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The aim of this work is to determine the optimal number and location of the fin(s) for maximum laminar forced convection heat transfer from a cylinder with multiple high conductivity radial fins on its outer surface in cross‐flow, i.e. Nusselt number, over a range of Reynolds numbers.

The effect of several combinations of number of fins, fin height, and fin(s) tangential location on the average Nusselt number was studied over the range of Reynolds numbers (5‐150). The problem was investigated numerically using finite difference method over a stretched grid. The optimal number and placement of the fins, for maximum Nusselt number, was determined for several combinations of Reynolds number and fin height. The percentage improvement in heat transfer per fin(s) unit length, i.e. cost‐efficiency, was also studied.

The results indicate that the fin(s) combination with the highest normalised Nusselt number is not necessarily the combination that results in the highest fin cost‐efficiency.

The results of the study can be used to design highly efficient cross‐flow forced convection heat transfer configurations from a horizontal cylinder with minimum cost.

The problem of laminar cross‐flow forced convection heat transfer from a horizontal cylinder covered with an orthotropic porous layer was investigated numerically. The effects of porous layer thickness, radial resistance, tangential resistance, and incoming flow Reynolds number on the average Nusselt number were studied in detail. There was up to 40 per cent reduction in the average Nusselt number at high values of Reynolds number. The tangential resistance effect on the Nusselt number was dominant over that of the radial resistance. The effectiveness of the porous layer increased at high values of porous layer thickness as well as at high values of Reynolds number.

This study aims to examine the relationship between global renewable energy consumption and economic growth in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries from 2001 to 2019.

This paper used a panel regression model to study the six GCC countries over the period from 2001 to 2019.

As expected, the findings indicated a significant and negative relationship between global renewable energy consumption and GCC economic growth. Additionally, there was a positive and significant relationship between GCC economic growth and the control variables, specifically labor, capital, CO₂ emissions and non-renewable energy production.

The results are of great importance to policymakers in GCC oil-exporting countries, as expected growth in renewable energy consumption will lower their economic growth in the future. Hence, they should first diversify their economy and lower their dependence on oil. Second, these countries can invest in solar energy through international joint ventures, especially with North African countries in close proximity to Europe, to become leaders in solar energy production.

How global energy consumption is related to GCC countries’ economic growth remains unclear, not only in GCC countries but also in many oil-exporting countries around the world, so future studies are needed. Furthermore, GCC governments will be able to create appropriate policies for the green economy and achieve their objectives if they have a comprehensive understanding of how global growth in renewable energy demand affects GCC economies.

The purpose of this paper is to identify essential profession-related competencies, clinical knowledge and skills that medical students should develop in the early stages of their education for future professional practice.

A literature review and workshop resulted in a list of 46 crucial profession-related competencies. The first round of the modified Delphi survey (feedback questionnaire) involved experts who identified 26 items (via a Likert scale). The second round of the modified Delphi survey by faculty members highlighted ten items. Statistical analysis yielded four domains with items clustered as follows: interpersonal competencies (communication and collaboration), cognitive skills (problem solving, critical thinking and reflectivity), work-related skills (planning and time management) and professionalism (integrity, sense of responsibility, respect and empathy).

In conclusion, the results of this study provide insights and implications surrounding the competencies that are essential for assessment and facilitation in the early stages of a medical curriculum. The study also predicts the challenges of facilitating and assessing these competencies, as pointed out in recent literature. In general, outcomes of the study suggest that instead of categorizing the competencies, it is more meaningful to take a holistic and integrated approach in order to conceptualize, facilitate and assess these competencies in context of the complexities of real-life situations.

Ten items were identified as essential profession-related competencies that should be incorporated during the early stages of medical education. Six out of the ten items were agreed upon by all participants of the study: collaboration, communication, problem solving, integrity, responsibility and respect. This list aligns with the existing literature and graduate attributes internationally. Items related to planning and time management, critical thinking and reflectivity were regarded as specifically lacking and important areas of improvement for Arabic students. Divergence on items of empathy and medical ethics were observed among international and local panels, with the main concern, raised by medical faculty, being how to facilitate and assess these items. The competencies identified mandate reforms in the medical school curricula in an attempt to implement essential skills early in medical student’s career.

The purpose of this paper is to address a shortfall in the literature dealing with optimal sharing arrangements. In construction projects, where the owner is concerned about multiple project outcomes (cost, time, quality, […]), there exist no guidelines in the literature on what a sharing arrangement should be between the owner and the contractor. This paper gives that arrangement, under defined risk assumptions on the contractor (risk averse ranging to risk neutral) and the owner (risk neutral). The sharing aligns the contractor's interests with those of the owner.

The results are based on solving a constrained maximisation problem involving the expected utilities of both the owner and contractor. Construction practitioners were interviewed in a designed experiment to validate the results.

It is demonstrated that, at the optimum, the proportions of outcomes sharing to the contractor should be higher for outcomes with lower effort cost and a lower level of uncertainty, and by increasing the correlation between outcomes, the fixed component of the contractor’s fee should increase and the proportions to the contractor should decrease.

