Article

Dissertation research and writing for construction students, Second Edition

May 2012

Authors:

Dissertation Research and Writing for Construction Students is the only how-to guide for BSc and MSc students. Covering topic selection, research planning and methodology to structuring and writing the dissertation, this book includes everything needed for a successful write-up. A new chapter on Supervision and Assessment as well as updates to references and case studies ensures students know what is expected of them and how they will be assessed. The clear, concise, step-by-step text illustrated with examples of best case practice makes this an ideal resource for anyone involved in research in this field. © 2007, Dr S. G. Naoum. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Off-Grid living: Will it Help? BSc (Hons) Building Surveying Dissertation

Thesis

Full-text available

Apr 2020

Hayley Reed

Living off-grid, will it help the environment and start to reverse climate change? Research and case studies have been compared for the financial viability; this has shown that although initial outlay is similar. The difference lays in the ongoing outlay; it is not the same longer-term due to continuing utility costs. The regional weather data proved that not only is it able to cover the needs of an off-grid household, there is also an excess of needed provisions. Off-grid living can sustain a modern way of life and is a lot more environmentally friendly with a significantly reduced carbon footprint. It is hoped that the outcome of this study will encourage more research into off-grid life. More importantly, encourage more people to do more to reduce their carbon footprints or just uproot and move to an off-grid lifestyle. There is also the hope that laws regarding living on your own land will eventually be less restrictive in the future to make this way of life more accessible. This way of life has been found to be the most substantial impact to help global warming and climate change. Therefore, within the governments best interests to make it easier to obtain the net-zero emissions, they strive to reach.

Project manager's leadership submitted - ASOCSA 27-28 Sept 2021

Conference Paper

Jul 2021

Purpose: Productivity in the construction industry is essential for business sustenance. Project Managers play a significant in achieving productivity in construction. Therefore, this study examined the critical project manager's leadership style that can influence construction productivity. Design: The study adopted a quantitative research approach; thus, closed-ended questionnaires were distributed to construction professionals via the Survey Monkey platform. Data gathered were analyzed using descriptive statistics to identify frequencies and weighted scores. Findings: The findings indicate the main factors affecting construction productivity as incompetent supervising and management, poor leadership, lack of skilled and experienced labour, and poor project communication. Therefore project managers should exhibit supportive (ability to delegate and assign tasks to the employees), charismatic (ability to transform attitudes and beliefs in employees), transformational (ability to inspire others), and democratic (ability to include employees in decision making) leadership styles to influence construction productivity positively. Implications: There is an urgent need for project managers to be trained on the appropriate soft skills aspect of managing construction projects to effectively improve construction productivity, reduce project cost and time overruns, and sustain construction businesses. Value to the conference theme: The study reveals critical leadership styles employers and project managers should focus on in achieving project success, maximize their profits, and remain in business.

Project Managers skills affecting construction productivity: the views of construction professionals

Conference Paper

Jul 2021

Purpose: Construction productivity is essential in the construction industry as firms are finding new ways to improve project output to minimise cost. Thus, the project manager plays a significant role in efficient project delivery; therefore, project managers must exhibit essential qualities and skills to influence construction productivity positively. The study evaluated project manager's skills that can affect construction productivity from the perspective of construction professionals. Design: The study used a quantitative research approach. A structured questionnaire made up of closed-ended questions was distributed, via the Survey Monkey platform, to professionals working in the South African construction industry. Findings: The study's findings showed that the main project managers' skills affecting construction productivity are; incompetent supervising and management, poor leadership skills, lack of labour with skills and experience, and poor communication. The project managers' main skills to improve construction productivity include communication, leadership, and time management skills. Implications: There is a need for project managers to be trained on both hard and soft skills to effectively improve construction productivity to minimise project cost and time overruns and achieve the required quality. Employers and clients could look for communication, leadership, and time management skills in identifying an effective project manager for their projects. Value to the conference theme: Companies seek for a resolution to increase turnover and minimize expenditure. The success of the project delivery is mainly dependent on the role players in project teams. The study gives insight into the critical values and skills project managers, who provides leadership to project teams, to achieve project success. The study provides the essential skills employers must look for when engaging with project managers to ensure the achievement of project objectives.

Investigating the Barriers Involved in the Sustainable Implementation of LC and BIM Approaches in Qatar's Construction Industry

Preprint

Apr 2021

Faheem Memon

The construction industry has never been as open to welcoming new ideas and strategies from other industries as it is now. Excessive waste in the three pillars of the construction industry, time, cost, and quality, led to adopting certain concepts tried and proven to work successfully in other sectors. Lean is one of such ideas that made its way to the construction industry after years of success in the manufacturing sector. Building Information Modeling (BIM), on the other hand, has been around for quite a while in the construction industry. Imagine how amazing it would be for the construction professionals and designers to live in what is yet to be constructed. BIM made it possible to foresee the future of the project. The question is not how successful these two strategies are, as this has already been proven through numerous studies, but how sustainable would that project be if both Lean and BIM are used concurrently? Qatar's construction industry has embraced lean and BIM concepts and Sustainability measures on its own, owing to a multitude of external and internal factors. Through a mixed-method approach of research strategy, an in-depth review of the literature helped explore the synergies between lean construction, BIM and Sustainability. However, the survey questionnaire and interviews led to identifying the two main barriers to implying lean and BIM in Qatar’s construction industry, “Culture and Attitude” and “Commitment & Support from Top Management”. The survey results also indicated the interaction of lean, BIM and Sustainability at different project stages and helped identify misunderstandings about Sustainability among the industry professionals. The proposed performance measurement strategy also received an overwhelming response.

An Exploration of the Best Value Perceptions of Small Housebuilding Developers towards Offsite Construction

Article

Full-text available

Apr 2021

Andrew Agapiou

Offsite construction is increasingly being presented as a way to increase housing delivery and reduce the housing crisis. Large developers play a pivotal role in the delivery of affordable homes and therefore offsite construction could be beneficial in alleviating the crisis. Previous Offsite Construction (OC) studies conducted into the drivers, barriers and decision factors provide qualitative analysis from manufacturers and larger developers appear to be taking advantage of the UK government’s renewed interest in offsite manufacturing and have begun investing in these methods. However, the role of smaller housebuilding developers in the use of offsite construction systems is rather more uncertain. This research addresses this gap in the literature through an exploration of small housebuilding developers’ best value perceptions of offsite construction methods within the UK housebuilding sector. A questionnaire survey was used to ascertain perceptions of the 134 small developers towards the drivers, barriers and decision factors identified in the extant OC literature. Although survey respondents had not widely used offsite manufactured systems previously, the results indicate a high level of agreement with the drivers identified within the offsite construction literature. The respondents identified the buyers’ perception traditional methods as superior to OC systems and creating higher sales figures. Many any of the respondents also believe that best value, and hence maximised profit, higher sales value, and greater returns on investment, is achieved through traditional methods of construction. These two factors combined are more desirable for small developers, rather than the perceived increase in sustainability and efficiency offered by OC systems, due to their positive effect on profit.

Understanding the Causes of Material Wastage in the Construction Industry

Article

Full-text available

Apr 2021

Recent studies have recognized material waste from construction projects as a serious problem for both economies and the environment. This research aims to identify the major causes of material waste in construction projects, determine the level of wastage for some selected materials and suggest strategies to manage and minimize wastage. In order to facilitate the application of this research, Jordan was taken as a case study. The results from 61 returned surveys suggested 49 factors which were then analyzed to identify the main causes of material wastage; the main factors are as follows: design changes during the construction phase, rework due to labor mistakes, purchases not complying with specifications, improper cutting of materials and poor site layout. The study concluded that the most important advantages of managing and minimizing material wastage are minimizing time and cost overruns and helping in determining the required quantities, thus leading to improved project performance.

