The construction common product coding system

The primary technological barrier in effectively transferring information automatically and adopting Auto ID/EDI technologies in construction is the lack of a construction common product coding system (CCPCS) for encoding and transferring information. To facilitate the information transfer between different components of the construction process and using new Auto ID technologies in construction application, the paper proposes a construction common product coding system (CCPCS). It is a set of agreed‐upon standards that will facilitate communication among parties in the construction process especially using automated data collection processes and possibly technologies to transfer information in electronic form. The CCPCS the paper proposed can be classified as internal or external, permanent or temporary, primary or secondary etc. The research use barcode technology and EDI as the primary technologies to explore the impact of the CCPCS in construction application. However, the concepts of CCPCS still are advantageous for the applications of other Auto ID technologies individually or integration in construction. Santrauka Viena iš pirmųjų kliūčių perkeliant informaciją ir taikant Auto ID/EDI technologijas statyboje yra bendrojo statybos produkto kodavimo sistemos (CCPCS) trūkumas. Ja galima užkoduoti ir perkelti informaciją. Norint palengvinti skirtingų statybos proceso elementų informacijos perdavimą ir pritaikyti statybai naujas Auto ID technologijas, straipsnyje buvo pasiūlyta bendrojo statybos produkto kodavimo sistema (CCPCS). CCPCS yra rinkinys nustatytų standartų, kurie palengvins statybos proceso dalyvių bendravimą, ypač naudojant automatinius duomenų rinkimo procesus ir technologijas, kurios paverstų informaciją elektronine forma. Siūloma CCPCS gali būti skirstoma į išorinę, vidinę, laikinąją ir pastoviąją, pirminę, antrinę ir t. t. Tyrime naudojama brūkšninio kodo technologija ir EDI, kaip pirminės technologijos, kuriomis nustatomas CCPCS taikymo statyboje poveikis. CCPCS koncepcija vis dar yra naudinga taikant Auto ID technologijas tiek individualiai, tiek integruojant į statybą. First Published Online: 14 Oct 2010 Reikšminiai žodžiai: bendrojo produkto kodas, statybos pramonė, Auto ID

Multi period performance assessment model for the site property management

Performance assessment is an important task for the property management company to measure the performance of site, to evaluate and rank the sites, and to trace the main indices resulting in worse performance. Therefore, this study proposes a multi period performance assessment model. A performance scale with twelve indices is adopted to measure the site performance. The raw data can be transformed to be comparable by the proposed linear preprocessing method with specification limits. The priority is ranked by the integrated method with the technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution and the signal-to-noise ratio. Finally, the main indices resulting in worse performance can be identified by the proposed tracing method. An illustrative example of real case is adopted to demonstrate the feasibility and practicability of the proposed model. Results show the proposed model can obtain a more reliable result

Enhancement of external wall decoration material for the building in safety inspection method

As buildings wear out, external wall tiles or attachments will usually fall off, sometimes causing human injuries. At present, the method employed for middle-high rise buildings is mainly the method of visual inspection. The inspection results in using this method are affected by the factors of subjectivity, safety and cost. This study aims to provide a lowercost and more efficient evaluation method for inspecting the status of buildings’ external walls. This proposed method implements Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) technology and high-resolution photographic equipment on Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) which can improve the image recording of the detection process, as well as the overall visual detection technology, and solve the existing visual detection problem of inspectors. Also, the images detected by visual inspection and UAV high-resolution video are used to develop a suitable visual evaluation process and test table for external walls. Through the test results of several cases, the deterioration status and needs for maintenance are taken into account according to the degree of performance indicators. The findings of the study is that the proposed mechanism is more efficient and lower cost for the detection of external walls or ancillary structures’ abnormal status, which is easy to use in practice

Applying Theory of Planned Behavior to Predict Nurses' Intention and Volunteering to Care for Sars Patients in Southern Taiwan

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) spread worldwide after an outbreak in Guangdong Province, China, in mid-November 2002. Health care workers were at highest risk of infection. The purpose of this study, which was based on Ajzen's theory of planned behavior (TPB), was to determine the extent to which personal attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived control influence nurses' intention and volunteering to care for SARS patients. After the SARS outbreak, a total of 750 staff nurses (response rate 90%) at one hospital completed a questionnaire assessing their intention to provide care to SARS patients. Overall, 42.7% of nurses had a positive intention to provide care to SARS patients, and 25.4% of nurses would volunteer to care for SARS patients. Four factors explaining 35% of the variance in nurses' intention to care for SARS patients were self-efficacy (β = 0.39, p < 0.001), attitude (β = 0.25, p < 0.001), years of working in the study hospital (β = −0.15, p < 0.001), and receiving resources from the hospital (β = 0.13, p < 0.001). Two factors explaining 15% of the variance in nurses' volunteering to care for SARS patients were intention (β = 0.31, p < 0.001) and attitude (β = 0.15, p < 0.001). The final model shows that the variables of the TPB contributed significantly to the explanation of a portion of variance in nurses' intention and volunteering to care for SARS patients. The results are helpful for human resources managers facing a new contagious disease

