An investigation into the interaction between potential building clients and construction professionals

This research investigates the interaction process between building clients and construction professionals. The context of the interaction is the first meeting between the parties to discuss a potential construction project. The objective of the research was to determine whether clients, with differing levels of construction experience, and construction professionals, from different disciplines (architects, quantity surveyors, consulting engineers and contractors), exhibit distinctive interaction characteristics, both in terms of how they interact and the subject matter of their interactions. In order to test a number of hypotheses about the interactions an experimental procedure was developed. This involved arranging a series of interviews between the different client types and the construction professionals. 44 interviews were conducted with each one being recorded and then transcribed. Additional data was collected in the form of participant questionnaires and personality tests. Transcripts were coded using systems developed for this investigation, using measures of nature of interaction and subject matter. Processing and analysis of the data was conducted using ethnographic computer software and programs written specifically for this research project. A database was created from the interview data which allows selective retrieval of segments of interviews. The database comprises of approximately 215,000 words, with 58,000 codes assigned to text segments. The results of the analysis are presented in both quantitative and qualitative forms, and show that there are significant differences in the interactions. In interviews between inexperienced clients and professionals the professionals make the greater contributions, dominating the clients. There is a reversal of the roles when experienced clients interact with professionals, with the clients assuming the dominant position. In addition the results show that in interviews between inexperienced clients and professionals, the four professional disciplines emphasis different factors. All professionals raise issues relating to primary factors such as time, cost and quality. However, the discussion of other building factors was more specific to a particular professional discipline. Finally, the research also concluded that the element of personality differences in interviews was an influential factor in determining whether their outcome was perceived as successful by the participants

Mortgage Insurance and Housing Finance in Emerging Economies

Lending is considered to be the utilization of resources mobilized and management of associated risk. Existing literature on housing finance in the developed world identifies the high Loan-To-Value (LTV) approach for funding housing purchase as posing a significant risk to mortgage lenders. In response, developed countries have adopted mortgage insurance as the key vehicle for credit risk mitigation. In the emerging economies however, the often adopted formal housing finance mechanism is depository -based, which lacks the mortgage insurance option. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the literature on formal mortgage tools in both developed and emerging economies and concludes that it would appear to be more beneficial for emerging economies to reform their mortgage institutions and incorporate mortgage insurance as a measure to effectively manage housing credit risk. The result of this investigation will form part of an ongoing study on housing finance in emerging economies

Overcoming the challenges facing lean construction practice in the UK contracting organizations

Despite the benefits realized from Lean construction practice over the past two decades, the uptake of the Lean concept in the UK seems to be sparse. The UK contracting organizations engaged in Lean construction practice are faced with challenges that need to be addressed to facilitate wider application of Lean concepts so as to gain its benefits. The purpose of the study is to investigate the challenges facing the application of Lean principles in the UK construction industry with a view to proposing solutions that could be used to address the challenges. A qualitative research approach was adopted and semi-structured interviews were conducted with Lean construction practitioners working with 10 contracting organizations in the UK. The study identified 10 different challenges across the organizations that participated in the research and discovered 13 strategies that could be used to overcome the challenges. Findings from this study will lead to a better understanding of the challenges facing Lean construction practice in the UK so that further research could be done on how each challenge could be addressed. The findings could also help practitioners in addressing the different challenges they face in their Lean construction endless journey and facilitate Lean construction practice in the UK

Resuscitation and quantification of stressed Escherichia coli K12 NCTC8797 in water samples

The aim of this study was to investigate the impact on numbers of using different media for the enumeration of Escherichia coli subjected to stress, and to evaluate the use of different resuscitation methods on bacterial numbers. E. coli was subjected to heat stress by exposure to 55 °C for 1 h or to light-induced oxidative stress by exposure to artificial light for up to 8 h in the presence of methylene blue. In both cases, the bacterial counts on selective media were below the limits of detection whereas on non-selective media colonies were still produced. After resuscitation in non-selective media, using a multi-well MPN resuscitation method or resuscitation on membrane filters, the bacterial counts on selective media matched those on non-selective media. Heat and light stress can affect the ability of E. coli to grow on selective media essential for the enumeration as indicator bacteria. A resuscitation method is essential for the recovery of these stressed bacteria in order to avoid underestimation of indicator bacteria numbers in water. There was no difference in resuscitation efficiency using the membrane filter and multi-well MPN methods. This study emphasises the need to use a resuscitation method if the numbers of indicator bacteria in water samples are not to be underestimated. False-negative results in the analysis of drinking water or natural bathing waters could have profound health effects

The interlayer cohesive energy of graphite from thermal desorption of polyaromatic hydrocarbons

We have studied the interaction of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with the basal plane of graphite using thermal desorption spectroscopy. Desorption kinetics of benzene, naphthalene, coronene and ovalene at sub-monolayer coverages yield activation energies of 0.50 eV, 0.85 eV, 1.40 eV and 2.1 eV, respectively. Benzene and naphthalene follow simple first order desorption kinetics while coronene and ovalene exhibit fractional order kinetics owing to the stability of 2-D adsorbate islands up to the desorption temperature. Pre-exponential frequency factors are found to be in the range $10^{14}$-$10^{21} s^{-1}$ as obtained from both Falconer--Madix (isothermal desorption) analysis and Antoine's fit to vapour pressure data. The resulting binding energy per carbon atom of the PAH is $52\pm$5 meV and can be identified with the interlayer cohesive energy of graphite. The resulting cleavage energy of graphite is $61\pm5$~meV/atom which is considerably larger than previously reported experimental values.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, 2 table

A brief synopsis in the use of ICT and ICPM in the construction industry

The Cooperative Research Centre for Construction Innovation (CRCCI) research project 2001-008-C: 'Project Team Integration: Communication, Coordination and Decision Support', is supported by a number of Australian industry, government and university based project partners including: Queensland University of Technology (QUT); Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), University of Newcastle; Queensland Department of Public Works (QDPW); and the Queensland Department of Main Roads (QDMR). Supporting the project’s research aims and objectives, and as the first major deliverable for the project, this report provides an overall 'snapshot' of current public and private Architectural, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry sector statistics, practices, cultures and research directions towards the implementation and application of ICPM and ICT tools and systems

Mead-halls of the Oiscingas: a new Kentish perspective on the Anglo-Saxon great hall complex phenomenon

Widely cited as a metaphor for the emergence of kingship in early medieval England, the great hall complex represents one of the most distinctive and evocative expressions of the Anglo-Saxon settlement record, yet interpretation of these sites remains underdeveloped and heavily weighted towards Yeavering. Inspired by the results of recent excavations at Lyminge, this paper undertakes a detailed comparative interrogation of three great hall complexes in Kent and exploits this new regional perspective to advance understanding of the agency and embodied meanings of these settlements as ‘theatres of power’. Explored through the thematic prisms of place, social memory and monumental hybridity, this examination leads to a new appreciation of the involvement of great hall sites in the genealogical strategies of 7th-century royal dynasties and a fresh perspective on how this remarkable yet short-lived monumental idiom was adapted to harness the symbolic capital of Romanitas