An Investigation into Application of Dry Construction Technique in Providing Low-cost Housing for Nigerians

Article

Full-text available

Jan 2021

Factors influencing the adoption of Building Information Modelling (BIM) in the South African Construction and Built Environment (CBE) from a quantity surveying perspective

Article

Full-text available

Oct 2021

The construction industry has often been described as stagnant and out-of-date due to the lack of innovation and innovative work methods to improve the industry (WEF, 2016; Ostravik, 2015). The adoption of Building Information Modelling (BIM) within the construction industry has been relatively slow (Cao et al., 2017), particularly in the South African Construction and Built Environment (CBE) (Allen, Smallwood & Emuze, 2012). The purpose of this study was to determine the critical factors influencing the adoption of BIM in the South African CBE, specifically from a quantity surveyor’s perspective, including the practical implications. The study used a qualitative research approach grounded in a theoretical framework. A survey questionnaire was applied to correlate the interpretation of the theory with the data collected (Naoum, 2007). The study was limited to professionals within the South African CBE. The study highlighted that the slow adoption of BIM within the South African CBE was mainly due to a lack of incentives and subsequent lack of investment towards the BIM adoption. The study concluded that the South African CBE operated mainly in silos without centralised coordination. The BIM adoption was only organic. Project teams were mostly project orientated, seeking immediate solutions, and adopted the most appropriate technologies for the team’s composition. The study implies that the South African CBE, particularly the Quantity Surveying profession, still depends heavily on other roleplayers in producing information-rich 3D models. Without a centralised effort, the South African Quantity Surveying professionals will continue to adopt BIM technology linearly to the demand-risk ratio as BIM maturity is realised in the South African CBE. K E Y W O R D S Building Information Modelling (BIM), South African Construction and Built Environment (CBE), design silos

SUSTAINING MARKET EXPANSION OF RENEWABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES IN TUNISIA: A QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH ON THE DYNAMICS BETWEEN SUBSIDIES, INFRASTRUCTURE, AND RENEWABLE ENERGY USE

Thesis

Full-text available

Aug 2021

Bachar Souissi

Renewable energy technologies contribution to a sustainable future, whether in terms of conservation or in terms of availability of the resources, has become a global priority. Yet, for Tunisia the share of renewable energy in the power generation has slightly evolved from 1990 to 2019 without exceeding the 3%, compared to the share of natural gas which contribute to 90% of the electricity production. In addition, the carbon dioxide emission from electricity generation has almost doubled going from 3,8 to 8,8 mega tons per year for the same period, the natural gas being the primary energy source with a share of 99% (IEA, 2020). This study describes the actual renewable energy potential, the current installed capacity in terms of electricity generation from renewable energy sources, and the evolution of the renewable electricity consumption in Tunisia. Moreover, the study goes through the analysis of success factors and constraints to the development of the renewable energy technologies market of solar water heating systems and photovoltaic solar panels in Tunisia. For this purpose, a quantitative research survey is conducted on a random sample population regrouping either experts in the field as well as ordinary users and prospects. Furthermore, the study highlights and discusses the results obtained from the survey using inferential statistics data analysis. What is more, the developed inferential regression models contribute to test the hypothesis derived from a conceptual model designed for the purpose to answer the research questions. Finally, this master thesis comes out with recommendations to improve the sustainability of the renewable energy technologies market expansion policy in Tunisia.

Factors affecting the selection of effective cost control techniques in the UK construction industry

Article

May 2021

Purpose This paper aims to identify and analyse the factors affecting the selection of effective cost control techniques in the UK construction industry and assess their importance. The study examines these key areas; the factors that have significant impacts on cost overruns, the most effective cost control techniques and the factors for selecting cost control techniques for a project. Design/methodology/approach The study relies on a mixed-method research approach; a qualitative exploration of the most effective cost control techniques and the factors affecting the selection of cost control techniques, followed by a questionnaire survey and follow-up interviews. Relative importance index (RII) is used for ranking the factors. Findings The budgeting technique is ranked first with-0.821RII, followed by cost forecasting-0.800RII and cashflow monitoring-00.733RII, as the most effective cost control techniques. On factors that influenced the choice of the techniques used, cost information/cost-related factors are ranked first with-0.611RII, followed by the size of the company-0.509RII and the effectiveness of the technique-0.572RII. Research limitations/implications Although the scope of the study was limited to the UK construction industry, the results could be interpreted for critical learning in other developed/developing countries. Originality/value Identifying and ranking the factors affecting the selection of effective cost control techniques in the UK construction industry has been the focal point of this study. The study also proposes a simple but effective model which can be used for critical learning on mitigating cost overruns and the effective use of cost control techniques in the construction industry.

A framework for the better integration of the crucial economic factors of Sri Lankan urban renewal projects

Article

Apr 2021

Although urbanization can increase the prosperity and development of the urbanized communities, the planning, management and governance of these areas is often a struggle resulting in incomplete infrastructure, precarious urban settlements and environmental issues. This study, therefore, was focused on exploring the economic implications of urban renewal by identifying the economic factors that affect the planning and delivery of the associated projects. The study adopted an interpretive stance and the research strategies used were a survey and three case studies. A pilot study was first done and it was followed by case studies. The cases were selected using judgmental sampling and represented the subsystems of urban renewal. The data collected using semi-structured interviews were analysed by comparing with a pattern of impacts developed using literature findings. The study identified the strengths, weaknesses and the areas that can be improved in urban renewal proposals. The findings including were identified under four categories: regional economy, demography, real estate market and transportation economy. The weaknesses of the projects and the strategies that can mitigate them were also identified. A framework that can be used to screen and select new urban renewal proposals was finally developed based on the findings of the study.

The criteria for selecting the landfill sites in Baghdad governorate

Article

Full-text available

Mar 2021

Administrating and managing solid waste are complicated and challengeable tasks for the local government of Baghdad city. In this area, the landfills site does not satisfy the required local and international criteria. As well as, in Baghdad, selecting the geographical location of Landfill sites is a complex process due to the enormous number of variables that need to be analyzed and considered. This study aims to identify the criteria for landfill site selection in Baghdad governorate. To do so, this study has considered and analyzed three of the main criteria, (which are environmental, political and economic criteria to make recommendations of selecting the location of the landfills site in Baghdad. Within the three main criteria, thirty sub-criteria of the most important criteria were selected for this purpose. From ministries (fieldwork) and theoretical study. In this study, (IBM,SPSS,V23) program was used to analyze the main criteria and sub-criteria and rank them from top-bottom based on their values of Relative Importance Index (RII) technique. The results of this study have reviled that the economic criteria is the most significant main criteria and tenure of land are the most significant sub criteria, which must be significantly considered to make recommendations of selecting the location of the landfills’ sites in Iraq.

Underlying factors of cost overruns in developing countries: multivariate analysis of Jordanian projects

Conference Paper

Full-text available

Feb 2021

While all project parties agree that exceeding the budget results in project failures, most construction projects in Jordan are suffering from cost overruns. Understanding the root cause of the issue is critical to solve the problem comprehensively. However, the previous studies lack information on the underlying causes that are resulting in cost overruns among the nation’s construction projects. The principal purpose of this study is to identify the most significant causes of cost overruns in Jordanian construction projects. Therefore, the researcher used the quantitative approach for data collection through questionnaire survey among stakeholders in the construction project. This study uses the principles of multivariate statistics in analyzing the causes of cost overruns in Jordanian construction projects. The findings revealed that the four major underlying causes for cost overruns in Jordan are financial difficulties, materials issues, design issues and additional works. Besides, the results also revealed that high transportation cost, unrealistic contract duration, slow decision making, extra quantity during construction, inadequate funds for project financing, inconsistent cash flows and payment problems faced by the clients from the government are critical sub cause for cost overruns in the region. The findings on the critical and underlying causes for cost overruns may help industrial practitioners in developing strategies to achieve better project success.

