Factors Affecting the Innovation and Competitiveness in Kurdistan Region of Iraq Construction Industry

Innovation is the process of creating and implementing new ideas for the community, while competitiveness is the ability of a firm to provide the community standard quality services at competitive costs. Creativity and innovation have always been recognized as the foundation of success of any organization, as is the case for the construction industry worldwide. However, without taking the competitiveness in consideration, the prosperity process would be difficult. Over the past decade, the construction industry has been grown dramatically in Iraq, especially in northern region of the country. To keep the industry firms on the success path by way of making them innovative and competitive, examining factors affecting innovation and competitiveness is crucial. With this aim, this research is conducted so as to identify the factors influencing innovation and competitiveness of the firms. Literature review about innovation and competitiveness was reviewed to identify the factors affecting the innovation and competitiveness of construction projects. Pilot study of the questionnaire was achieved by a scouting sample. A questionnaire survey was conducted and 43 factors were identified, categorized into 7 groups of dimensions: 1) input, 2) driver, 3) barriers, 4) enabler, 5) impact, 6) competitiveness, and 7) firm\u27s need of innovation. 150 questionnaires were distributed on local construction firms. 85 questionnaires were received (57%). Four hypotheses addressing the improvements of firm\u27s project performance and their competitive advantages are developed, a conceptual framework explaining the developed hypotheses are designed, ended up with recommendations to improve innovation, competitiveness and performance of construction projects in Kurdistan Region of Iraq

Here to stay?: Understanding positive and negative attitudes towards Syrian refugees in Turkey

The world has witnessed a large increase in the number of refugees in the last decade. Today, the highest number of refugees, mainly coming from Syria, live in Turkey, which raises questions about how host society members react to this group of newcomers: whether they offer help and support or whether they reject them. Şenay Yitmen aims to understand and describe attitudes towards Syrian refugees in Turkey by considering the role of various social psychological constructs that might be associated with these attitudes. Based on survey data collected among self-identified Turkish adult citizens, she shows that although feelings towards non-Muslim minorities and Syrian refugees are quite similar, the processes are somewhat distinct as different group identifications - national and religious identification - play different roles in people’s feelings towards these two communities. In relation to attitudes towards Syrian refugees, stronger Turkish national identification is associated with more negative feelings towards these refugees and in addition plays a moderating role in the association between endorsement of multiculturalism and these feelings. Also, Turkish people who have stronger national identification perceive more outgroup threat and as a result have more negative and less positive behavioural intentions towards Syrian refugees. However, perceived threat is translated into less negative, and interestingly, also less positive behavioural intentions among those who endorse humanitarian concerns, which shows that Turkish people make a distinction between positive and negative behavioural intentions towards Syrian refugees and that the processes behind these intentions are different. Additionally, perceived threat is translated into more negative emotions and in return to less support for Syrian refugees’ rights. Further, when Turkish people perceive strong descriptive norms then perceived threat is associated with more negative emotions and less support to Syrian refugees. However, frequency of contact and perceived similarity with Syrian refugees are associated with more social acceptance through lower perceived threat. Yet, perceived similarity is associated less with social acceptance for those who perceive Syrian refugees as permanent settlers in Turkey. Overall, this dissertation illustrates how a very vulnerable group of migrants (Syrian refugees) is perceived and evaluated in an understudied yet geopolitically relevant (Turkish) setting; that similar negative attitudes do not imply similar processes; that positive and negative attitudes are not simply the two sides of the same coin; that key social psychological constructs can be associated directly or indirectly with attitudes towards Syrian refugees, and that these associations may depend on various beliefs and considerations

