Resilience in projects: definition, dimensions, antecedents and consequences

Disruptions can cause projects to fail. Within the project management literature, approaches to managing disruptions consist of uncertainty, risk, opportunity, change, and crisis management. These approaches focus on developing strategies to manage perceived threats and also work towards predicting risk, therefore, reducing vulnerability. This vulnerability-reduction only focus is limiting because it takes the focus away from the development of a general capacity for readiness and for responding to uncertain situations. A resiliency approach enables a simultaneous focus on vulnerability reduction, readiness and response and thus ensures recovery. Given the context and discipline specific nature of the resilience concept, and the little or no attention in projects, this thesis conceptualises resilience in projects. This conceptualisation is to enable the identification of factors to consider and indicators to ensure overall project recovery, through the identification of dimensions and antecedents of resilience respectively. The aim of this study therefore, is to develop a framework to conceptualise resilience in projects. To achieve this aim, three case studies, namely; building, civil engineering and engineering construction projects were investigated. Within each case study, the critical incident technique was employed to identify disruptions and their management through direct observations of human activities, narration of critical incidents and review of documents on disruption. Following this, a comparative analysis and synthesis of the case studies was carried out and findings revealed definition, dimensions, antecedents and consequences of resilience in projects. Specifically, resilience in projects is defined as; the capability of a project to respond to, prepare for and reduce the impact of disruption caused by the drifting environment and project complexity. The dimensions of resilience are; proactivity, coping ability, flexibility and persistence. Proactivity can be defined as an anticipatory capability that the project takes to influence their endeavours whilst coping ability can be defined as the capability to manage and deal with stress caused by disruptions within the projects. Furthermore, flexibility can be defined as the capability of a project to manage disruption by allowing change but ultimately making sure that the aim is maintained and persistence is the capability to continue despite difficult situations. Several antecedents of these dimensions of resilience are identified. For proactivity these include contract, training, monitoring, contingency and experience. For coping ability these include the contract, training, contingency and experience. For flexibility these include open-mindedness, planning, continual monitoring and continual identification of ideas and for persistence these include continual monitoring, planning and negotiation. Also, the consequence of resilience in projects is recovery through response, readiness and vulnerability reduction. This conceptualisation of resilience is then synthesised into a validated framework for resilience in projects. Theoretically, this research provides definition, dimensions, antecedents and consequence for resilience in projects and a theoretical starting point for the concept of resilience in projects. The significance of this research to practice is the identification and development of a more holistic perspective of managing disruptions in projects through the identified dimensions, antecedents and consequences. These dimensions, antecedents and consequences provide clarity for the roles of project managers and team members in managing disruptions and thus, expand the eleventh knowledge area; project risk management, of the Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK). In addition, the dimensions, antecedents and consequences of resilience in projects contribute to the curriculum development in project management and thus, provide factors and indicators that project managers require in managing disruptions

Cities at risk? Exploring the synergies between smartphones and everyday vulnerabilities

Smartphones present new forms of spatiality and sociality for cities worldwide. The sudden outburst in smartphone technologies has revolutionised human relations creating new possibilities of encounter and connectivity. This paper examines people's smartphone usage patterns and highlights how this is increasing human vulnerabilities in cities with resultant wider societal implications. Drawing on the theory of vulnerability, Hofstede's cultural dimension theory and carrying out semi-structured interviews in the United Kingdom and Ghana, the paper reveals that the current scale of usage and addiction to smartphones and social media are fostering emerging forms of everyday vulnerabilities. Victimisation, privacy breach, home emergencies and road accidents are prevalent vulnerabilities in both Accra and London. By comparing participants' smartphone usage patterns and their motives for adopting or ignoring certain social media practices, the study illustrates how the concept of attitudinal vulnerability extends our understanding of Hofstede's theory of collectivism and individualism. While the finding from Accra complicates Hofstede's collectivism label as there seems to be a loss of genuine sense of care and people-centeredness among participants it confirms individualism tendencies among the participants in London though some tendencies of ‘virtual collectivism’ were observed. In conclusion, the study emphasises how significant behavioural changes among smartphone users can reduce human-induced vulnerabilities in cities. By so doing, we add weight to the literature that focuses on the importance of developing context-specific cutting edge ICT policies vis-a-vis building smart, safe and sustainable cities

Information Resilience in a Digital Built Environment

Information is the underpinning driver in the Digitised Built Environment and crucial to the Centre for Digital Built Britain’s agenda. Threats to information affect the intrinsic, relational and security dimensions of information quality. Therefore, the DBE requires capabilities of people, and requirements of the process, software and hardware for threat prevention and reduction. Existing research and protocols seldomly outline the capabilities and requirements needed to reduce threats to information. The aim of this report is to develop an information resilience framework which outlines the capabilities and requirements needed to ensure the resilience of information throughout its lifecycle; creation, use, storage, reuse, preserve and destroy. The findings highlight the need for people’s (stakeholder) competencies and behaviours which are driven by cognitive abilities such as attention, learning, reasoning and perception. Furthermore, process’ requirements such as embedding validation check process, standard requirements for Level of Detail, digital upskilling, among others, were identified. Additionally, identified software requirements include its ability to be customised to meet the project needs, detect conflicts and provide context of information. Finally, hardware requirements encompass facilitating backup, having a high capacity system and being inaccessible to peripherals. This research will be further extended to the development of a decision-making assessment tool to measure capabilities and requirements in the entire lifecycle of built assets