Categorisation of Requirements in the Ontology-Based Framework for Employer Information Requirements (OntEIR)

Article

Full-text available

Nov 2022

Employer Information Requirements (EIR) are the keystone for developing a successful Building Information Modelling (BIM) project. However, clients’ lack of skill and experience in categorising and defining these requirements often undermines the performance of a construction project and, ultimately, the ability of the finished product to meet their needs. By definition, EIR shortcomings include incomplete and inconsistent requirements and specifications, and whilst some work has been performed to try to address these, this area is still underdeveloped. This paper reports on the development of a transformative approach to the categorisation of requirements in a meaningful way, enabling effective filtering so that stakeholders can access just the information they need for the task at hand. The Ontology-based framework for Employer Information Requirements (OntEIR) seeks to provide a step change in categorisation by identifying ‘static’ and ‘dynamic’ requirements, including related types and sub-types. OntEIR has been rigorously validated by a group of BIM experts, and the results have revealed that this approach to categorisation significantly improved the elicitation and understanding of requirements.

Fire Safety Management Strategy in Nigeria Public Buildings

Article

Aug 2021

Ineffective fire safety management is one of the severe issues in public buildings, especially in Nigeria. There has been a significant increase in fire disaster cases in Nigeria in the last 25 years, the incidence of fire disasters becomes the most significant and ultimate threat to building occupants, building and its contents, as well as the economic growth of the nation. Therefore, in order to ensure the safety of building occupants, building contents, the essential features depend on the fire safety protection system, which should be under the fire safety regulation requirements. Nonetheless, practical fire safety management could remedy the damages or rates of injury in fire events. This study presents the findings on the investigation of the effectiveness of fire safety management strategy in Nigeria public buildings. This study attempts to determine the factors affecting improper fire safety management and determine the level of effective implementation of fire s afety m anagement c omponents. From t he study, s afety t raining a nd a dequate fire safety compliance are the factors that affect improper fire safety management the most. The level of effective implementation of fire safety management strategy is low, which translated to inadequate fire safety management. The most effective approach identified to improve the fire safety management and achievement of fire safety objectives is through effective fire safety management strategy and improvement in fire safety training arrangement and absolute compliance with the fire safety regulations.

Occupants’ Perspectives of the Use of Smartphones during Fire Evacuation from High-Rise Residential Buildings

Article

Full-text available

May 2022

Over the past few years there has been a significant change in fire safety design and management. As the possibility of safe escape is the most crucial aspect of a building’s fire safety features, the understanding of human behaviour under fire conditions is important for a successful evacuation. Previous research studies have developed models, prototypes, and serious games that help engineers/architects to design or firefighters to improve design so that the building facilitates a smooth evacuation process. Although these studies have looked into human behaviour, perceptions of important stakeholders (such as occupants, structural engineers, fire engineers, facility managers) are still not understood. These perceptions are important for the appropriate application of technology for evacuation. The broader research effort, of which this paper is part, stems from the premise that bespoke evacuation instructions can be sent directly to evacuees’ smartphones. Information from a BIM model with the aid of sensors can be used to customise these evacuation instructions. The prospect of information being delivered to occupants during a fire emergency is still at its premature phase and more research is needed. Twenty-three interviews were conducted with occupants who currently live in high-rise residential buildings in Egypt and the United Kingdom to understand their views of using smartphones to assist during fire evacuations. The sampling strategy targeted occupants who currently live in high-rise residential buildings but have not necessarily experienced a fire evacuation. The research clearly shows the importance of smartphones during evacuation and the role they can play in assisting occupants to find the fastest and safest egress route. The interview findings will assist in future research to develop an evacuation framework system that could be implemented for high-rise residential buildings.

Factors Affecting Bid/No-bid Decisions among Contractors in Nepalese Construction Industry

Thesis

Full-text available

Sep 2021

Ayush Puri

Construction companies devote a large amount of resources to bidding, and bidding decisions are critical for their success. Due to little research into the factors that influence contractors’ bidding decisions in Nepal, judgments are made heuristically, and the construction business has become difficult for genuine/capable contractors owing to increased competition. The goal of this article is to identify, rank, and investigate significant factors that influence construction contractors’ bidding decisions in Nepal. The research objectives were met by analyzing data collected from 82 Nepalese construction contractors via questionnaire. The questionnaire was created using criteria discovered through literature review, pilot study, and expert input. A total of 41 factors influencing Nepalese contractors’ bidding decisions were discovered and rated using the relative importance index. To investigate the difference in opinions between two classes of contractors, hypothesis testing was carried out. Principal component analysis (PCA) was then used to discover the most significant factors affecting bidding decisions. Based on the descriptive study, the most critical factors identified in each group were the size of the project, accuracy of bid documents, experience on similar type of project, and fluctuation of resource price in the market. According to the hypothesis test, there was no significant difference in opinion between the two types of contractors. On PCA analysis, only 14 out of 41 factors were found to be significant, accounting for 66.473% of the variation in the data. Most of the factors found significant through PCA were not among the ones highly ranked by the respondents. This proves that there is difference between what contractors think is important and what is actually considered in actual bidding decision. The study identifies important factors to consider while bidding, in order to improve bidding decisions. The important factors identified can be considered by Nepalese contractors, and might also be useful for other contracting companies in developing nations like Nepal. In addition, the study might be valuable for those international contractors preparing to bid on projects in Nepal, as part of a joint venture with a Nepalese company.

Modeling the Constraints to the Utilization of the Internet of Things in Managing Supply Chains of Off-Site Construction: An Approach toward Sustainable Construction

Article

Full-text available

Mar 2022

Despite persistent calls for cleaner production and improved automation of construction processes, the adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT) in managing the supply chains of off-site construction businesses has been discouraged due to various constraints. This paper methodically identifies and prioritizes the crucial factors that impede the application of the Internet of Things (IoT) in off-site construction. Content analysis and an expert-based evaluation strategy were used to identify and evaluate the constraints affecting Internet of Things adoption in off-site construction. The ISM, MICMAC, and DEMATEL techniques were used to analyze the data. This study identifies the “lack of clear strategy for governing IoT utilization in supply chain management” as the most significant factor that impedes the application of the Internet of Things (IoT) in off-site construction businesses. The outcomes also provide a rich source of insights into off-site construction businesses to clearly recognize the implications of utilizing IoT technologies in managing the supply chains of businesses and what to expect when applying IoT technologies and solutions. While this paper advocates for improved green construction practices, cleaner production, and automation in the construction industry, it has set the stage for integrating IoT technologies in the supply chain management of off-site construction businesses.

IMPORTANCIA DEL ESTUDIO PILOTO PARA LA INVESTIGACIÓN TURÍSTICA

Conference Paper

Full-text available

Aug 2016

Mirko Vera Campos

El estudio piloto forma parte de la rigurosidad científica en el marco de los estudios en turismo. En este artículo no se pretende proporcionar resultados de un estudio en particular, sino más bien proporcionar evidencia empírica de la importancia del estudio piloto en la investigación en turismo. El análisis llevado a cabo pretende contribuir a fortalecer la rigurosidad científica en la investigación en turismo, tal como lo señalan Cornejo y Salas (2011) el rigor apunta a la calidad de los datos producidos y a sus análisis, a los reportes de investigación generados, o a los diferentes procedimientos de investigación implementados.

