3659 research outputs found
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A scientometric analysis and review of fall from height research in construction
Get PDFFall from height (FFH) in the construction industry has earned much attention among researchers in recent years. The present review-based study introduced a science mapping approach to evaluate the FFH studies related to the construction industry. This study, through an extensive bibliometric and scientometric assessment, recognized the most active journals, keywords and the nations in the field of FFH studies since 2000. Analysis of the authors’ keywords revealed the emerging research topics in the FFH research community. Recent studies have been discovered to pay more attention to the application of Computer and Information Technology (CIT) tools, particularly building information modelling (BIM) in research related to FFH. Other emerging research areas in the domain of FFH include rule checking, and prevention through design. The findings summarized the mainstream research areas (e.g., safety management program), discussed existing research gaps in FFH domain (e.g., the adaptability of safety management system), and suggests future directions in FFH research. The recommended future directions could contribute to improving safety for the FFH research community by evaluating existing fall prevention programs in different contexts; integrating multiple CIT tools in the entire project lifecycle; designing fall safety courses to workers associated with temporary agents and prototype safety knowledge tool development. The current study was restricted to the FFH literature sample included the journal articles published only in English and in Scopus
Patterns of social exclusion in mixed neighborhoods:: A case study on neighborhood use of young Turkish newcomers in Berlin, Germany
Get PDFFor a newcomer in a city, the process of getting familiar with urban places does not only refer to memorize the roads but to learn how to live as a local. In this article, I argue that the changing urban structure and discourse of locals may form subtle ways of social exclusion and discrimination which may have an impact on social positionality of the newcomers in a mixed neighborhood. This study reflects on high skilled young newcomers from Turkey to Berlin with the aim of understanding transnational disparities and exclusion on the one hand, social contact and inclusion on the other. I propose to look into both ways because there is not only exclusion in a mixed neighborhood; there is also acceptance and coexistence. By focusing on Kreuzberg and Neukölln in Berlin, I search for dynamics of neighborhood use of migrant youth, (in)visibility, ‘public familiarity’ (Blokland, 2003) and daily interaction to show the connections among urban structure, practice and discourse. The sample of this qualitative research is high skilled young professionals from Turkey with high education degrees, who came to Berlin over the last five years. The data comes from thirty in-depth interviews conducted by me in the period of October 2018 to March 2019 for a different topic but a related research
Key ingredients for a collaborative urban regeneration strategy in the Global South
Get PDFThe paper documents the development of a collaborative regeneration strategy for a marginalised community in Cape Town that was led by a Non-Profit Company (NPC). NPC’s vision for the strategy was to incorporate key inputs from the community to unlock the economic potential of the area and promote upliftment. A case study methodology was adopted which included a series of interviews and community engagement workshops. The research aimed to identify the key ingredients required to drive collaborative urban regeneration in marginalised communities in the global south. The study established that in the absence of effective leadership and service delivery from local authorities the community feel disenfranchised as their community is not seen as an immediate priority. There was a deep-rooted mistrust in the process being driven by the NPC and the visioning process was met with resistance and suspicion. The engagement process lacked depth/scope and reflected a top-down approach. It is concluded that fundamental ingredients for effective collaborative urban regeneration is trust between the key stakeholders, a diverse assortment of expertise and skills, and an in-depth engagement process. Without these factors urban regeneration is likely to only entrench the complex urban issues it seeks to reconcile
A review of university-enterprise-cooperation research in China: a quantitative perspective
Get PDFThe University-Enterprise-Cooperation (UEC) has been adopted by many universities globally to effectively utilize the high-quality resources of the construction industry, to improve the general competence, problem-solving skills and innovation capability of graduates of an engineering discipline. There are a limited amount of papers published in international journals on UEC, compared to a significant volume of Chinese published literature. However, based on the best knowledge of the authors, no existing literature has conducted a quantitative statistical analysis on UEC research in Chinese and international journals. In order to fill this knowledge gap, 300 high-quality papers on UEC were derived through the Chinese CNKI database from 2010-2019. The general development trend of UEC research in the past 30 years was also mapped and analyzed. The most popular topics under the UEC theme and the most frequently adopted research methods within the UEC field were also identified. It was found that since the first UEC publication in 1990, the number of UEC publications experienced a steady increase during the last decade, aiding by strong promotion from the government and active practice within universities and from educators in China. Course development (52.94%) and practice resource development (24.89%) were two of the most popular research topics in the UEC field. The elaboration research method was adopted by more than half (55.94%) of UEC papers, followed by case study (21.25%). The findings of this study are valuable for researchers and practitioners globally, to better understand the development status of UEC research in China and embark on future research in this field
