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GMR Infrastructure Limited (GMRIL) had to make a decision on its continued role in the 555.48 km Kishangarh Udaipur Ahmedabad (KUA) Expressway Project, India's then longest road public-private partnership (PPP) project. GMR had terminated the contract citing NHAI's failure in fulfilling Conditions Precedent (CP) of providing (i) environment clearance (EC), (ii) revised toll free notification and (iii) 80% of required land. The case intends to educate the reader on the concessionaire-authority dynamics in typical Indian infrastructure PPPs. Taking into account its internal strategy, the extant unfavourable investment climate, the Central Government's steps to revive private interest in the highways sector and NHAI's quick turnaround in fulfilling CP, GMR had to decide how to respond.

Automobiles have always been a major cause of air pollution. The vehicular emission contains several harmful pollutants that affect the surroundings and living beings. Mild CO exposure leads to headaches or unconsciousness. CO is also responsible for the global warming as well. CO is mainly generated in the IC engine due to incomplete combustion of the fuel. The purpose of this paper is to implement a CO absorption mechanism inside the exhaust pipe of vehicle.

In this research work the single cylinder four stroke spark-ignition engine is intended to run on petroleum and petroleum blended fuels. A new post-combustion emission control device called cobalt scrubber is employed to reduce the emission of CO during idling which absorb and later release it under transient conditions.

The emission of CO when the engine runs at petroleum is reduced from 6.24 to 3.02 per cent. Methanol 40 per cent+petrol 60 per cent gives a better emission result of 0.98 per cent of CO emission. So, the authors can implement the cobalt scrubber in automobiles to avoid CO emission during idling.

The scrubber clearly overcomes the drawbacks of the existing control techniques. The cobalt scrubber is a cheap, non-radioactive. It can be employed in any kind of vehicle irrespective of its engine.

The use of the scrubber design presented in this article, effectively reduces the emission of CO.

Healthcare organizations have employed numerous strategies to promote quality improvement (QI) initiatives, yet little is known about their effectiveness. In 2008, staff in one organization developed an in-house QI training program designed for frontline managers and staff and this article aims to report employee perspectives

Design/methodology/approach

Qualitative interviews were conducted with 22 course participants to examine satisfaction, self-assessed change in proficiency and ability to successfully engage with QI initiatives. Sampling bias may have occurred as the participants volunteered for the study and they may not represent all course participants. Recall bias is also possible since most interviews took place one year after the course was completed to assess long-term impact. Respondents were asked to self-rate their pre- and post-course knowledge and skill, which may not represent what was actually learned.

Informants reported that the course expanded their QI knowledge and skills, and that supervisor support for the course was essential for success. Additionally, the course QI project provided participants with an opportunity to translate theory into practice, which has the potential to influence patient outcomes.

Several lessons for future QI training can be gleaned from this evaluation, including respondent opinions that it is challenging to offer one program when participants have different QI knowledge levels before the course begins, that “booster sessions” or refresher classes after the course ends would be helpful and that supervisor support was critical to successful QI-initiative implementation.

This study conducts in-depth interviews with QI course participants to elicit staff feedback on program structure and effectiveness. These findings can be used by QI educators to disseminate more effective training programs.

Spinning triangle is a critical region in the spinning process of staple yarn, which geometry influences the distribution of fiber tension and determines the qualities of yarn directly. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the fiber tension distribution at the twist point.

First, one theoretical model of fiber tension distributions at the twist point is given according to the motion law of fibers in the spinning triangle. Then, one calculation method of fiber tension at the twist point is given by two steps. First, the initial tension of each fiber at the front nip line caused by the yarn load should be calculated according to the models obtained based on the principle of minimum potential energy. Second, the fiber tensions at the twist point can be calculated using the obtained model in this paper. Finally, as an application of the proposed method, spinning triangles of a modified ring spinning system with a pair of offset device which can change the horizontal offset of the twist point to the symmetric axis of nip line of the spinning triangle continuously are studied. The fiber tension distributions are simulated numerically.

It is shown that the fiber tension distributions at the twist point can be determined by fiber feeding into and out the spinning triangle speed, the initial tension of each fiber at the front nip line, fiber tensile Young’s modulus and cross-sectional area, the number of fibers at spinning triangle and the individual fiber angle with the center fiber. The spinning experiment shows that taking appropriate right or left offset of the spinning triangle can help to improve the spun yarn qualities.

