Editorial

Citation

Haupt, T.C. (2010), "Editorial", Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology, Vol. 8 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/jedt.2010.34308aaa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology, Volume 8, Issue 1

Featured in this issue are papers that address a range of topics from the application of the inverted pendulum to a material handling scaffold to impact of age on job satisfaction in the construction industry. This diversity hopefully contributes to the appeal of the journal to a broad audience interested in engineering, design and technology.

In the first paper, Louwrens J. Butler and Glen Bright apply the principle of the inverted pendulum to a mobile self-balancing materials handling platform. They argue that as a result of this innovative application dynamic stability is maintained during specific periods of activity. In particular, they discuss the control strategy of controlling the platform.

The paper of Gurmeet Kaur, M.L. Singh and M.S. Patterh analyse significant limiting factors in dense wavelength division multiplexing. These are stimulated Raman scattering, four wave mixing and amplified spontaneous emission. They found that channel and amplifier separations had conflicting impacts on these factors.

The use of computer vision and image processing techniques to automatically measure work in progress is discussed by Yahaya Makarfi Ibrahim. He argues that cost schedule variances, payments and cashflows are essential components of a reporting model. This model arguably provides managers with a quick and easy way to analyse work progress.

Ludwig Martin and David Root discuss the difficulties that “emerging” contractors have to develop into sustainable enterprises despite transformation initiatives in South Africa. They argue that these are as a result of inadequate knowledge of construction and a lack of experience.

The cutting forces in heat treated medium carbon steel are examined by A.G.F. Alabi, T.K. Ajiboye and H.D. Olusegun. The steel was subjected to hardening, normalizing, tempering, annealing and tensile tests. They found that for annealed and normalized structures even though cutting speeds were increased, the cutting forces remained constant. And reduced for hardened and tempered structures.

S. Vinodh, S.R. Devadasan and C. Shankar describe the potential of computer aided design (CAD) to achieve agility in traditional organizations. They found that the CAD model of existing models was useful in developing new models.

The final paper by Nicholas Chileshe and Theodore C. Haupt discusses the perceived age differences in job satisfaction of construction workers in South Africa, and how these differences affect job overall satisfaction of young and old workers on construction sites in South Africa. They found no evidence of job satisfaction differentials between younger and older construction workers.

Special thanks to each of the contributing authors and reviewers for their contributions to the papers in this particular issue.

Theo C. Haupt