Knowledge Communication in Post-Disaster Reconstruction Projects

It has been argued that the construction sector is a provider of services, which includes the provision of considerable knowledge and other intangible assets. Construction project knowledge is generated by activities of individuals, project teams and construction organisations, and communicated across project teams and supply chains. The source and communication of Project knowledge, arguably, start from the very beginning of the project; that is from concept design stage, right to the hand-over of the final products (e.g. buildings, roads, and bridges). Communication involves interaction between people or organisations in the project. It enables information and knowledge to move from those who have them to those who need them. Recent and massive natural disasters reveal a great deal of challenge which those involved in the management of reconstruction projects face. The nature of disasters and the complexity of reconstruction projects pose unique challenges compared to ‘normal’ construction projects. Based on a thorough literature review, this paper investigates and documents the role of knowledge management in disaster management especially from a post disaster reconstruction perspective. Furthermore, it identifies knowledge communication practices and techniques that are currently being employed in post-disaster reconstruction in a number of countries. Lessons for academia and for project managers are proffered

A skilled manager, strategic to real estate financing

The manager’s skills is a critical factor that has immense influence on the organisation’s ability to source funding for real estate projects. The contemporary manager in the real estate sector needs managerial talents to be able to access financing for real estate projects, given the complexities of the prevailing global financial markets.  The aim of this paper is to identify the nature and type of skill-sets required by managers involved in sourcing funding for real estate projects. The methodology adopted is a desk review of relevant literature, systematic analysis of the manager and managerial skills sets. The study found that some of the skills required are innate but others need to be developed through training, education and experience.  The findings shows that the manager and his team should obtain a comprehensive mix of human, technical, conceptual, political and financial management skills to continually have access to funding for real estate projects. The study contributes to the field by presenting a novel blend of manager’s skills, fundamental to accessing funding for real estate projects. This study developed a skills funding matrix for accessing funding, which could act as a guide to decision makers on skills training needs and assessment for managers that are responsible for sourcing project funding for real estate firms.  Recommendations for the industry and academia are proffered

Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs): Management Structure and Performance

The REIT concept originates from the United States and invests in an income-producing real estate. Tax Return Act of 1986 allowed conversion of externally managed REITs to internal management structure to reduce conflict of interest and increase efficiency. Significant findings give merit to internally managed REITs showing they outperform externally managed REITs and have stronger corporate governance. However, REITs regimes in Asia Pacific region (Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia) are exclusive externally managed structure either by default or requirement highlighting some merits exist to the approach. With the rising number of REITs regimes, academic understanding of the effects of management structure and performance of REITs is required. This paper contributes to existing literature by exploring the impact of management structures on the performance of REITs regimes. This study adopts a systematic review of selected academic journal papers using Scopus. Empirical findings point to the benefits of internal managed REITs over externally managed REITs. Corporate governance proxies unique to external managed REIT such as; REIT organisations, remuneration, fees and related party transactions need improvement to boost performance. We find evidence that external managed REITs try to emulate internally managed REITs, increasing institutional investor carrying out more monitoring, employing less leverage and link compensation to performance to increase REITs value. As externally managed REITs become popular, similar results as internally managed REITs are obtainable and may be more applicable to REITs with smaller market capitalisation. To achieve this, high quality of corporate governance, skilled management team and transparency in fee structure become crucial

Green construction in India: gaining a deeper understanding

A workshop on green construction was organized in New Delhi in July 2008 by Jamia Millia University, India and University of Salford, U.K., aiming to increase 'green' practices that are environmentally friendly and energy efficient. The workshop included participants from regulatory bodies, public and private construction companies and researchers. The object of the workshop was to provide an opportunity to capture issues, challenges and research issues in green practices throughout the supply chain in the construction sector in India. The methodology constituted a survey that was provided to all participants, where eight questions were composed by the facilitators. The participants were asked about their views on voluntary and compulsory ways of assessment and audit of green implementation in India. The findings of the workshop featured major challenges, drivers, initiatives, and the ways of effective implementation as well as enforcement on the discussed topic

Drivers for managing sustainability-related knowledge

As organisations try to meet sustainability challenges, they need to be innovative. This often calls for the creation, use and exploitation of new knowledge. Therefore, knowledge resources must be properly managed to enable well-informed decisions. There is, however, little empirical research on the key drivers for managing sustainability-related knowledge in the UK industrial sectors – which is the core aspect of this paper. For this study, four industry sectors: energy and utilities, transportation, construction and not-for-profit organisations were considered, based on the environmental, social and economic impact on UK society. A semi-structured interview method was used to collect industry perception, which was then analysed at both aggregate and sector levels using content analysis for inference and conclusion. The data analysis revealed four key drivers that have fuelled the need for managing sustainability-related knowledge. They are: to improve access to knowledge associated with sustainability initiatives, to identify knowledge assets associated with sustainability initiatives, to improve the flow of knowledge associated with sustainability initiatives and to capture key knowledge associated with sustainability initiatives. The paper concludes that identifying and understanding the key drivers for managing knowledge within the context of sustainability is a complex process. Before embarking on a knowledge management journey, decision makers have to understand what they would like to achieve with their knowledge management programme and what value it needs to add to their organisation in the context of sustainability

