered to identify them, and 4 questionnaires were excluded because of completeness of answers, and the number of questionnaires approved for the purposes of analysis and research was 120, representing 55.1% of the distributed questionnaires, and 33.2% of the study population. The study showed several results, including: High pioneering role of digital transformation technology in accounting profession development in Jordan, low presence of obstacles that may limit the benefit from the pioneering role of digital transformation technology in accounting profession development in Jordan. The researcher presented many recommendations, including: Enhancing the benefits from the pioneering role of digital transformation technology in accounting profession development.
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Zhixiang Li, Shuo Han, Lei Wang and Kunhong Hu
This study aims to investigate the catalytic performance and tribological properties of MoS2 powder.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the catalytic performance and tribological properties of MoS2 powder.
Design/methodology/approach
In this work, the authors attempted to use MoS2 nanoparticles (nano-MoS2) as a catalyst to synthesize trimethylolpropane oleate (TMPTO) by esterification of trimethylolpropane and oleic acid. The small amount of highly dispersed nano-MoS2 catalyst remaining in TMPTO needed not to be separated and could be used as a lubricant modifier directly to achieve the purpose of improving the lubricity performance of TMPTO.
Findings
The results demonstrated that nano-MoS2 had good catalytic esterification ability and achieved in situ dispersion of about 0.191% nano-MoS2 in TMPTO while catalyzing the synthesis of base oil. After high-speed centrifugal sedimentation treatment, the product TMPTO still retained about 0.008% of nano-MoS2. The above-synthesized TMPTO has significantly better lubricity performance than commercially available TMPTO, in which the friction coefficient and wear rate could be reduced by 75%.
Originality/value
The results of this study provide an idea for the design of catalysts for ester oil synthesis.
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Aurora Abruzzini and Sepehr Abrishami
At the end of a building’s lifecycle, there are several limitations to the decision-making process (DMP). There is a lack of data available from the building’s history, the…
Abstract
Purpose
At the end of a building’s lifecycle, there are several limitations to the decision-making process (DMP). There is a lack of data available from the building’s history, the difficulty in assessing the condition of a building and the variety of stakeholders’ needs that have to be satisfied. The purpose of this paper is to answer the question: how would end-of-life (EOL) DMP change when buildings will have been digitally built? The answer will be illustrated through a conceptual framework.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative analysis of the existing literature has been performed to identify the elements within building information modelling (BIM) and advanced digital technologies that could be of support to the DMP. The findings have been collected and summarised in a conceptual framework that has been validated and enhanced through online interviews with industry experts.
Findings
The enhanced framework has identified that BIM technology would bring the benefit of providing the initial digital data source, from which machine learning and data analytics would then extract the relevant data needed to measure accurately the criteria during the analysis of the EOL options put on the table.
Originality/value
The findings of this research could contribute to developing the software modules making the bridge between BIM and machine learning technologies, to implement them in the EOL DMP.
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Ervina Efzan Mhd Noor, Amares Singh and Yap Tze Chuan
Recently nanoparticles reinforced lead free solders are vastly developed in electronics packaging industry. Studies and investigations have been conducted to learn and investigate…
Abstract
Purpose
Recently nanoparticles reinforced lead free solders are vastly developed in electronics packaging industry. Studies and investigations have been conducted to learn and investigate the types, properties, method, availability and importance of nanoparticles in this field.
Design/methodology/approach
Mechanical properties, melting temperature and microstructural conditions are taken into major considerations in any of the preparation on nanoparticles and being reviewed in this paper. Segregation of the types of nanoparticles being added together with their properties is summarized in this paper. High temperature reliability is crucial in providing a good viable solder and hence addition of nanoparticles have been seen to give a positive outcome in this particular property.
Findings
This paper reviews on the beneficial of the various nanoparticles addition in the solder. Briefed explanations and the factors are revealed in this review.
Originality/value
This paper reviews on the beneficial of the various nanoparticles addition in the solder.
