To formulate a conceptual model for innovation: Reframing theoretical constructs of bim adoption within sme organisations

© 2019 Association of Researchers in Construction Management, ARCOM 2019 - Proceedings of the 35th Annual Conference. All rights reserved. The Construction industry is facing a paradigm shift in the adoption of new innovative ways of designing and delivering of projects. This innovative process includes building information modelling (BIM) which have shown significant impact on efficiency and effectiveness during a project development process within the construction industry. However, the shift to its acceptance, adoption and implementation in the emerging markets has brought distortion in the organisational culture, behaviour, and business processes of small medium enterprises (SMEs). This is often associated to the lack of clear orientation of the impact of BIM adoption to the firms. Although several theories have explained different concept relating to acceptance of innovative technologies within an organisation, however, it is crucial to understand this concept through the lens of BIM. Thus, this paper identifies the different theories concerning BIM acceptance within organisations and highlights the relationship between different factors that influence BIM acceptance within organisations. This was achieved by identifying the key factors that influence the acceptance of innovation and the process of adopting an innovation within organisations. The study involved a two-step analysis; systematic literature review and theoretical formulation. The systematic literature review was used to identify various theories and models that explains the acceptance process and behaviour of individuals during adoption of new innovations within SMEs organisations. The theoretical formulation was achieved by synthesizing the key influencing factors and indicators identified from the systematic literature review which were categorised into four groups namely; organisation, human, technology and relationship. The output was consolidated to form the conceptual model that would be the basis of further research and will help in understanding the relationship between factors that influence BIM acceptance process within SMEs organisation in the construction industry

Physical Layer Security in Vehicular Communication Networks in the Presence of Interference

This paper studies the physical layer security of a vehicular communication network in the presence of interference constraints by analysing its secrecy capacity. The system considers a legitimate receiver node and an eavesdropper node, within a shared network, both under the effect of interference from other users. The double-Rayleigh fading channel is used to capture the effects of the wireless communication channel for the vehicular network. We present the standard logarithmic expression for the system capacity in an alternate form, to facilitate analysis in terms of the joint moment generating functions (MGF) of the random variables representing the channel fading and interference. Closed-form expressions for the MGFs are obtained and Monte-Carlo simulations are provided throughout to validate the results. The results show that performance of the system in terms of the secrecy capacity is affected by the number of interferers and their distances. The results further demonstrate the effect of the uncertainty in eavesdropper location on the analysis

Kawasaki disease associated with streptococcal infection and facial nerve palsy: a case report

Kawasaki disease (mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome), an acute febrile vasculitis of childhood that affects medium and small-sized arteries, is uncommonly reported in the West African sub[1]region. Its diagnosis relies on the presence of a constellation of clinical signs which could mimic or coexist with infectious viral or bacterial agents, thereby requiring a high index of suspicion. Case presentation: We report a two-year, ten months-old boy who presented with prolonged high-grade fever for over 3 three weeks; non-purulent conjunctivitis, unilateral cervical lymphadenopathy, cracked lips, reddish tongue, diffuse oedema, erythema of his palms and soles; skin desquamation over the tips of his digits and left-sided facial nerve palsy. He had leukocytosis, thrombocytopenia, and elevated inflammatory markers. Throat swab yielded Streptococcus pyogenes species; however, serial echocardiography was unrevealing. He was managed with aspirin, steroids, bed rest, and antibiotics (based on culture sensitivity), but intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) was not readily available and therefore was not administered. His inpatient clinical course showed fever persisting into the second week of inpatient management that gradually became undulating by the third week before lysing. Conclusion: The rare complication of facial nerve palsy is highlighted, while the evidence for acute bacterial infection posed further diagnostic challenges in this child with clinical features of Kawasaki disease. The unavailability of IVIG also portends a prolonged course for the acute stages, which are largely unresponsive to antipyretics and antibiotics. The importance of long-term follow-up for potential coronary artery aneurysms in the face of risk factors is further emphasized

SPARC 2021 - Against all odds : Salford postgraduate annual research conference book of abstracts

Welcome to the Book of Abstracts for the 2021 SPARC conference. Our conference is called “Against All Odds” as we celebrate the achievements of our PGRs and their supervisors, who have continued to excel despite the most challenging circumstances. For this reason, we showcase the work of our PGRs alongside the outstanding supervision that they receive, with our Doctoral School Best Supervisor awards. We also focus on developing resilience and maintaining good mental health in the research environment, supported by exceptional keynote speakers, including our very own Dr Michelle Howarth and Ruby Wax OBE, which makes this year’s conference extra special

SPARC 2022 book of abstracts

Welcome to the Book of Abstracts for the 2022 SPARC conference. Our conference is called “Moving Forwards” reflecting our re-emergence from the pandemic and our desire to reconnect our PGR community, in celebration of their research. PGRs have continued with their research endeavours despite many challenges, and their ongoing successes are underpinned by the support and guidance of dedicated supervisors and the Doctoral School Team. To recognise supervision excellence we will be awarding our annual Supervisor of the Year prizes, based on the wonderful nominations received from their PGR students.Once again, we have received a tremendous contribution from our postgraduate research community; with over 60 presenters, 12 Three-Minute Thesis finalists, and 20 poster presentations, the conference showcases our extraordinarily vibrant, inclusive, and resilient PGR community at Salford. This year there will be prizes to be won for ‘best in conference’ presentations, in addition to the winners from each parallel session. Audience members too could be in for a treat, with judges handing out spot prizes for the best questions asked, so don’t miss the opportunity to put your hand up. These abstracts provide a taster of the diverse and impactful research in progress and provide delegates with a reference point for networking and initiating critical debate. Take advantage of the hybrid format: in online sessions by posting a comment or by messaging an author to say “Hello”, or by initiating break time discussions about the amazing research you’ve seen if you are with us in person. Who knows what might result from your conversation? With such wide-ranging topics being showcased, we encourage you to take up this great opportunity to engage with researchers working in different subject areas from your own. As recent events have shown, researchers need to collaborate to meet global challenges. Interdisciplinary and international working is increasingly recognised and rewarded by all major research funders. We do hope, therefore, that you will take this opportunity to initiate interdisciplinary conversations with other researchers. A question or comment from a different perspective can shed new light on a project and could lead to exciting collaborations, and that is what SPARC is all about. SPARC is part of a programme of personal and professional development opportunities offered to all postgraduate researchers at Salford. More information about this programme is available on our website: Doctoral School | University of Salford. Registered Salford students can access full details on the Doctoral School hub: Doctoral School Hub - Home (sharepoint.com) You can follow us on Twitter @SalfordPGRs and please use the #SPARC2022 to share your conference experience.We particularly welcome taught students from our undergraduate and master’s programmes as audience members. We hope you enjoy the presentations on offer and that they inspire you to pursue your own research career. If you would like more information about studying for a PhD here at the University of Salford, your lecturers can advise, or you can contact the relevant PGR Support Officer; their details can be found at Doctoral School | University of Salford. We wish you a rich and rewarding conference experience