Time for a real shift to relations: Appraisal of social network analysis applications in the UK construction industry

The Social Network Analysis (SNA) has been adopted in the UK construction management research and generated meaningful insights in analysing project management organisations from network perspectives. As an effective tool, social network analysis has been used to analyse information and knowledge flow between construction project teams which is considered as foundation for collaborative working and subsequently improving overall performance. Social network analysis is based on an assumption of the importance of relationships among interacting units. The social network perspective encompasses theories, models and applications that are expressed in terms of relational concepts or processes. Many believe, moreover, that the success or failure of organisations often depends on the patterning of their internal structure. This paper reviewed existing literatures on SNA applications in construction industry from three leading construction management journals. From the review, the research proposed some advance in the application of SNA in the construction industry

A review of geothermal energy resources for electricity generation in Oman

Oman, like other Arab gulf countries, depends on oil and gas to produce electricity. However, these resources are not guaranteed to last forever and constitute one of the energy security issues in the country. Oman’s oil and gas reserves are comparatively low to other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member countries. This article explores the potential of using geothermal energy resources for electricity generation in Oman. Geothermal energy is counted as a type of renewable energy, which means the availability is not affected by the lack of source and the increasing price of fossil oil. The review of geothermal energy shows that cost of electricity generation and greenhouses gases emission is comparatively lower than other form of renewable energy resources. Different types of geothermal plants are discussed with a reference of required temperature for operation of these plants. The binary cycle geothermal power plants are used for low temperature applications (85–175 °C). The temperature of 55 bore holes in Oman is more than 100⁰ C which can be used in binary geothermal plants for electricity generation. The maximum temperature (173.68⁰ C) is at PDO well “Makarem‐I” located in the northern part of Oman. There is opportunity for Oman to adopt renewable energy resources and explore the potential of geothermal in more detail. This will help the country to reduce the dependency on oil and gas and compete in the region towards adopting renewable resources

The potential of biomass for electricity generation in Oman

Oman, like other Arab gulf countries, depends on oil and gas to produce electricity. However, these resources are not guaranteed to last forever and constitute one of the energy security issues in the country. This article explores the potential of using biomass energy resources for electricity generation in Oman. Energy from biomass resources is counted as a type of renewable energy, which means the availability is not affected by the lack of source and the increasing price of fossil oil. The review of biomass energy shows that waste from different sources such as wood and woody plants and their wastes, agricultural crops and residues, municipal solid organic wastes, animal wastes, sewage, waste from organic industrial processing and food processing, and aquatic plants and algae can be used for electricity generation. The biomass from animal manure and wastewater are reported with its potential for electricity generation. The results show that a total of 2651.81 GWh per year electricity can be produced from animal manure and wastewater which corresponds to 10% of the total electricity consumption in Oman. Although there is potential to use biomass for a sustainable electricity generation, however several environmental, social and technological factors associated with biomass energy need to be considered before adopting such resources

The Influence of Ikogosi Warm Spring Tourist Centre on Economic Development of Ekiti State, Nigeria

Tourism industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the world. Over the years it has cut through human developments to economic development of regions, nations and the world at large. Tourism generates wealth and employment. It’s served as a major source of income and foreign exchange earners for countries. The Ikogosi-Ekiti warm spring tourist centre is a tourist destination; it offers numerous values ranging from historical, environmental monuments and rich cultural heritage of the people. It’s a wonder to behold. The purpose of the study was to assess the impact of the Ikogosi cold/warm spring tourist resort on community development, with a view to enhancing the economic development of the host community. This study adopted a survey research method and used four different sets of questionnaire to collect research data from the household heads, tourists, staff of Ikogosi tourism centre and the Ekiti state tourism board. The findings among others revealed that the Ikogosi warm spring tourist centre lack adequate network coverage and transportation problem. However the study compels government to encourage private partnership in tourism industry; and therefore calls for public enlightenment to be given to the host community on the usefulness to be hospitable and polite to tourists. Keywords: Ekiti-State, Ikogosi-Ekiti warm spring, Tourism, Tourist centre

A modified method for Los Angeles Abrasion test

Infrastructure development projects in Oman are at a peak which results in a huge requirement for the construction materials. Aggregates are one of the most common materials naturally available and used in both cement and asphalt concrete apart from being used as under laying material. The evaluation of aggregates physical, chemical and mechanical properties thus becomes important as it directly affects the product in which they are used as a constituent. Aggregates should be hard and tough enough to resist crushing, degradation and disintegration from any associated activities including manufacturing, stockpiling, production, placing and compaction. In this article, an attempt is made to develop a modified method to determine the abrasion resistance of aggregates. Different sizes of aggregates obtained from two natural sources in Oman were tested in the laboratory using both the standard and modified Los Angles Abrasion (LAA) test, and a mathematical relationship is developed. Based on this relationship, the standard LAA value can be determined from the modified method results. In the modified LAA test method, the time required for the test is reduced by 24 h, apart from reducing the resources required for the test. Since the modified LAA method is developed considering Oman climatic and geological conditions, there is a possibility that this method and mathematical relationship may not be valid in a region when these conditions are changed. In such satiation, the modified LAA test method and mathematical relationship described in this article may need to be validated before it is adopted