3659 research outputs found
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Curating life in vacant spaces: Community action research and reversing the process of academic knowledge-making
Full text linkFor scholars in academic institutions, the process of research usually begins with a question often gleaned from academic literature, progresses through some methods and results, then ends in writing and dissemination of the findings. ‘Impact’ is identified by trying to see if anyone takes up the research and uses it to inform policy or action outside of academia – with contemporary impact databases measuring this by whether it has been cited in policy documents. But this way of understanding impact is fundamentally at odds with researching community-led activism, where impact is already happening, and researchers engage with communities to document and evaluate the impact in ways that support the work. For activists out in the community, research and learning are happening all the time and have impact without anyone writing it up at all. This article reflects on a research project in the city of Ōtautahi Christchurch in Aotearoa New Zealand, where researchers and community activists began with ‘impact’ and ‘dissemination’. From there, we developed frameworks and methods, developed evidence, then ended with asking wider theoretical questions relevant to academic literature. Effectively, we reversed the order that research projects usually follow. In order to recognise this ‘reversed’ order, our article utilises a reversed structure, using the concept of thinking infrastructures to understand what academic research adds to the knowledges already produced in community impact
Critical Risk Management Performance Indicators for Construction Projects in Ghana: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis Approach
No full textThere has been minimal consideration given to the identification of critical risk management performance benchmarks for determining the success of construction projects in Ghana. This study aims at identifying the critical risk management performance metrics for analyzing the accomplishment of Ghanaian construction projects. This was realized by developing a confirmatory factor analysis model based on the responses of professional construction industry stakeholders in Ghana. A positivist philosophy and deductive methodology based on quantitative survey was espoused. A review of literature was conducted in order to find risk management performance indicators that could be used to evaluate the overall performance of construction projects in Ghana. A total of seven grouped critical risk management performance indicators were identified from literature which served as a foundation for generating a survey questionnaire. A questionnaire was designed based on the identified risk management performance indicators and distributed to respondents through emails, Google forms and in person for their responses. Data from the questionnaire responses were analyzed and modeled using descriptive statistics and confirmatory factor analysis model. The study reveals that all the seven identified risk management performance indicators discovered in literature have an effect on how well Ghanaian construction projects perform. Nevertheless, the most critical ones are “stakeholders (clients, consultants, contractors, customers, end-users, investors, etc.) satisfaction (FCRMPI2)”, “completion within budget (cost) and schedule (time) (FCRMPI3)”, “satisfaction of environmental sustainability, quality, scope, and health and safety requirements (FCRMPI6)” and “employees’ job satisfaction (FCRMPI7)”. Only construction industry stakeholders in the public sector were used for the study. The findings were limited to public construction projects in Ghana through quantitative research design and therefore the results could be different for private construction projects using the same or different research design. Contribution to knowledge has been made by identifying the key metrics of performance for risk management that Ghanaian construction projects could use to measure their success. The study\u27s findings would serve as a benchmark for project stakeholders in demonstrating their commitment to achieving performance excellence in construction projects in Ghana
The Fourth Industrial Revolution Technologies and the Construction Industry in Ghana
No full textNatural hazards significantly threaten the built environment and infrastructure, resulting in a sudden and significant increase in reconstruction demand. Such an unforeseen post-disaster demand surge for reconstruction can inflate costs up to 50%, impeding prompt and efficient reconstruction efforts. The current study aimed to quantify the effect of disasters on construction wages in three Gulf Coast states (Louisiana, Texas, and Florida). To accomplish this, spatial Durbin models were utilized with a difference-in-differences specification to allow for feedback and spillover effects across counties. The results show that the impact of a disaster on construction wages works with a lag. Natural disasters caused a decrease in construction wages in the impacted counties during the disaster quarter, compared to counties that were not affected. However, construction wages increased one quarter later in the disaster-affected counties compared to the non-affected counties. The direct, indirect, and total effects of disasters on the counties\u27 wages indicate significant feedback and spillover effects across counties when a county experiences a disaster. The findings of this study carry significant policy implications for the city’s policymakers and decision-makers
The Effect of Disasters on Construction Wages: The Role Played by Spatial Proximity