Web-based integrated construction management system model

İnşaat yapım süreci çok sayıda proje katılımcısını, değişik formlarda ve sorumluluklarda proje organizasyonlarını ve farklı tiplerde bilgisayar uygulamalarını içerir. Bu özellikler uygulamalardaki entegrasyona dayanan büyük miktarda veri değişimi ve bilgi paylaşımı ihtiyacını ortaya çıkarmaktadır. Yapı üretim sürecinin her aşamasını kapsayan ve katılımcılar arasındaki iletişim kopukluğunu sanal ortamda ortadan kaldıran “Web-tabanlı Bütünleşik Yapım Yönetim Sistemi Modeli” geliştirilmiştir. Önerilen sistem ile yönetim kademelerine güncel, doğru ve hızlı veri akışı sağlama, ayrık ortamlardan bilgiye kolay erişme ve çoklu-proje ortamın-da etkin süreç yönetimi hedeflenmiştir. Bu çalışmada önerilen modelin inşaat yapım sürecinin tüm aşamalarındaki proje yönetimine ve sektörün gelişimine sağladığı katkılar tartışılacaktır.The construction process involves a large number of participants, various forms of project organisation, and the use of numerous different types of computer applications. These characteristics bring forth the need for intensive data exchange and information sharing based on the integration of various applications. Different types of construction projects undertaken by the ITU Construction Works Office are continuing to expand and a serious need for the management of all construction related activities are recognised. With such a rapid spurge of projects, a need is recognised for a system that would ensure the effective management of the ITU's campus construction projects. This process involves the integration of such information in a format that can be transferred to the level of the Rector for effective decision-making. The objective of this study is to develop an integrated data management tool including decision-support utilities for communicating, organising and managing project information using web-based technology and the network. By integrating data, extracted from the specific software packages, the system generates a variety of reports at the multiple project level for multi-task decisions to achieve completion of the multi-projects on time within budget. The paper concludes with a discussion of how the proposed system contributes to the development of the construction industry

Sustainable Built Environment and Its Implications on Real Estate Development: A Comprehensive Analysis

The construction and real estate sectors exert significant environmental, economic, and social impacts. The implementation of environmentally friendly practices in construction offers numerous advantages. Sustainable building practices provide a morally and economically viable solution to address the issues of excessive resource consumption and adverse environmental effects. This chapter investigates the intricate interplay between eco-friendly construction and property development, exploring how integrating urban planning, architectural design, and sustainability principles can shape sustainable building practices, market trends, and future development strategies. Sustainable architecture aims to enhance individuals’ quality of life while minimizing harm to the natural world. The influence of such practices on real estate development manifests in cost savings, increased property values, and a growing demand from buyers, as extensively examined in this article. Furthermore, potential regulations, financing, and technology obstacles are thoroughly analyzed. The report substantiates its claims by presenting real-world examples of sustainable techniques applied in real estate markets. Drawing from existing patterns and emerging methodologies, the paper also forecasts the future implications of sustainable built environments on real estate development. In conclusion, the chapter emphasizes that real estate developers must adapt to evolving sustainability requirements to fulfill their environmental responsibilities and meet consumer expectations

Blockchain innovation ecosystems orchestration in construction

Purpose: Rapid advancements in blockchain technology transform various sectors attracting the attention of industrialists, practitioners, policy-makers, academics, and profoundly affect construction businesses through smart contracts and crypto-economics. This paper explores the blockchain innovation ecosystem in construction. Design/methodology/approach: Through a qualitative study of 23 diverse interviewees, we explored how open or closed the blockchain innovation ecosystem in construction is and who its emerging orchestrators are. Findings: The data showed that construction aims towards an open innovation blockchain ecosystem, although there are elements of hybridisation and closedness, each system pointing out to different orchestrators. Practical implications: The study has implications for governments and large companies in construction showing that open innovation initiatives need to be encouraged by policy-makers through rules, regulations and government-sponsored demonstrator projects. Social implications: The data showed that there is lack of readiness for business model change to support open innovation blockchain ecosystems in construction. Originality: This is the first study applying the open innovation theory in the construction industry and sheds light into the phenomenon of blockchain suggesting routes for further democratisation of the technology for policy-makers and practitioners

Integration of Blockchain and Digital Twins in the Smart Built Environment Adopting Disruptive Technologies—A Systematic Review

The integration of blockchain and digital twins (DT) for better building-lifecycle data management has recently received much attention from researchers in the field. In this respect, the adoption of enabling technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), the In-ternet of Things (IoT), cloud and edge computing, Big Data analytics, etc., has also been investigated in an abundance of studies. The present review inspects the recent studies to shed light on the foremost among those enabling technologies and their scope, challenges, and integration potential. To this end, 86 scientific papers, recognized and retrieved from the Scopus and Web of Science databases , were reviewed and a thorough bibliometric analysis was performed on them. The obtained results demonstrate the nascency of the research in this field and the necessity of further implementation of practical methods to discover and prove the real potential of these technologies and their fusion. It was also found that the integration of these technologies can be beneficial for addressing the implementation challenges they face individually. In the end, an abstract descriptive model is presented to provide a better understanding of how the technologies can become integrated into a unified system for smartening the built environment

