COVID-19 pandemic has caused many design bid build projects to suffer losses. Design bid build or DBB has the disadvantage of depth partnering. The research purpose is to reveal the depth of partnering of DBB, the characteristics of existing partnering in DBB through detection in each project life cycle in DBB, then efforts to increase DBB partnering to partnering in integrated project delivery (IPD). The methodology used is secondary data from three project DBB, then validation using focused group discussions (FGD) with expert judgment, then the Delphi method to analyse and propose recommendations. This project recommends that DBB project can improve the project performance so stakeholder can increase partnering toward integrated project delivery (IPD) partnering. This research can be used for increasing partnering in DBB projects towards partnering in IPD. This research will produce strategic recommendations that can be utilized by stakeholders (owner, contractor, designer) in improving project performance to generate great value for the project, will result in long-term project sustainability, improve relationships, and learn valuable lessons for future projects. DBB projects usually experience many problems due to the competitive nature of partnering for owners, contractors, and designers, so it is necessary to develop an overall strategy as an option to improve partnering in DBB project contracts. This research will help create a sustainable project by the owner, contractor, and designer.
This article reports the development of an index of culturality in Chile. Fifteen quantitative variables indicative of local cultural development are used to measure the access to cultural opportunities in each Chilean district. This approach was adopted from the theoretical framework of cultural materialism theorized by Marvin Harris in the seventies. Using this framework, a ranking is developed among 164 districts to determine the degree of cultural development exists in each and the variables that are the influential on the enhancement of this indicator. The results showed that the districts of Rancagua, Providencia, La Reina, El Bosque, and Valparaíso have better cultural opportunities based on their material forms, which are mainly driven by obtaining funds for cultural projects, workers’ salaries, civic activity, and public libraries. Based on the results of this ranking, a baseline is proposed to develop it using new data. In addition, recommendations are provided regarding public policies that have promoted cultural development in the communities with unsuccessful results. The article provides significant information for decision makers in Chile and a quantitative method for exploring cultural materialism in specific territories.
In China, ideological and political education is currently the hot direction of teaching reform in various colleges and universities, yet the development of appropriate teaching evaluation methods needs to catch up. This study addresses the pressing need for a preliminary investigation into the complex relationships among ideological and political education, the students’ learning satisfaction and teaching quality. This research examines the influence of teaching and ideological and political education quality on students’ satisfactions by designing a set of scales, collecting about 3800 questionnaires. Utilizing Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and qualitative interviews, this study reveals that the teaching quality directly affects students’ learning satisfaction and ideological and political education. Notably, ideological and political education can also affect students’ learning satisfaction. The findings underscore the importance of including ideological and political education assessments in evaluating courses. This research contributes to the ongoing dialogue on effective teaching evaluation methods in the context of evolving educational practices.
Subcutaneous (SC) drug delivery is one of the best routes of drug administration to patients over intravenous (IV) administration due to the ease of application and patient acceptance. The main limitation of using the SC route is administering larger volumes of drug, greater than 3–5 mL for therapeutic dosages. Wearable injectors on body devices are an attractive option for larger-volume drug delivery to patients. Thus, the need for a self-administration strategy at home is growing faster and is required for the next level of time-dependent and high-volume drug delivery. The advances in low-cost, connected on-body delivery systems hold great opportunity for novel ways of delivering home-based drug therapy in the future.
Disease epidemics may spread quickly and easily throughout nations and continents in our current global environment, having a devastating effect on public health and the world economy. There are over 513 million people worldwide who have been infected, and more than 6.2 million have died due to SARS-CoV-2. There are treatments but no cures for most viruses. Nevertheless, the spread of viruses can be limited by introducing antiviral coatings on public area surfaces and personal protective equipment (e.g., face masks). This work aims to fabricate a polymer-based coating with acrylic resin as a binder that possesses great antiviral activity against the Feline coronavirus (FCov). The chosen polymer, polyethylene glycol (PEG), is used as an antiviral agent because it contains “green” chemistry benefits such as non-toxicity, being inexpensive, readily recyclable, safe, natural, non-flammable, biocompatible, and biodegradable. The PEG/acrylic coating systems of different weight percentages were coated on the glass substrates by the spray-coating method and cured at room temperature for 24 hours. The developed PEG/acrylic coating system that contains 20 wt% of PEG exhibits the highest anti-viral activities (99.9% against FCov) compared to the other weight percentages. From this study, it has been observed that the hydrophilicity of the coating plays an important role in its antiviral activity. The developed coating has a hydrophilic property, in which the contact angle was measured at 83.28 ± 0.5°. The FTIR reveals that there are no existing toxic components or new components contained in the coating samples.
This paper aims to analyze the narratives that have emerged in the process of bureaucratic reform in Indonesia. The analysis is conducted using the Narrative Policy Framework at the mesa level. Using data from articles published in 6 credible national media about “bureaucratic reform” from 2010 to 2023. The collected data was classified according to the Narrative Policy Framework (NPF) elements in the article: Issue setting, the cause of the issue, plot, character (villain, victim, hero), and recommendations for solutions offered. There were 31 articles analyzed. The result showed that the main plot in the process of bureaucratic reform in Indonesia is based on the corrupt bureaucracy and the slow public service provided. The victims in the plot are the people who will access the services. The villains of the narrative are civil servants who do not improve the required competencies. The heroes of the narrative are several government institutions (Ministry of State Apparatus Utilization and Bureaucratic Reform, Commission of Corruption Eradication, and The Audit Board of The Republic of Indonesia) that are considered to expose the problem.
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