Partnering practices: An investigation of influences on project success

Historically, traditional procurement systems have resulted in low levels of client satisfaction, owing mostly to poor cost and time predictability. Alternative approaches, including partnering and collaborative working have consequently been developed. This paper examines whether such collaborative approaches can deliver improvements in project procurement and management, and considers the extent to which partnering practices influence the success of building projects. Project success in this regard is measured in terms of cost predictability, programme implications, quality control, health and safety, risk management, teamwork and communications. A focus is made on the importance and influence of contractor selection processes within collaborative procurement, and what constitutes best practice in this regard. Exploratory interviews were conducted with a group of construction project managers who have had extensive experience with both collaboratively and traditionally procured construction projects. Coding and analysis of the resultant data indicated that collaborative procurement routes do have many advantages over traditional adversarial routes in most cases, but not all. Practitioners regarded the individuals deployed on projects having more influence on success than choice of procurement method. Projects were categorised as suitable or unsuitable for modern innovative procurement methods, dependent on a number of determining factors. There is support for the premise that partnering practices can potentially yield more benefits where projects are highly complex. Early supply chain involvement in design is required, and robust contractor selection processes are vital for collaborative procurement to be successful. Further research is proposed to expand the knowledge base around the range of suitable projects which may benefit from partnering approaches to procurement, in order to facilitate decisions in practice

Collaborative procurement: an exploration of practice and trust in times of austerity

Despite authoritative calls for an increase in collaborative working and partnering practices, recent austerity is causing many companies to move back towards traditional competitive procurement routes. Clients may feel the only way to assure themselves that they are not paying too much is to market test their projects in a highly competitive environment. Organisations may feel vulnerable opening themselves up to partnering and collaborative practices during a time of uncertainty, and are reluctant to take unnecessary risks. This study seeks to explore the effects of the recent economic downturn on collaborative working, with particular emphasis on manifestation in practice and the positioning of trust within such relationships. Eight interviews were carried out with senior industry professionals, all experienced in partnering and collaborative working practices. Austerity was found to have influenced collaborative practices in industry at both individual and organisational levels. Individuals have responded with a quest for job security which has in turn developed risk-averse work practices and affected the establishment of short term collaborative relationships. Organisations have returned to traditional competitive procurement methods, seeking to reduce risk in their practices and maintain control in uncertain times. Sceptical considerations of collaboration have re-emerged; the abuse of collaborative relationships for financial benefits, employing austerity as leverage, have become contemporary legend if not fact. Perceptions of collaborative working have shifted within the austerity context, and there is the potential for industry to lose ground gained before the recession in the development of collaborative practices. Further research is recommended to examine the repercussions of this shift in both practice and philosophy, as austerity-born projects come to completion

Designing a Curriculum to Meet the Needs of Caregivers of Patients who had a Cerebral Vascular Accident (CVA) Living in Local Communities in Zimbabwe

Background: Cerebral Vascular Accident (CVA), or stroke, has become an epidemic in Zimbabwe with the incidence rising significantly over the past two decades. Most patients in Zimbabwe who have had a CVA are initially admitted into a hospital for the acute phase of care and later discharged back to the community and into the care of their family. Although caregivers are forced to suddenly take on a critical role in the daily care and rehabilitation of the person who has had a stroke and continues to have disabilities, there is little to prepare someone for these responsibilities at the time the patient returns home or even in the weeks and months following. Caregiver support, which can be extended through education in how to assist the patient with daily routines and mobility, has been shown to improve the quality of life of patients and caregivers. The need to develop a standardized curriculum for use with family and other primary caregivers was identified by faculty involved in health professions education at the University of Zimbabwe College of Health Sciences. The primary purpose of the curriculum was to meet the needs of caregivers responsible for individuals who had a CVA and returned to live in their local communities in Zimbabwe. Purpose: Thus, the purpose of this paper is to describe the process of curriculum development, from needs assessment through curricular design and evaluation, as an opportunity to demonstrate how physical therapists and other allied health professionals can address community need through curriculum design. Methods: A questionnaire was developed to ascertain curricular content from the people who had a stroke and designated caregivers. Results: Intended outcomes of the curriculum included evidence of (1) decreased caregiver burden among caregivers responsible for people who have survived a stroke and returned to live in their local communities in Zimbabwe; and (2) increased function and health related quality of life of the patient who has had a stroke and of their caregiver over a period of one year. Conclusion: Although this curriculum was designed specifically to meet the needs of caregivers in Zimbabwe, the process for curriculum development and the curriculum content can be adapted in many other countries and for other rehabilitation related situations

Exploration of factors which affect trust within the context of construction partnering

In recent times partnering strategies for procurement of major capital construction projects have been promoted as a vehicle to obtain better value and increase levels of quality and service delivery. Yet there is still evidence of low levels of client satisfaction, owing mostly to lack of trust. A review of literature has identified a theoretical framework for the creation and development of trust as a means to facilitate more effective business relationships which the study will discuss within the context of the UK construction industry and specifically partnering agreements. Possible explanations why organisations are wary to trust their partners are outlined as scepticism of realisable benefits, opportunism and inequitable working relationships. Trust is considered from the perspective of its attributes and factors that will have an influence on it. A qualitative research methodology approach is adopted through interviews with eight senior construction professionals with the research sample restricted to those UK based contracting, consulting and client organisations that have had experience of partnering projects and strategies. Coding and analysis of the resultant data has provided some insight as to why organisations may feel vulnerable about vesting trust in their partners. This lack of trust may have caused a lack of appetite for taking perceived unnecessary risks considering certain practices, attitudes and behaviours of partnering organisations. This is especially the case in project partnering, where relationships are perceived to be short term, as opposed to strategic partnering. Potential trust building measures to overcome such dilemmas have emerged and these include informal networking, professional development and team workshops. Future research is recommended to further explore how trust building initiatives can be designed and implemented in developing a framework for increasing trust in partnering strategies