Impact of Success Factors on Project Success: Empirical Evidence from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Article

Full-text available

Feb 2022
Int J Spec Educ

The identification of success elements and success criteria is critical for the successful completion of construction projects. The major goal of this research is to identify success factors and criteria for higher education development initiatives in the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Projects are not successful owing to variety of causes producing delays in completion with high cost notably in construction business with context of higher education. A total 233 questionnaires were gathered from key stakeholders participating in 26 projects of 19 public sector institutions. A structured questionnaires were utilised to obtain data by employing convenience sample approach. This research indicated that project activities factors, human resource, the environmental variables, the procurement factors all positively and substantially affect the project success. This research with identical characteristics or according to the context may be carried out in other place or nation as well as other industry. The investigation offers appealing outcomes for the project managers operating in the building business of Pakistan. Different responsibilities of stakeholders and their acknowledgment and engagement contribute to a project successful since projects success relies on their roles and opinions about success. This research also contributes to academics to concentrate on project management discipline for suggesting link between success variables and success and these should be recognized and work out at the early phase of project

Investigating the Causes of Poor Cost Control in Iraqi Construction Projects

Article

Full-text available

Feb 2022

Controlling cost in construction projects is an essential issue. This study investigates the most critical problems that cause weakness in cost control in Iraqi construction projects. The quantitative technique was used by conducting a survey directed to professionals who work on construction projects. One hundred and sixty-four questionnaire forms were distributed to private sector companies, government companies, and government institutions, and the responses were subjected to the required statistical analysis. The results indicate that the most influential factors are the weakness in keeping up with the use of modern concepts, methods, and technologies, the delay in receiving the amounts due for work done from the owner, fluctuations in market prices, the lack of knowledge and the inefficient use of currently available tools and technology, and the security situation in the country. The results indicate that the Iraqi construction projects suffer from weakness in cost control, which causes them to stop or delay their delivery, and this needs serious and quick solutions. One of the most important solutions is the adoption of modern technologies and their inclusion in the construction sector and the development of special systems for managing costs that are appropriate to the Iraqi construction environment.

Evaluating the Efficiency of Finance Methods in Residential Complex Projects in Iraq

Article

Full-text available

Feb 2022

Financial funding of a construction firm plays an important role in all aspects of the process development. It has been noted that financial crises have a direct impact on the construction industry. The Iraqi government, whether locally or globally, has faced a severe shortage of financing which has resulted in incomplete projects. Due to the financial crisis that Iraq went through which led to the suspension of many residential complex projects and the difficulty of the use of public financing methods, we researched the private financing (public-private partnership) methods instead of public financing methods in residential complex projects implementation. This study verified the financial problems and the factors that relate to the possibility of their occurrence with the use of a questionnaire that was designed and distributed to professionals in the field. Arbitration of the questionnaire, pilot study, questionnaire distribution, and statistical tests were conducted. The T-test (paired samples T-test) was used to find out if there are differences between the public and private financing methods. The results showed that the private financing (public-private partnership) methods, under the current conditions in Iraq, are better than the public financing methods.

Supporting Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development in Africa -Volume II Transforming Infrastructure Development

Chapter

Full-text available

Feb 2022

PPPs are long-term and it means somewhere during the tenure of the contract some of the equipment will be outdated. This obsolescence has not been well research and it needs further scrutiny. This chapter deals with this problem in the context of South Africa.

Challenges Hindering the Resourcing for Post-Disaster Housing Reconstruction in Gaza

Article

Full-text available

Dec 2021

Resourcing post-disaster housing reconstruction (PDHR) entails many drawbacks creating bottlenecks to reconstruction projects. Understanding these vulnerable issues is of utmost to identify the appropriate interventions to mitigate their effects. The devastating aggression in 2014 in Gaza Strip served as a typical example of resources hampers. Based on the quantitative approach, the research employed a self-administrated questionnaire survey to identify the most significant challenges hindering the resourcing for post-2014 aggression housing reconstruction. The questionnaire targeted 55 of the key people in the implementing agencies of post-2014 aggression housing reconstruction. The data collected was analysed using descriptive statistics, through frequency distribution and effect index (EI); and using inferential statistics through one sample Wilcoxon signed rank test. Findings indicated that the challenges related to political issues have the most significant effect on resourcing the PDHR. The main key challenges are: (1) Difficulties to obtain permits from the Israeli side to flow the reconstruction materials into the Gaza Strip, (2) Insufficient funds for reconstruction efforts and (3) Refusal of the international community to contact the local de facto government. This research fills the knowledge gap relating to Gaza and provides the basis for more research on resourcing problems. This research has also extended, updated and confirmed the current knowledge regarding challenges hindering the resourcing for PDHR. The results draw attention of the implementing agencies in Gaza to the factors that creating bottlenecks to resource the reconstruction projects in order to overcome them and to mitigate their negative effects.

A qualitative assessment of the impact of smart homes and environmentally beneficial technologies on the UK 2050 net-zero carbon emission target

Article

Dec 2021

Purpose There are 29 million homes in the UK, accounting for 14% of the UK's energy consumption. This is given that UK has one of the highest water and energy demands in Europe which needs to be addressed according to the Committee on Climate Change (CCC). Smart homes technology holds a current perception that it is principally used by “tech-savvy” users with larger budgets. However, smart home technology can be used to control water, heat and energy in the entire house. This paper investigates how smart home technology could be effectively utilised to aid the UK government in meeting climate change targets and to mitigate the environmental impact of a home in use towards reducing carbon emissions. Design/methodology/approach Both primary and secondary data were sought to gain insight into the research problem. An epistemological approach to this research is to use interpretivism to analyse data gathered via a semi-structured survey. Two groups of participants were approached: (1) professionals who are deemed knowledgeable about smart home development and implementation and (2) users of smart home technology. A variety of open-ended questions were formulated, allowing participants to elaborate by exploring issues and providing detailed qualitative responses based on their experience in this area which were interpreted quantitatively for clearer analysis. Findings With fossil fuel reserves depleting, there is an urgency for renewable, low carbon energy sources to reduce the 5 tonnes annual carbon emissions from a UK household. This requires a multi-faceted and a multimethod approach, relying on the involvement of both the general public and the government in order to be effective. By advancing energy grids to make them more efficient and reliable, concomitant necessitates a drastic change in the way of life and philosophy of homeowners when contemplating a reduction of carbon emissions. If both parties are able to do so, the UK is more likely to reach its 2050 net-zero carbon goal. The presence of a smart meter within the household is equally pivotal. It has a positive effect of reducing the amount of carbon emissions and hence more need to be installed. Research limitations/implications Further research is needed using a larger study sample to achieve more accurate and acceptable generalisations about any future course of action. Further investigation on the specifics of smart technology within the UK household is also needed to reduce the energy consumption in order to meet net-zero carbon 2050 targets due to failures of legislation. Practical implications For smart homes manufacturers and suppliers, more emphasis should be placed to enhance compatibility and interoperability of appliances and devices using different platform and creating more user's friendly manuals supported by step-by-step visual to support homeowners in the light of the wealth of knowledge base generated over the past few years. For homeowners, more emphasis should be placed on creating online knowledge management platform easily accessible which provide virtual support and technical advice to home owners to deal with any operational and technical issues or IT glitches. Developing technical design online platform for built environment professionals on incorporating smart sensors and environmentally beneficial technology during early design and construction stages towards achieving low to zero carbon homes. Originality/value This paper bridges a significant gap in the body of knowledge in term of its scope, theoretical validity and practical applicability, highlighting the impact of using smart home technology on the environment. It provides an insight into how the UK government could utilise smart home technology in order to reduce its carbon emission by identifying the potential link between using smart home technology and environmental sustainability in tackling and mitigating climate change. The findings can be applied to other building types and has the potential to employ aspects of smart home technology in order to manage energy and water usage including but not limited to healthcare, commercial and industrial buildings.

