Search results
1 – 10 of 15Charlotte Brown, Mark Milke and Erica Seville
Lifelines (also referred to as critical infrastructure) are referred to here as the essential infrastructure and services that support the life of our community. In a disaster…
Abstract
Purpose
Lifelines (also referred to as critical infrastructure) are referred to here as the essential infrastructure and services that support the life of our community. In a disaster response and recovery situation, provision of Lifelines, is essential. New Zealand has several mechanisms to improve the responses of lifeline service providers in a disaster situation, including pre‐event planning and coordination groups and legislative provisions for timely response in an emergency. Currently, waste management is not formally included in either the coordination process or the legislative provisions for Lifelines. This paper aims to address whether or not waste management should be included in these.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative and semi‐qualitative matrix‐based assessments were used to determine the relative importance of provision of waste management services in a disaster‐recovery situation.
Findings
The paper argues that waste management should be included in Lifeline planning in New Zealand. Organisational complexity in the waste management system and the likely need to expand pre‐disaster waste management services to deal with large amounts of disaster generated waste, however, mean that inclusion in the legislative provisions for Lifeline service providers would be challenging.
Research limitations/implications
The research context is specific to New Zealand; however, the general challenges, principles and overall approach and may be transferable to other jurisdictions.
Practical implications
Organisational and regulatory approaches recommended in this paper, if adopted, will help waste and emergency managers respond and recover more effectively in a disaster situation.
Originality/value
This paper is the first to attempt to examine in detail the importance of waste management on disaster recovery in New Zealand. The findings of the paper are of relevance to countries with similar organisational and legal structures.
Details
Keywords
Nayanthara De Silva, Nilmini Weerasinghe, H.W.N. Madhusanka and Mohan Kumaraswamy
The purpose of this paper is to identify enablers for setting up relationally integrated value networks (RIVANS) for total facilities management (TFM) as a holistic approach to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify enablers for setting up relationally integrated value networks (RIVANS) for total facilities management (TFM) as a holistic approach to bridge the Project Management (PM) phase to the facilities management (FM) phase, aiming for better service delivery while optimizing the life-cycle cost. These enablers are proposed as required driving forces for the industry to bridge current gaps through RIVANS for TFM so as to improve the value of the facility and deliver better value to its stakeholders over its life span.
Design/methodology/approach
A literature review elicited 11 typical better values that could be achieved by suitably linking the PM and FM supply chains in general. While these were tested in parallel research exercises in Hong Kong, the UK and Singapore, this paper reports on the specific findings from Sri Lanka, where a Web-based questionnaire survey was conducted to identify potential better values for proposed relational networks (including the clients, consultants, contractors and suppliers in the supply chain). Better values were then clustered under principal domains/components using factor analysis to establish synergetic enablers.
Findings
In total, 11 significant better values for TFM were identified and four enablers were extracted as building long-term integrated networks, establishing a common resource pool linking PM and FM, enhancing sustainability of TFM and developing a similar protocol between PM and FM.
Originality/value
The study carried out in this paper contributes to knowledge by identifying drivers to bridge the gap between PM and FM to best achieve clients’ long-term aspirations through a holistic life-cycle approach. Furthermore, all stakeholders in TFM can revisit their practices to establish and strengthen the identified enablers.
Details
Keywords
Susan P. Ashdown, Mee Sung Choi and Eric Milke
The three‐dimensional (3D) body scanner is an important new technology that will impact the design and production of apparel, but use of this tool is at an early stage of…
Abstract
Purpose
The three‐dimensional (3D) body scanner is an important new technology that will impact the design and production of apparel, but use of this tool is at an early stage of development. Appropriate measurement extractions from the complex 3D scans that will address the needs of apparel patternmakers are an essential part of the development process for this new tool. The paper aims to address these developments.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, a method of automatically locating the side seam for torso fitting garments from 3D body scans for a variety of body types was developed and tested. The method is based on the location of center points of body depth measurements, and five different body landmarks or combinations of body landmarks were tested to determine the best choice for implementation.
Findings
Based on rankings and ratings of the results by apparel experts, a method using the average value of body depth measurements taken at about 100 locations equally spaced from the axilla to the crotch was chosen as the best solution.
Research limitations/implications
Additional testing of this method and development of a method for locating the side seam for lower body garments is the next step in this research.
Originality/value
Identifying appropriate landmarks and body measurement extraction processes for apparel or style‐based measurements is as important as the more commonly derived anthropometric measures based on body landmarks. Landmarks such as side‐seam placement pose unique challenges that must be solved with analysis and reconstruction of style‐based data. The paper provides information on these factors.
