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Improving resilience of cities through smart city drivers
Get PDFThe embracement of smart city approach as a sustainable system for the management and delivery of infrastructural developments has been on the increase, especially in developed and some developing countries. For this to be successful, cities in these countries, particularly in developing ones like South Africa, needs to be resilient because even though resilience can be achieved by making cities smart, smartness does not bring resilience by default. Thus, this study examines various factors influencing the ability of cities to develop resilience through smart city drivers. A survey of construction professionals involved in the design, planning, development and general management of cities and their infrastructure was carried out with the aid of a well-structured questionnaire. Factors influencing resilience were grouped into five divisions which are climate change, education, food security, public safety and threat to disease, in order of their importance. Findings revealed that the most important of these factors are the development of literacy and technical skills of citizens, regeneration of agricultural land and increased localised food production. The paper further examined the effects of these factors on six smart city drivers and found out that smart economy has the most influence on the resilience of a city. It was concluded that stakeholders concerned with the achievement of resilient smart city must give attention to the major needs of its citizens, and such needs are better produced locally
Review: How to Steal a City: The Battle for Nelson Mandela Bay, an Inside Account by Crispian Olver
No full textThe insider account of \u27How to Steal a City\u27 undoubtedly is one of the few books that offers a much needed insight into the everyday workings of local government politics and administration in South Africa. This book is underpinned by rich descriptions of local government politics and administration generated through the personal experiences of Crispian Olver. Researchers, scholars, local politicians, municipal officials and practitioners of local government who wish to learn more about South African local government politics should have a good reason to pay close attention to this book
Resisting the Far-Right: Indigenous Perspectives, Community Arts and Story-Based Strategy
Get PDFThis article explores how we might resist and confront anti-immigration and anti-refugee politics by addressing the social and historical well-spring from which these discriminatory and damaging politics emerge and take sustenance. In doing this, I draw upon the concept of story-based strategy and the idea that our potential to address this issue relies on our capacity to fundamentally shift the dominant ways in which people understand and engage with it. This discussion occurs with reference to one practical application of story-based strategy – a community-arts project titled Stories of Hope and Migration – which attempted to re-frame the migration and refugee debate in Australia by funnelling it through a localised Indigenous perspective. In so doing, this article challenges the way in which early British migrants and their descendants have continually excised themselves from the rhetoric of migration, and furthermore, suggests that through a more nuanced conversation regarding the migration stories of all non-Aboriginal people, we might better promote a more historically aware, compassionate and inclusive society
Framework of Socialisation, Authentic Leadership and Affective Commitment for Construction Professionals
Get PDFThis paper highlights the human resources (HR) or behaviour-related success factors in construction projects, and these are training, understanding, co-worker support, future prospects, authentic leadership, and affective commitment. There exists discrepancies in existing literature regarding the factor structure of organisational socialisation and authentic leadership. Therefore, this study aims to explore the factor structure of socialisation, authentic leadership and affective commitment. Data was gathered from 301 newly joined construction professionals and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was conducted to examine the factor structure for organisational socialisation, authentic leadership and affective commitment. A measurement model was further developed using the domains of organisational socialisation, authentic leadership and affective commitment. The results of CFA revealed that there exists four zero-order factor structure for organisational socialisation, and one zero-order factor structure for authentic leadership. The study contributes to both the researcher and practitioner communities by integrating the three constructs and validating the factor structure in the new context (i.e. construction). Further, the study contributes towards improving HR processes, namely, training, reward system, and induction process. It also helps in augmenting the authenticity among the project participants
Taking stories: The ethics of cross-cultural community conservation research in Samburu, Kenya
Get PDFBiodiversity is under threat at a global level, and many of the most biodiverse hotspots are in developing regions of the world. In many of these communities, livelihoods are often dependent on the same natural landscapes that support biodiversity. As a result, achieving global conservation and development goals is a priority in these regions, and therefore they attract the interest of both local and international researchers. However, research by outside, Western-based researchers can present ethical and practical challenges in these areas. Fortunately, community-based participatory research (CBPR), if managed well, can contribute to responsible conservation research in these regions. In this article, we investigate strategies to address ethical issues associated with cross-cultural conservation and development research. Our analysis draws on the experiences of a women’s village in northern Kenya and six Western researchers. Using qualitative methodologies, we identify common themes in ethical conservation and develop research including critical consciousness, relationship-building, reciprocity, and adaptive research processes. We discuss the implications for ethical CBPR and, specifically, the need for both researchers and funders to only conduct such research if they can devote the resources required to do so ethically. 
