UCT Open Access Journals (Univ. of Cape Town)
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Maximum longevities and causes of death in kingfishers from SAFRING data
Get PDFThere are 10 species of kingfisher in southern Africa. This note aims to summarize the longevity values of these species, as well as investigate the main causes of death. All except Mangrove Kingfishers have longevity values. The greatest elapsed time is for the Giant Kingfisher at 8.01 years whilst the shortest lived is the Striped Kingfisher at 1.97 years. On average, the most ringed species is the Malachite Kingfisher with 3471 initial ringing records. The species with the greatest reporting rate is the Brown-hooded at 21.7%. A total of 67 recovery records have cause of death assigned to them. 21 of these are caused by collisions with man-made structures whilst 24 have cause of death listed as \'unknown\' or \'found dead\'. The high collision risk is especially of concern as it typically occurs during migration and at night, colliding with lit-windows. Overall, ringing effort has been relatively poor but despite this, the reporting rate is relatively high which is optimistic for future ringing efforts
Drivers of Rural Housing Development in Edo State, Nigeria
Get PDFRural housing development is pivotal to tackling housing deficit in Nigeria. This study examines the challenges on existing housing structure in Ebele community, Benin City, Nigeria. It inquires into the housing finance structure, factors influencing its housing development and the infrastructural needs in the housing sector. It samples 30 residents from each of the five villages in Ebele community of Edo State. Using frequency counts and mean values, the result revealed that a considerable gap exists on the housing performance. The challenges being faced were majorly infrastructural deficits and shortage of capital. Innovative housing finance strategies were essentially lacking. Cultural and ethnic factors, neighbourhood factors, and infrastructural factors were rated the top drivers of housing development in the area. The study concluded that while addressing the drivers of rural housing development and tackling the challenges thereof, it is important to take into consideration the cultural values of the people. An integrated approach to rural housing development could bring about the required balance in housing development in rural and urban areas
A BESPOKE APPROACH FOR RELATING MATERIAL WASTE TO COST OVERRUN IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
Get PDFThe problems of material waste and cost overruns are common in the construction industry. These problems occur at different stages of a construction project, from planning, design to project completion. The argument on how to eliminate cost overrun has been on-going for the past 70 years as on-site wastage of materials leads to increase in the final project cost. This paper examines the relationship between the causes of material waste and those of cost overrun at the pre-contract and post-contract stages of a project. The desktop methodological approach was firstly adopted in comparing the causes of material waste and those of cost overruns from the literature, in order to determine the possible relationship. Subsequently, interviews were purposively conducted with construction professionals within Abuja, Nigeria, in order to verify the literature based information. The result reveals that all the causes of material waste also cause cost overrun at the pre-contract and the post-contract stages of a project. 96.88% and 81.81% of the causes of cost overrun also cause material waste at the pre-contract and post-contract stages respectively. Other causes which are not related are mostly, the micro-economic and macro-economic factors. These results are not different from those of the interviews conducted with professionals and summarised in the tick box. It was also found that to achieve Effective Construction Material Waste Management (ECMWM) for any construction project, material waste must be controlled at its sources and causes, and at different stages of a project. Based on these findings, it can be concluded that effective management of material waste would translate into a reduction in the level of project cost overrun. The study recommends that construction-project managers, as well as the construction practitioners should encourage the management of material-waste causes, as it has the potential to minimise cost overrun for projects.
