Barriers to BIM implementation and ways forward to improve its adoption in the Nigerian AEC firms

Purpose –BIM has much potential to improve the effectiveness of construction works with respect to design, construction and maintenance. However, many Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) firms are still lagging in the adoption and implementation of BIM in both developing and developed countries. The purpose of this study is to assess the barriers to BIM implementation, and examine the ways forward to improve BIM adoption within the Nigerian AEC firms. Design/methodology/approach – A comprehensive literature review and questionnaire survey were used in the study. The survey targeted four different AEC firms. These include architectural firms, facility management firms, quantity surveying firms and structural engineering firms in Lagos, Nigeria. The data obtained were analyzed using mean score, standard deviation, Kruskal- Wallis test, and factor analysis. Findings – The study identified 20 barriers to BIM implementation and identified 10 ways forward to improve BIM adoption in AEC firms, particularly in Nigeria. The relative importance of both the identified barriers and the ways forward were gauged. The Kruskal-Wallis tests revealed that except for one (out of 20) identified barriers, and one (out of 10) identified ways forward; there is no statistical significant difference in the perceptions of four different AEC firms. The factor analysis result grouped the 20 identified barriers into three major factors to include: weak top management support and BIM environment related issues; cost of BIM software and training issues; and incompatibility, legal, contractual, and culture related issues. Practical implications – The significance of the study cannot be over-emphasized due to BIM relevance to construction stakeholders and researchers at large. Originality/value – The study findings would inform the decisions of the construction stakeholders to make some policy recommendations capable of positively influencing the full BIM implementation in AEC firms

An investigation into the sustainability practices in PPP infrastructure projects : a case of Nigeria

Purpose – In the global construction industry, the concept of sustainability is not new, particularly within building projects. Against this backdrop, several studies have been conducted, mostly in developed countries, on sustainability in construction projects. However, efforts at investigating sustainability practices in Public-Private Partnership (PPP) infrastructure projects in developing countries have received limited attention. Hence, the purpose of this study is to investigate the incorporation of sustainability practices within the context of Nigeria PPP infrastructure projects. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire survey, which targeted four different types of stakeholders, was conducted in this study. These stakeholders included public sector authorities, concessionaires, consultants, and banks undertaking PPP infrastructure projects in Lagos State, Nigeria. The data collected were analysed using frequency, percentage, mean score, standard deviation analyses, and the Kruskal-Wallis test. Findings – The findings of this study revealed that all the respondents are very much aware of sustainability principles, and majority of the respondents from the public sector authorities and the consultant organizations confirmed that they have incorporated sustainability requirements into their bidding documents for PPP infrastructure projects. The study revealed sustainability features in the three aspects of sustainability, namely economic, environmental and social factors. Furthermore, the study revealed the top three ranked economic factors of sustainability (considered to be the most important factors) were low maintenance costs, whole life costing, and supporting the local economy, respectively. Similarly, the study revealed the top three ranked environmental factors of sustainability were biodiversity, energy use during the operation stage, and energy use during the construction stage, respectively. Furthermore, the study further revealed that the top three ranked social factors of sustainability were the educational aspect, equity between stakeholders, and health and safety, respectively. Practical implications – The study will be of great value to PPP stakeholders involved in sustainability decision-making processes when delivering sustainable PPP projects, particularly in Nigeria. Also, the study findings are important as not many empirical studies have been conducted on the sustainability practices of current PPP projects in Nigeria. Originality/value –The study findings would further inform the need for both the public and private sectors to take a more strategic approach to enhancing sustainability in PPP projects

Analysis of the drivers and benefits of BIM incorporation into quantity surveying profession: academia and students' perspectives

Purpose – Building information modeling (BIM) inclusion in education pedagogy is crucial in preparing skilled graduates for employment in the construction industry. Against this backdrop, studies on BIM education abound in Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) programmes in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). However, there is limited empirical studies on BIM potentials in the quantity surveying (QS) profession in HEIs, particularly in developing countries. The purpose of this study is to identify and assess the BIM drivers and benefits as important to the QS profession using an empirical approach. Design/methodology/approach – A comprehensive literature review was conducted to identify the BIM drivers and benefits in relation to the QS profession, which was employed to design a questionnaire. In order to capture a broad perception, a questionnaire survey was carried out which targeted the academia and final year undergraduate students from two selected universities offering QS honour degree programmes in Nigeria. Data collected were analysed using mean score, standard deviation, and Mann-Whitney test. Findings – The study identified 12 BIM drivers in relation to the QS profession and the analysis of the ranking revealed that almost all the identified BIM drivers are considered by respondents as important. The study further identified 14 BIM benefits and the analysis of the ranking indicated that all the identified BIM benefits are considered as important. The results of the Mann-Whitney test indicated a very slight statistically significant difference, particularly in one of the selected universities on the ranking of the BIM drivers and benefits as important to the QS profession. Practical implication – The findings of the study provide empirical evidence on the current perceptions of the drivers and benefits of BIM to QS academia and students as they explore the concept for the advancement of QS profession. Originality/value – This study would provide practical insights to utilize BIM for QS practice. Also, this study would contribute to improving the QS graduates and professional quantity surveyors understanding of the BIM knowledge applicable to QS profession. Keywords: BIM, drivers, higher education institutions, quantity surveying, Nigeri

Efficacy of Quasi Agro Binding Fibre on the Hybrid Composite Used in Advance Application

The choice for natural fibre obtained from agricultural products is on the rise due to its solution to eco-friendly, environmental and improved mechanical properties concerns. Its abundant availability, low cost, emission reduction and adaptability to base material for composite make it a prime material for selection. This review explores diverse perspectives to the future trend of agro fibre in terms of the thermo-mechanical properties as it applies to advanced application in building structures. It is important to investigate the ecofriendliness of the products of composites from fibres in agricultural wastes so as to achieve a green and sustainable environment. This will come to fore by the combined efforts of both researchers and feedback from building stakeholders