Key factors affecting the decision-making process for buildings projects in Egypt

Article

Oct 2021

The success of optimal system selection depends on many factors, such as the nature of the project itself, design team collaboration, team leader's personality, and client input. Unfortunately, despite numerous existing studies on key impacting factors in various fields of construction design, the majority of them failed to focus on the key factors affecting the structure design decision-making process. This study aims to identify, investigate, and rank factors perceived to affect decision-making for the optimal system in the construction industry, particularly that of buildings, during the early stages of the entire life cycle, in terms of their relative importance. Practitioners and experts from Egypt comprising a statistically representative sample, were invited to participate in a structured questionnaire survey to achieve this objective. The questionnaire was composed of 17 factors classified under three primary stage categories: feasibility study, planning, and design and engineering. The relative importance index and dispersion analysis were used to obtain statistics and calculate the collected data. The results show that “The impact of financial difficulties on the decision-making” is the first key factor, “The impact of errors and omissions due to the lack of communication and coordination on the decision-making” is the second key factor, and “The Impact of inaccurate evaluation of projects duration on the decision-making” and “The impact of design changes upon contractor request on the decision-making?” constitute the third key factors. Therefore, this work can guide decision-makers for effective construction management and help achieve a competitive quality and cost-effective project.

Study the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the construction industry in Egypt

Article

Sep 2021

This paper attempts to quantify the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the construction industry under different investment and economic scenarios in Egypt. The survey was conducted to assess the cost impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on the construction industry, considering essential aspects, such as manpower, plant and machinery, and material, and their net effect on overall construction cost. The recommendations covered in this paper address many such measures under short, medium, and long-term categories. These measures underline the need to improve systems and processes for adequately responding to the current changing environment and effectively confronting such disruptions in the future. In addition, the paper serves as a start to thinking about the study of procedures during a future pandemic to inhibit any impact on the project timeline or personnel health.

Ensuring Engagement of Stakeholders in Smart City Projects: Case Study in Sri Lanka

Article

Full-text available

Aug 2021
J URBAN PLAN D-ASCE

Assessing the Business Development Strategy: A Case Study at an Oil and Gas Company in Malaysia

Article

Full-text available

Dec 2017

This paper discusses the greatest challenge facing a pipeline inspection company, SEGA (not the real name) in Malaysia in providing its services to the oil and gas operators based on current practices, protocols and standards. However, the most important issue for SEGA as “new kid on the block” is how it must adopt new business development strategic directions to remain relevant, viable and profitable in the future. This further argues for greater investment in technology, people development and probably going outside of its territory that will enable a long-term drift towards zero tolerance on quality and greater extraction of local skilled field crew. Now, its strategic partners with GE on IP technology and TPS as the marketing arms thriving them to the next level of growth in order to sustain its business continuity and to become a prominent pipeline inspection company in Malaysia as well as in international markets in future.

A semantic common model for product data in the water industry

Article

Full-text available

Jul 2021

The issue of interoperability in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry represents a challenge on a scale that spans across the project life cycle. This is predominant in the infrastructure sector that usually comprises a more versatile Operations and Maintenance (O&M) phase in comparison with the buildings sector. To this end, an important stage in the information life cycle is the asset information capture and validation during product procurement at the O&M phase. The water industry in the United Kingdom relies on Product Data Templates (PDTs) to fulfil such task, which is usually an error prone manual process. This paper presents an ongoing research, which investigates the application of Semantic Web Technologies (SWT) for improving product data exchange during product procurement at the O&M phase for the water industry in the United Kingdom (UK). Therefore, focus group sessions with industry experts were held to discuss current inefficiencies and solution requirements. Based on these results, a semantic common model named Asset Specification Ontology (ASO) was developed to capture and validate asset information during product procurement at the O&M phase. The common model (ontology) is based on available technologies, namely Web Ontology Language (OWL) and Shapes Constraint Language (SHACL). This gives the advantage of semantically rich data which can be linked and queried in a meaningful way to facilitate the exchange and validation of water industry assets’ data. The uniqueness of this paper is manifested in the issue it tackles, as efficient product procurement, and hence, data exchange in the water industry is an industrial challenge that is seldom researched. Results from the focus group sessions showed that information exchange within the UK water industry is impeded due to the lack of structured and semantic data. However, for a robust semantic interoperability, there needs to be a robust semantic data infrastructure, which would require semantic mappings from standards to product properties, from standards to other standards, and from standards to dictionaries. These conclusions were further supported by the common model, which was created from existing schemas, standards, and dictionaries. Generally, this paper recommends a common model/product library for phase-specific product data exchange in the water industry.

Conflicting urban land uses at the fringes: issues and experiences of peri-urban farmers in an urbanizing city in Ghana

Article

Full-text available

May 2021

In late 2010, city authorities in Ghana began to call attention to the looming danger associated with the expansion of Ghanaian cities—the result of both peri-urban land-use changes and livelihood adaptations. In an attempt to debate the rising phenomenon, scholars have tried to approach the issue from the perspective that connects cause and symptoms. In this article, we move beyond the rhetoric of symptoms to examine how peri-urban farmers who are most affected by the expansion of Wa, an emerging city in Ghana to reconfigure livelihood activities. The article is based on Erdas image 2010 and complemented with other research methods. The results show that the city’s expansion has severely altered land use and existing farming practices. Farmers have therefore been forced to re-organize farming strategies to include the application of both organic and inorganic fertilizers, tree cropping, and crop rotation, albeit at a high cost. Concluding, we argue that urban expansion is an index of transformation and naturally peri-urban agrarian communities are the first to undergo major land use and livelihood transformations. The situation in Wa calls for the need to re-define the urban-peri-urban relationships such that the opportunities associated with urban expansion are collectively shared.

Work Measurement Techniques Utilized by The Building Industry in The Midlands Province Of Zimbabwe

Article

Full-text available

Jan 2014

The Zimbabwean construction industry, both in the private and public sector, is characterized by cost and time overruns. Whilst the causes are innumerable, labour productivity control, through use of effective work measurement techniques, is paramount as labour constitutes a considerable portion of any construction project. It is therefore expedient that an investigation of the work measurement techniques utilized by the industry be undertaken. Focus was made on the Midlands province, it being resident to a considerable number of mining entities undergoing building construction growth momentum on the back of significant investments since 2009. The survey was undertaken through use of interview administered questionnaires on Construction Industry Federation of Zimbabwe registered companies that are resident in the province and on those that have undertaken or are undertaking construction projects within the same province. Construction companies in the Midlands province have overwhelmingly, albeit inappropriately, used the estimating technique as alluded to by 95% of the respondents. The outputs generated from use of this technique are significantly different from the actual outputs directly causing time overruns on the project sites. The other methods of time study at 33%, work sampling at 10% and synthesis at 5% have been sparingly utilized. The results from the use of time study and work sampling in combination with the estimating technique are within the allowable limits and hence these projects have no time overrun concerns emanating from the use of these techniques.

Health and Safety Improvement in Construction Projects: Lean Construction Approach

Article

Jun 2021
INT J OCCUP SAF ERGO

Purpose: The lean construction techniques have been considered as an effective approach and strategy to reduce accidents in construction projects. This paper aims to investigate the application of the lean construction principle and its impact on occupational health and safety. Materials and Methods: To achieve the aim analytical descriptive method was used. The data was collected through a questionnaire, with 70 respondents who were chosen in a random stratified sample method. The questionnaire evaluated the perception of contractors and consultants about the lean construction important factors and its impact on the construction projects safety. Results and Conclusions There is an agreement that, the application of lean construction techniques can be impeded by challenges like lack of lean construction knowledge, complexity, misconception about lean and difficulties in changing employees. The study identified strategies that could be used to address these challenges which will improve the safety of construction projects. These include enlightenment on benefits of the lean practice, publication of improvements realized from lean practice, training, workers’ involvement and empowerment, persistence, robust planning, and gradual implementation.

