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Open Access
Article
Publication date: 11 August 2022

Krishna Chauhan, Antti Peltokorpi, Rita Lavikka and Olli Seppänen

Prefabricated products are continually entering the building construction market; yet, the decision to use prefabricated products in a construction project is based mostly on…

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Abstract

Purpose

Prefabricated products are continually entering the building construction market; yet, the decision to use prefabricated products in a construction project is based mostly on personal preferences and the evaluation of direct costs. Researchers and practitioners have debated appropriate measurement systems for evaluating the impacts of prefabricated products and for comparing them with conventional on-site construction practices. The more advanced, cost–benefit approach to evaluating prefabricated products often inspires controversy because it may generate inaccurate results when converting non-monetary effects into costs. As prefabrication may affect multiple organisations and product subsystems, the method used to decide on production methods should consider multiple direct and indirect impacts, including nonmonetary ones. Thus, this study aims to develop a multi-criteria method to evaluate both the monetary and non-monetary impacts of prefabrication solutions to facilitate decision-making on whether to use prefabricated products.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing upon a literature review, this research suggests a multi-criteria method that combines the choosing-by-advantage approach with a cost–benefit analysis. The method was presented for validation in focus group discussions and tested in a case involving a prefabricated bathroom.

Findings

The analysis indicates that the method helps a project’s stakeholders communicate about the relative merits of prefabrication and conventional construction while facilitating the final decision of whether to use prefabrication.

Originality/value

This research contributes a method of evaluating the monetary and non-monetary impacts of prefabricated products. The research underlines the need to evaluate the diverse benefits and sacrifices that stakeholder face when considering production methods in construction.

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 27 June 2023

Kabir Ibrahim, Fredrick Simpeh and Oluseyi Julius Adebowale

Technologies have had a positive impact on the construction industry. Technologies such as BIM, automation, augmented and virtual reality, Internet of Things and robotics have…

Abstract

Purpose

Technologies have had a positive impact on the construction industry. Technologies such as BIM, automation, augmented and virtual reality, Internet of Things and robotics have been adopted by construction firms to enhance productivity. However, not much research has been done on the awareness and adoption of wearable technologies for health and safety (H&S) management. This paper investigates the level of awareness and adoption of wearable technologies for H&S management in the Nigerian construction industry.

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative research method was adopted for the study. An electronic questionnaire format was used as an instrument to collect the data. Both descriptive (mean score) and inferential statistics (Kruskal–Wallis test) were used to analyse the data.

Findings

The results indicate that organisations rarely use H&S wearable devices for H&S management although professionals within the construction industry are somewhat aware of the common H&S wearable devices. The findings further indicate that all 11 variables were perceived as “rarely adopted”, whereas 2 variables were perceived as “aware”, 3 variables as “slightly aware” and the remaining 6 variables as “somewhat aware”.

Research limitations/implications

Data were collected from only construction professionals working in government agencies, consultancy firms and grade D contracting firms in Lagos and Abuja. For a broader perspective, a study that expands the number of states and categories of construction firms is recommended.

Practical implications

The construction industry in Nigeria can use the recommendations to improve H&S management on site. Moreover, the recommendations can contribute to the development of policies to promote the adoption of wearable technologies in construction sites.

Originality/value

Research on wearable technologies, particularly in the Nigerian construction industry, is at the developing stage. With this article, the authors contribute to the body of knowledge in this area of research.