Web-based Integrated Construction Management System Model In Multi-project Environment

Tez (Doktora) -- İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi, Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü, 2002Thesis (PhD) -- İstanbul Technical University, Institute of Science and Technology, 2002İnşaat yapım süreci çok sayıda proje katılımcısını, değişik formlarda ve sorumluluklarda proje organizasyonlarını ve farklı tiplerde bilgisayar uygulamalarını içerir. Bu özellikler uygulamalardaki entegrasyona dayanan büyük miktarda veri alışverişi ve bilgi paylaşımı ihtiyacını ortaya çıkarmaktadır. Bu çalışmada, yapı üretim sürecinin her aşamasını kapsayan ve katılımcılar arasındaki iletişim kopukluğunu sanal ortamda ortadan kaldıran “Çoklu-proje Ortamında Web-tabanlı Bütünleşik Yapım Yönetim Sistemi Modeli” geliştirilmiştir. Önerilen sistem ile; yönetim kademelerine güncel, doğru ve hızlı veri akışı sağlama, ayrık ortamlardan bilgiye kolay ve güvenli bir şekilde erişme ve çoklu-proje ortamında etkin süreç yönetimi hedeflenmiştir. Sistemde dinamik bir ortam sağlanabilmesi için kullanılan bağımsız iş paketlerinin (iş programı, hakediş programı gibi) çeşitlenebilmesi ve yaratılan arayüzlerle web ortamında etkin rapor seçeneklerini yaratılabilmesi hedeflenmiştir. Geliştirilen bu modelde örnek olay olarak İTÜ Kampüs İnşaatları için tasarlanan yönetim bilişim sisteminin kurgusu anlatılmıştır. Yapılandırılan bu sistemin, Türk İnşaat Sektörüne ve İTÜ Kampüslerindeki bina projelerinin her aşamasındaki proje yönetimine sağladığı katkılar ve Ülkemizde Yapı İşleri Teknik Dairelerinin yeniden yapılandırılması çerçevesinde kullanılabilecek model tartışılmıştır.The construction process involves a large number of participants, various forms of project organisation, and the use of numerous different types of computer applications. These characteristics bring forth the need for intensive data exchange and information sharing based on the integration of various applications. In this study, a “Web-based Integrated Construction Management System Model in Multi-project Environment” was developed involving all the phases of construction process to eliminate the lack of coordination and communication between the participants in virtual environment. With the proposed system, it was aimed to provide actual, accurate and quick data-flow to the executive management, easy but secure access to the information and to have an effective process management in a multi-project environment. The system formulates a process for collecting data from various software packages, accumulating this data in a multi-project environment, and formatting this data to create integrated reports. In the developed model, the structure of the Management Information System designed for the ITU Campus Construction Projects was described as a case study. The study concludes with a discussion how the established system contributes to the Turkish Construction Industry and project management of buildings involving all processes at ITU Campus and re-structuring the framework of the model to be developed for the Construction Works Departments in our country.DoktoraPh

BIM-enabled cognitive computing for smart built environment : potential, requirements, and implementation

Buku "BIM-enabled Cognitive Computing for Smart Built Environment: Potential, Requirements, and Implementation" yang disunting oleh Ibrahim Yitmen membahas penggunaan komputasi kognitif yang didukung oleh BIM (Building Information Modeling) dalam lingkungan bangunan pintar. Buku ini fokus pada potensi, persyaratan, dan implementasi paradigma Cognitive Internet of Things (CIoT) dalam bangunan, penggabungan Augmented Reality/Mixed Reality ke dalam konsep bangunan kognitif, perkotaan pintar kognitif dalam kompleksitas, heterogenitas, dan cakupannya, serta tantangan penggunaan big data yang dihasilkan oleh kota pintar dari perspektif pembelajaran mesin.Buku ini memberikan kontribusi dalam pemrosesan, analisis, manajemen, pemodelan, dan simulasi big data serta keterkaitannya dengan sistem kognitif yang didukung oleh BIM, yang akan memajukan berbagai aspek kota-kota kognitif di masa depan. Buku ini diterbitkan dalam edisi pertama oleh CRC Press, Taylor and Francis Group pada tahun 2021.xxiv, 231 p. ; 23 cm