What makes a good research paper?

The annual round of refereeing for the ARCOM conference always prompts a stimulating debate among the committee members as to what constitutes a good research paper. Clearly, there is a good deal of subjectivity in distinguishing good from bad, but there may be some basic characteristics that mark out a research paper from any other kind of paper, and it is good research papers that we would like to encourage at the annual conference

Construction management abstracts : cumulative abstracts and indexes of journals in construction management, 1983-2000

The purpose of this document is to provide a single source of reference for every paper published in the journals directly related to research in Construction Management. It is indexed by author and keyword and contains the titles, authors, abstracts and keywords of every article from the following journals: • Building Research and Information (BRI) • Construction Management and Economics (CME) • Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management (ECAM) • Journal of Construction Procurement (JCP) • Journal of Construction Research (JCR) • Journal of Financial Management in Property and Construction (JFM) • RICS Research Papers (RICS) The index entries give short forms of the bibliographical citations, rather than page numbers, to enable annual updates to the abstracts. Each annual update will carry cumulative indexes, so that only one index needs to be consulted

The PhD in construction management

The PhD process is uncertain, idiosyncratic and vague. Research into the management of PhDs has proved very useful for supervisors and students. It is important for everyone involved in the process to be aware of what can be done to improve the likelihood of success for PhD studies. There are many ways of tackling a PhD and it is not possible to describe construction management as a generic type of study. Rather, construction management is a source of problems and data, whereas solutions and approaches need to be based within established academic disciplines. The clear definition of a research project is an essential prerequisite for success. Although PhDs are difficult, there are many things that can be done by departments, supervisors and students to ease the difficulties. In the long run, the development of an active and dynamic research community is dependent upon a steady flow of high quality PhDs. No-one benefits from an uncompleted or failed PhD

Construction management contracts: law and practice

The context of construction management (CM) reveals that this method of procurement is as much a management philosophy as a contract structure. It is important to consider legal and contractual issues in this context. The interplay between management and law is complex and often misunderstood. Before considering specific issues, the use of contractual remedies in business agreements is discussed. In addition, the extent to which standardising a form of contract detracts or contributes to the success of projects is also considered. The dearth of judicial decisions, and the lack of a standard form, render it difficult to be specific about legal issues. Therefore, the main discussion of legal issues is centred around a recently completed research project which involved eliciting the views of a cross-section of experienced construction management clients, consultants and trade contractors. These interviews are used as the basis for highlighting some of the most important legal points to consider when setting up CM projects. The interviews revealed that the advantage of CM is the proximity of the client to the trade contractors and the disadvantage is that it depends on a high degree of professionalism and experience; qualities which are unfortunately difficult to find in the UK construction industry

Which Kind of Science Is Construction Management?

It is argued that the mainstream views on the nature of construction management are insufficient, and as one consequence of this, the relevance of construction management has been questioned. As a solution to this situation, construction management is suggested to be repositioned as a design science, rather than as an explanatory science. A historical consideration reveals that design science equals to one of the sciences proposed by Aristotle, however, the suggestion of Aristotle has been forgotten. Thus, there has been a long-standing neglect of the design science, which explains the present fragmentation of this field. It is argued that this redefinition of construction management will solve several problems plaguing this discipline, including the problem of relevance

U.S. Construction Management Students\u27 Comfort Level with and Knowledge of Mobile Technologies

Mobile technologies are becoming increasingly common on U.S. construction sites as companies become aware of how they can simplify and automate the capturing of information in the field, and communicate that information back to company management systems. Field personnel are now being equipped with smart phones or tablets to check email, look at blueprints, take progress photos, or create punchlists, all with one device. These technologies are being used to make work efforts more efficient, raise productivity, reduce costs, and positively impact project profitability. As the U.S. construction industry moves to these mobile technologies, so too should university construction management programs move to mobile education and learning applications to ensure that students are prepared for a mobile construction industry. This study uses university provided iPads in construction management classes to expose students to mobile technologies before they enter the workforce. Pre- and post-test surveys collected data about first-year and upper-level construction management students comfort with mobile technologies, their knowledge about mobile technologies in construction, and their views on whether they think they will use mobile technologies in the workplace and for what tasks. While some students entered with a very low comfort level with mobile devices, there were gains in comfort level by nearly all students. Most, even first-year students, were able to envision how a mobile device could be used within the construction industry to perform various tasks, and their visions increased from the beginning of the semester to the end, even though no formal instruction was done in this area. The gains were primarily due to exposure to the device and general usage. By gaining a greater understanding of student comfort with and knowledge of emerging technologies, more effective educational and training methodologies can be developed to facilitate instruction and improve the effectiveness of students upon graduation

Roger Williams University Top 5 for Construction Management

New ranking puts RWU among nation’s best 4-year construction management degree programs, citing “well-rounded” education, small class sizes, peer mentorship, dedicated advisers and tutorial support center

For RWU Faculty, Key Role on Economic Development Research in Rhode Island

Faculty members from economics, engineering and construction management leading cross-institutional research projects through statewide collaborative