Practitioner perceptions of sustainability in the Building Code of Australia

Buildings have a significant impact on environmental quality, resource use, human health and productivity. One definition of sustainable building is that which meets current building needs and reduces impacts on future generations by integrating building materials and methods that promote environmental quality, economic vitality, and social benefit&rsquo; (City of Seattle, 2006). In response to a changing view ofsustainability the Building Code of Australia (BCA) adopted energy measures in 2005 to residential buildings and, in 2006, to Class 1 &ndash; 9 buildings. In many respects the measures represented a watershed for the Australian Building Regulations which had not included sustainability within the BCA. The goals of the BCA are to enable the achievement and maintenance of acceptable standards of structural sufficiency, safety (including safety from fire), health and amenity for the benefit of the community now and in the future (ABCB, 2004a). As with any change some Building Surveyors and construction practitioners viewed these measures with apprehension. How would the measures be assessed? Furthermore, was the BCA the appropriate place for these measures and was this a broadening of the scope of the building regulations beyondits traditional remit of health and life safety in buildings? This research used a questionnaire survey the canvass the views and perceptions of Building Surveyors and Architects with regards to sustainability and the BCA in 2006.<br /

Why do women like working in building conservation?

There is a perception that Building Conservation as a career is different from the mainstream, and it appears to be more attractive to women - at whatever level - than many other careers in the construction industry. Whilst recruitment and publicity can be targeted, the culture within the construction industry can be a barrier to entry for anyone that is &quot;different.&quot; As Clara Greed (1999) discovered in her research &quot;the traits, beliefs and lifestyle peculiar to the construction tribe&quot; can inhibit the entry to the industry of a number of groups outside the traditional pool. The growth of women in the workforce generally (some 50% according to Turrell et al, 2000) is nowhere near being matched within the construction industry as a whole - the Construction Industry Board placed it at around 8.6% in 2000 across all positions. The various UK industry and professional bodies are actively supporting the need to attract women, with the CITB saying they want a 10% year on year increase in participation, the RICS have their own Raising the Ratio working group and the RIBA have carried out research to find out &quot;why women leave architecture.&quot;Of course the whole of the industry is not unfriendly to women - there are a number of us who have been in the industry for many years and recognise it as a fulfilling and exciting career - a number of women work as surveyors working on historic buildings. The initiatives that are working towards change might have something to learn from Building Conservation - while the shortage of skills is just as severe in work with historc buildings - this area of work holds an attraction to women, not found elsewhere. This paper draws on research carried out to explore some of the reasons for this.The study involved sending a questionnaire to twenty women already working in Building Conservation (the response rate was over 100%) and arranging for questionnaires to be completed by school students (male and female) choosing university courses in one school (60 questionnaires sent out, with 35 returned at a response rate of 58%)The research showed that the majority women working in Building Conservation did not agree that men heavily dominated their sector of the industry, whereas within other areas of the construction industry men make up approximately 90% of the workforce. The research found that women often perceived the Construction Industry to be \u27cut-throat\u27, \u27egotistical\u27 and \u27financially beneficial\u27, whereas they thought Building Conservation required \u27patience\u27, \u27care\u27 and \u27attention to detail\u27.Of the women who took part in the research, 87% were working in Building Conservation because of a personal interest , and the main aspect of that attarction was history and architecture. The study examined attitudes of school students choosing careers and the research shows that when male and female sixth form students were told what Building Conservation was about and what it involved, 43% would consider a career in it and 49% would be interested in talking part in a work experience placement working with historic buildings. The shortage of people working in Building Conservation could be reduced if more people were educated about the profession in a way relevant to their skills and interests. In order to assist this action, the study examined ways to introduce Building Conservation careers to school girls and drew on the initiatives that the university is doing to promote careers in the built environment to schoolgirls.<br /

Sustainable retrofit potential in lower quality office stock in the central business district

Given the relationship between energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, the built environment has significant potential to lessen overall emissions. With around half of all greenhouse gas emissions attributed to the built environment; it has a significant role to play in mitigating global warming. With large percentages of office stock structurally vacant in some city centres and only 1 or 2% of new buildings added to the total stock each year; the scope for reductions lay with adaptation of existing buildings. The stock with the highest levels of vacancy and obsolescence offers the highest potential of all.Many cities are now aiming to become carbon neutral. Successful retrofit demands that social, technological, environmental, economic and legislative criteria are addressed. Buildings have to meet user and community needs. City centres comprise a range of different type of office stock with regards to age, size, location, height, tenure and quality. All buildings present challenges and opportunities with regards to retrofit and sustainability and integrating retrofit measures that reduce energy, water and resource consumption.Using a selection of low grade office buildings to develop retrofit profiles, this paper addresses the questions; (a) what is the nature of retrofits in relation to low quality office building stock in the Central Business District (CBD) and, (b) what is the extent and scope for sustainable retrofits to low quality office buildings. Using Melbourne CBD retrofit events of low quality office buildings were analysed between 1998 and 2008 to identify the scope and extent for integrating sustainability into retrofits projects.<br /

Improving student learning in dissertation research through feedback studies. The Sheffield Hallam Building surveying experience