Details

Frontiers in Engineering and Built Environment, vol. 4 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2634-2499

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 16 January 2024

Candida Brush, Birgitte Wraae and Shahrokh Nikou

Despite the considerable increase in research on entrepreneurship education, few studies examine the role of entrepreneurship educators. Similarly, most frameworks from…

1000

Abstract

Purpose

Despite the considerable increase in research on entrepreneurship education, few studies examine the role of entrepreneurship educators. Similarly, most frameworks from entrepreneurship education recognize the educator’s importance in facilitating instruction and assessment, but the factors influencing the educator role are not well understood. According to the identity theory, personal factors including self-efficacy, job satisfaction and personal values influence the perspective of self, significance and anticipations that an individual in this role associates with it, determining their planning and actions. The stronger the role identity the more likely entrepreneurship educators will be in effectively developing their entrepreneurial skills as well as the overall learning experience of their students. The objective of this study is to pinpoint the factors that affect entrepreneurial role identity.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing upon the identity theory, this study developed a theoretical framework and carried out an empirical investigation involving a survey of 289 entrepreneurship educators across the globe. Structural equation modeling (SEM) technique was applied to analyze and explore the factors that impact the identity of the educators in their role as entrepreneurship teachers.

Findings

The findings show that the role identity of entrepreneurship educators is significantly influenced by their self-efficacy, job satisfaction and personal values. Among these factors, self-efficacy and job satisfaction have the most significant impacts on how educators perceive their role. The implications of these results and directions for future research are also discussed.

Originality/value

The novelty of the current study is derived from its conceptualization of the antecedents of role perception among entrepreneurship educators. This study stands out as one of the earliest attempts to investigate the factors that shape an individual’s scene of self and professional identity as an entrepreneurship educator. The significance of comprehending the antecedents of role perception lies in the insights it can offer into how educators undertake and execute their role, and consequently, their effectiveness in teaching entrepreneurship.

Details

Education + Training, vol. 66 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0040-0912

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 4 January 2023

Päivi Kinnunen, Leena Ripatti-Torniainen, Åsa Mickwitz and Anne Haarala-Muhonen

The study aims to investigate the state of higher education (HE) leadership research after the intensified focus on teaching and learning (TL) in academia.

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Abstract

Purpose

The study aims to investigate the state of higher education (HE) leadership research after the intensified focus on teaching and learning (TL) in academia.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors clarify the use of key concepts in English-medium empirical journal articles published between 2017 and 2021 by analysing 64 publications through qualitative content analysis.

Findings

The analysed papers on leadership of TL in HE activate a number of concepts, the commonest concepts being academic leadership, distributed leadership, educational leadership, transformational leadership, leadership and transformative leadership. Even if the papers highlight partly overlapping aspects of leadership, the study finds a rationale for the use of several concepts in the HE context. Contrary to the expectation raised in earlier scholarship, no holistic framework evolves from within the recent research to reveal the contribution that leadership of TL makes to leadership in HE generally.

Research limitations/implications

Limitations: Nearly 40 per cent of the analysed articles are from the United States of America (USA), United Kingdom (UK), Australia and Canada, which leaves large areas of the world aside. Implications: The found geographical incoherence might be remediated and the research of leadership of TL in HE generally led forward by widening the cultural and situational diversity in the field.

Originality/value

This research contributes to an enhanced understanding of the field of leadership in TL in HE in that it frames the concepts used in recent research and makes the differences, similarities and rationale between concepts visible.

Details

Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, vol. 16 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-7003

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 6 April 2023

Haifa Mohammad Algahtani, Haitham Jahrami and Mariwan Husni

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on medical education and training, with many medical schools and training programs having to adapt to remote or online learning…

Abstract

Purpose

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on medical education and training, with many medical schools and training programs having to adapt to remote or online learning, social distancing measures and other challenges. This paper aimed to examine the disruption for clinical training, as it has reduced the opportunities for students and trainees to gain hands-on experience and interact with patients in person.

Design/methodology/approach

The ethnographic qualitative research design was chosen as the research methodology. Using Gibbs' reflective cycle, the researcher explored the psychiatry clerks' (final-year medical students) reflections on the disruption of their clinical training during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Findings

The findings demonstrated that the students had a significant psychological impact on their coping capacities as the crisis progressed from shock and depression to resilience. The students being the key stakeholders provided a concrete foundation for the development of a framework for improving practices during uncertain times.