Understanding Urban Demand for Wild Meat in Vietnam: Implications for Conservation Actions

Vietnam is a significant consumer of wildlife, particularly wild meat, in urban restaurant settings. To meet this demand, poaching of wildlife is widespread, threatening regional and international biodiversity. Previous interventions to tackle illegal and potentially unsustainable consumption of wild meat in Vietnam have generally focused on limiting supply. While critical, they have been impeded by a lack of resources, the presence of increasingly organised criminal networks and corruption. Attention is, therefore, turning to the consumer, but a paucity of research investigating consumer demand for wild meat will impede the creation of effective consumer-centred interventions. Here we used a mixed-methods research approach comprising a hypothetical choice modelling survey and qualitative interviews to explore the drivers of wild meat consumption and consumer preferences among residents of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Our findings indicate that demand for wild meat is heterogeneous and highly context specific. Wild-sourced, rare, and expensive wild meat-types are eaten by those situated towards the top of the societal hierarchy to convey wealth and status and are commonly consumed in lucrative business contexts. Cheaper, legal and farmed substitutes for wild-sourced meats are also consumed, but typically in more casual consumption or social drinking settings. We explore the implications of our results for current conservation interventions in Vietnam that attempt to tackle illegal and potentially unsustainable trade in and consumption of wild meat and detail how our research informs future consumer-centric conservation actions

Assessing Africa-wide pangolin exploitation by scaling local data

Overexploitation is one of the main pressures driving wildlife closer to extinction, yet broad-scale data to evaluate species’ declines are limited. Using African pangolins (Family: Pholidota) as a case study, we demonstrate that collating local-scale data can provide crucial information on regional trends in exploitation of threatened species to inform conservation actions and policy. We estimate that 0.4-2.7 million pangolins are hunted annually in Central African forests. The number of pangolins hunted has increased by ∼150% and the proportion of pangolins of all vertebrates hunted increased from 0.04% to 1.83% over the past four decades. However, there were no trends in pangolins observed at markets, suggesting use of alternative supply chains. The price of giant (Smutsia gigantea) and arboreal (Phataginus sp.) pangolins in urban markets has increased 5.8 and 2.3 times respectively, mirroring trends in Asian pangolins. Efforts and resources are needed to increase law enforcement and population monitoring, and investigate linkages between subsistence hunting and illegal wildlife trade

Effects of an economic downturn on construction partnering

Over the economic downturn in recent years, there has been a trend for construction clients to revert to traditional competitive procurement strategies. This is despite authoritative calls for an increase in collaborative working and partnering practices, heralded as the means to drive efficiencies and innovation. Clients may feel that the only way to assure themselves that they are not paying too much is to market-test their projects in a highly competitive environment. This study seeks to provide an insight into the effects of the recent economic downturn on collaborative working, with particular emphasis on manifestation in the practice and positioning of trust within such relationships. Eight interviews were carried out with senior industry professionals, all experienced in partnering and collaborative working practices. Individuals have responded with a quest for job security, which has in turn developed risk-averse work practices and affected the establishment of short-term collaborative relationships. Organisations have returned to traditional competitive procurement methods, seeking to reduce risk in their practices and maintain control in uncertain times. Sceptical considerations of collaboration have re-emerged; the abuses of collaborative relationships for financial benefits, employing austerity as leverage, have become contemporary legend if not fact

Winners and losers from trophy hunting bans

Bans on trophy hunting or the movement of trophies are increasingly proposed as ‘wins’ for conservation. However, trophy hunting is a complex and contentious topic, and proposed bans involve considerable trade-offs — including conservation and welfare risks. Here, we briefly outline some of the trade-offs that deserve deeper consideration

Comparative tests of tool steels used in machine work

Citation: Carlson, W. W. and Challender, R. T. Comparative tests of tool steels used in machine work. Senior thesis, Kansas State Agricultural College, 1908.Introduction: In those branches of the engineering world which require tool steels in the manufacture of their products, there is probably no question of greater importance than that of procuring steels that will produce the results sought in the quickest, cheapest, possible way

Improving Law Enforcement Effectiveness and Efficiency in Protected Areas Using Ranger-collected Monitoring Data

Protected areas are fundamental for conservation, yet are constantly threatened by illegal activities, such as cattle encroachment and wildlife poaching, which reduce biodiversity. Law-enforcement is an essential component of reducing illegal activities. Although necessary, law-enforcement is costly and its effectiveness in the field is rarely monitored. Improving ranger patrol efficiency is likely to decrease illegal activity occurrence and benefit biodiversity conservation, without additional resource implications. Using ranger-collected data, we develop a method to improve ranger patrol allocation, targeting different combinations of conservation priorities, and predict that detections of illegal activities can be greatly improved. In a field test in Queen Elizabeth Protected Area, Uganda, we increased detections of illegal activities in some cases by over 250% without a change in ranger resources. This easily implemented method can be used in any protected area where data on the distribution of illegal activities are collected, and improve law-enforcement efficiency in resource-limited settings