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1 – 10 of 10Sepani Senaratne, Xiao-Hua Jin and Kushan Balasuriya
Project knowledge in the construction context needs to be disseminated within organisations to improve organisations’ performance and learning. Much of project knowledge is tacit…
Abstract
Purpose
Project knowledge in the construction context needs to be disseminated within organisations to improve organisations’ performance and learning. Much of project knowledge is tacit, residing in social interactions in team relationships, and likely to be disseminated through social networks and processes within organisations. Social capital comprises both the network of strong personal relationships and the knowledge resources that may be mobilised through that network. The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of “networks” in disseminating project knowledge within the construction organisations in Sri Lanka.
Design/methodology/approach
The case study research method was used to investigate the research problem. The principal data collection technique used was semi-structured interviews. Content analysis, tables and cognitive maps were used to analyse data.
Findings
The findings revealed that strong network ties created with equal interaction of project and head office (H/O) individuals, frequent connectivity and much closer relationships enhance the flexibility of sharing project knowledge. The available invisible informal social networks within project and H/O individuals play a key role in disseminating project knowledge compared to business networks.
Originality/value
This research offers useful implications for construction organisation, in particular, to pay careful attention to nurture networks within their organisations in order to benefit from disseminating project knowledge widely within the organisations for effective re-use in future.
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Mehmet Börühan Bulut, Sara Wilkinson, Aila Khan, Xiao-Hua Jin and Chyi Lin Lee
This study presents the results of empirical measurements of the thermal performance of retrofitted secondary glazed windows, involving installation of an additional windowpane…
Abstract
Purpose
This study presents the results of empirical measurements of the thermal performance of retrofitted secondary glazed windows, involving installation of an additional windowpane, in a residential context in Australia.
Design/methodology/approach
In situ temperature measurements were collected from the surfaces of retrofitted secondary glazed windows in two residential buildings in the Australian Capital Territory. The heat loss savings and subsequently the electricity savings were calculated based on these temperature measurements.
Findings
Heat loss reductions of up to 60.8% and electricity savings of up to 9.96% could be achieved by retrofitting single glazed windows with secondary glazing. The findings suggest that the thermal performance of retrofitted secondary glazed windows is comparable to double glazed windows.
Practical implications
Multiple glazed windows provide better energy efficiency, thermal and acoustic performance compared to single glazed windows. It is estimated, however, that 85% Australian buildings still have single glazed windows. Secondary glazing has emerged as a cost-efficient and easier-to-install alternative to double glazed windows. The results of this research can contribute to a wider market uptake of secondary glazed windows in Australia by showing that they have similar thermal performance to double glazed windows.
Originality/value
This research is a first attempt to empirically measure the thermal performance of retrofitted secondary glazed windows with an additional windowpane in a residential setting in Australia. Secondary glazing is the provision of an additional windowpane to the original single glazed window. Previous studies in Australia have focused on performance of double glazed windows.
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Mehmet Bulut, Sara Wilkinson, Aila Khan, Xiao-Hua Jin and Chyi Lin Lee
Retrofitting single glazing with double glazing saves energy and enhances indoor comfort, however replacement can be expensive. Secondary glazing is an easier-to-install…
Abstract
Purpose
Retrofitting single glazing with double glazing saves energy and enhances indoor comfort, however replacement can be expensive. Secondary glazing is an easier-to-install, cost-effective retrofit alternative. There is a gap in the literature about post-retrofit occupant satisfaction with secondary glazed windows in Australia.
Design/methodology/approach
This research addresses this gap, with an online survey completed by 56 respondents in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory who retrofitted secondary glazing. This research seeks a deeper understanding of occupier views. Issues of validity and internal and external reliability were addressed in the research.
Findings
Strong satisfaction and significant improvement in indoor comfort was found. Over 80% of respondents felt their home had better thermal and noise insulation. Nearly 79% found a positive impact on their property value and 77% would retrofit secondary glazing if they moved. Occupants considered secondary glazing a suitable technical, economic and environmental alternative to double glazing in retrofits.