Integrated Analysis of the Geotechnical Factors Impeding Sustainable Building Construction—The Case of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia

Article

Full-text available

Jun 2021

Sustainable building construction in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia is fraught with issues, ranging from groundwater table fluctuation to inappropriate earthwork techniques, particularly in areas that were previously reclaimed. This paper analyzes the geotechnical factors that affect the safety and serviceability of infrastructure construction on reclaimed land. The data were collected mainly from expert-based surveys and semi-structured interviews with geotechnical experts across the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Ten critical factors were identified, and an integrated assessment was conducted using the Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) technique to examine the hierarchical structure of the relations between the factors. In addition, the Cross-impact Matrix Multiplication Applied to Classification (MICMAC) technique was used to classify the factors from a driving to driven perspective. Findings of the study reveal the driving factors, which have the propensity to affect other factors and are the most crucial factors hindering the safety and serviceability of sustainable building construction. These factors are the presence of low-bearing sabkha soil, shallow and fluctuating depth of the groundwater table, and the lack of soil improvement applications. It is expected that concerned authorities may find the outcomes of this study useful in formulating effective policies, standards, and regulations that will protect infrastructure construction from safety and serviceability problems. While the evidence on which the results of this study are based is from experiences related to coastal areas of Saudi Arabia, the outcomes of this paper could be adopted in other coastal areas in the Gulf region. This paper adds to the current knowledge on safety and serviceability management of infrastructure constructed on reclaimed lands.

Early numeracy acquisition in a multicultural, international school: an investigation into the factors contributing to differences in early number knowledge between Chinese- and English-speaking students

Article

Mar 2021

Elizabeth M. Gale

The belief that primary aged Asian children are superior in their knowledge of mathematical concepts and numerical operations is widespread and prevalent within many educational contexts including early childhood schooling environments. Previous research has confirmed the higher mathematical performance of Asian children over their Western counterparts particularly in the realm of number knowledge and numerical operations within the earliest years of schooling. This study investigates the reality of early numerical differences in a multi-cultural American-based, international school environment in China. It explores the extent to which differences in numerical knowledge and abilities of Chinese- and English-speaking students aged 3 ½ to 4 ½ validate or refute prior research focused on early numerical differences between Asian and Western children. Through the employment of quantitative and qualitative research methods, the study also examines potential factors contributing to the apparent knowledge gap within the linguistically and ethnically diverse early childhood setting, including number-naming languages, parental and cultural influences, as well as teacher background, instructional practices and knowledge surrounding students’ mathematical abilities. The Junior Assessment of Mathematics early numeracy assessment, one-on-one teacher interviews, and a parent questionnaire were implemented, analysed, and interpreted as a means of exploring early numeracy knowledge and the contributing variables to the assumed difference between Chinese- and English-speaking students. The research findings revealed that regardless of age, gender or teacher class placement, the Chinese-speaking students outperformed their English-speaking peers across all modules administered within the assessment. In particular, knowledge related to subitising, number recognition, counting, and cardinality revealed substantial disparities such as a 1.5 to 2.0 stage level difference within early foundational elements of numerical knowledge which ultimately will have a significant impact on students’ long term mathematical and overall academic success as indicated by previous research. Likewise, the findings yielded noteworthy results including the vast similarities in the Chinese- and English-speaking parental perceptions of their children’s mathematical abilities, despite the drastic differences in numerical knowledge displayed by the students. However, in addition to the significant findings gathered within this study’s unique international school context, overall, this thesis confirms existing research that supports the notion that it is likely a combination of factors that contribute to the mathematical achievement gap between Asian and Western students. Based on the findings and confirmations accumulated through this research study, recommendations for future research within international school settings with diverse populations is suggested.

SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY BASED MODEL FOR SUPPLIER SELECTION IN CONSTRUCTION SUPPLY CHAIN

Thesis

Feb 2020

Sustainability is becoming essential in the construction supply chain. Because applying the social pillar of sustainability is considered a new trend to research in academia, construction organizations need help to select the suppliers based on social sustainability which has not oftentimes applicable yet. The research proposes a Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) model for social supplier selection which is beneficial for sustainable construction projects. This model is developed using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to the Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) based on the socially sustainable attributes which are associated with the wellbeing of the society and the future generation. Furthermore, the socially sustainable criteria are gathered from the literature and have been proposed as a form of analytical hierarchy. Moreover, the model analysis was adopted through interviews with professional experts to define the weight of criteria. Also, the computational model was carried out through the application of a case study to point out the optimum supplier who has a positive impact on sustainable construction projects development and society. Afterwards, the model is validated and a sensitivity analysis is conducted to strengthen the results.

EXPLORING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING AND INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS PERFORMANCE

Article

Dec 2018

International Corporations globally are seeking ways of being ahead of other competitors in the industry of operations. Companies ranging from production to service firms in globally strive harder to meet the challenges posed to them by environmental changes. Also the consulting industry is an integral part of service industry due to the sum they contribute to the growth of the economy. The study tried to situate positions whether organizational learning could serve as a strategic tool for enhancing organizational performance as regards employee commitment and organizational competitiveness. 240 copies of questionnaire were administered to selected international audit service firms considered for the study in Nigeria to get primary data that treated appropriate research questions and hypotheses were tested accordingly. The study found that opportunity for individual learning makes employees in the global firms to be committed and that organizational conditioning has significant effect on competiveness. The study recommends that international service firms should endeavour to direct more resources to the area of organizational learning in order for them to be able to achieve better global industry relevance.

Promotion of the Application of BIM in China—A BIM-Based Model for Construction Material Recycling

Article

Full-text available

Mar 2021

The recovery rate of construction materials is only 5% in China, which will lead to environmental and economic problems. Researchers from other countries have recognized the potential of building information modelling (BIM) in optimizing construction material recycling. However, previous research did not take the whole life cycle into consideration and was not practical enough. In this research, a questionnaire was conducted to find out how construction waste is disposed of in construction projects. Then, the existing research results were analyzed to find out how to apply BIM in the whole-life-cycle disposal of construction materials. According to the results of the questionnaire, landfill is the most common way to dispose of construction materials in China; besides this, almost no construction projects use BIM in material recycling. Hence, a BIM-based dynamic recycling model is proposed. Information management of materials, demolition planning, and BIM were all combined in this model for the purpose of optimizing the application of BIM, thus developing a waste material disposal system to achieve higher recovery rates and sustainability. More positive measures should be taken to deal with the problem of construction waste; if not, more environmental and economic problems will follow.

Building Information Modelling (BIM) in Order to Enhance the Capabilities of Project Managers in Applying Knowledge Areas in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) Industry in Palestine