Further insights by project managers into the problems in project management
Get PDFA Delphi study using twenty-three project practitioners over six rounds is aimed to identify significant problems in project management, arising from the nature of projects other than those readily identifiable in a literature review. The study goes on to identify project managers’ behaviours which are recognised as having successful impacts on the delivery of projects. A Relative Importance Index for the problems and behaviours resulting from the issues identified in the study is calculated. This study continues by reporting the views of practitioners involved in the management of large projects on the everyday problems they experience in managing projects, problems that are not adequately addressed in current project management texts concerning the nature of projects. Five additional problems, not generally discussed in the literature, were identified together with seven interpersonal skills and behaviours that are major contributors to increasing the likelihood of a successful project delivery
The Donor-Driven Model and Financial Sustainability: A Case Study from Palestinian Non-Government Organizations
Get PDFThis study presents factors that encourage Palestinian NGOs to embrace financial sustainability employing modern ideologies that encompass community engagement, voluntarism, collaboration, and business-like practices in order to meet societal challenges. The study explores the reliance of Palestinian NGOs on external funds (donor-driven funds) and the environment impact of their attempts at financial sustainability. Data were gathered using semi-structured interviews with 22 NGOs in the West Bank and Gaza in 2019. The data were analyzed through thematic analysis using the computer software MAXQDA. Key findings were that Palestinian NGOs need to alleviate the dependency on a donor-driven model by functioning independently from donors’ agendas; and that Palestinian NGOs need to collaborate with each other to centralize their efforts and avoid fragmentation. Further, the Palestinian government needs to revisit the relevant laws to regulate the civil society sector and avoid competition between NGOs and private sector on the one hand, and NGOs and governmental institutions on the other hand
The role of built environment practitioners in driving the socio-economic sustainability aspects of sustainable regeneration
Get PDFIn the United Kingdom (UK), over the past three decades efforts have been made to ensure adequate promotion of sustainability objectives through various policy initiatives. However, despite the effort and the existence of these policy initiatives, sustainability projects in particular, regeneration projects are yet to deliver their intended sustainability objectives. While there is a rise in demand for higher sustainability benefits by stakeholders such as clients, communities and policy makers, the delivery of sustainability benefits from sustainability regeneration projects are yet to meet the expectations of these stakeholders. This article provides an overview of sustainability benefits within the context of the sustainable regeneration projects in the UK from a study that examines the roles and sustainability drivers of construction practitioners towards the promotion of sustainability on their regeneration projects. To do so, a qualitative research approach is adopted using a semi-structured interview technique for the study. The data obtained was analysed using content analysis. The findings revealed that out of the eight socio-economic sustainability drivers presented to practitioners, enhancement of reputation was the most important ‘socio-economic’ sustainability driver while the least important driver was legislative and legal requirement. The findings further revealed that majority of practitioners/ organisations were promoting the socio-economic sustainability driver they believed will enable them to meet their own corporate business objectives
Energy and economic analysis of environmental upgrading of existing office buildings
Get PDFOver many decades, buildings have been recognised as a significant area contributing to the negative impacts on the environment over their lifecycle, accelerating climate change. In return, climate change also impacts on buildings with extreme heatwaves occurring more frequently and raising the earth’s temperature. The operation phase is the most extended period over a building’s lifespan. In this period, office buildings consume most energy and emit the highest amount of greenhouse gas pollution into the environment. Building upgrading to improve energy efficiency seems to be the best way to cut pollution as the existing building stock is massive. The paper presents an economic analysis of energy efficiency upgrade of buildings with a focus of office buildings. The paper identifies upgrading activities that are commonly undertaken to upgrade energy efficiency of office buildings and a case study of three office buildings in Sydney, Australia has been used to analyse the results. The upgrading activities can improve the energy performance of the case study buildings from 3 stars to 5 stars NABERS energy rating in compliance with the mandatory requirement in the Australian government’s energy policy. With the potential increase in energy price, energy efficiency upgrading will become more affordable, but currently, most of them, except solar panels and motion sensors show a negative return and would not be undertaken if they did not also contribute to higher rental income and an increased life span of the building. The upgrading discussed in the paper represent a potentially attractive alternative to demolition and building anew
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