Research limitations/implications
There is a chance of sampling bias; only satisfied respondents answer the survey. Survey data was collected from occupants located in a small geographic area and who used the same manufacturer. Different climatic conditions, varying specifications and quality of installed systems could influence perceptions.
Practical implications
Many reported health and wellbeing improvements, higher comfort, higher property value and willingness to invest in residential energy efficiency measures. These findings need to be more widely known in the Australian market.
Originality/value
Few studies focus on retrofitting secondary glazing to Australian residential buildings. This study highlights the social, economic and environmental benefits perceived by occupants post-retrofit.
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Bashir Tijani, Xiao-Hua Jin and Osei-Kyei Robert
Design of architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) project organizations expose project management practitioners (PMPs) to poor mental health due to the influence of…
Abstract
Purpose
Design of architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) project organizations expose project management practitioners (PMPs) to poor mental health due to the influence of project organization designs on project management activities assigned to the PMPs. The AEC project organization design comprises the integration of permanent organization, project organization and external environment layers. In spite of the link between project organization design and mental health, limited studies have examined the impact of permanent organization factors, project organization factors and external environmental factors on mental health management practices. Therefore, this study aims to examine the interactive relationships between permanent organization factors, project organization factors, external environment factors and mental health management indicators.
Design/methodology/approach
Four organizational theories: institutional theory, agency theory and resource-based theory were integrated to develop a theoretical model guiding the aim of the study. Eighty-two survey data were collected from PMPs in AEC firms in Australia. Structural equation modelling was used to test the relationships between the constructs.
Findings
The study found that mental health management indicators are predicted by the interactive and direct effects of permanent organizational factors, project organizational factors and external environmental factors. The results of the interactive effects of the factors and mental health management indicators revealed that 20 of 26 proposed hypotheses were supported. Based on the established hypotheses, economic factors, technological factors, environmental factors, legal factors and organizational culture positively correlated with mental health management indicators. Likewise, human resources management (HRM), corporate governance, project governance and integrated project delivery (IPD) positively impact mental health management indicators. However, political factors, social factors, knowledge management and project management skills negatively impact mental health management indicators. Moreover, political factors, economic factors, technological factors, environmental factors, legal factors and organizational culture are positively related to corporate governance. Additionally, organizational culture positively impacts corporate governance, project governance and HRM, whereas project governance positively correlated with IPD and knowledge management.
Originality/value
The findings provide guidelines to AEC firms on achieving positive mental health management indicators through concentration on project organization design.
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Xiao-Hua Jin, Sepani Senaratne, Ye Fu and Bashir Tijani
The problem of stress is increasingly gaining attention in the construction industry in recent years. This study is aimed at examining the causes, effects and possible alleviation…
Abstract
Purpose
The problem of stress is increasingly gaining attention in the construction industry in recent years. This study is aimed at examining the causes, effects and possible alleviation of stress of project management (PM) practitioners so that their stress could be appropriately managed and reduced, which would contribute to improved mental health.
Design/methodology/approach
Primary data were collected in an online questionnaire survey via Qualtrics. Questions ranged from PM practitioners’ stressors, stress and performance under stress to stress alleviation tools and techniques. One hundred and five PM practitioners completed the questionnaire. Their responses were compiled and analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation and regression.
Findings
The results confirmed that the identified stressors tended to increase stress of PM practitioners. All stressors tested in this study were found to have negative impact on the performance of PM practitioners. In particular, the burnout stressors were seen as the key stressors that influence the performance of PM practitioners and have a strong correlation with all the other stressors. It was also found that a number of tools and techniques can reduce the impact of stressors on PM practitioners.
Originality/value
This study has taken a specific focus on stress-related issues of PM practitioners in the construction industry due to their critical role in this project-dominated industry. Using the Job Demand-Resource theory, a holistic examination was not only conducted on stress and stressors but also on alleviation tools and techniques. This study has thus made significant contribution to the ongoing research aimed at finding solutions to mental health-related problems in the project-dominated construction industry, thereby achieving the United Nations’ social sustainability development goals.