In this paper, the fiber tension distribution at the twist point is investigated. One theoretical model of fiber tension distributions at the twist point is given according to the motion law of fibers in the spinning triangle first. Then, one calculation method of fiber tension at the twist point has been given under the assumption that the initial tension of each fiber at the front nip line is caused by the yarn load.

Hospital organisations are currently experiencing significant challenges that have encouraged a move towards a value-based approach to health care. However, such a transition requires understanding the underlying competencies required to enable such a focus. This paper aims to undertake a systematic review of the available literature on managerial competencies in hospitals and considers these in a value-based health-care context.

A systematic literature review was conducted to identify research studies that describe the characteristics of management competence in hospital environments.

Categories and sub-categories of management competence in hospitals were identified and considered in a value-based health-care context.

The systematic literature review identifies a need for further research regarding managerial competencies of managers of hospitals. Competencies for managing in a value-based health-care model also require deeper investigation.

The categories of management competence provide guidance to organisations transitioning towards value-based health care in terms of identifying and developing management competencies. Hospitals should consider the development of a competency model that includes broader categories of competencies than purely clinical or professional competencies.

This study builds upon and advances previous reviews of management competence in hospitals, and the competency categories presented can be used as a basis to identify management competency requirements in hospitals.

The purpose of this study is to describe the characteristics of management and leadership competence of health-care leaders and managers, especially in the hospital environment. Health-care leaders and managers in this study were both nursing and physician managers. Competence was assessed by evaluating the knowledge, skills, attitudes and abilities that enable management and leadership tasks.

A systematic literature review was performed to find articles that identify and describe the characteristics of management and leadership competence. Searches of electronic databases were conducted using set criteria for article selection. Altogether, 13 papers underwent an inductive content analysis.

The characteristics of management and leadership competence were categorized into the following groups: health-care-context-related, operational and general.

One limitation of the study is that only 13 articles were found in the literature regarding the characteristics of management and leadership competence. However, the search terms were relevant, and the search process was endorsed by an information specialist. The study findings imply the need to shift away from the individual approach to leadership and management competence. Management and leadership need to be assessed more frequently from a holistic perspective, and not merely on the basis of position in the organizational hierarchy or of profession in health care.

The authors’ evaluation of the characteristics of management and leadership competence without a concentrated profession-based approach is original.

This study aims to investigate the insights of soot formation such as rate of soot coagulation, rate of soot nucleation, rate of soot surface growth and soot surface oxidation in ethylene/hydrogen/nitrogen diffusion jet flame at standard atmospheric conditions, which is very challenging to capture even with highly sophisticated measuring systems such as Laser Induced Incandescence and Planar laser-induced fluorescence. The study also aims to investigate the volume of soot in the flame using soot volume fraction and to understand the global correlation effect in the formation of soot in ethylene/hydrogen/nitrogen diffusion jet flame.

A large eddy simulation (LES) was performed using box filtered subgrid-scale tensor. A filtered and residual component of the governing equations such as continuity, momentum, energy and species are resolved and modeled, respectively. All the filtered and residual components are numerically solved using the ILU method by considering PISO pressure–velocity solver. All the hyperbolic flux uses the QUICK algorithm, and an elliptic flux uses SOU to evaluate face values. In all the cases, Courant–Friedrichs–Lewy (CFL) conditions are maintained unity.

The findings are as follows: soot volume fraction (SVF) as a function of a flame-normalized length for three different Reynolds number configurations (Re = 15,000, Re = 8,000 and Re = 5,000) using LES; soot gas phase and particulate phase insights such as rate of soot nucleation, rate of soot coagulation, rate of soot surface growth and soot surface oxidation for three different Reynolds number configurations (Re = 15,000, Re = 8,000 and Re = 5,000); and soot global correction using total soot volume in the flame volume as a function of Reynolds number and Froude number.

The originality of this study includes the following: coupling LES turbulent model with chemical equilibrium diffusion combustion conjunction with semi-empirical Brookes Moss Hall (BMH) soot model by choosing C6H6 as a soot precursor kinetic pathway; insights of soot formations such as rate of soot nucleation, soot coagulation rate, soot surface growth rate and soot oxidation rate for ethylene/hydrogen/nitrogen co-flow flame; and SVF and its insights study for three inlet fuel port configurations having the three different Reynolds number (Re = 15,000, Re = 8,000 and Re = 5,000).

