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Workforce diversity is essential for success from the perspectives of economic development and intellectual property. However, the construction industry is losing out on these gains due to the low diversity among them. The study aims to identify challenges impeding workforce diversity in construction literature through a mixed review approach.

The study desk reviewed 188 relevant construction peer-reviewed articles and conference papers with no restrictions on the time range. The study adopted the mixed methodology review approach through bibliometric and systematic content analyses.

The study identified 67 challenges and further classified them into 4 broad categories. These were industry-related, organisational-, personal or attitudinal- and health-related challenges. Organisational challenges were the most prevalent challenges of diversity uptake in the construction industry. The publications' most influential sources, countries/regions and annual trends were also discussed.

Classifying the challenges hindering diversity contributes to the existing knowledge base. The framework's interrelationships among categorised barriers will enable construction professionals to make informed decisions in promoting diversity in the industry.

This study has a broad geographical reach, allowing the findings to be widely applicable to the diverse practice of the worldwide construction sector.

With emerging technologies rapidly changing work processes, it is important to understand the skills and characteristics project managers (PMs) need to effectively manage projects in the digital era. This study determines the underlying competencies needed for digitalization among PMs in the construction industry. The study also identified the most significant competencies needed by PMs in the era of digitalization.

The methodology adopted for the research study was quantitative. It was founded on a thorough review of pertinent literature, which went through a pilot survey study from six project management experts in the construction industry. Based on the comment and feedback, a questionnaire survey was developed and distributed to participants through a convenience sampling technique. The data retrieved were from 100 professional PMs out of 130 questionnaires distributed in the Ghanaian construction industry. Data collected were analyzed using fuzzy synthetic evaluation (FSE).

Based on FSE, the three competency parameters (knowledge, skills, personal characteristics) generated significant indices indicating that all three competencies are significant among construction PMs in the digitalization era. Under the knowledge competency parameter, six sub-competencies comprising a total of 12 variables were identified. For skills, seven sub-competencies consisting of 23 variables were identified. Regarding personal attributes, six sub-competencies with 17 variables were highlighted. Under knowledge, technical knowledge was found to be the most important with an index of 4.212. For skills, leadership skills were rated highest with an index of 4.240. Regarding personal attributes, social or interpersonal skills were deemed most critical with an index of 4.199.

The results provide guidance to both industry and academic stakeholders. For PMs and their employers, the study highlights priority areas for competency development and training related to the era of digitalization. It also informs educational institutions on how to structure project management curricula to best prepare students for jobs of the future. This study gives more insight into the competencies that need more attention for PMs in the digitalization era. As a result, firms that adopt the identified competency will benefit from implementing digitalization in project delivery.

This study makes an original contribution as one of the first to empirically investigate the competencies required of construction PMs in the construction industry in the digitalization era. By focusing on the developing country context of Ghana, the study extends knowledge to an under-researched region and market. It provides a foundation for future comparative research across diverse global contexts.

The construction industry is an industry which has gained notoriety when it comes to both physical and mental health problems. Compared to other industries, the construction sector has a higher prevalence of many stressors and mental health concerns. This calls for mechanisms to cope with these concerns. One coping mechanism propounded to help cope and adapt in the face of pressures and challenges is “Mental Toughness (MT)”. While mental toughness has been widely studied in various fields, there is a paucity of comprehensive research examining its significance among construction professionals. Thus, the motivation of this study is to establish the mental toughness characteristics among construction professionals in Ghana.

The construction industry is an industry which has gained notoriety when it comes to both physical and mental health problems. Compared to other industries, the construction sector has a higher prevalence of mental health concerns. One coping mechanism propounded to help cope and adapt in the face of pressures and challenges is “Mental Toughness (MT)”. While mental toughness has been widely studied in various fields, there is a paucity of comprehensive research examining its significance among construction professionals. Thus, the motivation of this study is to establish the mental toughness characteristics among construction professionals.

the study's findings revealed 13-factor model characteristics of mental toughness with 43 variables for mentally tough performers in the construction environment. These 13-factor models include Pressure Management (PM), Motivation (M), Emotional Intelligence (EI), Interpersonal self-belief (SB), Tough Attitude (TA), Job-related self-belief (SBB), Ethical Values (EV), Commitment (C), Focus (F), Optimism (OP), Expertise and Competence (EC), Imagery Control (IC) and Resilient (R).

The outcome of this study has significant practical implications for various stakeholders. For construction professionals the identified factors provide valuable insights into the psychological attributes and behaviours that contribute to mental toughness among construction professionals. Understanding these characteristics can empower professionals to develop strategies for coping with stress, maintaining focus, and fostering resilience in challenging construction environments to achieve optimum performance levels consistently.

The originality of this study's findings stems from the fact that it is among the first to provide greater insight into mental toughness characteristics considered by professionals (quantity surveyors, construction managers, engineers, project managers, architects, estate managers) in the construction industry.

Recent United Nations Climate Change Conferences recognise extreme climate change of heatwaves, floods and droughts as threatening risks to the resilience and success of public–private partnership (PPP) infrastructure projects. Such conferences together with available project reports and empirical studies recommend project managers and practitioners to adopt smart technologies and develop robust measures to tackle climate risk exposure. Comparatively, artificial intelligence (AI) risk management tools are better to mitigate climate risk, but it has been inadequately explored in the PPP sector. Thus, this study aims to explore the tools and roles of AI in climate risk management of PPP infrastructure projects.

Systematically, this study compiles and analyses 36 peer-reviewed journal articles sourced from Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar and PubMed.

The results demonstrate deep learning, building information modelling, robotic automations, remote sensors and fuzzy logic as major key AI-based risk models (tools) for PPP infrastructures. The roles of AI in climate risk management of PPPs include risk detection, analysis, controls and prediction.

For researchers, the findings provide relevant guide for further investigations into AI and climate risks within the PPP research domain.

This article highlights the AI tools in mitigating climate crisis in PPP infrastructure management.

This article provides strong arguments for the utilisation of AI in understanding and managing numerous challenges related to climate change in PPP infrastructure projects.