Corporate Behaviour towards the Upholding of Human Rights – Exploring the Possibilities of Human Rights Impact Assessment in the Sápmi Region

One of the most current challenges the Sami are facing is the rapid expansion of extractive industries throughout the Arctic region, creating obvious conflicts between states and Sámi people. European High North has already proven to be rich in mineral deposits. Furthermore, it is suggested that the world’s largest remaining untapped gas reserves and undeveloped oil reserves are located in the Arctic. Therefore, there is a growing pressure to conduct extractive industrial activities on the territories important for the Sámi, for instance on reindeer herding areas and reindeer migration routes. The expansion of extractive industrial developments causes significant challenges to the enjoyment of their human rights, unless effective procedural measures are in place to mitigate adverse impacts. The aim of this paper is to explore the possibility of integrating human rights impact assessment (HRIA) in existing license granting mechanisms, to examine how particular companies comply with human rights norms applicable to local and indigenous, and to scrutinise the possibility of these and other Northern mining companies to carry out HRIA in the future. The integration of HRIA would ensure that the special status and interests of Sámi people is properly taken into consideration when planning and implementing extractive industrial projects.

An Empirical Study of Training Data Selection Methods for Ranking-Oriented Cross-Project Defect Prediction

Ranking-oriented cross-project defect prediction (ROCPDP), which ranks software modules of a new target industrial project based on the predicted defect number or density, has been suggested in the literature. A major concern of ROCPDP is the distribution difference between the source project (aka. within-project) data and target project (aka. cross-project) data, which evidently degrades prediction performance. To investigate the impacts of training data selection methods on the performances of ROCPDP models, we examined the practical effects of nine training data selection methods, including a global filter, which does not filter out any cross-project data. Additionally, the prediction performances of ROCPDP models trained on the filtered cross-project data using the training data selection methods were compared with those of ranking-oriented within-project defect prediction (ROWPDP) models trained on sufficient and limited within-project data. Eleven available defect datasets from the industrial projects were considered and evaluated using two ranking performance measures, i.e., FPA and Norm(Popt). The results showed no statistically significant differences among these nine training data selection methods in terms of FPA and Norm(Popt). The performances of ROCPDP models trained on filtered cross-project data were not comparable with those of ROWPDP models trained on sufficient historical within-project data. However, ROCPDP models trained on filtered cross-project data achieved better performance values than ROWPDP models trained on limited historical within-project data. Therefore, we recommended that software quality teams exploit other project datasets to perform ROCPDP when there is no or limited within-project data.

A. E. Fersman on the Kola Peninsula: Khibiny prospects

The article examines certain aspects of the design and implementation of the Khibiny project of the future, compiled by academician A.E. Fersman. In scientific and popular science works, A. E. Fersman concretized the industrial significance of the Khibiny discoveries, proposed the ideas of the colonization of the Murmansk Territory and the implementation of the integrated use of mineral ores on the spot. The result of these works was the implementation in the central part of the Kola Peninsula of industrial projects to create industrial centers. The sources of the analysis were special and popular science works by A. E. Fersman, in which the author focused on the prospects for the development of the Khibiny tundra in the first period of Stalin's industrialization. The article examines the author's ideas about the future of the new industrial world of Khibiny.

Kharkiv Art School in the History of One Family’ Three Generations

The present article covers the materials about studies and teaching in Kharkiv educational institutions – the predecessors of the Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Arts (KSADA), participation in the educational process during the 1920s–1950s and the creative achievements of the architect Georgy Ikonnikov (1896–1981), his stepson, printing artist Roman Selivachev (1914–1995), as well as G. Ikonnikov’s granddaughter, Yelena Ganenko (born in 1945). The oldest of our characters studied in the 1910s at the Central School of Technical Drawing (now the Saint Petersburg Stieglitz State Academy of Art and Design) in the 1910s, then participated in the Civil War and in WWI. During the 1920s and 1930s he designed about thirty Kharkiv buildings in collaboration with A. Molokin, P. Krupko, V. Bogomolov. Among his works there are such landmark objects as “Lopan Stairs”, student dormitory “Giant”, National University of Construction and Architecture (former building of the State Insurance), Research Institute of Experimental Veterinary, A. Pushkin Drama Theater, M. Skrypnyk House of Culture, etc. G. Ikonnikov taught in the art schools, headed the architectural and construction department of Kharkiv research institute for industrial projects, which created a number of important enterprises for India, China, Syria and other countries. R. Selivatchov studied at Kharkiv Art Institute (1929–1932), designed the expositions of the Svyatogorsk Museum, and later the “Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra” Reserve, and worked in printing. In 1941 the student of the Kyiv Civil Engineering Institute was drafted into the army. After the war he graduated from Moscow Polygraph Institute. The first and subsequent editions of Ukrainian Soviet Encyclopedias, branch encyclopedic reference books, “History of Ukrainian Art” in six volumes, “Dictionary of Artists of Ukraine”, “Shevchenko Dictionary”, other projects of national importance were designed under his leadership. A lot of them were awarded by the diplomas of International, All-Union and republican book competitions. Among R. Selivatchov’s followers there are graduates of Art and Architectural universities in Leningrad, Kharkiv and Kyiv, members of the National Artists’ Union of Ukraine. However, the desire to be an artist is not always realized. Encouraged by her grandfather, O. Ganenko from childhood posed for his students and dreamed of becoming an artist. One of her portraits decorated the lobby of Kharkiv Art Institute for many years. Finally, she preferred mathematics, taught at Kharkiv University, but remembers unforgettable moments related to Kharkiv Art school.