Work, Life, and Identity Negotiation in a Foreign Land: A Study of Taiwanese Working Holiday Makers in Belgium
Get PDFThis study examined the living and working experiences of 14 Taiwanese working holiday makers (WHMs) in Belgium as they negotiate their identity and social lives while they live overseas, using both participant observation and semi-structured interviews. The study demonstrates that the low salary level and high work pressure in Taiwan are two of the major factors pushing these young Taiwanese to leave their homeland and work overseas. However, the majority of these Taiwanese WHMs face difficulties in speaking Belgium’s local languages, and their opportunities for work are further limited by the temporary visa regulations. Workplaces run by mainland Chinese, especially in the hospitality industry, have become vital places for Taiwanese WHMs to negotiate their ethnonational identity. Although they only have limited social lives and networks in the host society, they claim that they have developed intercultural competences and a greater open-mindedness by living in the multicultural and international environments of Brussels or other Belgian cities
Chilean History and the Sine Wave: Changing Interpretations of Pinochet\u27s Dictatorship
Get PDFContinuing their studies of post-Pinochet memorials in Chile, the authors analyse a recent trend in the interpretation of trauma sites in Santiago which regards the need to resolve the tensions raised by the Pinochet years as more important than dwelling in detail on what was visited upon the victims. We argue that this significant shift from previous interpretations is carried by the younger generation of guides who did not undergo the repression personally. We note these changes with approbation, while noting that the desire not to discuss the worst excesses of the Pinochet regime has led to to a corresponding downplay of the highest points of human experience manifested by the victims themselves. We cite several instances that mark a peak of human experience in Chilean history, and suggest that several might well be used by the site interpreters to further instil a sense of pride among Chilean young people, rather than despair
Post-Covid-19 and local economic development (LED): sharing experiences from Ghana
Get PDFThe emergence of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has brought many development activities to a standstill. The disruption to economic and other livelihood activities is unprecedented. Within the Ghanaian landscape, COVID-19 has become an overarching pandemic that has engulfed every facet of the national economy. The pandemic has exposed existing vulnerabilities in our communities that must be addressed to ensure resilient recovery. Serious economic challenges lie ahead that risk exacerbating poverty and unemployment, with national and local governments increasingly struggling to meet the needs of citizens. Addressing these challenges will require a paradigm shift in the way local businesses are modelled, livelihoods are shaped and how jobs are created. This is where Local Economic Development (LED) as a driver of innovation, employment and growth presents a great opportunity. 
Holistic sustainability: advancing interdisciplinary building design through tools and data in Denmark
Get PDFSustainable housing and buildings constitute a fundamental part of the future urban fabric. This study aims at clarifying how different actors employ parameters of sustainability in building design and what enables the holistic perspective of the interrelating social, economic and environmental parameters. Interviews with building developers and designers show that decision support tools are used late in the design process and commonly focused on single parameters of sustainability. The analysis shows how practitioners of the planning and early design phases operate at general levels of geometrical clusters and volumes but must continuously evaluate each project from the perspective of the specifications of end-users and the public, to ensure holistic sustainability. This opposing relationship between need and availability of general and specific data, however, challenges the implementation of holistic sustainability. Advancing the interdisciplinary, holistic building design requires systematic aggregation of data from executed projects of this data into applicable rules-of-thumb. In parallel, future tools for simulation and dialogue must employ a broader scope of sustainability parameters. The conceptual frameworks of data and tools presented in this study can be used as a backdrop for developing sectora
Factors influencing the performance of architects in construction projects
Get PDFThe construction industry has been accused of ineffectiveness and inefficiency because of delays, cost overruns and defects that are partly due to flaws in the design. As professionals responsible for design, architects should achieve optimum performance in the project delivery process. This study aims to investigate the factors that influence the performance of architects in construction projects. This study employs a questionnaire survey for data collection and partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS–SEM) for data analysis. Using a census method, a total of 222 useable responses are gathered from registered architects in Indonesia. Results reveal significant and positive relationships between working condition, organisational support and effective design process and the performance of architects. The strongest effect is found from the influence of effective design process on the performance of architects. Thus, these factors should be applied to enhance the performance of architects, thereby improving the project outcome
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