The theoretical results assume that the contractor is risk-averse ranging to risk-neutral, and that the owner is risk-neutral. The theory is supported through conducting an empirical study based on interviewing a sample of practitioners working for medium-sized contractors, and hence the support is limited to similar situations, until further data are assembled.

By providing a broader understanding of sharing arrangements within contracts, a contribution is made to the current practice of contracts management. The results may be used in the design of contracts, or as benchmarks, by which contracts designed differently, may be compared.

The results address a shortfall in the literature and are an original solution to establishing an optimal multiple-outcome sharing arrangement.

The most important function that facilitates construction organizations to accomplish profit maximization is cost control. However, the absence of a well‐established cost control system has caused failures to many Thai contractors especially during the current economic recession period. To comprehensively understand cost control systems in practice, this study theoretically assessed effectiveness as well as the deficiencies of the ‘traditional’ systems vis‐à‐vis the ‘effective’ systems. In addition, by contrasting what are found in ‘effective’ systems but not found in ‘traditional’ systems, critical attributes most contributing to the systems' successfulness were identified so that the improvement steps can be suitably prioritized. The validated findings indicated remarkable contrasts between ‘traditional’ and ‘effective’ systems. Two critical aspects, including advancement of cost control framework and systematic participation of site personnel in cost control, were found to be the major differences. Interestingly, similar conditions were encountered in various countries such as Greece, Pakistan and Australia; hence suggestions from this study could be internationally useful.

This study is focused on the local entropy generation of steady two‐dimensional symmetric flow past a parabolic cylinder in a uniform stream parallel to its axis. The effect of both Reynolds number (Re) and temperature difference between the cylinder wall and the freestream (ΔT) on thermal, viscous, and total entropy generation is investigated for different values of Prandtl number (Pr) and Mach number (Ma). It was found that the thermal entropy generation increased as the temperature difference increased, while the viscous entropy generation decreased as Reynolds number increased. The results also showed that increasing Prandtl number or Mach number increased both the viscous and thermal contributions to the entropy generation.

United Arab Emirates (UAE) has experienced various natural and man-made hazards. The energy sector dominates in the UAE and protection of this critical infrastructure against any impending hazards is important. The purpose of this paper is to examine the vulnerability of Emirati energy sector, explored barriers to enhance resilience and ways to overcome identified barriers.

Study followed case study research strategy and multiple case studies; three electricity generating power plant facilities – one in Abu Dhabi, one in Dubai and one in Sharjah were selected. Data collection involved a combination of a questionnaire survey and semi-structured face-to-face interviews. In total 42 questionnaire responses and nine interviews among Emirati energy sector employees were analyzed.

Results indicated terrorism, atmospheric and tectonic hazards as the three main risks of vulnerability within Emirati energy sector; whereas “lack of or absence of national government legislation” and “awareness and education” are revealed as the main barriers. Improving human resource management within Emirati energy sector through better awareness, training and practices is considered as a priority.

It is argued that the vulnerabilities and barriers identified in this study can be applicable to Emirati energy sector in general, not just the case studies represented in the study.

The feedback from the members of the Emirati energy sector is indicative of the latent failures and urgent issues that need to be addressed; predominately those of training, education and awareness. Findings of this study may help UAE energy sector to be prepared and build resilience for future hazards.

Recently, there has been a shift toward the embodied energy assessment of buildings. However, the impact of material service life on the life-cycle embodied energy has received little attention. We aimed to address this knowledge gap, particularly in the context of the UAE and investigated the embodied energy associated with the use of concrete and other materials commonly used in residential buildings in the hot desert climate of the UAE.

Using input–output based hybrid analysis, we quantified the life-cycle embodied energy of a villa in the UAE with over 50 years of building life using the average, minimum, and maximum material service life values. Mathematical calculations were performed using MS Excel, and a detailed bill of quantities with >170 building materials and components of the villa were used for investigation.

For the base case, the initial embodied energy was 57% (7390.5 GJ), whereas the recurrent embodied energy was 43% (5,690 GJ) of the life-cycle embodied energy based on average material service life values. The proportion of the recurrent embodied energy with minimum material service life values was increased to 68% of the life-cycle embodied energy, while it dropped to 15% with maximum material service life values.

The findings provide new data to guide building construction in the UAE and show that recurrent embodied energy contributes significantly to life-cycle energy demand. Further, the study of material service life variations provides deeper insights into future building material specifications and management considerations for building maintenance.

With the increase in population, the energy needs of countries are also increasing. These countries have difficulties in meeting these increasing needs. Countries that cannot meet this need have to import energy from abroad. This situation adversely affects the current account balance of countries. Nuclear energy investments allow countries to obtain their own energy, although there are some criticisms. In this framework, while some countries in the world increase their nuclear energy investments, some countries do not have any nuclear power plants (NPP). There are 32 such countries where nuclear energy projects are running till date. Therefore, it is very important to determine the socio-economic variables of countries that have nuclear energy investments. In this context, a detailed literature analysis will be made first to determine socio-economic criteria. Then, the importance weights of these factors will be calculated using the Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method. The profiles of the countries that make nuclear energy investments demonstrate that education level is the most essential socio-economic factor for the improvement of nuclear energy investments. Also, income inequality is another important variable in this regard. However, consumption behaviour and saving behaviour have the lowest weights.