Originality/value

Students' reflections provided valuable insight into the pandemic’s impact on their psychosocial lives with uncertainty and incapacity to cope up with changing stressful dynamics. The results will assist in planning how to best support medical students' well-being during interruptions of their educational process brought about by similar future crises.

Details

Arab Gulf Journal of Scientific Research, vol. 42 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1985-9899

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 11 July 2023

Margherita Lisco and Radhlinah Aulin

The reuse of timber building parts, when designing new buildings, has become a topic of increasing discussion as a proposed circular solution in support of sustainable development…

Abstract

Purpose

The reuse of timber building parts, when designing new buildings, has become a topic of increasing discussion as a proposed circular solution in support of sustainable development goals. Designers face the difficulty of identifying and applying different design strategies for reuse due to multiple definitions, which are used interchangeably. The purpose of this study is to propose a taxonomy to define the relationships between various concepts and practices that comprise the relevant strategies for reuse, notably design for disassembly (DfD) and design for adaptability (DfA).

Design/methodology/approach

Literature reviews were conducted based on research publications over the previous 12 years and located through the Web of Science and Scopus.

Findings

A taxonomy for the design process grounded on two strategies for reuse is presented: DfD and DfA. Based on previous work, the taxonomy aims to build a vocabulary of definitions in DfD and DfA to support other researchers and practitioners working in the field.

Research limitations/implications

The research is limited to the design phase of timber-based buildings. It does not take into account the other phases of the construction process, neither other kind of construction methods.

Practical implications

The application of the taxonomy can facilitate communication between different actors and provide a way for building product manufacturers to demonstrate their reuse credentials, enabling them to produce and promote compliant products and thereby support design for reuse strategies.

Social implications

This paper could contribute to a closer collaboration of all stakeholders involved in the building process since the very early phases of the conceptual design.

Originality/value

This paper contributes a comprehensive taxonomy to support the deployment of circular reuse strategies and assist designers and other stakeholders from the earliest of phases in the building’s life cycle. The proposed definition framework provided by the taxonomy resolves the longstanding lack of a supporting vocabulary for reuse and can be used as a reference for researchers and practitioners working with the DfD and DfA.

Details

Construction Innovation , vol. 24 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1471-4175

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 11 December 2023

Mahesh Subramony and Mark S. Rosenbaum

The purpose of this study is to address United Nations’ sustainable development goals (SDGs) 8 and 9 from a service perspective. SDG 8 is a call to improve the dignity of service…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to address United Nations’ sustainable development goals (SDGs) 8 and 9 from a service perspective. SDG 8 is a call to improve the dignity of service work by enhancing wages, working conditions and development opportunities while SDG 9 calls upon nations to construct resilient infrastructures, promote inclusivity and sustainability and foster innovation.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a bibliometric review to extract important themes from a variety of scholarly journals.

Findings

Researchers tend to investigate policy-level topics, such as national and international standards related to working conditions, while ignoring the experiences or well-being of workers occupying marginalized and low-opportunity roles in service organizations. Service researchers, educators and practitioners must collaborate to improve the state of service industries by conducting participatory action research, promoting grassroots organizing/advocacy, implementing digitized customer service and addressing workforce soft skills deficiencies.

Research limitations/implications

The authors consider how service work can be transformed into respectable employment and present four specific ways nations can enhance their service industries.

Practical implications

Economic planners can view SDGs 8 and 9 as a framework for understanding and promoting the well-being of service employees and accelerating the productivity and innovation levels of the service sector.

Originality/value

The United Nations’ SDGs are examined from a services perspective, which increases their significance in service-dominated economies.

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 17 May 2022

Mohammad B. Hamida, Tuuli Jylhä, Hilde Remøy and Vincent Gruis

Adaptability is an inherent quality in building circularity, as adaptability can physically facilitate the reversibility of materials in a closed-reversible chain, also called…

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Abstract

Purpose

Adaptability is an inherent quality in building circularity, as adaptability can physically facilitate the reversibility of materials in a closed-reversible chain, also called “loops”. Nevertheless, positioning adaptability in circularity-oriented models could overlook some of the contextual considerations that contribute to the utility for the built environment. This paper reconceptualises building adaptability to incorporate circularity, in order to facilitate for the resource loops whilst preserving the long-lasting functionality in buildings.

