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Examination of the Communication Strategy Based on Company Straplines: A Case Study of German Construction Companies
Get PDFA target group-oriented communication strategy is decisively responsible for a company\u27s success. Consequently, addressing the potential target group in all communication sectors could enable a valuable competitive advantage. To verify if companies within the German construction industry follow this theory, a study was conducted. In this study, the communication strategy of the 50 largest German construction companies was examined, based on their company straplines. The following article presents the results. As a research method, both a content analysis was conducted and the basic principles of the "Zurich Model of Social Motivation" of psychologist Norbert Bischof and the archetype theory based on Carl Gustav Jung were applied. The current challenges in the construction industry require a high focus on customer-centricity and collaboration. The study revealed that most of the analysed company straplines are addressed rather to the competitors than to the customers and partners. As a result, the straplines should be rethought and adapted to the customers\u27 needs and current market requirements
Ranking Risks of BOT Toll Road Investment Projects in Indonesia Using Fuzzy Interpretive Structural Modelling
Get PDFThe Government of Indonesia implemented the Build, Operate, and Transfer (BOT) model, relying on private investment to bridge the financing gap in developing public infrastructure facilities, including toll roads. Toll road investments, like other greenfield infrastructure projects, are typically characterized by high project risk, which discourages private sector investment. Many previous studies have investigated the various risk events in toll road investment projects, but only a few have assessed the interrelationships of risk events in the Indonesian context. This study fills this knowledge gap by determining which risk event influences other events most. Fuzzy interpretive structural modelling combined with the matrix impact of cross-references multiplication applied to a classification method was used to determine the hierarchy of risk events and analyze their influences on other risk events. A total of fourteen risk events were identified and analyzed. An unclear output specification was found to be the most significant risk event, with the biggest driving power affecting other risks. The findings and limitations of this study point the way forward for future research
Infrastructure Financing for Climate Change Adaptation in Australia: Practitioners’ Perspectives
Get PDFWith increased climate-related risks and natural disasters, impacts on infrastructure assets are intensifying. As the need for adaptation actions increase, how finance is used to enable adaptation plays a vital role in the resilience of infrastructure. This research aims to understand how infrastructure adaptation measures are carried out, focusing on how financing is used to aid such efforts. Exploratory interviews with infrastructure and finance practitioners from a broad range of organisations were conducted to understand the dynamics of how infrastructure adaptation occurs. The findings reveal that infrastructure agencies conduct adaptation activities to maintain the serviceability of assets under climate change risks, with most climate financing targeting mitigation rather than adaptation. Most actions are taken at individual asset or agency level with little collaboration across agencies and sectors. The results illustrate a need for a more holistic, systems-level approach to adaptation across the infrastructure sector in Australia
Queer Disidentification: Or How to Cook Chinese Noodles in a Global Pandemic?
Get PDFIn this article, I offer a critical analysis of a video artwork titled Lerne Deutsch in meiner Küche (Learn German in My Kitchen) (2020), created by Berlin-based queer filmmaker Popo Fan. By focusing on Fan’s negotiation of racial, ethnic, and cultural identities in the video, I argue that Fan’s artwork offers a way to reimagine identities away from the identity politics that are widely circulated in the current pandemic discourse. My analysis draws on José Esteban Muñoz’s (1999) notion of ‘disidentification,’ which describes minority subjects’ complex processes of identification—in particular, instances of identifying partially, conditionally and contingently—with dominant identities, discourses and ideologies. In doing so, I unravel the intricate politics of identity in the current global pandemic and highlight the role of queer disidentification as an important critical intervention in the current political debate about the COVID-19 pandemic
Implementing community-based participatory research among African Americans with serious and persistent mental illness: A qualitative study
Get PDFCommunity-based participatory research (CBPR) is an approach that involves community members in research, not as research participants, but as partners. However, few studies have examined CBPR projects conducted among African Americans with serious and persistent mental illness (SPMI). This article focuses specifically on the Inspiring Change (IC) model, which includes a leadership trio comprised of an academic researcher, health service provider and an African American with lived experience of SPMI. Our purpose is to investigate how the IC model shapes not only how research is conducted but how research is understood and experienced by the community. We achieve this purpose by (1) describing an innovative CBPR model and pilot projects that involved African Americans with SPMI in all stages of the research project; and (2) presenting findings from qualitative interviews conducted with CBPR team members about strengths, challenges and leadership particular to this model of CBPR, an area rarely explored in CBPR literature.