Injuries in male and female semi-professional football (soccer) players in Nigeria: prospective study of a National Tournament

BACKGROUND: Research on the epidemiology of football injuries in Africa is very sparse despite its importance for injury prevention planning in a continent with limited sports medicine resources. The vast majority of studies available in literature were conducted in Europe and only a very few studies have prospectively reported the pattern of football injury in Africa. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence and pattern of injuries in a cohort of male and female semi-professional football players in Nigeria. METHODS: A prospective cohort design was conducted, in which a total of 756 players with an age range of 18–32 years (356 males and 300 females) from 22 different teams (12 male and 10 female teams), were prospectively followed in a National Football Tournament. Physiotherapists recorded team exposure and injuries. Injuries were documented using the consensus protocol for data collection in studies relating to football injury surveillance. RESULTS: An overall incidence of 113.4 injuries/1000 h (95% CI 93.7–136.0) equivalent to 3.7 injuries/match and time-loss incidence of 15.6 injuries/1000 h were recorded for male players and 65.9 injuries/1000 h (95% CI 48.9–86.8) equivalent to 2.2 injuries/match and time-loss incidence of 7.9 injuries/1000 h were recorded for female players. Male players had a significantly higher risk of injuries [IRR = 1.72 (95% CI 1.23–2.45)]. Injuries mostly affected the lower extremity for both genders (n = 81, 70% and n = 31, 62% for males and females respectively). Lower leg contusion (n = 22, 19%) and knee sprain (n = 9, 18%) were the most common specific injury types for male and female players respectively. Most of the injuries were as a result of contact with another player (n = 102, 88%—males; n = 48, 96%—females). Time-loss injuries were mostly estimated as minimal (n = 11, 69%) for male players and severe (n = 4, 66%) for female players. CONCLUSION: The overall incidence of injuries among Nigerian semi-professional football players is high but most of the injuries do not result in time-loss. Pattern of injuries is mostly consistent with previous studies. More prospective studies are needed to establish injury prevention initiatives among African players

Federated learning enables big data for rare cancer boundary detection.

Although machine learning (ML) has shown promise across disciplines, out-of-sample generalizability is concerning. This is currently addressed by sharing multi-site data, but such centralization is challenging/infeasible to scale due to various limitations. Federated ML (FL) provides an alternative paradigm for accurate and generalizable ML, by only sharing numerical model updates. Here we present the largest FL study to-date, involving data from 71 sites across 6 continents, to generate an automatic tumor boundary detector for the rare disease of glioblastoma, reporting the largest such dataset in the literature (n = 6, 314). We demonstrate a 33% delineation improvement for the surgically targetable tumor, and 23% for the complete tumor extent, over a publicly trained model. We anticipate our study to: 1) enable more healthcare studies informed by large diverse data, ensuring meaningful results for rare diseases and underrepresented populations, 2) facilitate further analyses for glioblastoma by releasing our consensus model, and 3) demonstrate the FL effectiveness at such scale and task-complexity as a paradigm shift for multi-site collaborations, alleviating the need for data-sharing

Author Correction: Federated learning enables big data for rare cancer boundary detection.

10.1038/s41467-023-36188-7NATURE COMMUNICATIONS14

Federated Learning Enables Big Data for Rare Cancer Boundary Detection

Although machine learning (ML) has shown promise across disciplines, out-of-sample generalizability is concerning. This is currently addressed by sharing multi-site data, but such centralization is challenging/infeasible to scale due to various limitations. Federated ML (FL) provides an alternative paradigm for accurate and generalizable ML, by only sharing numerical model updates. Here we present the largest FL study to-date, involving data from 71 sites across 6 continents, to generate an automatic tumor boundary detector for the rare disease of glioblastoma, reporting the largest such dataset in the literature (n = 6, 314). We demonstrate a 33% delineation improvement for the surgically targetable tumor, and 23% for the complete tumor extent, over a publicly trained model. We anticipate our study to: 1) enable more healthcare studies informed by large diverse data, ensuring meaningful results for rare diseases and underrepresented populations, 2) facilitate further analyses for glioblastoma by releasing our consensus model, and 3) demonstrate the FL effectiveness at such scale and task-complexity as a paradigm shift for multi-site collaborations, alleviating the need for data-sharing

Barriers to public private partnership projects in developing countries

Purpose – Top managers who possess outstanding leadership competence make significant contributions toward achieving project success. The relationship between the top managers’ leadership and infrastructure sustainability (IS), one of the most important project success criteria, is empirically researched in this study. The purpose of this paper is to explore relationships between top managers’ leadership competence of intellectual competence (IQ), managerial competence (MQ), and emotional and social competence (EQ) and to explore relationships between leadership competence and IS. Design/methodology/approach – Based on 246 obtained responses to a questionnaire survey across infrastructure projects in the context of the Chinese urbanization process, the analysis of the relationships between top managers’ leadership and IS was performed using a structural equation model (SEM). Findings – Results indicate that top managers’ leadership competence, with MQ being the main determinant, followed by IQ, directly drives the entire life cycle of an infrastructure project toward accomplishing IS. Through positively influencing the moderate variable of MQ, EQ competence is found to have an indirect influence on IS. Practical implications – In terms of practical implications, the outcomes of this research will provide criteria for the selection of top managers for infrastructure projects to realize IS during the process of Chinese urbanization. Originality/value – The established SEM improves the leadership competence framework of IQ, MQ, and EQ in the respect of reflecting the context of infrastructure projects and promotes the research and development of leadership theory in the construction area