Relational pluralism in project settings: towards a research agenda

Construction projects are characteristically complex undertakings whose successful realisation requires the engagement of a myriad of individuals, teams and organisations. Projects therefore provide a platform for the emergence of multiplex (i.e. entities having more than one type of relationship), heterogeneous (i.e. entities connected to others from different backgrounds) and overlapping (i.e. entities belonging to clusters or spanning boundaries) relationships. This notion of the existence of relational pluralism in projects has implications for project constituents and project delivery. For individuals, it is how to grapple with multiple and conflicting identities in achieving outcomes. For teams, it is how to grapple with multiple types of inter-team relations and still maintain harmony to achieve goals, and for organisations, it is how to deal with the multiplicity of relationships among individuals and teams and still achieve goal congruence. This paper draws on social identity theory, social network theory and social capital, and their complementarity to explicitly examine the presence of multiplex, heterogeneous and overlapping relationships in projects and explain how relational pluralism can be exploited to facilitate effective project delivery. We further highlight the research avenues relational pluralism presents in project settings and examine the methodological implications of such research agendas

Determinants of PhD student satisfaction: the roles of supervisor, department, and peer qualities

Understanding the determinants of PhD student satisfaction is likely to become increasingly vital for universities as student satisfaction rankings already ubiquitous at undergraduate and master degree levels extend more broadly to the PhD level. Moreover, as PhD student populations and university competition become increasingly transnational, there is a growing need to understand cross-nationally common determinants of satisfaction. Building on prior research into PhD student satisfaction, and drawing upon relevant conceptual and metrical refinements in the measurement of satisfaction from cognate domains of psychology, we use cross-sectional data (N=409) from PhD candidates across the sciences, social sciences, and humanities in 63 universities from 20 countries to examine how overall PhD student satisfaction is determined by, respectively and in combination, supervisor, department, and peer-group, in terms of both their academic qualities and supportiveness. Taken together, we find that supervisor supportiveness is the greatest predictor of PhD student satisfaction, but that supervisor academic qualities have no significant effect. However, both the academic qualities and supportiveness of departments significantly predict PhD student satisfaction, suggesting university departments and PhD supervisors would ideally work jointly, and perhaps more closely than many currently do, to achieve competitive levels of PhD student satisfaction

Exploring the lived experience of women owner-managers of small construction firms: a social identity approach

Despite the growing number of small construction firms that are owned-managed by women, there is limited research into the lived experience enacted by these women who have direct influence over their firms' strategic direction and operational management. Drawn from the existing literature, three areas of the lived experience of women in construction and women owner-managers are identified: their career progression, their leadership roles and their business ownership roles. These areas are mostly rooted in the role of agency (i.e. women) in different social contexts (e.g. construction) which lead to the generation of gendered practices. This treatment provides a general overview of how gender affects the experience of women in the construction industry. This paper aims to revisit the current narratives on gender prevalent in the industry from a social identity perspective. Social identity approach (SIA) posits that individuals have multiple and salient self-concepts that are defined by their social context and experiences. Gender is a strong perceived self-concept and the exploration of the lived experiences of women owner-managers of small construction firms will shed light on how these women identify themselves. The narrative inquiry methodology will be adopted as it is an appropriate way to gather data about lived experience. Data will be collected through narrative interviews of both women and men who are owner-managers of small construction firms. Thematic analysis using NVivo software will be adopted as data analysis method. Findings from this study will contribute to help policy makers and industry stakeholders go beyond examining structural barriers only when it comes to making the construction industry more attractive to women

Differential effects of prenatal psychological distress and positive mental health on offspring socioemotional development from infancy to adolescence: a meta-analysis

The impact of prenatal maternal mental health on offspring socioemotional development is substantial and enduring. Existing literature primarily focuses on the effects of psychological distress during pregnancy, emphasizing adverse child outcomes. Recent studies, however, highlight the unique impact of positive maternal mental health on child outcomes. To elucidate the differential associations of maternal psychological distress and positive mental health during pregnancy with child outcomes, we conducted a systematic literature search and random-effects meta-analyses on studies investigating the associations of prenatal maternal mental health with child socioemotional development. Our analyses, comprising 74 studies with 321,966 mother-child dyads across 21 countries, revealed significant associations of prenatal psychological distress with both adverse and positive child socioemotional outcomes. Notably, the effect sizes for the association of psychological distress with positive child outcomes were smaller compared to adverse outcomes. Positive prenatal mental health, on the other hand, was significantly associated with positive socioemotional outcomes but not adverse outcomes. This meta-analysis highlights the independence of negative and positive prenatal mental health constructs and their distinct relationships with child socioemotional development. The findings underscore the importance of considering the positive spectrum of maternal mental health and developmental outcomes to enhance our understanding of prenatal influences on child development. Systematic Review Registration:https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=335227, identifier CRD42022335227

Whole genome sequencing for the genetic diagnosis of heterogenous dystonia phenotypes

Introduction: Dystonia is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous disorder and a genetic cause is often difficult to elucidate. This is the first study to use whole genome sequencing (WGS) to investigate dystonia in a large sample of affected individuals. Methods: WGS was performed on 111 probands with heterogenous dystonia phenotypes. We performed analysis for coding and non-coding variants, copy number variants (CNVs), and structural variants (SVs). We assessed for an association between dystonia and 10 known dystonia risk variants. Results: A genetic diagnosis was obtained for 11.7% (13/111) of individuals. We found that a genetic diagnosis was more likely in those with an earlier age at onset, younger age at testing, and a combined dystonia phenotype. We identified pathogenic/likely-pathogenic variants in ADCY5 (n = 1), ATM (n = 1), GNAL (n = 2), GLB1 (n = 1), KMT2B (n = 2), PRKN (n = 2), PRRT2 (n = 1), SGCE (n = 2), and THAP1 (n = 1). CNVs were detected in 3 individuals. We found an association between the known risk variant ARSG rs11655081 and dystonia (p = 0.003). Conclusion: A genetic diagnosis was found in 11.7% of individuals with dystonia. The diagnostic yield was higher in those with an earlier age of onset, younger age at testing, and a combined dystonia phenotype. WGS may be particularly relevant for dystonia given that it allows for the detection of CNVs, which accounted for 23% of the genetically diagnosed cases. © 2019 The Author

Modelling the determinants of multi-firm project success: a grounded exploration of differing participant perspectives

Existing approaches to multi-firm project success have been suggested as being overly normative and deductive. They can also be criticized for failing to accommodate the heterogeneous perspectives of respective participants in multi-firm projects that might be hypothesized intrinsically to differ by industry sector, size and other firm demographics. This research tests the extent to which the determinants of project success differ by sector, firm size and origin within the construction industry using an inductive, grounded approach to model building. Results confirm that project success factors differ significantly between project participants, and suggest the wider application of inductive methodologies to identify such heterogeneous factors.Project success, determinants of project success, grounded approach, modelling,