Thesis

Full-text available

Dec 2019

Mohammed N Maliha

Background and Problem: The Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry is viewed jointly of the most sectors that contribute unquestionably to the Palestinian economy but it now suffers from many issues one of them no adoption for new innovation like Building Information Modelling (BIM) which has as of late achieved far reaching consideration in the AEC industry. BIM has been recommended by many experts also specialists as the global solution to deal with the wasteful aspects in the AEC industry. In many cases of various countries, potential advantages also the competitive have been registered. Be that as it may, notwithstanding the advantages and possibilities of BIM innovation, it isn't applied in the AEC industry in Palestine simply like numerous different areas of the world. Consequently, the motivation behind this research was to build up a reasonable comprehension about BIM for recognizing the various factors that give valuable information to consider adopting BIM innovation by the professionals in the AEC industry in Palestine. This goal has been finished by accomplishing two main objectives. Aim and Objectives: The Aim of this research is to understand the contribution of BIM in enhancing the capabilities of Project Managers (PMs) in applying knowledge areas in the AEC industry in Palestine. Also, the objectives: To demonstrate to what extent the knowledge areas of project management are applied in the AEC industry in Palestine and to investigate and rank the impacts of BIM on the application of knowledge areas in the AEC industry in Palestine. Methodology: A quantitative survey was utilized in the study. Three primary steps were utilized to reach to the last correction of the questionnaire: (1) Face validity by exhibiting the questionnaire to 6specialists in the fields of the AEC industry and Statistics in Palestine (Gaza Strip and West bank), (2) pre-testing the questionnaire in two phases with 6 individuals who exemplify the target group, which included the professionals in the AEC industry in Gaza strip in Palestine, and (3) a Pilot study was directed by circulating 30 copies of the questionnaire to respondents from the target group and analyzing them for testing the statistical validity and reliability. After piloting, the questionnaire was embraced and was dispersed to the entire sample (convenience sample) from the target group. 80 copies of the questionnaire were dispersed, and 71 copies of the questionnaire were gotten from the respondents with a response rate = 88.8%. To draw meaningful results, the gathered information has been analyzed by utilizing the quantitative data analysis techniques (which include the RII, Pearson correlation analysis, and others) through the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) IBM version 22. Results and Findings: The study results based on the first objective that the 11- knowledge area sorted as applied and not applied in AEC industry in Palestine for that cost management (CM) as first the respondents agreed that this knowledge area applied also time management (TM), resource management (REM), procurement management (PROM), scope management (SCM), stakeholders management (STM), integration management (IM), quality management (QM) and communication management (COM) but in the contrast risk management (RM) are not applied on another hand safety management (SM) the respondents differ equally between applied or not. But based on the second objective the results are as following: in this side the study search about the agree and disagree of the respondents if BIM enhancing the knowledge areas or not for that starting with CM, BIM was essential for improving applying this knowledge and in the rest knowledges TM, REM, PROM, SCM, STM, IM, QM, COM, RM and SM . At long last, this study offered a lot of suggestions and recommendations for future researchers.

Capability improvement measures of the public sector for implementation of building information modeling in construction projects

Article

Full-text available

Dec 2022

This study examines the capability improvement measures of the public sector client for enhancing the implementation of building information modeling (BIM) in construction project delivery. The study adopted a quantitative descriptive analysis based on primary data obtained through a structured questionnaire. A total of 198 valid questionnaires obtained from construction professionals within public sector organizations in Lagos State, Nigeria, provided primary quantitative data for the assessment. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings indicated the measures to enhance the capacity of the public sector for BIM implementation including the following: team-based structure and recruitment of adequate number of staff (with mean score [MS] = 3.66), government support and involvement (MS = 3.64), government policies, adoption of process open to innovation, and investment in equipment and technology (MS = 3.60) had been considerably entrenched. However, measures that resulted in improved efficiency were limited to the following: reward system for performance (MS = 3.81), government policies, and education and training of staff (MS = 3.74), government support and involvement (MS = 3.73), and clear job description (MS = 3.71). Most of the measures with high level of impact were not necessarily those that are frequently used. On this basis, the public sector needs to differ from the status quo by adopting improvement measures that are appropriate for enhancing its capabilities for BIM in project delivery. The findings indicate implications that could enable the public sector to adjust and make necessary policies in a bid to improve BIM implementation in project delivery.

The Awareness Level among Quantity Surveying Students towards The Evolution of Quantity Surveyor’s Roles and Services

Article

Nov 2022

Factors Influencing Claims Procedure under Unstable Financial Condition

Article

Oct 2022

A Study on the Effect of Product Packaging Elements on Consumer Purchasing Decision for Frozen Foodstuff Products During Corona Pandemic: A Case of Jordan

Chapter

Jul 2022

Corona Pandemics results in a radical changes in the lifestyle and buying pattern of consumers around the world which adversely affected the global economy. This paper aims o to explore the effect of package elements on consumer’s purchasing decision during Corona Pandemic in Jordan, which helps the producers and marketers of frozen foodstuff to design and develop packages that motivate consumers to complete the purchase process particularly during Corona Pandemic. The study dealt with four independent variables (package color, package shape, package size and package logo) and one dependent variable (consumer purchasing decision. And three moderator variables for demographic factors (age, education level and income level). A questionnaire was designed based on previous studies, and 440 questionnaires were electronically distributed, which were suitable for analysis. The data were analyzed using the SPSS to analyze the data. The results showed that there was a statistically significant effect of the package elements on the consumer’s purchasing decision separately during Corona Pandemic in Jordan. The study concludes that shape has a very important role in consumer’s point of view by about (38.8%), moreover the income level also has an important effect on consumer’s purchasing decision. The study recommends companies that produces frozen foods to design attractive packaging and to develop them continuously because of its importance to consumers during the buying process.

Risk Management Strategies in Construction Organizations

Article

Full-text available

Dec 2021
Open Civ Eng J

Background Construction projects are among the riskiest businesses due to the number of factors involved that are difficult to control; hence, the popularity of risk management as part of the decision-making process in construction organizations is increasing. Despite the advancements, there are various risks involved that lead to project failure. Aim Thus, this study aims to assess the risk management strategies in construction organizations in the Gaza Strip, Palestine. Methods Seventy questionnaires were distributed after subjecting them to pretesting and pilot study that confirmed the validity and reliability of the questions. The target respondents included engineers and consultants from the construction organizations, Ministry of Works and Housing, and international agencies. The questionnaire was retrieved with a 65.71% response rate. Results Results indicated that the most popular method of risk factor determination in the Gaza Strip is the “checklist” (RII=84%). For tools/methods of risk analysis, relying on experience in the direct assessment is the most prominent, with an RII of 78%. For the methods of avoiding risk before the project implementation, dependence on experience in the work for preparing and planning was ranked highest (having RII of 81.6%). Finally, follow-up on the implementation to avoid rework, with an RII of 77.6%, was ranked highest among other factors of avoiding risk during the construction projects implementation. Conclusion This study highlights the key risk management strategies that will be beneficial for the construction industry stakeholders to resolve the unwanted risk failures in the construction industry.

A Critical Institutionalist Analysis of Youth Participation in Jordan’s Spatial Planning: The case of Amman 2025

Thesis

Full-text available

Sep 2018

Zayed Zeadat

By 2050, it is estimated that 84% of the population in the Global South will be living in urban areas. As a country of the Global South, Jordan has experienced dramatic growth of urban areas over the past decades. Cities in Jordan contain 83% of the population, of which, it is estimated, 24% are in the age group 15–24. Youth input, effort and experience in the planning process are recognised by academic research and international aid donors as a significant element in catalysing positive social and economic change and ensuring sustainable development across the Global South. Consequently, this research aims to investigate whether young groups’ vision and aspirations for, and perspectives on the city of Amman were translated into strategies or projects in urban policy. In doing so, it aims to explore the wide range of institutional challenges and opportunities that either hinder or encourage youth participation in policymaking. To achieve this aim, this study followed the inductive–deductive cycle of knowledge. This research starts with a critical literature review of theories in planning, governance, youth participation and spatial planning in Jordan. Healey’s systemic institutional design for collaborative planning was employed to critically analyse the planning system (hard infrastructure) and planning practice (soft infrastructure) within the chosen case study of Amman 2025. Amman 2025 is a significant and unique strategic spatial planning project in Jordan designed to encourage public participation in the policymaking process regarding urban development in Amman. New primary data were collected through extensive qualitative research in the form of semi-structured interviews and focus groups to cover the period from the start of Amman 2025, in 2006, to the conducting of data collection in 2015. With the research objectives in mind, a thematic analysis was conducted to identify salient themes in order to address the research aims. The findings of this study show that youth participation in Jordan is neither inherent in the legal, political and administrative framework of the planning system nor in the embedded institutional settings within the planning practice of Jordan. Most importantly, cultural imperialism in Jordan weakens young people’s chances of being considered for any decision-making roles relevant to planning activities. Enhancing youth participation in spatial planning in Jordan requires the institutional capacity of urban governance to be built up to enable a more collaborative planning practice, in addition to applying principles of good governance in the planning system.