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Bashir Tijani, Xiao-Hua Jin and Robert Osei-Kyei
Architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) project organizations are under constant pressure to improve the mental health of project management practitioners (PMPs) due to…
Abstract
Purpose
Architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) project organizations are under constant pressure to improve the mental health of project management practitioners (PMPs) due to complexity and dynamism involved in project management practices. Drawing on institutional theory, this research explores how external environmental factors, political factors, economic factors, social factors, technological factors, environmental factors and legal factors (PESTEL), influence mental health management indicators that contribute to positive mental health.
Design/methodology/approach
Purposive sampling method was used to collect survey data from 82 PMPs in 60 AEC firms in Australia. Structural equation modelling was used to test the hypotheses based on 82 items of data collected from PMPs.
Findings
Overall, this study revealed interesting findings on the impact of external environmental factors on mental health. The hypothesized positive association between political factors and mental health management indicators was rejected. The data supported the proposed hypothetical correlation between economic factors and mental health management indicators and the influence of social factors on mental health management indicators. Moreover, a hypothetical relationship between technological factors and mental health management indicators was supported. The significant positive impact of environmental factors on mental health management indicators proposed was supported, and legal factors’ positive correlation on mental health management indicators was also supported.
Originality/value
Despite the limitations, the present findings suggest that all the external environment factors except political factors shape mental health management outcomes.
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Xiao‐Hua Jin, Guomin Zhang and Rebecca J. Yang
The purpose of this paper is to investigate and uncover key determinants that could explain partners' commitment to risk management in public‐private partnership projects so that…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate and uncover key determinants that could explain partners' commitment to risk management in public‐private partnership projects so that partners' risk management commitment is taken into the consideration of optimal risk allocation strategies.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on an extensive literature review and an examination of the purchasing power parity (PPP) market, an industry‐wide questionnaire survey was conducted to collect the data for a confirmatory factor analysis. Necessary statistical tests are conducted to ensure the validity of the analysis results.
Findings
The factor analysis results show that the procedure of confirmatory factor analysis is statistically appropriate and satisfactory. As a result, partners' organizational commitment to risk management in public‐private partnerships can now be determined by a set of components, namely general attitude to a risk, perceived one's own ability to manage a risk, and the perceived reward for bearing a risk.
Practical implications
It is recommended, based on the empirical results shown in this paper, that, in addition to partners' risk management capability, decision‐makers, both from public and private sectors, should also seriously consider partners' risk management commitment. Both factors influence the formation of optimal risk allocation strategies, either by their individual or interacting effects. Future research may therefore explore how to form optimal risk allocation strategies by integrating organizational capability and commitment, the determinants and measurement of which have been established in this study.
Originality/value
This paper makes an original contribution to the general body of knowledge on risk allocation in large‐scale infrastructure projects in Australia adopting the procurement method of public‐private partnership. In particular, this paper has innovatively established a measurement model of organisational commitment to risk management, which is crucial to determining optimal risk allocation strategies and in turn achieving project success. The score coefficients of all obtained components can be used to construct components by linear combination so that commitment to risk management can be measured. Previous research has barely focused on this topic.
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Bo Yan, Xiao-hua Wu, Bing Ye and Yong-wang Zhang
The Internet of Things (IoT) is used in the fresh agricultural product (FAP) supply chain, which can be coordinated through a revenue-sharing contract. The purpose of this paper…
Abstract
Purpose
The Internet of Things (IoT) is used in the fresh agricultural product (FAP) supply chain, which can be coordinated through a revenue-sharing contract. The purpose of this paper is to make the three-level supply chain coordinate in IoT by considering the influence of FAP on market demand and costs of controlling freshness on the road.
Design/methodology/approach
A three-level FAP supply chain that comprises a manufacturer, distributor, and retailer in IoT is regarded as the research object. This study improves the revenue-sharing contract, determines the optimal solution when the supply chain achieves maximum profit in three types of decision-making situations, and develops the profit distribution model based on the improved revenue-sharing contract to coordinate the supply chain.
Findings
The improved revenue-sharing contract can coordinate the FAP supply chain that comprises a manufacturer, distributor, and retailer in IoT, as well as benefit all enterprises in the supply chain.
