1,720,974 research outputs found
Developing an Enhanced Framework of Sustainability Deliverables in Ghanaian Highway Construction Projects
No full textIt is the responsibility of the construction sector to meet the sustainability demands of our society. The integration of sustainability principles into road and highway infrastructure development in Ghana, addressing a critical gap in existing research and practice within the context of developing countries. It advanced the guidelines aim to optimize the discourse on sustainable construction by identifying and evaluating the relative importance of sustainability indicators, examining professional perceptions towards these indicators, and formulating decision-support guidelines to enhance sustainable outcomes in road and highway projects.
Grounded in a comprehensive literature review, the study first identifies a broad range of potential sustainability indicators relevant to the construction of roads and highways. This foundational work underpins the subsequent empirical research phases, which employ both quantitative and qualitative methods to refine and contextualize these indicators within Ghana's specific development challenges and opportunities. Through a questionnaire survey, the research rigorously assesses the perceptions of key stakeholders—comprising engineers, project managers, contractors, consultants, and environmental consultants—on the criticality of identified sustainability indicators. This quantitative phase, analysed through Inferential statistical analysis, isolates 29 critical indicators, underpinning the development of a conceptual model that categorizes these indicators into six main sustainability pillars: economic value, environmental impact, social equity and culture, technical quality, project implementation and management, and resource utilization and management. Semi-structured interviews with industry professionals further reveal the practical implications, challenges, and strategies related to the integration of these sustainability indicators into road and highway projects. Through thematic analysis, these qualitative findings yielded comprehensive action plans across all critical indicators, with policy development, capacity building and training, stakeholder engagement and collaboration are the key implementation strategies. This qualitative inquiry not only validates the empirical findings from the survey but also deepens the understanding of sustainability's multifaceted nature in infrastructure development. One of the thesis's key contributions is the development of decision-support guidelines that leverage the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis framework. These guidelines offer a novel approach for project managers and designers to systematically evaluate and incorporate sustainability considerations into their projects. By facilitating an in-depth assessment of internal and external project factors, the guidelines aimed to optimize sustainability outcomes across the six identified pillars. The research reveals a complex interplay between sustainability indicators and project outcomes, highlighting the crucial role of strategic planning, stakeholder engagement, and the adoption of innovative practices and technologies in promoting sustainable infrastructure development. Moreover, it emphasized the need for comprehensive policy support and capacity building among industry professionals to embed sustainability deeply within Ghana's road and highway construction sector.
In conclusion, this thesis made significant contributions to academic knowledge by expanding the understanding of sustainability in road and highway infrastructure development, particularly in the context of Ghana and, by extension, similar developing countries. It also offered practical contributions by providing actionable guidelines for industry practitioners, aiming to bridge the gap between sustainability theory and practice. The research findings and developed guidelines served as a critical resource for policymakers, project managers, and designers committed to advancing sustainable infrastructure development in Ghana and beyond
An evaluative framework for defects in new residential buildings: the New Zealand case
No full textThe achievement of quality performance is an important component in the handover stage of new residential buildings, and plays a key role in homeowners’ satisfaction levels. Every new homeowner wants a product that is defect-free and worth the utmost value for their investment. Unfortunately this is not generally the case, since majority of newly built homes have been found to contain significant number of defects. Defects have become a main issue for concern to house developers, approving authorities, end-users and the construction industry as a whole. Therefore the aim of this research is to improve quality achievement levels through the reduction or complete eradication of defects at the handover stage of new residential buildings in New Zealand.
To achieve this aim and its attendant interstitial objectives, the study employed a mixed method research approach involving questionnaire surveys, interviews, and research verification using key industry stakeholders (subject matter experts). The investigations cover five regions in New Zealand: Auckland, Wellington, Waikato, Canterbury and Otago region, so that the entire population of new homeowners is truly represented.
The research generated a list of common defects and provides insight into the extent of defects experienced by new homeowners at handover. This information enhances the understanding of quality performance in the residential and wider construction industry. Major causes of defects were found to be poor workmanship and material quality. These are attributable to lack of training, poor apprenticeship schemes, skills of imported trades, and poor monitoring of imported building products. It is made apparent from the current research that standard operating procedures (SOP) for quality achievement would need to be maintained across all house developer organisations in New Zealand. The research also found that the use of independent building inspectors for new homes is at a low level. It is therefore suggested that independent building inspection be made part of pre-purchase agreements and would make developers liable for defect rectification within a reasonable time frame. In the same light, the research suggests that financial institutions make the release of mortgages, conditional upon the provision of independent building inspectors’ reports for all categories of buildings.The current research shows that creating awareness and establishing a national warranty scheme will address the lack of uniformity and inconsistencies in new home warranties in the residential sector. This research has added new data to existing literature and provided a good wealth of information with respect to current quality performance in the house building sector in New Zealand
An Evaluative Framework for Defects in New Residential Buildings: The New Zealand Case
No full textThe achievement of quality performance is an important component in the handover stage of new residential buildings, and plays a key role in homeowners’ satisfaction levels. Every new homeowner wants a product that is defect-free and worth the utmost value for their investment. Unfortunately this is not generally the case, since majority of newly built homes have been found to contain significant number of defects. Defects have become a main issue for concern to house developers, approving authorities, end-users and the construction industry as a whole. Therefore the aim of this research is to improve quality achievement levels through the reduction or complete eradication of defects at the handover stage of new residential buildings in New Zealand.
