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Article
Publication date: 13 November 2019

Iman Farah Mohamed, David John Edwards, Monica Mateo-Garcia, Glenn Costin and Wellington Didibhuku Didibhuku Thwala

The purpose of this paper is to explore contemporary attitudes amongst UK construction professionals regards fire safety post the Grenfell Tower disaster. Specifically, the…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore contemporary attitudes amongst UK construction professionals regards fire safety post the Grenfell Tower disaster. Specifically, the research examines practitioner’s perceptions of fire safety design, material specification, construction and maintenance of high-rise blocks throughout a building’s whole life cycle.

Design/methodology/approach

A multi-methodology approach was adopted that utilises a mix of research methods. Extant literature and media content is used as a secondary data source, providing a more insightful interpretivist analysis – the results of which guided the development of the survey’s main question set. Primary survey data are sourced from structured interviews and questionnaires completed by participating industry professionals and built environment undergraduate students using non-representative sampling methods. In addition, a Grenfell Tower special advisory panel member was interviewed to add further validity to the overall findings.

Findings

The quantitative findings present evidence to suggest that the Grenfell disaster (and media storm that has surrounded this event) has raised the general level of fire safety knowledge and competency amongst construction professionals. However, qualitative feedback from the special advisory panel member suggests specific fire prevention knowledge remains elusive within both industry and taught programmes at Higher Education Institutes. As a consequence, changes in the taught curriculum are proposed together with an extension of the role of facilities managers in practice to cover fire safety in greater depth.

Originality/value

This paper provides thoughtful insights into the contemporary discourse on fire safety within the UK construction industry. The research also provides critical suggestions to both industry and policy makers which seek to prevent a repeat tragedy occurring again.

Details

International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation, vol. 38 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2398-4708

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Article
Publication date: 28 February 2023

Iman Shaat, Husam Aldamen, Kim Kercher and Keith Duncan

The paper examines the relationship between board effectiveness and audit fees for state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Furthermore, given the unique nature of SOEs, the paper assesses…

429

Abstract

Purpose

The paper examines the relationship between board effectiveness and audit fees for state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Furthermore, given the unique nature of SOEs, the paper assesses country-level influences, such as economic freedom, political democracy and protection of minority shareholders, which can impact board effectiveness and audit fees.

Design/methodology/approach

A combination of two-stage and ordinary least squares regression is used to examine the board characteristics-audit fee relationship for SOEs in a multinational setting during the period from 2016 to 2018.

Findings

The results indicate that board characteristics that represent a high level of effectiveness are associated with higher audit fees in SOEs. Furthermore, the findings suggest SOE's operating in countries evidencing medium levels of democracy and economic freedom and medium to high levels of protection of minority shareholders may be motivated to reduce agency conflicts by promoting accountability and transparency, thereby demanding increasing levels of corporate governance, monitoring and audit quality, thereby increasing audit fees.

Practical implications

The results provide further support for the OECD (2015) guidelines promoting the use of high-quality external audits in SOEs.

Originality/value

As a result of the scarceness of research in this area, the current study extends the literature by examining the role of corporate governance and audit fees in SOEs, while examining the influence of economic freedom, political democracy and protection of minority shareholders.

Details

Asian Review of Accounting, vol. 31 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1321-7348

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Article
Publication date: 28 December 2021

Norhazlina Ibrahim and Safeza Mohd Sapian

This study, using systematic literature review (SLR) aims to highlight and summarise current studies on the factors influencing customers’ Islamic home financing (IHF) selection…

901

Abstract

Purpose

This study, using systematic literature review (SLR) aims to highlight and summarise current studies on the factors influencing customers’ Islamic home financing (IHF) selection and Islamic banking product preference, which has gained popularity within the banking sector over the past three decades. The SLR could map evolution and research fields, recommend a particular categorisation and determine primary issues to demonstrate current trends, future research directions and theoretical development.

Design/methodology/approach

The SLR was performed with a four-step reporting standard for the systematic evidence syntheses review method (research question formulation, systematic searching, quality assessment and data extraction) using 33 screened articles between 2008 and 2020 from two primary databases (Scopus and Web of Science) and one supporting database (Google Scholar).

Findings

The resulting factors could be categorised into four primary themes: consumer behaviour, consumer attributes, bank attributes and bank attributes (Islamic). The themes were subsequently divided into 16 sub-themes. Notably, all the factors proved essential for consumers’ evolving preferences and product competitiveness in the market.

Research limitations/implications

This study encountered two limitations based on database selection and research period.

Practical implications

This SLR aimed to offer useful insights into the factors that should be prioritised by financial institutions for marketing approaches by investigating consumer behaviours.

Originality/value

This study pioneered an SLR on the study area for useful insights into the current research limitations and recommendations on future study directions. Specifically, the study method facilitated critical discussions and comparisons to past research outcomes and objectivity with triangulation from distinct perspectives.

Details

International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis, vol. 16 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8270

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Article
Publication date: 24 September 2019

Madjid Tavana and Vahid Hajipour

Expert systems are computer-based systems that mimic the logical processes of human experts or organizations to give advice in a specific domain of knowledge. Fuzzy expert systems…

909

Abstract

Purpose

Expert systems are computer-based systems that mimic the logical processes of human experts or organizations to give advice in a specific domain of knowledge. Fuzzy expert systems use fuzzy logic to handle uncertainties generated by imprecise, incomplete and/or vague information. The purpose of this paper is to present a comprehensive review of the methods and applications in fuzzy expert systems.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors have carefully reviewed 281 journal publications and 149 conference proceedings published over the past 37 years since 1982. The authors grouped the journal publications and conference proceedings separately accordingly to the methods, application domains, tools and inference systems.

Findings

The authors have synthesized the findings and proposed useful suggestions for future research directions. The authors show that the most common use of fuzzy expert systems is in the medical field.

Originality/value

Fuzzy logic can be used to manage uncertainty in expert systems and solve problems that cannot be solved effectively with conventional methods. In this study, the authors present a comprehensive review of the methods and applications in fuzzy expert systems which could be useful for practicing managers developing expert systems under uncertainty.

Details

Benchmarking: An International Journal, vol. 27 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-5771

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