Supporting future-proof healthcare design by narrowing the design space of solutions using building information modelling

BIM has been characterized by the UK Government’s chief construction adviser as unstoppable regarding its rise in construction and he further positioned BIM as mandatory for public projects in the UK by 2016. Moreover, large scale public projects such as healthcare facilities must be seen as a process, being able to meet the constantly changing demands imposed on healthcare infrastructure. Facilities should be designed as change-ready rather than to meet fixed requirements, therefore, the designer should accommodate as large section of design space potential solutions instead of mistakenly narrowing the response of the project to only one solution. Scenario based design was employed as research and design method for the proposed software modules which would extend the Activity Database (ADB). Two modules are proposed that will enable designers to improve their spatial design decisions for both new and refurbishment projects through partially automated knowledge extraction. Additionally, the integration of flexibility and standardisation concepts has been addressed. The proposed design approach is intended to provide rich knowledge representation at the early stages of the design process in less time and effort

Managing uncertainty (opportunities and threats) in megaprojects

Megaprojects inherently contain high levels of uncertainty, due to their scale, complexity and heterogeneous one-off delivery nature. Dealing with uncertainty (a ubiquitous phenomenon) in projects requires numerous approaches on multiple fronts (e.g. at an individual, organisational and inter-organisational level). Uncertainty is viewed as the unknown opportunity or threat that could emerge from multiple external and internal sources and has an influence during the project evolution. This paper draws on existing conceptual and empirical findings to understand uncertainty in megaprojects, this includes the megaproject context (underlying organisational dynamics), characteristics of uncertainty and management of uncertainty. Based on the initial findings, the key emerging ideas are developed into a set of preliminary propositions to guide research on understanding uncertainty within megaprojects. The conceptual findings provide the foundation required for further empirical research to explore and identify the key challenges and solutions of managing uncertainty and its characteristics through a multi-perspective approach

Determining South African consumers' willingness to pay for certified Karoo lamb : an application of an experimental auction

Changes in the features of food demand and consumption have moved from the mass consumption model towards an increasing qualitative differentiation of products and demand. This movement towards addressing consumers’ demand for food products with more advanced quality attributes has led to increasingly complex food qualification processes and a proliferation of standards. Accompanying these changes in the agro-food system is a growing consumer concern for food safety and quality. One important attribute of “quality” is the origin of a food product. This paper focuses on lamb originating from the Karoo region of South Africa and tests consumers’ willingness to pay a premium for this specific origin attribute of the product. A random nth price auction was conducted to obtain willingness to pay estimates for a premium on a 500g packet of certified Karoo lamb loin chops. Various demographic and behavioural variables were linked to participants’ individual bids in order to determine the possible influence of these variables on participants’ bidding behaviour. A general positive willingness to pay for certified Karoo lamb was observed, with an average premium of R21.80/ kg recorded for loin chops. The impact of additional information was clearly visible as bids increased substantially after additional information regarding the product was introduced.http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ragr20hb201

Do we all perceive food-related wellbeing in the same way? : results from a cross-cultural

Interest in measuring consumers' perceived wellbeing in a food-related context has been growing. Understanding how foods influence consumers' perceived wellbeing can contribute to better understand eating patterns. Culture is expected to largely influence how consumers perceive food-related wellbeing. People in different cultures have different values and are exposed to different socio-economic contexts, which make them likely to consider different criteria when evaluating food-related wellbeing. In this context, the present work aimed at investigating cross-cultural differences in perceived wellbeing of food products using a new scale. A web-based study was carried with 1332 participants in seven countries: Brazil, China, France, Portugal, Spain, Uruguay and USA. A new scale to measure wellbeing in a food-related context was constructed considering results from previous studies and other wellbeing scales. The scale contained 31 statements related to six main dimensions (general, emotional, intellectual, physical, social and spiritual). Six out of nine food concepts (apple, beef, beer, broccoli, chocolate cake, coffee, fish, French fries and milk) were presented to participants following an incomplete balanced design. For each of the concepts participants rated their degree of agreement with the 31 statements using a 7-point scale. The scores of the 31 items of the scale were significantly affected by country and food concept, as well as their interaction. Using factor analysis, the items were grouped into four main factors related to physical, intellectual and emotional aspects of food consumption. The items related to physical aspects showed the greatest differences among products, followed by those related to the intellectual aspects. Average scores of the food concepts in the four factors differed among countries. The largest differences were found for the two emotional related factors. These results provide insight on how consumers perceive different dimensions of wellbeing and stress the influence of cultural differences on the conceptualization of this construct

New fish product ideas generated by European consumers

Food lifestyles are changing; people have less time to spend on food purchase and preparation, therefore leading to increasing demand for new food products. However, around 76% of new food products launched in the market fail within the first year (Nielsen, 2014). One of the most effective ways to enhance new products’ success in the market is by incorporating consumers’ opinions and needs during the New Product Development (NPD) process (Moon et al., 2018). This study aimed to explore the usefulness of a qualitative technique, focus groups, to generate new aquaculture fish product ideas as well as to identify the most relevant product dimensions affecting consumers’ potential acceptance.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Towards a Framework for Understanding Fairtrade Purchase Intention in the Mainstream Environment of Supermarkets

© 2014, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht. Despite growing interest in ethical consumer behaviour research, ambiguity remains regarding what motivates consumers to purchase ethical products. While researchers largely attribute the growth of ethical consumerism to an increase in ethical consumer concerns and motivations, widened distribution (mainstreaming) of ethical products, such as fairtrade, questions these assumptions. A model that integrates both individual and societal values into the theory of planned behaviour is presented and empirically tested to challenge the assumption that ethical consumption is driven by ethical considerations alone. Using data sourced from fairtrade shoppers across the UK, structural equation modelling suggests that fairtrade purchase intention is driven by both societal and self-interest values. This dual value pathway helps address conceptual limitations inherent in the underlying assumptions of existing ethical purchasing behaviour m odels and helps advance understanding of consumers’ motivation to purchase ethical products

Perceived food quality and healthiness Integrating means-end chain and conjoint analysis, with emphasis on olive oil extrinsic cues

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:DXN041780 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo