12 research outputs found
Engaging sustainability good practice within the curriculum design and property portfolio in the Australian higher education sector
Purpose
The aim of this research is to evaluate the extent which university’s strategic plans affect the level
of incorporation of sustainability within the curriculum design and property portfolio.
Design/methodology/approach
This research adopted a case study approach. The case study institution was Deakin University in
Australia. This paper used a qualitative research method. Desk-top study included the review of
the University’s Strategic Plan, policy agenda on sustainability and the documents on sustainability
courses and units. Semi-structured interviews were held with academics who have course
development and management responsibility within the university, colleagues who have a
sustainability-focused role on estate management and colleagues whose roles are to manage
sustainability initiatives at institution level. All interviews were recorded and transcribed. Content
analysis was used to analyse the interview data.
Findings
Despite the University having a clear strategic aims and initiatives on the incorporation of
sustainability within curriculum design and property portfolio, there is disconnection between policy
development and policy implementation. As a result, the incorporation of sustainability varies
largely between curricula within the institution. The incorporation of sustainability within the
property portfolio is clear and effective. However, within the curriculum it is polarised. The level of
incorporation depends on the nature of the course or unit and is largely driven by the initiatives of
the individual academic.
Good practice identified in the incorporation of sustainability within the curriculum is to use a
problem-based approach supported by real life projects to enhance the students’ authentic
learning experience. The good practice for successfully incorporating sustainability into the
property portfolio is to have clear vision of what it has planned to achieve and to ensure there is a
balance between sustainability and value for money.
Originality/value
This is pioneering research to investigate the incorporation of sustainability into higher education
in a more comprehensive way. This paper considered the impact of strategic planning on the
incorporation of sustainability within a higher education, on both curriculum design and property
portfolio management
Organizational cultures: Obstacles to women in the UK construction industry
The global economic downturn coupled with recent changes in UK law have led to a sizable reduction in public sector funding. As a result, both public and private sector organizations are under greater pressure to provide evidence of their activities in promoting equality and diversity in their use of public sector funds. This requirement poses a particular challenge for the UK construction industry, which remains largely White male dominated. Empirical data gathered from a series of semistructured questionnaires and focus groups that have received managerial and soft skills training are analyzed and discussed in this article in an effort to establish the organizational cultural obstacles that women face in working in the UK construction industry. The findings outline that White male-dominated organizational cultures, inflexible work practices, and a lack of supportive networks serve as obstacles to women in the UK construction industry. This study concludes with recommendations for the expansion of training opportunities for women to encourage workforce diversity within the UK construction industry
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Infection Control in design and construction work
Objective: To clarify how infection control requirements are represented, communicated, and understood in work interactions through the medical facility construction project life cycle. To assist project participants with effective infection control management by highlighting the nature of such requirements and presenting recommendations to aid practice. Background: A 4-year study regarding client requirement representation and use on National Health Service construction projects in the United Kingdom provided empirical evidence of infection control requirement communication and understanding through design and construction work interactions. Methods: An analysis of construction project resources (e.g., infection control regulations and room data sheets) was combined with semi-structured interviews with hospital client employees and design and construction professionals to provide valuable insights into the management of infection control issues. Results: Infection control requirements are representationally indistinct but also omnipresent through all phases of the construction project life cycle: Failure to recognize their nature, relevance, and significance can result in delays, stoppages, and redesign work. Construction project resources (e.g., regulatory guidance and room data sheets) can mask or obscure the meaning of infection control issues. Conclusions: A preemptive identification of issues combined with knowledge sharing activities among project stakeholders can enable infection control requirements to be properly understood and addressed. Such initiatives should also reference existing infection control regulatory guidance and advice
Making the construction industry resilient to extreme weather:lessons from construction in hot weather conditions
The construction industry is susceptible to extreme weather events (EWEs) due to most of its activities being conducted by manual workers outdoors. Although research has been conducted on the effects of EWEs, such as flooding and snowfall, limited research has been conducted on the effects of heatwaves and hot weather conditions. Heatwaves present a somewhat different risk profile to construction, unlike EWEs such as flooding and heavy snowfall that present physical obstacles to work onsite. However, heatwaves have affected the construction industry in the UK, and construction claims have been made due to adverse weather conditions. With heatwaves being expected to occur more frequently in the coming years, the construction industry may suffer unlike any other industry during the summer months. This creates the need to investigate methods that would allow construction activities to progress during hot summer months with minimal effect on construction projects. Hence, the purpose of this paper. Regions such as the Middle East and the UAE in particular flourish with mega projects, although temperatures soar to above 40̊C in the summer months. Lessons could be learnt from such countries and adapted in the UK. Interviews have been conducted with a lead representative of a client, a consultant and a contractor, all of which currently operate on UAE projects. The key findings include one of the preliminary steps taken by international construction companies operating in the UAE. This involves restructuring their entire regional team by employing management staff from countries such as Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq, and their labour force from the sub-continent such as India and Pakistan. This is not only due to the cheap wage rate but also to the ability to cope and work in such extreme hot weather conditions. The experience of individuals working in the region allows for future planning, where the difference in labour productivity during the extreme hot weather conditions is known, allowing precautionary measures to be put in place
Developing a fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making model for selecting design-build operational variations
Many academic researchers have conducted studies on the selection of design-build (DB) delivery method; however, there are few studies on the selection of DB operational variations, which poses challenges to many clients. The selection of DB operational variation is a multi-criteria decision making process that requires clients to objectively evaluate the performance of each DB operational variation with reference to the selection criteria. This evaluation process is often characterized by subjectivity and uncertainty. In order to resolve this deficiency, the current investigation aimed to establish a fuzzy multicriteria decision-making (FMCDM) model for selecting the most suitable DB operational variation. A three-round Delphi questionnaire survey was conducted to identify the selection criteria and their relative importance. A fuzzy set theory approach, namely the modified horizontal approach with the bisector error method, was applied to establish the fuzzy membership functions, which enables clients to perform quantitative calculations on the performance of each DB operational variation. The FMCDM was developed using the weighted mean method to aggregate the overall performance of DB operational variations with regard to the selection criteria. The proposed FMCDM model enables clients to perform quantitative calculations in a fuzzy decision-making environment and provides a useful tool to cope with different project attributes