Ahmed Doko Ibrahim

Modelling building construction durations

Purpose – This paper aims to develop a multivariate model that will be applicable to the Nigeria construction industry. Design/methodology/approach – A self-administered questionnaire survey was used to source information on project scope factors and qualitative factors considered in the study. Principal component regression was used for data analysis and model development, using SPSS 16.0 for windows, while T-test was used for model testing and validation. Findings – The study found that delay in progress payment by owner, lateness in revising and approving design document by owner, delay in delivering the site to the contractor by the owner, change order by owner during construction, complexity of project design, poor site management and supervision by contractors, and rain effect on construction activities are qualitative/non-project scope factors with good predictive abilities. Research limitations/implications – Cost, gross floor area and number of floors were the only quantitative/project scope fact...

Construction procurement strategies of national health service in the UK: A critical review

In the UK healthcare sector, funding and provision of public care facilities has been primarily the responsibility of government through the National Health Service (NHS). After decades of under-investment and consequent effects on the quality of care, new procurement routes are currently being used to improve the standards of facilities to meet the requirements of modern care services. This paper critically reviews these new procurement routes in terms of concepts and suitable areas of application, and examines how the principal procurement methods have evolved into the forms used for UK healthcare facilities. The paper outlines recommendations for further research in assessing the suitability or otherwise of these new procurement methods, both for construction projects generally and specifically for healthcare facilities.

Evaluation of key practices under the Local Improvement Finance Trust (LIFT) initiative for UK healthcare facilities

Purpose – This paper aims to examine whether the UK Local Improvement Finance Trust (LIFT) procurement strategy supports the delivery of facilities for improved primary and social care services that meet local needs while providing value for money.Design/methodology/approach – The research employed a qualitative approach (case study), involving semi‐structured interviews with senior managers involved in three LIFT schemes.Findings – The investigations revealed significant differences in the maturity levels of the schemes evaluated in terms of systems, processes and structures used in the planning and implementation of the schemes. Although there is potential for further improvements, the pattern of progress made generally confirmed an evolving system, with considerable evidence of performance improvement from project‐to‐project.Research limitations/implications – This evaluation involved only three LIFT schemes and thus utmost caution should be taken in generalising the results. In addition, the evaluatio...

A regulator of early flowering in barley ( Hordeum vulgare L.)

Heading date (HD) of cereals is an important trait for adaptation to diverse environments and is critical for determining yield and quality and the number of genes and gene combinations that confer earliness in barley under short days is limited. In our study, a QTL for early flowering was identified from the cross between an Australian malting barley cultivar and a Chinese landrace. Four sets of near isogenic lines (NILs) were developed with a QTL located on chromosome 5H at the interval of 122.0–129.0 cM. Further experiments were conducted to investigate how this gene was regulated by photoperiod using the NILs with three sowing dates from autumn to summer. The NILs carrying the earliness allele were significantly earlier than the late genotype at all sowing dates. This gene was different from previously reported vernalisation genes that are located at a similar position as no vernalisation was required for all the NILs. The difference between this gene and Eam5 (HvPHYC) locus which also located between two co-segregated markers (3398516S5, 122.5 cM, and 4014046D5, 126.1 cM), is that with the existence of Ppd-H1 (Eam1), Eam5 has no effect on ear emergence under long days while the gene from TX9425 still reduced the time to ear emergency. The locus showed no pleiotropic effects on grain pasting properties and agronomic traits except for spike length and number of spikelets per spike, and thus can be effectively used in breeding programs. The array of early heading dates caused by interactions of Eam5 gene with other maturity genes provides an opportunity to better fine tune heading dates with production environments, which can be critical factor in barley breeding.

Infrastructure procurement skills gap amongst procurement personnel in Nigeria’s public sector

Purpose Procurement of public infrastructure that is fit for purpose partly depends on the competencies of procurement personnel. In many developing countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria, there is a deficit in the quantity and quality of infrastructure and their procurement is further riddled with deficiencies in the capacity of public procuring entities. The purpose of this study was to ascertain the critical skills development needs of public personnel involved in the procurement of infrastructure in Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach Based on a quantitative research strategy, this study sought to address the knowledge gap through a survey of public infrastructure procurement personnel (n = 288) in different tiers of government (i.e. state and local government) and geopolitical contexts (north and south) in Nigeria. Findings Of the 45 procurement skill areas operationalised, there is need for further development in 38 of them including: computing/ICT; problem-solving; communication; decision-making; health and safety management; quality management; relationship management; team building; project monitoring and evaluation; time management and procurement planning. Originality/value A key implication of this study is for policymakers in state and local government to formulate and implement infrastructure procurement capacity development reforms that address the competency gaps of procurement personnel. Such reforms need to take into account the suitable methods for developing procurement competencies. Additionally, the procurement skill areas operationalised in this capacity assessment study could serve as a useful blueprint for studying capacity deficiencies amongst public infrastructure procurement personnel in other developing countries.

Barley Phenology: Physiological and Molecular Mechanisms for Heading Date and Modelling of Genotype‐Environment‐ Management Interactions

Barley heading date is important in adapting barley genotypes to different environments. Important factors affecting heading date in barley are temperatures, photoperiod and sowing date. Sowing date is a management option to influence heading date. It is used to reduce climatic risks such as frosts and water stress at sensitive periods during crop development. Three major genes control heading date in barley. These genes regulate photoperiod (Ppd-H1 and Ppd-H2), vernalization (Vrn- H1, Vrn-H2 and Vrn-H3) and the duration of the vegetative phase (Eps). The Ppd-H1 locus on chromosome 2(2H) regulates flowering time under long days. Ppd-H2 on 2H regulates phenology under short day length. Vernalization is mainly controlled by three loci (VRN-H1, VRN-H2 and VRN-H3), which interact in an epistatic fashion to determine vernalization sensitivity. Appropriate physiological and simulation frameworks such as that of APSIM-Barley are required to complement breeding efforts in order to determine the location of the Eps genes and describe and quantify the effects of environment and management on gene expression and their impact on yields and quality in barley.