Facility Maintenance Traceability Information Coding in BIM-Based Facility Repair Platform

The importance of facility management (FM) has gradually been recognized in the life cycle of a building. Both new and existing buildings require a more efficient approach and advanced technology to improve the efficiency of the FM. The study is aimed to enhance the facility repair process. Thus, the study presents a building information modeling (BIM)-based facility repair platform framework, which enables expedited reporting for repairs and a comprehensive listing of the status, location, and maintenance record facilities. To effectively facilitate the FM information transfer among stakeholders, firstly, the study presents a facility traceability coding structure for building facilities, the proposed platform framework. The proposed facility traceability information coding in QR code format can help general users and FM personnel identify and locate the specific or abnormal facility quickly. Secondly, the study demonstrates that how to apply the proposed code in QR code format in the BIM-based facility repair platform with a case test. The research findings showed that the proposed method enables FM personnel to significantly improve the efficiency of FM, which can help FM personnel make preliminary facility repair judgments and schedule maintenance plan to track the status of the facility repair which can help improve the efficiency of facility management and simplify the repair process

The non-journalistic career decision-making process of journalism graduates in Taiwan

新聞教育以培育新聞專業人才為主旨，但近年的統計數據指出，新聞系仍是台灣許多高中生嚮往的大學志願，畢業後願意投身新聞職業的新聞系學生卻越來越少。在這之中，新聞系學生在大學期間的從業意願轉變過程與原因值得探討。 本研究從Tiedeman的歷時性觀點出發，以14位不從事新聞工作的新聞系畢業生為研究對象，將他們的職業選擇視為一段由學習與生活經驗構築而成之歷程，並透過深度訪談法瞭解他們對自身學習經驗的主觀詮釋，分析其畢業後首份職業決定的形成過程，並循Krumboltz的生涯決定社會學習論剖析各項影響職業選擇的因素。 研究發現，新聞系學生的非職業抉擇實屬一段歷經新聞從業意願起伏的過程，而非一夕促成的決定。其中，大學學習經驗的影響最是深遠，而「個人的興趣與能力」、「校內實習」與實際接觸新聞實務的「校外實習」是最重要的三個節點，新聞系學生在三者之間經歷職業期望落差，對他們的新聞從業意願造成負面影響。研究者並將新聞系學生的非新聞職業抉擇歷程分為四類：（1）發現新聞之外的職業興趣、（2）校內實習期間經歷職業想像衝突、學習挫折、（3）在校內、外實習經驗的轉換間感知新聞理想與現實的落差，以及（4）從未萌生新聞從業意願。 縱使未投入新聞業，新聞系的專業訓練仍對新聞系學生的職場表現有所助益，諸如資訊蒐集、溝通表達、團隊合作能力等。最後，研究者根據研究結果，對當前的新聞教育提出相關討論與建議

Construction material supply chain process analysis and optimization / Procesų analizė ir optimizacija statybinių medžiagų tiekimo grandinėje

This paper provides a systematic approach for the analysis and design of construction supply chain operation models. Based on the Supply Chain Operations Reference Model of the Supply Chain Council, this research studies sup- ply and demand behavior, using a bridge superstructure construction process as a case study. This paper uses the SCOR Model and applies Dynamic Simulation software, namely, “SIMPROCESS”, to assist in establishing a hierarchical model to explore the behavior of the construction supply chain process and develop a performance evaluation method that can help improve the supply chain management (SCM) of the construction project. Santrauka Šiame darbe sistemingai analizuojami ir kuriami statybų tiekimo grandinės procesų modeliai. Remiantis etaloniniu tiekimo grandinės procesų modeliu, kurį sudarė Tiekimo grandinės taryba, nagrinėjama pasiūlos ir paklausos elgsena, at-vejui tirti pasirinkus tilto perdangų statybos procesą. Naudojant SCOR modelį ir dinaminio modeliavimo programinę įrangą “SIMPROCESS”, darbe sudaromas hierarchinis modelis, leidžiantis nagrinėti procesų pobūdį statybų tiekimo grandinėse, ir sukuriamas veiklos efektyvumo vertinimo metodas, kuris gali padėti pagerinti statybų projekto tiekimo grandinės valdymą (TGV). Reikšminiai žodžiai: etaloninis tiekimo grandinės procesų modelis, modeliavimas, statybų projekta