Details
Keywords
Michael Aherne and José L. Pereira
The purpose of this paper is to use a descriptive case study to establish how collaboration, innovation and knowledge‐management strategies have scaled‐up learning and development…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to use a descriptive case study to establish how collaboration, innovation and knowledge‐management strategies have scaled‐up learning and development in rural, remote and other resource‐constrained Canadian delivery settings.
Design/methodology/approach
Intervention design was realized through a one‐time, collaborative, national capacity‐building project. A project portfolio of 72 sub‐projects, initiatives and strategic activities was used to improve access, enhance quality and create capacity for palliative and end‐of‐life care services. Evaluation was multifaceted, including participatory action research, variance analysis and impact analysis. This has been supplemented by post‐intervention critical reflection and integration of relevant literature.
Findings
The purposeful use of collaboration, innovation and knowledge‐management strategies have been successfully used to support a rapid scaling‐up of learning and development interventions. This has enabled enhanced and new pan‐Canadian health delivery capacity implemented at the local service delivery catchment‐level.
Research limitations/implications
The intervention is bounded by a Canada‐specific socio‐cultural/political context. Design variables and antecedent conditions may not be present and/or readily replicated in other nation‐state contexts. The findings suggest opportunities for future integrative and applied health services and policy research, including collaborative inquiry that weaves together concepts from adult learning, social science and industrial engineering.
Practical implications
Scaling‐up for new capacity is ideally approached as a holistic, multi‐faceted process which considers the total assets within delivery systems, service catchments and communities as potentially being engaged and deployed.
Originality/value
The Pallium Integrated Capacity‐building Initiative offers model elements useful to others seeking theory‐informed practices to rapidly and effectively scale‐up learning and development efforts.
Details
Keywords
Rawan Ramadan, Hassan Ghanem, Jamal M. Khatib and Adel M. ElKordi
The purpose of this paper is to check the feasibility of using biomaterial such as of Phragmites-Australis (PA) in cement paste to achieve sustainable building materials.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to check the feasibility of using biomaterial such as of Phragmites-Australis (PA) in cement paste to achieve sustainable building materials.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, cement pastes were prepared by adding locally produced PA fibers in four different volumes: 0%, 0.5%, 1% and 2% for a duration of 180 days. Bottles and prisms were subjected to chemical shrinkage (CS), drying shrinkage (DS), autogenous shrinkage (AS) and expansion tests. Besides, prism specimens were tested for flexural strength and compressive strength. Furthermore, a mathematical model was proposed to determine the variation length change as function of time.
Findings
The experimental findings showed that the mechanical properties of cement paste were significantly improved by the addition of 1% PA fiber compared to other PA mixes. The effect of increasing the % of PA fibers reduces the CS, AS, DS and expansion of cement paste. For example, the addition of 2% PA fibers reduces the CS, expansion, AS and DS at 180 days by 36%, 20%, 13% and 10%, respectively compared to the control mix. The proposed nonlinear model fit to the experimental data is appropriate with R2 values above 0.92. There seems to be a strong positive linear correlation between CS and AS/DS with R2 above 0.95. However, there exists a negative linear correlation between CS and expansion.
Research limitations/implications
The PA used in this study was obtained from one specific location. This can exhibit a limitation as soil type may affect PA properties. Also, one method was used to treat the PA fibers.
Practical implications
The utilization of PA fibers in paste may well reduce the formation of cracks and limit its propagation, thus using a biomaterial such as PA in cementitious systems can be an environmentally friendly option as it will make good use of the waste generated and enhance local employment, thereby contributing toward sustainable development.
Originality/value
To the authors best knowledge, there is hardly any research on the effect of PA on the volume stability of cement paste. Therefore, the research outputs are considered to be original.
Details
Keywords
These are the days of falling standards and sagging morale, nowhere more apparent than in the one‐time efficient public service. The division between management and workers in the…
Abstract
These are the days of falling standards and sagging morale, nowhere more apparent than in the one‐time efficient public service. The division between management and workers in the field in the large public enterprises has grown wider and wider and we tend to blame the lower strata of the structure for most of the ills which beset us, mainly because its failures are more obvious; here, the falling standards of work and care speak for themselves. The massive reorganization of the National Health Service and local authorities has made evident, especially in the first, that the upper strata of the colossi which dominate our everyday lives have their ills too. Local authorities have been told “The party is over!” and the National Health Service has been told of the urgent need for the strictest economy in administration; that the taking over of personal health services from local authorities was wrongly attributed to “managerial growth” instead of a mere “transfer of functions”, but, nonetheless, new authorities were created, each with fast‐growing administrative organs operating services—doctors, nurses and patients—which had remained unchanged. Very large local authorities, with many functions lost to others, one would have expected to have resulted in economy of administration, has all‐too‐often been the opposite. Hardly surprising that those who pay for it all, distinct from those who receive of its largesse, are being stirred to rebellion, when they have been overtaxed, ill‐used and what is more important, ignored for so long.
John Aliu and Clinton Ohis Aigbavboa
The purpose of this paper is to examine the impacts of university and construction industry collaborations (UIC) activities in developing the employability of built environment…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the impacts of university and construction industry collaborations (UIC) activities in developing the employability of built environment graduates.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopted a quantitative approach wherein data was obtained from professionals across academia, construction industry and government establishment within the South African built environment. A total of 204 questionnaires were administered to these professionals to provide information regarding the subject matter under question. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was adopted to examine possible relationships among identified factors that were obtained from a review of extant literature. SEM was performed using analysis of moment structures (AMOS Graphics, version 26) in testing the model and a best-fit was achieved after various model selections and validation tests were conducted.
Findings
The final model revealed that graduate employability can be improved through UIC as effective university-industry linkages provide students with mentoring opportunities and exposure to relevant training which improves their job market prospects and ultimately increases their professional relevance in the long run.
Practical implications
To continuously enhance the employability of students before graduation, universities are required to foster collaborations with the industry as such linkages are critical to the development of the future custodians of the construction industry.
Originality/value
There have been several generalized statements as to which of the UIC activities contribute to graduate employability. Therefore, through the use of SEM using AMOS, it was possible to state precisely the UIC constructs that are statistically significant and contribute to graduate employability.
Details
Keywords
The early decades of the twentieth century witnessed a significant transformation in managerial control practices within the US department store. New principles of scientific…
Abstract
The early decades of the twentieth century witnessed a significant transformation in managerial control practices within the US department store. New principles of scientific management, already employed on the factory floor, were now implemented on the retail “shop floor”. The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into this transition by examining three such scientific management initiatives introduced by store management during this era. The paper draws on a number of sources in its historical examination of early department store scientific management initiatives. These include archival records, published literature of the era, and particularly the proceedings of meetings of the annual Controllers Congress of the National Retail Dry Goods Association (US). The paper finds how notions of the rationality of science reined over such store operations as inventory valuation, credit control and overhead expense allocation. Traditional positions of power were recast and new managerial roles created in the name of science. The paper illustrates the insights that can be gained from an examination of scientific management practices in an alternative arena to the factory floor. Further historical research in the area of retail management may prove productive not only for our understanding of this site but also our knowledge of the process by which new managerial initiatives become assimilated. The study of the managerial practices of such vast organizational forms proves fruitful not only for the history scholar. Given the centrality of the department store in the creation of a contemporary culture of consumption, such examination becomes all the more insightful.
Details
Keywords
Christine Kousa and Uta Pottgiesser
Eight years of civil war in Syria severely impacted the historic core of Aleppo, with about 30 percent of its buildings completely destroyed and huge amounts of debris generated…
Abstract
Purpose
Eight years of civil war in Syria severely impacted the historic core of Aleppo, with about 30 percent of its buildings completely destroyed and huge amounts of debris generated. This paper proposes recovery strategies for some of the most badly damaged sites in the city through material reuse and transformation, one of the goals of which is to ensure the continuity of the city’s urban cultural heritage. The purpose of this paper is to presents not only risks but also opportunities with respect to the integration of technologies to support recovery and reconstruction.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper analyzes the current situation in the Old City of Aleppo by identifying the most seriously damaged sites, namely those that have sustained damage to between 80 and 100 percent of the site. It reviews comparable international post-disaster examples and investigates appropriate options for dealing with the damage caused by the war and the management of debris, with consideration given to minimal intervention, the retention of structural integrity, technology and the integration of historic materials within new components and buildings. The methodology has relied on research through field work, including interviews with stakeholders in Aleppo.
Findings
The paper proposes two strategies to guide post-war rebuilding and conservation efforts in the Old City of Aleppo through: the creation of new multi-purpose, public open spaces and the use of debris in the repair of buildings and construction of new components and buildings, including infrastructure for solar panels within the new public spaces.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the development of a post-civil war sustainable material recovery approach for the Old City of Aleppo and for Syria more generally, where a disaster waste management strategy is still in development.
Details