To achieve this aim and its attendant interstitial objectives, the study employed a mixed method research approach involving questionnaire surveys, interviews, and research verification using key industry stakeholders (subject matter experts). The investigations cover five regions in New Zealand: Auckland, Wellington, Waikato, Canterbury and Otago region, so that the entire population of new homeowners is truly represented.
The research generated a list of common defects and provides insight into the extent of defects experienced by new homeowners at handover. This information enhances the understanding of quality performance in the residential and wider construction industry. Major causes of defects were found to be poor workmanship and material quality. These are attributable to lack of training, poor apprenticeship schemes, skills of imported trades, and poor monitoring of imported building products. It is made apparent from the current research that standard operating procedures (SOP) for quality achievement would need to be maintained across all house developer organisations in New Zealand. The research also found that the use of independent building inspectors for new homes is at a low level. It is therefore suggested that independent building inspection be made part of pre-purchase agreements and would make developers liable for defect rectification within a reasonable time frame. In the same light, the research suggests that financial institutions make the release of mortgages, conditional upon the provision of independent building inspectors’ reports for all categories of buildings.The current research shows that creating awareness and establishing a national warranty scheme will address the lack of uniformity and inconsistencies in new home warranties in the residential sector. This research has added new data to existing literature and provided a good wealth of information with respect to current quality performance in the house building sector in New Zealand
Exploring the Effect of Communication on Sustainable Knowledge Management
No full textEffective communication abilities are vital for facilitating Knowledge Management within the construction sector, especially in relation to sustainable development goals objectives. This study examines the influence of communication skills on sustainable Knowledge management practices, stressing how effective and clear communication promotes collaboration, knowledge exchange, and innovative thinking. A thorough systematic literature review was adopted to point out best practices and strategies for enhancing communication to advance sustainable results in construction initiative
Improved snag reporting in new residential buildings in New Zealand
No full textSnagging is common practice for new and existing buildings in the housing sector in the UK. However the snag reporting process is yet to be fully developed in New Zealand. Whilst inspections for defects and repairs are mostly carried out for old and existing residential buildings, very little is being done to capture snags in new builds in New Zealand.This paper reports on research which is being undertaken in New Zealand to investigate the magnitude of the snagging problem and to identify means by which snag reporting can be introduced within the house building production process. The primary source of data will be the record of defects collected from well established developers and building inspectors and a semi-structured questionnaire administered to new homeowners. The results from the data analyses will be validated through a verification exercise involving subject matter experts. It is hoped that the result of the research investigations will be beneficial to homeowners, developers and the wider construction industry in New Zealand and thus serve to improve quality performance in residential housing construction.</p
Exploring the Effect of Communication on Sustainable Knowledge Management
No full textEffective communication abilities are vital for facilitating Knowledge Management within the construction sector, especially in relation to sustainable development goals objectives. This study examines the influence of communication skills on sustainable Knowledge management practices, stressing how effective and clear communication promotes collaboration, knowledge exchange, and innovative thinking. A thorough systematic literature review was adopted to point out best practices and strategies for enhancing communication to advance sustainable results in construction initiative
Analysis of Cognitive Biases in Construction Health and Safety in New Zealand
No full textThe construction industry’s complexity and high-risk nature present significant decision-making challenges, often resulting in errors that jeopardise health and safety performance. Cognitive biases can further distort risk assessments and influence decision-making, ultimately affecting safety behaviours and outcomes. Although numerous studies have explored cognitive biases in construction, there remains a lack of a comprehensive understanding regarding how these biases interact with key decision factors related to health and safety. This study aimed to advance sustainable health and safety practices within the construction industry by examining the consequences and interplay of cognitive biases and essential decision factors through a systematic literature review. Two hundred and eighty-three articles published between 2018 and 2024 were analysed, with forty-five selected for inclusion. The network analysis findings identify key decision factors, reinforcing loops, and critical paths that affect health and safety performance, illustrating how cognitive biases influence risk perception, decision complexity, and workplace safety behaviours. The insights gained from this study highlight the challenges and the potential for improvement. They serve as a foundation for researchers, construction safety professionals, and policymakers to develop targeted interventions that mitigate cognitive biases, enhance risk perception, and strengthen decision-making frameworks, ultimately improving health and safety performance in the construction sector
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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