Design/methodology/approach

An integrative literature review on adaptability and circularity of buildings was conducted using systematic search approach. From the initial database of 4631 publications, 104 publications were included for the final analysis. A comparative analysis of definitions and determinants of both concepts was conducted to reconceptualise circular building adaptability.

Findings

The findings of the literature study show that incorporating circularity and adaptability is possible through 10 design and operation determinants, namely configuration flexibility, product dismantlability, asset multi-usability, design regularity, functional convertibility, material reversibility, building maintainability, resource recovery, volume scalability, and asset refit-ability. The study concludes that considering the defined determinants in a holistic manner could simultaneously facilitate: building resilience to contextual changes, creation of asset value, and elimination of waste generation.

Originality/value

This paper expands the relevant bodies of literature by providing a novel way of perceiving building adaptability, incorporating circularity. The practical value of this paper lies in the discussion of potential strategies that can be proactively or reactively employed to operationalise circular building adaptability.

Details

International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation, vol. 41 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2398-4708

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 29 March 2023

Rebecca Stenberg and Maria Wolmesjö

The purpose of this paper is to give an account for preparative collaboration between the police and municipal eldercare in Sweden concerning missing persons with dementia.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to give an account for preparative collaboration between the police and municipal eldercare in Sweden concerning missing persons with dementia.

Design/methodology/approach

Design/methodology/approach used was a qualitative case study design, consisting of one focus group with representatives for the participating organisations, followed by directed content analysis.

Findings

The findings showed a lack of current collaboration and reluctance to new collaborative initiatives. However, when focussing on preparative collaboration of coordinated responses to missing incidents, possibilities for improvement could be identified. The improvements concerned updated personnel response checklists, along with suggestions for an elaborate life story document in eldercare, with police access. Finally, better coordination of the return of the found person and a follow up were proposed.

Research limitations/implications

It is suggested that collaboration must be given different meanings and use different approaches adapted to the different phases in a rescue operation. In the preparation and the response phase, the focus should be on coordination of the resources available. In the pre-planning and prevention phases, as well as in evaluation and learning, horizontal collaboration is more suitable. The amount of data in this study is a research limitation which calls for further research.

Practical implications

It is suggested that collaboration must be given different meanings and use different approaches adapted to the different phases in a rescue operation. In the preparation and the response phase, the focus should be on coordination of the resources available. In the pre-planning and prevention phases, as well as in evaluation and learning, horizontal co-operation is more suitable.

Originality/value

The originality/value of this paper can be found in the novelty of missing person research in Sweden, and in practical suggestions for preparative collaboration concerning persons with dementia who go missing. Finally, it can be found in the suggested need for a more dynamic and process-sensitive view of collaboration in SAR or rescue operations.

Details

International Journal of Emergency Services, vol. 13 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2047-0894

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 18 March 2024

David Michael Rosch, Lisa Kuron, Robert Reimer, Ronald Mickler and Daniel Jenkins

This study analyzed three years of data from the Collegiate Leadership Competition to investigate potential differences in longitudinal leader self-efficacy growth between…

Abstract

Purpose

This study analyzed three years of data from the Collegiate Leadership Competition to investigate potential differences in longitudinal leader self-efficacy growth between students who identify as men and those who identify as women.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey design.

Findings

Results indicate that women participants enter their competition experience at higher levels of leader self-efficacy than men and that both groups were able to sustain moderate levels of growth measured several months after the end of the competition.

Originality/value

The gap between men and women in their leader self-efficacy did not change over the several months of measurement. Implications for leadership educators are discussed.

Details

Journal of Leadership Education, vol. 23 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1552-9045

Keywords

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