With the guidance of an advisory board and the manualised IC curriculum, two CBPR teams initiated and conducted nine-month long research projects focusing on health disparities for African Americans with SPMI. Members of the two CBPR teams (n = 13), which included individuals with lived experience, service providers and researchers, completed qualitative interviews. Benefits of CBPR projects included opportunities to learn, a sense of purpose in helping others and increased trust of research participants. Challenges pertained to disorganisation of leadership, lack of transparency with compensation, time pressures and interpersonal conflicts. These challenges highlight the importance of preparing and supporting those from both academic and lived experience backgrounds in skills necessary to thrive in leadership roles for CBPR projects.
 
She’ll be right mate: Australian complacency and national responses to wicked social problems
Get PDFAs the 6th largest country by land mass but 55th by population (exceeding 25 million), and ranked 13th by GDP per capita by the OECD, Australia is often characterised as an affluent developed Western democracy, and seeks to project an international image as a progressive, ethical, fair and tolerant society. This commentary explores inconsistencies between Australia’s idealised identity as a modern egalitarian society concerned with the welfare of all and the economic and social reality for a significant and growing number of citizens; it highlights how the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these discrepancies. The commentary attributes contradictions in the Australian character and culture to the absence of a national charter of core values that institutionalises respect for the principles of human dignity and equality
When Accurate Information Harms People: Information on COVID-19 Infection Clusters in Japan
Get PDFThe COVID-19 pandemic has triggered the generation of a large amount of information not just directly about the virus but also about its various societal impacts. This paper describes the atmosphere that the pandemic has created in the Japanese society and examines the information spread about infection clusters. Besides misinformation and disinformation, the paper highlights another problem in information dissemination during this pandemic. Regardless of the legitimate intention of reporting this type of information, people reacted by blaming or discriminating against those who were associated with clusters. The information on infection clusters has brought to the surface the privacy issues and has brought attention to emerging issues that concern information and media literacy. Understanding how people interact with information in a particular social or cultural setting, not just from an objective but also from an emotional perspective, becomes more important for enhancing people’s information literacy
Mapping local and regional governance: reimagining the New South Wales Aboriginal sector
Get PDFWith reference to four case study localities in New South Wales, this paper offers new insights into calls from Indigenous Australians for recognition within the national political discourse. Examining the literature on the history of the Aboriginal sector that emerged following the 1970s self-determination policy era, this paper argues earlier conceptions of the ‘Aboriginal sector’ are insufficient and do not grasp the wider shift that Aboriginal people seek within the political life of the nation. Instead, the four case studies reveal Aboriginal initiative and interest in creating a sense of association and being, drawing on pre-colonial patterns of identification and shaped by new imaginings of ‘nations’ and ‘political communities’
Measures for Curbing Unethical Practices among Construction Industry Professionals: Quantity Surveyors’ Perspective
Get PDFUnethical practices have been a reoccurring menace in the construction industry globally, with its negative impact reported in existing studies. While several studies have explored issues touching on ethics, ethics compliance and unethical practices within the construction industry, the problems persist especially in developing countries. It is based on this notion that this study assessed the possible measures that could help curb unethical practices in the construction industry with specific reference to Quantity Surveyors (QS). The study adopted a quantitative approach with structured questionnaires used to garner information from registered QS in Nigeria. Data analysis was done using relevant descriptive and multivariate analysis. The reliability of the instrument used was also tested using Cronbach alpha test. The findings revealed that while QS are no strangers to unethical practices, most cases are not reported to the appropriate authorities. The most prevalent of these practices are payment-related and contract-related. To curb these practices, random inspections and development of ethical compliance, ensuring a good reporting and punishment system, and increase ethical awareness through QS organised programmes are needed. The findings of this study would assist the professional bodies and organisations within the industry to effectively enforce ethical conduct among their members and staff
Unravelling the Factors Influencing Construction Organisations’ Intention to Adopt Big Data Analytics in South Africa
Get PDFThe construction industry has been producing massive data that can be transformed for improved decision-making and better construction project delivery. However, the industry has been adjudged as a slow adopter of digital technologies such as big data analytics (BDA) to improve its service delivery. The implication of this slow adoption is the lack of innovativeness and unsustainable project delivery that has characterised the industry in most countries, particularly in developing ones like South Africa. Therefore, this study assessed the intention to adopt BDA by construction organisations using the unified theory of technology adoption and use of technology (UTAUT) model. A post-positivism philosophical stance was employed, which informed the use of quantitative research with a questionnaire designed to solicit information from construction organisations in South Africa. Data analysis was done using Cronbach alpha to test for reliability and Fuzzy Synthetic Evaluation to evaluate the impact of the different constructs of the UTAUT on the adoption of BDA by construction organisations in South Africa. The study found that variables relating to facilitating conditions, performance expectancy, and social influence will significantly impact an organisation’s intention to adopt BDA. However, issues surrounding effort expectancy, resistance to use, and perceived risk cannot be overlooked as they also have high impact levels. The study provides an excellent theoretical and practical contribution to the existing discourse on construction digitalisation
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