Establishing Underlying Structures of Safety Performance Measures Using Factor Analysis of Data on Construction Workers in Gauteng, South Africa
Get PDFThe health and safety (H&S) of site workers in the construction industry has been overwhelmingly studied for decades. However, there is scant literature which analyses underlying structures of safety performance measures especially as related to their unhealthy and unsafe eating behavior. The paper presents findings on an exploratory factor analysis of H&S performance measures. A 10-item questionnaire which was developed after an extensive literature review was used to collect empirical data on SP of construction workers in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. Findings revealed that safety performance of site workers could be reasonably measured by two constructs. The two constructs were clearly defined as trailing and prevailing. The emerged trailing measures were named lagging indicators while the prevailing ones were designated as leading indicators. The results support extant literature which advocates the use of both leading and lagging safety performance indicators for effectively assessing construction workers’ safety performance. The study provides evidence which could be beneficial in psychometric evaluation of construction workers’ safety performance and behaviours on construction sites.Keywords: construction workers, factor analysis, Gauteng, safety performance
Editorial
Get PDFEditorialWelcome to the first issue of the Journal of Construction Business and Management (JCBM). It is the outcome of many months of preparation involving, reviews and counter-reviews aimed at helping students and academics get important feedback on their research and also to produce quality research articles to the research community and construction industry. The journal’s ideology stems from a thinking that there is a link between business and management theory which guide construction practice and performance. This first issue, therefore, marks the beginning of significant contribution to knowledge in all areas relevant to construction practice, performance and problems within the built environment through the lens of business and management principles. I wish to thank all authors who submitted papers for consideration in the first issue, some of which are still undergoing review to be published in subsequent issues. Also, I wish to thank members of the Editorial Board and Panel of Reviewers for their assistance, timeous feedback and comments that helped shape and improve the quality of the submitted manuscripts. Knowledge and skills required to manage construction projects efficiently and effectively can be established through research and observation and categorized and used to educate, train and socialize construction professionals, who like other professionals should be socially responsible. It is also important that professionals are aware of the challenges in the project environment. Fittingly, we publish in this issue five papers that look at sustainability, construction management, practice and performance within the built environment. The scholarly articles report the role of management in changing the perception of workers regarding Health and Safety on construction sites; managing the factors responsible for changes in building construction costs; identifying critical success factors that determine the performance outcome of building maintenance projects; evaluating the coastal hazards, risks and environmental challenges to urban development from the dynamics of a Peninsula; and an approach for relating material waste to cost overrun at the pre-contract and post-contract stages of a project. I encourage you to read these informative articles. Finally, the editors are happy to receive feedback on how to deliver a better service to the authors, readers, and subscribers that will result in the overall improvement of the journal.Abimbola Windapo PhDEditor-in-chie
A pictorial record of the pre-copulatory display of the Large-billed Lark
Get PDFOn 12 and 13 September 2005 I made some observations at a Large-billed Lark Galerida magnirostris nest (34° 03' S; 20° 28' E) under construction in the Bontebok National Park, South Africa
Boomslang Dispholidus typus robs Cape Weaver Ploceus capensis nest
Get PDFBoomslangs Dispholidus typus are known to prey on Cape Weaver Ploceus capensis nestlings; in fact, they are the only reptilian nest predator listed for Cape Weavers in Roberts 7 (Craig 2005). On 30 December 2016, we observed a female boomslang successfully robbing a Cape Weaver nest in Schoenmakerskop (34?02′S, 25?32′E), outside Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, South Africa
African Paradise-Flycatcher on the move
Get PDFIt is likely that the two young males that were observed, were already on migration
A pale-tailed Purple-crested Turaco
Get PDFFor at least eight months in 2013/2014 a bird with a pale tail (Figure 1) was observed at Leshiba Wilderness (22.986ËšS 29.558ËšE, c. 1200 m a.s.l.) in the western Soutpansberg Mountains, South Africa, on a number of occasions in the same area. Its mate had a normal tail
Checklist and analysis of the birds of Namibia as at 31 January 2016
Get PDFA total of 676 bird species are admitted to the Namibia Bird List as at 31 January 2016. In 2014 the Namibia Bird Club established a Namibia Bird Records Committee (NBRC) to compile and maintain the Namibia Bird List ? a list of all species and subspecies of wild birds recorded in Namibia. For a species or subspecies to qualify for admittance to the List the Committee must be confident that there is unequivocal evidence of its occurrence in Namibia. The NBRC also has responsibility for establishing principles and procedures for the work of the Committee, assessing and verifying past and new records to the List, updating the list of Namibia's endemic species and subspecies, updating the list of Namibia's Red Data species, and any other reports of a related nature considered relevant by the NBRC and the Namibia Bird Club Committee. This is the first report of the NBRC