Practical implications
Resource utilization rate can be improved after coordinating the entire supply chain. Moreover, loss in the circulation process is reduced, and the circulation efficiency of FAPs is improved because of the application of IoT. The validity of the model is verified through a case analysis.
Originality/value
This study is different from other research in terms of the combination of supply chain coordination, FAPs, and radio frequency identification application in IoT.
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Syed Awais Ali Shah, Bingtuan Gao, Ajeet Kumar Bhatia, Chuande Liu and Arshad Rauf
Barge-type offshore floating wind turbine (OFWT) commonly exhibits an under-actuated phenomenon in an offshore environment, which leads to a potential vibration-damping hazard…
Abstract
Purpose
Barge-type offshore floating wind turbine (OFWT) commonly exhibits an under-actuated phenomenon in an offshore environment, which leads to a potential vibration-damping hazard. This article aims to provide a new robust output feedback anti-vibrational control scheme for the novel translational oscillator with rotational actuator (TORA) based five-degrees of freedom (5-DOF) barge-type OFWT in the presence of unwanted disturbances and modeling uncertainties.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, an active control technique called TORA has been used to design a 5-DOF barge-type OFWT model, where the mathematical model of the proposed system is derived by using Euler–Lagrange's equations. The robust hierarchical backstepping integral nonsingular terminal sliding mode control (HBINTSMC) with an adaptive gain is used in conjunction with extended order high gain observer (EHGO) to achieve system stabilization in the presence of unwanted disturbances and modeling uncertainties. The numerical simulations based on MATLAB/SIMULINK have been performed to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed model and control law.
Findings
The numerical simulation results affirm the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed control law for the TORA based OFWT system. The results demonstrate that the proposed control law is robust against unwanted disturbances and uncertainties. The unknown states are accurately estimated by EHGO which enables the controller to exhibit improved stabilization performance.
Originality/value
A new mathematical model of the 5-DOF barge-type OFWT system based on TORA is the major contribution of this research paper. Furthermore, it provides a new adaptive anti-vibration control scheme by incorporating the EHGO for the proposed model.
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Akbar Adhiutama, Rony Darmawan, Shimaditya Nuraeni, Noorhan Firdaus Pambudi and Nur Budi Mulyono
The lack of studies about the relevance of disaster awareness factors and disaster evacuation as a part of disaster responses especially for fire cases in an academic environment…
Abstract
Purpose
The lack of studies about the relevance of disaster awareness factors and disaster evacuation as a part of disaster responses especially for fire cases in an academic environment in Indonesia has triggered this study to explore the disaster awareness factors and evacuation experiment without emergency alarm for case study students in the classroom. The relevance of disaster awareness factors in transforming into practical action and decision in a disaster evacuation need to be examined to study the relevance of both phases in disaster.
Design/methodology/approach
This research conducted a quantitative approach by studying questionnaires from 162 respondents collectively divided into five groups to examine the student disaster awareness factors randomly from those groups. The qualitative approach was implemented through the evacuation experiments that were conducted twice to analyze the disaster evacuation performance. The analysis for the relevance is conducted by comparing the result of the questionnaire study and the evacuation experiment.
Findings
According to the questionnaire study, generally, the students are highly confident with their hazard knowledge in disaster awareness except that half of them are doubtful about appropriate steps in a disaster. The experiment without explosive sound showed that they have slower responses in the critical moment of evacuation. The response in the experiments showed relevance with several disaster awareness factors
Research limitations/implications
This study has explored the relevance of disaster awareness factors with disaster response in a campus building. In the part of reducing risk during fire disaster, this research shows the importance of social interaction and hazard knowledge during the disaster.
Practical implications
The improvement of disaster evacuation procedures and training in a campus building is mandatory to reduce disaster risk based on the relevance of disaster awareness factors and disaster response in this study.
Originality/value
This study measures the relevance of disaster awareness factors performance of the students by comparing it to their actions and decisions in an experimental setting of fire building. The disaster awareness factor performance was measured by a questionnaire survey while the experiments were deployed to observe the performance of their actions and decisions during evacuation as part of the disaster response phase.
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