According to George and Cowan (1999) student feedback is essential to enable lecturers to understand whether attempts to improve learning and educational experience lead to improvement. Current UK practice uses end of module questionnaires to feedback levels of satisfaction (Cowan, 2002). There are inherent weaknesses, namely that it seldom leads to a change for that particular cohort of students, secondly it relies on uncorroborated opinion, and may derive from superficial feedback from a minority of students with the remainder suffering from questionnaire fatigue. Finally the data may not be especially relevant to a particular module, a particular weakness (Heywood, 2000).Using principles identified by Angelo and Cross (1993), this research adopted a methodology to formatively evaluate student perceptions and levels of satisfaction with the dissertation module. Using a cohort of Building Surveying students at Sheffield Hallam University, in England, views on course materials, the use of Blackboard software, the workshops and the relationships with supervisors were gathered and analysed.A number of measures were identified as a result of this study, that may, if implemented, improve student learning. Examples are the use of checklists for student for each research / dissertation stage to ensure nothing is forgotten. Provision of additional &lsquo;drop in&rsquo; workshops where students could see the module leader with specific issues. Additional optional workshops for questionnaire coding and review of previous theses for example.It will not be possible to measure whether this student cohort&rsquo;s learning and performance improves until the summer of 2003 and the final dissertations are assessed. A statistical analysis, comparing their dissertation marks against marks for other topics will show whether there is improvement in marks as a result of this student feedback study. The 2002/3 cohort result can also be analysed against previous cohorts to establish whether any improvement is evident.<br /

Delivering the link : using student feedback studies to improve student learning in dissertation studies

Student feedback is essential to enable lecturers to understand whether attempts to improve learning and education experience lead to improvement (George and Cowan, 1999; Gibbs, 1993). Current UK practice relies largely on end of module questionnaires to feedback levels of student satisfaction (Cowan, 2002), however there are inherent weaknesses in this approach; it seldom leads to change for that particular cohort; it relies on uncorroborated opinion, and finally, it may derive from superficial feedback from a minority of students with the remainder suffering from questionnaire fatigue. This research project involved a cohort of final year building surveying students at Sheffield Hallam University, in England, who were undertaking a dissertation in two modules. During 2002/3 the use of Blackboard software had also been adopted by the module leader as an educational tool to support student learning in the module. The lecturer wanted to identify how students used Blackboard and what they thought about the most appropriate use of the medium. The research methodology sought to redress some of the issues identified above with student feedback, regarding timing of feedback, implementation of change during the teaching period and the lack of depth in the data. Using principles adopted by Angelo and Cross (1993), this research formatively evaluated student perceptions and levels of satisfaction with the dissertation module, the teaching materials, the workshops, the supervisory arrangements and relationships. This paper presents the findings of the research and illustrates the changes that were made during the year and the student&rsquo;s views of these changes. The paper demonstrates how linking teaching with research has been delivered at Sheffield Hallam.<br /

Joint European masters awards in construction management and construction economics : a positive step for surveying education?

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) 5th European Conference in November 2004 focussed on enhancing collaboration at master\u27s level in real estate education across Europe. In a context of increased global economic activity and increasing ties within the EU, there are benefits to business and to students in offering this type of educational provision. But is this paradigm true for construction economics (CE) and construction management (CM)? This paper examined the potential for collaboration and joint European awards in CM and CE. There is a political will for collaboration in HE based on economic drivers for the growth of the EU and changes are being implemented to enhance transparency and mobility for students. Professional bodies are expanding their European presence. Globalisation has resulted in greater opportunities for international real estate, and construction and there is growth in these sectors for practitioners. The difficulties with joint European collaboration are short course duration and the need to cover extensive subject matter. Other barriers are university structures, quality assurance procedures, costs and finances issues as well as IT, student services and support issues. The survey revealed that there are no RICS accredited CM / CE courses outside of the UK which inhibits collaboration. The sample was split in perceived demand for collaboration and the European focus within the courses is limited, as are field trips outside the UK. Student exchange on courses is rare. Generally there is a lag between the political will to greater student mobility and collaboration and the market, which is showing growth in multinational organisations and demand for pan European construction services and a professional body keen to deliver and support this growth. Within academia the barriers and current economic climate in HE preclude the widespread adoption of greater collaboration and development of joint awards, however this position may change.<br /

Work-life balance in the Australian and New Zealand surveying profession

This paper aims to establish and illustrate the levels of awareness of work-life balance policies within the surveying profession in Australia and New Zealand. The culture and characteristics of the Australian and New Zealand work force are to be identified. The key aspects included in work-life balance policies are to be illustrated and the perceived benefits for the surveying profession are to be noted. The paper seeks to posit that it is vital to comprehend the levels of awareness of work-life balance issues within the surveying profession first, so that benchmarking may occur over time within the profession and second, that comparisons may be drawn with other professions.Design/methodology/approach &ndash; There is a growing body of research into work-life balance and the built environment professions. Using a questionnaire survey of the whole RICS qualified surveying profession in Australia and New Zealand, this paper identifies the awareness of work-life balance benefits within the surveying profession.Findings &ndash; This research provides evidence that awareness of the issues and options is unevenly spread amongst professional surveyors in the region. With shortages of professionals and an active economy the pressures on existing employees looks set to rise and therefore this is an area which needs to be benchmarked and revisited with a view to adopting best practice throughout the sector. The implications are that employers ignore work-life balance issues at their peril.Practical implications &ndash; There is much to be learned from an increased understanding of work-life balance issues for professionals in the surveying discipline. The consequences of an imbalance between work and personal or family life is emotional exhaustion, cynicism and burnout. The consequences for employers or surveying firms are reduced effectiveness and profitability and increased employee turnover or churn.Originality/value &ndash; Leading on from Ellison\u27s UK surveying profession study and Lingard and Francis\u27s Australian civil engineering and construction industry studies, this paper seeks to raise awareness of the benefits of adopting work-life balance policies within surveying firms and to establish benchmarks of awareness within the Australian and New Zealand surveying profession.<br /