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Hala Mohamed Elkady, Ola Bakr Shalaby, Mohamed Kohail and Elsayed Abdel Raouf Nasr
This paper presents the second part of the investigation on resistance to elevated temperatures of a proposed hybrid composite concrete (NCSF-Crete) mix. The composite including…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper presents the second part of the investigation on resistance to elevated temperatures of a proposed hybrid composite concrete (NCSF-Crete) mix. The composite including nano metakaolin (NC) and steel fibers (SF) in addition to regular concrete components has proven -in the first published part-earlier promoted fresh concrete behavior, and to have reduced loss in compressive strength after exposure to a wide range of elevated temperatures. This presented work evaluates another two critical mechanical characteristics for the proposed composite -namely- splitting and bond strengths.
Design/methodology/approach
A modified formula correlating splitting and compressive strength (28 days) based on experiments results for NCSF is proposed and compared to formulas derived for regular concrete in different design codes. Finally, both spitting and bond strengths are evaluated pre- and post-exposure to elevated temperatures reaching 600 °C for two hours.
Findings
The proposed NCSF-Crete shows remarkable fire endurance, especially in promoting bond strength as after 600 °C heat exposure tests, it maintained strength equivalent to 70% of a regular concrete control mix at room temperature. Improving residual splitting strength was very significant up to 450 °C exposure.
Research limitations/implications
Obvious deterioration is monitored in splitting resistance for all concretes at 600 °C.
Practical implications
This proposed composite improved elevated heats resistance of the most significant concrete mechanical properties.
Social implications
Using a more green and sustainable constituents in the composite.
Originality/value
The proposed composite gathers the merits of using NC and SF, each has been investigated separately as an addition to concrete mixes.
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Hamed Al-sorory, Mohammed S. Gumaan and Rizk Mostafa Shalaby
This study aims to investigate the effect of a small amount of TiO2 NPs addition on the microstructure, thermal, mechanical and electrical properties of environmentally friendly…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the effect of a small amount of TiO2 NPs addition on the microstructure, thermal, mechanical and electrical properties of environmentally friendly eutectic (SAC355)100-x(TiO2)x (x = 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 and 1 wt.%) solder alloys.
Design/methodology/approach
Mechanical, thermal and electrical properties and microstructure conditions are taken into major consideration in any study of materials containing nanoparticles. Dynamic resonance technique, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy were carried out to study stiffness, identification of the phases and the morphology features of the solder. Structure and microstructure analysis indicated that the presence of rhombohedral β–Sn phase in addition to orthorhombic intermetallic compound (IMC) Ag3Sn and Cu3Sn phase dispersed in Sn matrix. In addition, the results showed that TiO2 NPs addition at a small trace amount into SAC355 system reduces and improves the particle size of both rhombohedral β–Sn and orthorhombic IMC Ag3Sn and Cu3Sn. The interstitial dispersion of TiO2 NPs at grain boundaries resulted in Ag3Sn being more uniform needle-like, which is distributed in the β–Sn matrix. The fine and uniform microstructure leads to improvement of mechanical strength.
Findings
Some important conclusions are summarized as follows: microstructure investigations revealed that the addition of TiO2 NPs particles to eutectic SAC355 inhibited in reducing and refines the crystallite size as well as the Ag3Sn IMC, which reinforced the strength of plain solder alloy. The mechanical properties values such as Young’s modulus and Vickers microhardness of SAC355 solder alloy can be significantly improved by adding a trace amount of TiO2 NPs compared with plain solder because of the existence of appropriate volume fraction of Ag3Sn IMC. The results show that the best creep resistance is obtained when the addition of 0.3 wt.% of TiO2 NPs is compared to plain solder. TiO2 NPs addition could increase the melting temperature, compared with plain solder. All results showed that TiO2 NPs addition is an effective method to enhance new solder joints.
Practical implications
New solder alloys.
Originality/value
Development of TiO2 NPs-doped eutectic SAC355 lead-free solder for electronic packaging.