Drivers and effects of sustainable construction in the South African construction industry

Article

Full-text available

Nov 2021

Sustainable construction is hardly practised in Africa, despite the consistent campaign for its adoption. This study investigates the drivers and effects of sustainable construction in South Africa. The quantitative survey research design was adopted for the study and the respondents were the construction organisations in Johannesburg, South Africa. The study identified 17 significant drivers of sustainable construction, with construction cost as the dominant variable. The important environmental (8), economic (12), and social benefits (7) of sustainable construction were also determined. The challenges (24) of sustainable construction were also identified. The study recommended that measures for low construction cost should be put in place, and awareness campaigns should be enhanced. Economic benefits are still behind environmental benefits, and this could affect some prospective adopters. Lack of knowledge and weak economies were prevalent challenges that underscore the need for Western support for African nations to comfortably adopt sustainable construction.

PLAYFUL LEARNING IN THE PRE- PRIMARY CLASSROOM IN BANGLADESH: TEACHERS EXPERIENCES OF DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE PRACTICE (DAP)

Article

Full-text available

Nov 2021

This study is engaged in producing deeper knowledge of playful learning, grounded in teacher's perspective, and expanding our understanding of 'play'. Specifically, this study sought to find out pre-primary school teachers' perceptions of playful learning as a developmentally appropriate practice in pre-primary classrooms. Policy documents (e.g. NCTB, 2011, NAEYEC, 2009) discoursed the importance of being child centred, indicating to consider children's developmental ability. Through selective sampling, six preschool teachers were chosen. The teachers were interviewed using semi-structured configuration about their belief as to playful learning, how they implement playful learning in their classrooms and their viewpoint on barriers to playful learning. They identified the support factors that may be required to implement playful learning as developmentally appropriate practice. The preschool teachers made abundantly clear the significance of playful learning and its contribution to children's developmental ability. Though the views shared by the teachers did not conceptualize well the nature of play in pre-primary education setting, they valued and promoted a playful environment which they regarded helpful for fundamental capacities of child development. Teachers faced some challenges in providing play-based experiences, as they had to complete curriculum prescribed by Directorate of Primary Education (DPE). Some of the barriers teachers face are large class sizes, minimum contact time, lack of enough developmentally appropriate play materials and sufficient play spaces for playful learning. The need for training on continuous basis for professional development to improve teaching skills was also a challenge for the teachers. Based on the findings, implications for playful learning in classroom practice are deliberated and recommendations for future research are suggested.

An investigation into the use of building information modelling and its impact on construction performance within Ghanaian construction industry

Conference Paper

Full-text available

Aug 2021

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a key computer-aided technology that can facilitate construction productivity enhancements through the removal of numerous construction inefficiencies. This study investigates the use of BIM and its impact on construction project performance in Ghanaian architecture, engineering and construction industry. A cross-sectional survey design was adopted for the study. Self-administered questionnaires were used for data collection from architects, structural and civil engineers, project managers, quantity surveyors, contractors and general foremen in Greater Accra, Ashanti and Western Regions. Purposive sampling technique was used to elicit information from 300 participants. Data was analysed through the use of multiple response analysis, relative importance index (RII), principal component analysis and descriptively analysis. The results indicated that experts in the construction industry obviously agreed that the use of BIM has a great impact on construction project performance. Increase productivity, improve product quality and create customer value, help in removing barriers and constraints, reduce time of project design and shop drawings, improve communication effectiveness, provide accurate cost estimation and take off materials, reduce conflicts and number of claims, reduce defects in the construction phase, increase collaboration in project design were considered by the respondents as the most important factors for project performance improvement. It is recommended that experts and stakeholders should encourage the use of BIM technology in the Ghanaian construction industry to improve construction project performance to meet customer satisfaction and also boost infrastructural development.

The impact of building morphology factors on the cost and aesthetical appearance of urban detached residential buildings in Sri Lanka

Article

Jul 2021
J Eng Des Tech

Purpose The morphology of a building describes its outline and influences its architectural aesthetics and the cost directly. However, the literature on the impact of morphology on the aesthetics and cost of urban detached residential buildings is scarce. Thus, this study is significant because its aim was to identify the critical building morphology factors and the relationship that each of them maintains with the cost and aesthetics of urban detached residential buildings. Design/methodology/approach The multi-method qualitative approach was used to collect the required empirical data through interviews and case studies and to identify the effect of the morphology factors on the aesthetics and construction cost of urban residences in Sri Lanka, respectively. The collected data were analyzed using manual content analysis and descriptive statistics. Findings The study findings revealed that the morphology factors such as the roof and circulation spaces, open spaces and voids have a high impact on both the building cost and aesthetics. These findings will assist building designers in making effective design decisions on building costs and aesthetics so that a successful design outcome satisfying both the clients and design team could be obtained. Originality/value Although morphology has an impact on the cost and aesthetic of buildings, literature on the subject is scarce. Thus, this study is significant in that it aimed at identifying the significant building morphology factors in urban detached residential buildings and identifying their relationship with the cost and aesthetic of those buildings.

Proportional Examination of Pf Mechanical Composition of Concrete Produced with Washed and Unwashed Gravel

Article

Full-text available

Apr 2021

Salvador KA

Management Contracting—The Client's View

Article

Sep 1987
J CONSTR ENG M ASCE

One of the features of the construction industry of the late 1970s and the early 1980s has been the emergence of a diversity of building procurement methods. Among the most popular has been "management contracting" (MC), and this has assumed a prominent place in the battery of procurement methods offered by contractors. The writers (1984) have defined management contracting as the "process whereby a contractor is employed to undertake the co-ordination of specialist sub-contractors to complete a project. The management contractor relies upon a percentage fee or a lump sum to be remunerated for the services offered. The management contractor becomes associated with the client team of professional advisors and in common with other professionals has liability for the provision of a professional service." This paper presents some research findings from the Construction Study Unit at Brunei University. It summarizes the development of and the market for management contracting in the U.K. It then reports the results of interviews with construction clients who are asked to compare management contracting with the traditional method of project procurement.

Do site managers and the head office perceive productivity factors differently?

Article

Dec 1996

This paper is based on a review of the literature on construction productivity and findings from a survey investigating, first, whether there are significant differences in opinions between head office personnel and site managers on factors that influence construction productivity and, second, to determine groups of factors that mostly influence site productivity. A critical discussion is structured under three general headings: (1) management factors; (2) employee motivation; and (3) experience and training. Twenty-nine factors were extracted from the above headings and were assessed by 19 head office personnel and 17 site managers. The survey indicated that both samples regard ‘ineffective project planning’ and ‘constraints on a worker's performance’ as the most crucial factors influencing productivity. Other highly ranked factors by both samples are ‘difficulties with material procurement’, ‘lack of integration of project information’, ‘disruption of site programme’, ‘lack of experience and training’ and ‘exclusion of site management from contract meetings’. Ultimately, when the factor analysis technique was applied on the 29 factors, the result shows that Resource Management Effectiveness appeared to be the most dominant group of factors influencing construction productivity.

The Controversy over Detailed Interviews–An Offer for Negotiation

Article

Jan 1944
PUBLIC OPIN QUART

PAUL F. LAZARSFELD

FROM the beginning, public opinion research has been badgered by the problem of “depth.” Does a simple answer to a simple question really reveal a man's opinion? The controversy, if such it may be called, has grown not only between the critics and the pollsters, but among the pollsters themselves. Two philosophies of research have arisen; one wedded to so-called depth interviewing, the other content with more objective methods of research. In this article Dr. Lazarsfeld looks searchingly at the potential schism. His conclusion is that the difference between the two schools, though valid, need not be crucial; there is, in his opinion, a half-way house. Paul F. Lazarsfeld is Director of Columbia University's Office of Radio Research, and a consultant on problems of public opinion research to various private and government organizations. His writings on radio research are well known to readers of the QUARTERLY.

Dissertation research and writing for construction students, Second Edition

Abstract

No full-text available

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