Revisiting client roles and capabilities in construction procurement

The need to improve performance of procurement in construction has resulted in several structural changes and re-arrangements for the acquisition of the client’s development scheme. Much of these changes have focused on the contribution and roles played by parties other than the client to the delivery of projects. The role of the client during these changes has evolved from one of a passive fund provider to an increasingly active participant and hands-on management in some of the procurement arrangements. However, there is little evidence that these evolving roles have been met with a commensurate progress in project delivery performance for client organisations. There is evidence that lack of progress is hindering project performance. Simultaneously, research has so far given less attention to the changes in client’s roles over time. This does not only call for a clarification of contribution the client makes in delivery of projects, but also highlights the need to re-visit the client roles under different procurement systems, and at different project phases, including pre-construction, construction and operational. This paper presents a review of common procurement arrangements in the construction industry and the changing roles of the client’s organisation. The paper also explores the client’s role in each of these arrangements to establish what capabilities enable effective project delivery and performance. The identification of the capabilities is achieved by mapping client roles against procurement arrangements. The analysis of mapping exercise shows that the client has two types of capabilities for the delivery of every project: a primary capability required by all clients; and secondary one that is specific to a particular procurement case. The primary capability could serve as the minimum threshold for self-evaluation by client organisations

The changing role of the public client in construction procurement

The public sector obligation to improve the performance of construction procurement has resulted in several changes to the organisation, roles and systems adopted for development schemes. For example, a less than expected outturn performance of traditional arrangements and the increase demand for public services led to the adoption of integrated procurement systems. These changes have seen a transition of client’s role from merely a funder to an active player working collaboratively alongside the private sector (as service providers) at different periods over the last three decades. These changes were expected to improve construction procurement performance dramatically as they allow the clients to enhance their organisational capabilities by assigning major part of their roles to the private sector. However, the literature does not show that the procurement performance has improved as a result of the changes in the client organisation. While research continues to emphasise the importance of the client role in the construction procurement, so far limited attention has been given to the development of the client’s internal organisation for better procurement performance. This paper reports a comprehensive review of the role of the client in construction procurement identified by various researchers to establish the role that the client has been performing over the last three decades. This has been achieved by applying a chronological mapping method of materials published on the subject over the last three decades. The analysis indicates that there are critical elements within the client role which have been consistently addressed over the last three decades. In addition, there are elements which have emerged as a consequence of the shift towards integrated systems. An understanding of critical and emerging elements will allow the clients to identify the gap between the required and the existing capabilities within their organisations, and to assess their procurement arrangement

Pressure pain sensitivity maps of the neck-shoulder and the low back regions in men and women

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Musculoskeletal pain in the low back and neck-shoulder regions is a major problem among the working population all over the world. The prevalence of musculoskeletal pain is found to be higher among women. Women also have lower pressure pain thresholds (PPTs) than men. Pressure pain topography aims at mapping the spatial distribution of PPT within a muscle in an attempt to track changes in mechanical sensitivity. In order to assess gender differences in the pain topography, it is necessary to map the distribution in both healthy men and women. The aim of this study was to assess PPT maps from the cervico-thoracic and lumbar regions in men and women.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Eleven men and eleven women without any known musculoskeletal disorders participated in the study. PPT was measured twice at 36 points over the trapezius muscle of the dominant arm, at 36 points over the trapezius muscle on the contralateral side and at 12 points over the spine between the left and right trapezius. Further, 11 points were measured over the erector spinae muscle on the left side of the spine between the first and the fifth lumbar vertebrae, 11 on the right side and 5 points on the spine itself. The measurements on each trapezius muscle were divided according to anatomical subdivisions. Three-way and two-way ANOVAs were used to analyse the differences in PPTs with the following factors: gender, locations and sub-divisions (only for cervico-thoracic region).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There were no differences between left and right side in neither the cervico-thoracic nor the lumbar region, but there were (large effect) differences between the subdivisions in the trapezius with the lowest values in the upper part (P < 0.001; partial η²= 0.19). Women had (small effect) lower PPT in both cervico-thoracic and lumbar regions (P ≤ 0.001; partial η²= 0.02 for both regions), but gender had no effect on neither location nor subdivisions.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The pain topography was not found to be different between genders in the cervico-thoracic and lumbar regions. This study can be used as basis for further clinical studies on musculoskeletal disorders.</p

Ideas at Daresbury

From the introduction: IDEAS at Daresbury is a collaboration of Lancaster, Liverpool and Manchester Business and Management Schools and ImaginationLancaster, a creative research lab at Lancaster University. In March 2009, IDEAS at Daresbury was fortunate enough to be awarded funding by the European Regional Development Fund and Northwest Development Agency. This funding was used to deliver a 16 month programme of in-depth knowledge exchange, to drive innovation into 40 new technology businesses located at Daresbury Science and Innovation Campus (DSIC) and within its surrounding network. The project team, collocated at DSIC, aimed to connect the participant new technology businesses into the wider knowledge networks of the partner institutions via a series of short, highly interactive workshop programmes, master classes, academic mentoring and student projects. The project also aimed to develop new knowledge exchange mechanisms, taking best practice from its delivery and expanding that learning into the wider region. This booklet has been developed following delivery of the final workshop programme Beyond Networking. Initially, it provides details of the five workshops which comprised the programme, followed by an explanation of the process undertaken to individually analyse the participants’ networks, using data collected in the first workshop. The latter part of the booklet details the impact of the project, firstly in terms of the businesses who participated in the programme, and then from an academic research perspectiv

Referential meaning translation distortion in the great gatsby English - Indonesian novel

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Referential meaning translation distortion in the great gatsby English - Indonesian novel

x, 38 hlm.; ilus.; 25 cm

Conversational overlaps in star English talk show EBS TV Brian Joo episode

ix, 36 hlm.; ilus.; 25 cm

Conversational overlaps in star English talk show EBS TV Brian Joo episode

ix, 36 hlm.; ilus.; 25 cm

Conversational overlaps in star English talk show EBS TV Brian Joo episode

ix, 36 hlm.; ilus.; 25 cm