This study sought to identify the barriers and enablers to leadership enactment in academic health-care settings.

Semi-structured interviews (n = 77) with programme stakeholders (medical school trainees, university leaders, clinical leaders, medical scientists and directors external to the medical school) were conducted, and the responses content-analysed.

Both contextual and individual factors were identified as playing a role in affecting academic health leadership enactment that has an impact on programme development, success and maintenance. Contextual factors included sufficient resources allocated to the programme, opportunities for learners to practise leadership skills, a competent team around the leader once that person is in place, clear expectations for the leader and a culture that fosters open communication. Contextual barriers included highly bureaucratic structures, fear-of-failure and non-trusting cultures and inappropriate performance systems. Programmes were advised to select participants based on self-awareness, strong communication skills and an innovative thinking style. Filling specific knowledge and skill gaps, particularly for those not trained in medical school, was viewed as essential. Ineffective decision-making styles and tendencies to get involved in day-to-day activities were barriers to the development of academic health leaders.

Programmes designed to develop academic health-care leaders will be most effective if they develop leadership at all levels; ensure that the organisation’s culture, structure and processes reinforce positive leadership practices; and recognise the critical role of teams in supporting its leaders.

The purpose of this paper is to seek clarity on the factors that increase acceptance of a leadership identity and influence a physician leader to participate in the leader role at a higher level.

To explore the direct and mediating effects of positive psychological climate (PPC) and role endorsement (RE) on physician professional participation (PP) in leadership, a survey was disseminated to members of the American Association of Physician Leadership.

Findings show that positive relationships support the individual in acceptance of a second identity as a leader, therefore, to a higher level of PP. The double mediation with PPC and RE found in this model warrants additional meaning toward the cultivation of positive relationships.

A broader understanding of physician leadership may benefit from a more comprehensive collection procedure other than self-reported data, including one in which data is collected in a 360-degree feedback format.

Role endorsement serves as a mediating mechanism to PP (citizenship behaviors) for both PPC and social intelligence competencies. These data indicate that the presence of role endorsement for physicians changes their degree of participation and impacts their own role identity. This immediately helps to direct development efforts for physicians during their transition from physician to physician leader.

This study confirms the mediating relationship of REupon the PP of physician leaders, with both implications for practice and a broader understanding of the nature of physician leadership.

Nigeria, a prominent country in Sub-Sahara Africa, is plagued with a protracted, erratic and low power supply. The purpose of this paper is to present an experimental investigation of the noise levels and pollutants’ (CO, CO₂ and particulate matter (PM_2.5)) concentrations associated with the prevalent use of diesel-powered generators in the country. It is aimed to provide information on the level of gaseous, particulate and noise pollutants that are related to diesel-powered generators that could assist in policy formulation and create public awareness on the possible health risks.

Diesel-fueled generators (105) with age and installed capacity ranging from 0.5 to 14 years and 10 to 500 kVA, respectively, were engaged in this work at Sango area of Ogun State, Nigeria. Standard measuring instruments were placed at 1 m from the diesel-powered generators to determine the noise levels and concentrations of CO, CO₂ and PM_2.5.

Ranges of 72.6–115.6 dB, 19–198 ppm, 501–5,805 ppm and 221–492 µg/m³ for the noise level, CO, CO₂ and PM_2.5 concentrations, respectively, were obtained. Both the averages and ranges of the noise levels and pollutants’ concentrations were considerably higher than the recommended maximum limits. Thus, this study substantiated the pollution of ambient noise and air because of the operation of diesel-fueled generators. Furthermore, the health risks connected to the exposure to CO and PM_2.5 as implied via the evaluation of the air quality index revealed very unhealthy and hazardous conditions, respectively.

The measurement of the pollutants’ concentrations at the tips of the exhaust pipes of the diesel-powered generators was desirable but could not be achieved using manually logged devices. Nonetheless, adequate pollutants’ concentration data that satisfactorily represent the level of air pollution associated with diesel-fueled generators’ operations were obtained at around 1 m from the exhaust pipes.

The study provided additional knowledge on the levels of noise and pollutants, and the public health risks connected to the operations of diesel-powered generators that will be beneficial to the public and policymakers.

The results revealed a considerably high level of noise and air pollution, and the inherent environmental and public health problems connected to diesel-powered generators’ usage in Nigeria. This could serve as a viable tool for formulating environmental policy and providing the necessary societal awareness in this regard.