Mechanisms for preventing rising damp in new building infrastructure

Purpose: Capillary rise of water in buildings has been an issue of concern among past and present researchers. Despite the research efforts devoted to the proper elimination of the problem in masonry construction, it still remains a challenge that needs to be addressed. This study explores treatment mechanisms that can be used to prevent rising damp in new building infrastructure. Methodology: Fourteen test walls are constructed, conditioned, subjected to various treatments, and monitored for four years. The treatments applied to the walls include the use of polyethylene damp proof courses, damp proof coatings, and dense concrete bases. The walls are then monitored with reference to the two climate seasons in Ghana. Findings: The results highlights that rising damp is present, as suggested by the constant increase and decrease in the height of the water levels in the walls during the rainy and dry seasons respectively. The findings further reveal that within the four-year period, the walls treated with the damp proof coatings, together with those with the dense concrete bases performed better than those treated with the polyethylene damp proof courses. Limitations: The economic and commercial impact of these preventive mechanisms were not considered in this study. A future research can be directed at these issues. Practical implication: The proposed treatment mechanisms highlights the effectiveness of some treatments applied to walls to prevent the capillary rise of water from the ground into the superstructure. Social implications: Building regulations, especially in Ghana and other tropical settings should be amended to include ways to prevent rising damp phenomena by including effective methods against rising damp during the building design or construction. Originality/Value: Series of studies worldwide have been conducted in laboratories to simulate the capillary rise of water in walls of buildings. This is among the few studies that look at how water rises from actual ground conditions into the walls of buildings

Actions, attitudes and beliefs of occupants in managing dampness in buildings

Dampness in buildings affects the health of occupants, structural stability and energy efficiency of buildings. Solutions to managing dampness focus on promoting the use of damp-proof construction materials, enhancing methods to avoid the introduction of moisture during construction and creating the awareness on the health effect of dampness. These solutions are incomplete without the identification of behaviours that occupants require to manage dampness. Given that dampness is characterised by the availability of a source, a route for the moisture to travel and driving force for moisture movement, the occupants can be said to play a significant role in contributing to dampness. As a result, this study seeks to examine the behaviours of occupants manifested to manage dampness in residential buildings. To achieve the aim, a qualitative research method was employed, under which interviews were carried out. Occupants in households in the northern and southern parts of England were interviewed to identify the actions, attitudes and beliefs in managing dampness. The findings revealed actions such as aeration and the use of anti-damp sprays. From the findings, dampness instilled attitudes such as anger, moodiness and unhappiness. In addition, dampness instilled cleaning habits in occupants due to the lack of comfort moulds create and the awareness of its health impact. The identification of these behaviours creates the awareness for occupants on their roles in managing dampness and how dampness affects their behaviours in addition to the health impact. This research also contributes to existing debates on dampness reduction specifically in residential buildings

Managing change in BIM-Level 2 projects: benefits, challenges, and opportunities

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to validate perceived benefits and challenges of BIM-Level 2 in managing change in projects and identify opportunities for enhancing these benefits and reducing the challenges. This research is timely because, these benefits and challenges remain largely unvalidated following the passing of the BIM-Level 2 mandate in the UK, and the opportunities for enhancing the benefits and reducing challenges remain relatively unexplored. Design/methodology/approach: To achieve the aim, questionnaires were sent to BIM-Level 2 practitioners in the UK; in all, 41 responses were received. Following that, interviews with 10 BIM practitioners were carried out to identify opportunities for reducing challenges and increasing benefits. Findings: From the findings, the benefits from the literature were all validated. Beyond these, some emergent benefits were identified, such as cost saving and risk reduction. Most challenges from the literature were validated with emergent challenges identified, largely to do with the social dimension in the BIM-Level 2 process. Opportunities identified to enhance benefits and reduce challenges were mainly socially driven. These opportunities were classified as either reactive or proactive. Research limitations/implications: Opportunities for reducing challenges and increasing benefits identified from this research can inform the change management processes in BIM-Level 2. Practical implications: Findings show the processes and requirements for managing change in BIM-level 2. Social implications: The identification of behaviours reveals the social requirements for BIM-level 2. Originality/value: This research identifies opportunities required to reconstruct the change management process in BIM-Level 2. This forms a basis for future work to explore the antecedents of these social requirements

Information resilience in a digital built environment.