No full textNatural hazards significantly threaten the built environment and infrastructure, resulting in a sudden and significant increase in reconstruction demand. Such an unforeseen post-disaster demand surge for reconstruction can inflate costs up to 50%, impeding prompt and efficient reconstruction efforts. The current study aimed to quantify the effect of disasters on construction wages in three Gulf Coast states (Louisiana, Texas, and Florida). To accomplish this, spatial Durbin models were utilized with a difference-in-differences specification to allow for feedback and spillover effects across counties. The results show that the impact of a disaster on construction wages works with a lag. Natural disasters caused a decrease in construction wages in the impacted counties during the disaster quarter, compared to counties that were not affected. However, construction wages increased one quarter later in the disaster-affected counties compared to the non-affected counties. The direct, indirect, and total effects of disasters on the counties\u27 wages indicate significant feedback and spillover effects across counties when a county experiences a disaster. The findings of this study carry significant policy implications for the city’s policymakers and decision-makers
RETRACTED: Risk Pricing in Construction Tenders - How, Who, What
Full text linkThis article has been retracted. Retraction notice: https://doi.org/10.5130/AJCEB.v7i2.10170
Original abstract:
Construction projects are most commonly procured in Australia by means of a traditional design-tender-build model, whereby design is largely completed then contractors submit tenders in a competitive environment. Construction contractors must consider risks within their tenders. This paper reports the research findings into pricing for risk in competitive tenders by construction contractors. The research is based on structured interviews with 10 contracting personnel; supplemented by 23 responses of construction personnel from an online survey. Two common methods to price for risk are a trade-by-trade basis or an overall percentage or lump sum addition to the base estimate. Experience and intuition plays a significant role in pricing for risk in tenders and the number and type of people involved varies with project size, with greater involvement as project size increases. The most significant risks priced in tenders were: availability of resources; design or documentation errors; incomplete design; buildability issues; and inclement weather. The most significant project factors considered by contractors when pricing for risk in tenders are: value of liquidated damages; type of contract/procurement; completeness of documentation; project complexity; and. current workload. These risks and project factors are primarily those over which the contractor has limited or no control
“不要回答”(‘Bu yao hui da’, “Do not answer”): Reflections on Global Citizenship and Cheddar Swirlies in the Three ‘Three-Body Problem’ Problem (A Mini-series)
Full text linkTo be supplie
A Lecturer’s Perspective on Teaching in the Bachelor of International Studies
Full text linkThis paper reflects on the Bachelor of International Studies (BIS) at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), with particular attention to the subject Contemporary Spain and the capstone In-country Study and Fieldwork Project (ICS) in the Spanish Major. Framed by the understanding that study abroad is shaped by both program design and student participation, the paper examines how these subjects foster intercultural competencies, research skills, and global perspectives. Drawing on student testimonies and academic reflections, it explores the intellectual, personal, and professional growth experienced by learners, as well as the challenges and opportunities of living and studying abroad. The discussion highlights the BIS as a transformative program that prepares students to become engaged global citizens, capable of contributing to a more equitable, sustainable, and interconnected world
Indigenous Responses to Climate Change: From Climate Colonialism to Indigenous Climate Justice
Full text linkIndigenous peoples have acted across a wide range of fields to address climate change. In all contexts they encounter the barriers of established colonial relations of land and state sovereignty. Indigenous-centred agendas are defined in articulation, with and against these dominant regimes. In this respect they are ‘immanent’, locked into in dialectical struggles for sovereignty. Such contestations are inherently generative: they force new issues onto the agenda, enabling transformation.
In this special issue, transformative possibilities are discussed across the carbon cycle: at the point of extraction and emission; the application of mitigation and renewables; carbon sinks and ‘nature-based’ solutions’; adaptation and conservation; and issues of governance and influence
Observing the Craft of Mentoring Students During the Year Abroad
Full text linkAs a senior university manager overseeing targeted study abroad programs in the Bachelor of Arts in International Studies (BAIS) at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), I had the opportunity to accompany Associate Professor Ilaria Vanni-Accarigi on a Block Visit to our students in Italy. This experience deepened my understanding of the nuanced pedagogical approaches that support students’ successful international experiences, highlighting the significance of place, time and the intuitive teacher-student relationship in fostering intercultural learning
The Heritage Major within the Bachelor of Arts in International Studies at UTS 1996–2007
Full text linkThe Heritage Major was introduced in 1994 specifically for those students who had a language facility and ethnic identification with a country that was not offered in the broad suite of sites available to Bachelor of Arts in International Studies (BAIS) students enrolled in country-specific Majors at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). These are my reflections as the coordinator of the program between 1999 and 2007
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