Defining Supply Chain Visibility for Industrial Construction Projects

Good Supply Chain Visibility (SCV) is vital for on-time delivery and installation of materials on industrial construction projects. SCV is possible via the exchange of information about materials in the supply chain. Prior academic research has highlighted the importance of SCV. However, the literature lacks the detailed definition of visibility that can be easily applied to projects. This research reviewed prior studies on SCV and adopted an appropriate definition that supports relevant decision-making on industrial construction projects. From this definition, the research objective is to develop detailed operational definitions of information needed to support supply chain decisions on industrial construction projects. The study employed mixed methods that consisted of interviews, review of mini-cases of industrial projects, procurement and material tracking tool assessment, and group discussions in structured workshops with a panel of subject matter experts. The research developed 79 detailed information needs and associated definitions that support ten key supply chain decision areas across detailed design, procurement, and construction phases of industrial construction projects. These definitions were evaluated by multiple means including an external team and a case study of an industrial construction project. The definitions developed by this research will enable both researchers and practitioners to invest in better measurements of visibility and support development of new tools and techniques.

Subcontracting Strategy in Industrial Projects: Evidence from Saudi Arabia

Subcontracting is widely employed in the construction industry owing to the variation of methods, materials, magnitude, and function of the infrastructures. However, the rapport between parties in construction are mostly adversarial and plagued with hitches, which negatively impact construction productivity. This research investigates the problems associated with subcontracting strategies of contractors in industrial projects in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia via questionnaire survey. The questionnaire contains a list of thirty-three likely problems affecting subcontracting strategy of contractors organised under the three categories of planning, awarding, and contracting issues. The respondents matched the likely problems with the project value drivers (quality, cost, and time) with which they impact, and rated the magnitude of the problems on project performance. The survey identified incompatibility of the subcontractor/supplier’s time schedule with the project’s time schedule as the topmost problem related to planning issues. Unethical practices is ranked highest among problems related to awarding issues, while incompatibility of subcontracts’ terms and conditions with the main contract’s terms and conditions is rated top among the topmost problems related to contracting issues. The findings revealed that the three problem categories have negative impacts on all the project value drivers in different combinations and are almost equally significant in the view of contractors while making subcontracting decisions. Contractors are therefore advised to critically evaluate the schedule, cost, and quality performance of industrial projects during the planning, awarding, and contracting phase of subcontracting in industrial projects.

Industries and Tribal: Erosion of Their Ethos

Tribal issue is a matter of global concern. In India around 8.8% of the total population consist of tribal. They are of primitive human civilisation of India. The major tribes in India are the Gonds, the Bhils, the Santals, the Oraons, the Minas and the Mundas. Eighty percent of the tribes are found in the central region of India. ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­If we look back in the history of pre-independent India, the tribes’ position was not in much privileged; they are intended for the laborious job, a kind of slaves under the British colonials. Later on, a decade of independence, unfortunately there are virtually no alterations in the present socio-economic scenario of the tribe’s conditions. Tribes are treated as outsiders and unwanted in their own homeland by the modern capitalist’s society. In the process of national development tribes and their cultural identity is badly affected as compared to any other community as the second Five Year Plan was modelled on the idea of either industrialisation or perish, providing the front seat of debates and decision only to the economic issues. Tribal areas have been comprehended as the heaven of natural resources by the industrial houses and investors. As a consequence, thousands of industrial projects are installed by the investors in or near these tribal areas for the rude fabrics of the yields. And the tribes were disowned from their lands and homes; forced to migrate from their traditional sources of livelihood – Jal, Jungal and Zamin, leaving their culture, tradition and identity to a critical stage. This paper concentrates on the impact of industrialization in the tribal regions and their economic and social inclusion in the mainstream resulting in their dichotomy of existence and alienation.

Obérisk: Cybersecurity Requirements Elicitation through Agile Remote or Face-to-Face Risk Management Brainstorming Sessions

Cyberattacks make the news daily. Systems must be appropriately secured. Cybersecurity risk analyses are more than ever necessary, but… traveling and gathering in a room to discuss the topic has become difficult due to the COVID, whilst having a cybersecurity expert working isolated with an electronic support tool is clearly not the solution. In this article, we describe and illustrate Obérisk, an agile, cross-disciplinary and Obeya-like approach to risk management that equally supports face-to-face or remote risk management brainstorming sessions. The approach has matured for the last three years by using it for training and a wide range of real industrial projects. The overall approach is detailed and illustrated on a naval use case, with extensive feedback from the end-users. We show that Obérisk is really time-efficient and effective at managing risks at the early stages of a project, whilst remaining extremely low-cost. As the project grows or when the system is deployed, it may eventually be necessary to shift to a more comprehensive commercial electronic support tool.

Research on the coordination mechanism of major industrial project engineering and construction multi-agents based on structural holes theory

Industry is an important pillar of the national economy. Industrial projects are the most complex and difficult projects to control in the construction industry, and major industrial projects are even more complex and difficult to control. Multi-agent coordination is one of the core issues of industrial projects. Based on an analysis of the engineering and construction chains and agent relationships and agent networks of industrial projects, a complex network of the engineering and construction agents of industrial projects is established, and the complex network structural holes theory is applied to study the nonrepeated relationships among agents in industrial projects. Assuming agents are linked through contract relations and the most critical contract index between the agents in the contract amount, through structural hole analysis considering the EPC and PMC model, the aggregate constraint list is obtained, 2D network diagram and 3D network diagram are shown. According to the aggregate constraint value, the EPC contractor with the minimum aggregate constraint value and the project management company with the minimum aggregate constraint value are the critical agent in EPC and PMC model. By analyzing the complex network comprising different models of industrial projects, it is concluded that the characteristics of the agent maintain an advantage in competition, the coordination mechanism of the integration of agent interests, and multi-agent relations are considered to solve the multi-agent coordination problem in major industrial projects.