Information is the underpinning driver in the Digitised Built Environment and crucial to the Centre for Digital Built Britain’s agenda. Threats to information affect the intrinsic, relational and security dimensions of information quality. Therefore, the DBE requires capabilities of people, and requirements of the process, software and hardware for threat prevention and reduction. Existing research and protocols seldomly outline the capabilities and requirements needed to reduce threats to information. The aim of this report is to develop an information resilience framework which outlines the capabilities and requirements needed to ensure the resilience of information throughout its lifecycle; creation, use, storage, reuse, preserve and destroy. The findings highlight the need for people’s (stakeholder) competencies and behaviours which are driven by cognitive abilities such as attention, learning, reasoning and perception. Furthermore, process’ requirements such as embedding validation check process, standard requirements for Level of Detail, digital upskilling, among others, were identified. Additionally, identified software requirements include its ability to be customised to meet the project needs, detect conflicts and provide context of information. Finally, hardware requirements encompass facilitating backup, having a high capacity system and being inaccessible to peripherals. This research will be further extended to the development of a decision-making assessment tool to measure capabilities and requirements in the entire lifecycle of built assets

Benefits of a Multi-institutional, Hybrid Approach to Teaching Course Design for Graduate Students, Postdoctoral Scholars, and Leaders

In this study, graduate students and postdoctoral scholars participated in a hybrid, multi-institutional workshop series about course design. Trainees developed college courses based on their research expertise, posting works-in-progress to a shared, online drive for peer review and collaboration. Learners also met weekly with local facilitators at their institution. The program led to similar learning outcomes as when the program was previously run in a face-to-face only format at one institution. However, the multi-institutional design led to additional benefits, especially for leaders at each institution, who described a rich learning community in their collaborative work

Interrelationships between sustainability and wellbeing: Three cases from the Global South

This paper seeks to advance the understanding and analysis of the role and impact of housing and neighbourhood characteristics on the wellbeing of communities in the informal settlements in the global south. It provides a holistic view on the relationship between household features, housing design and neighbourhood conditions to assess further their effects on wellbeing constructs in Nepal, South Africa, and Jordan. The COVID-19 pandemic has added to the prevailing challenges for population wellbeing in all cases. The study assessed the relationships between housing design, neighbourhood form, social inclusion, and mental and physical wellbeing through a detailed questionnaire. A comparative analysis allowed identifying the innovative changes and strategies in conjunction with local stakeholders to improve individual and public wellbeing. The study proves the significant relationships between the three dimensions of housing: house conditions and design, household characteristics and neighbourhood conditions, and individual and community wellbeing in informal settlements. The findings discuss multilevel (housing and neighbourhood) solutions and unique social groupings that support livelihood strategies and how these strategies impact the social, economic and environmental sustainability in informal settlements. The resultant importance of specific constructs and sub-constructs offers a toolkit for evaluating informal settlements and potential improvements. This work is also a demonstration of how an interdisciplinary methodology can help mediate societal challenges, particularly when it comes to the wellbeing of inhabitants in informal settlements

RNA based approaches to profile oncogenic pathways from low quantity samples to drive precision oncology strategies

Precision treatment of cancer requires knowledge on active tumor driving signal transduction pathways to select the optimal effective targeted treatment. Currently only a subset of patients derive clinical benefit from mutation based targeted treatment, due to intrinsic and acquired drug resistance mechanisms. Phenotypic assays to identify the tumor driving pathway based on protein analysis are difficult to multiplex on routine pathology samples. In contrast, the transcriptome contains information on signaling pathway activity and can complement genomic analyses. Here we present the validation and clinical application of a new knowledge-based mRNA-based diagnostic assay platform (OncoSignal) for measuring activity of relevant signaling pathways simultaneously and quantitatively with high resolution in tissue samples and circulating tumor cells, specifically with very small specimen quantities. The approach uses mRNA levels of a pathway\u27s direct target genes, selected based on literature for multiple proof points, and used as evidence that a pathway is functionally activated. Using these validated target genes, a Bayesian network model has been built and calibrated on mRNA measurements of samples with known pathway status, which is used next to calculate a pathway activity score on individual test samples. Translation to RT-qPCR assays enables broad clinical diagnostic applications, including small analytes. A large number of cancer samples have been analyzed across a variety of cancer histologies and benchmarked across normal controls. Assays have been used to characterize cell types in the cancer cell microenvironment, including immune cells in which activated and immunotolerant states can be distinguished. Results support the expectation that the assays provide information on cancer driving signaling pathways which is difficult to derive from next generation DNA sequencing analysis. Current clinical oncology applications have been complementary to genomic mutation analysis to improve precision medicine: (1) prediction of response and resistance to various therapies, especially targeted therapy and immunotherapy; (2) assessment and monitoring of therapy efficacy; (3) prediction of invasive cancer cell behavior and prognosis; (4) measurement of circulating tumor cells. Preclinical oncology applications lie in a better understanding of cancer behavior across cancer types, and in development of a pathophysiology-based cancer classification for development of novel therapies and precision medicine