Search results

Globally, there is a growing proportion of disabled people as a result of different circumstances. This growth generates attention and leads to ways to integrate the affected population into society. Addressing such disability and integration is particularly important at buildings level, enabling and expanding the scope of activities for people with disabilities (PWDs). The rising number of PWDs and the need to integrate them into society create a need for action to improve their living condition and integration into society. This study aims to examine the issue of accessibility for PWDs in higher education facilities in Qatar.

Addressing accessibility at buildings level is particularly important in higher education because it enables inclusion in training and education and increases the potential for productive engagement in society. The study aims to develop an objective tool to assess and measure accessibility in educational institutions. Five selected buildings were examined and evaluated at Qatar University based on proximity, multi-use, vertical and horizontal circulation availability. The survey respondents were randomly selected. An existing assessment method was used in surveying respondents, including those with and without disabilities.

A comparative study was conducted to explore the discrepancy between facility users with and without disability, indicating the gap in existing tools.

The developed tool generates the same outcome when conducted by different assessors, indicating the level of compliance and percentage met as a benefit, not a focus. It allows professionals and non-professionals with minimal experience to conduct the assessment.

Societies depend on interconnected infrastructures that are becoming more complex over the years. Multi-disciplinary knowledge and skills are essential to develop modern infrastructures, requiring close collaboration of various infrastructure owners. To effectively manage and improve inter-organizational collaboration (IOC) in infrastructure construction projects, collaboration status should be assessed continually. This study identifies the assessment criteria, forming the foundation of a tool for assessing the status of IOC in interconnected infrastructure projects.

A systematic literature study and in-depth semi-structured interviews with practitioners in interconnected infrastructure construction projects in the Netherlands are performed to identify the criteria for assessing the status of IOC in infrastructure construction projects, based on which an assessment tool is developed.

The identified assessment criteria through the literature and the practitioner’s perspectives results in the designing and development of a collaboration assessment tool. The assessment tool consists of 12 criteria and 36 sub-criteria from three different categories of collaborative capacity: individual, relational, and organizational.

The assessment tool enables practitioners to monitor the status of IOC between infrastructure owners and assists them in making informed decisions to enhance collaboration. The assessment tool provides the opportunity to assess and analyze the status of collaboration based on three categories (i.e., individual, relational, and organizational).

Several initiatives have taken part in the sustainability assessment tools, especially on the neighbourhood scale. These tools have been developed as neighbourhood sustainability assessment tools (NSATs) in global and local settings. Despite the widespread use of NSATs over the last two decades, research on NSATs in Global South cities is currently limited. This review article synthesizes literature themes and provides research priorities for NSATs.

This paper presents a systematic review of 48 research articles on NSATs in cities of the Global South, conducted and reported using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. A thematic synthesis of 18 articles was reviewed using content analysis to provide a thematic classification and research priorities that outline approaches and actions for implementation.

The results revealed five themes of NSATs for research tackling cities in the Global South, with one dominant theme related to case study-based frameworks and tools. The findings indicate a high level of affiliation contribution and research content focus within the Asian continent compared to the African continent and MENA region.

This study contributes to the bibliometric analysis of where the current body of research stands in NSATs. The added value highlights research priorities based on themes, spatial regions and tools.

The purpose of this study was to provide an outline of the process of developing an on-road driving test route and rating form. Comprehensive evaluation of medical fitness to drive should comprise of an off-road and an on-road assessment. Much research attention has focussed on the off-road phase of assessment, while there is less standardisation evident in the completion and measurement of the on-road phase of fitness-to-drive assessment.

A scholarship of practice approach was used to inform the development of an on-road test route and an associated generic on-road assessment tool that was guided by research evidence and best practice recommendations.

A step-by-step guide, outlining seven recommended phases in the development of an on-road route for the assessment of fitness to drive that aligns with best practice recommendations, was developed. A preliminary generic on-road assessment tool (the Maynooth–Trinity Driving Test) that includes higher-order cognition alongside element of strategic, tactical and operational driving ability was developed and piloted alongside the newly developed on-road test route.

This paper offers an overview of an approach to developing evidence-based on-road test routes and an associated generic assessment tool that may assist occupational therapists and on-road driving assessors establish a standard practice for testing on-road behaviour as part of a comprehensive approach to evaluate fitness to drive.

This paper presents findings from a qualitative study of healthcare professionals’ practice, where learning is taking place when a digital artefact is implemented for identification of patients’ cognitive impairment. The use of digital artefacts is increasing in various workplaces, to include professionals in healthcare. This paper aims to explore the following research question: How is the professional learning unfolding in patient-based work when a digital artefact transforms the practice?

Various data collection methods are used for this study, consisting of dialogue meetings, interviews and a reference-group meeting. Thematic analysis is used to inductively bring forth the themes of the collected data.

Professionals’ knowledge and experience are of vital importance in learning and changing work practices. Together with their ability to reflect on changes, their knowledge and experience constitute the prefiguration when the introduction of a digital application brings about indeterminacy in the work practice.

This paper makes a contribution to practice-based research as it consolidates previous research and identifies professionals knowledge and learning in a healthcare context. This can be used to further explore and advance the field, as well as to establish the evidence-based importance of transforming practices based on implementation of digital artefacts.

This study aims to develop and implement an initial framework for assessing progress in lean implementation within an higher education institution (HEI). It includes developing preliminary findings regarding the impacts of lean implementation in the HEI case organization and comparing outcomes from this assessment to outcomes from other published sources.

Existing literature on lean, particularly in an HEI context, was used to develop a preliminary lean assessment framework for HEIs. Quality and continuous improvement literature were also compared to the proposed assessment framework to further validate the approach. This assessment framework was then utilized to evaluate lean implementation at a large public university (LPU) in the U.S.

The paper presents the framework as well as the major findings from the Large Public University (LPU)’s assessment. The assessment findings are further compared to other HEI quality measures and lean assessments done in other industries. Overall, the findings suggest that the assessment framework provides valuable insight to HEI organizations implementing lean.

The research intends to support lean assessment standardization efforts by proposing a preliminary lean assessment framework for the HEI, grounded in research trends, research findings, identified gaps in the research, and case study outcomes. To the research team's knowledge, this is the first lean assessment framework proposed for HEIs and also contributes to research gaps related to service industry frameworks and those containing both practices and outcomes. The framework can be used by other researchers as a foundation for additional conceptual and empirical developments on the topic and by researchers and practitioners seeking to understand and assess lean implementation progress in the HEI.

The inadequacy of regulations, the uncertainty of the quality of houses produced and the needs of users all highlight the need for a house analysis in Turkey. The goal of this study is to understand housing quality in Turkey based on the gap between expectations and existing housing stock, to identify the main housing expectations and the problematic issues in the current housing situation.

The authors designed a survey using the quality indicators of several well-known housing quality assessment tools to reveal residents' housing preferences and current housing situation in Turkey. The authors analyzed the survey results to identify the gap between housing preferences and existing conditions to reveal the housing quality of Turkish housing.

Overall results show that residents in Turkey, regardless of their demographics, want and need better houses. It was determined that physical conditions, safety, aesthetics and accessibility are the issues for which the expectations of the participants are high and the lack of which is most felt.

This paper reveals the residents' perspective on housing and their housing quality. It emphasizes the need for more research on housing quality, the need for updated regulation and necessity of a housing quality assessment tool in Turkey.

Following the recent rise in generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools, fundamental questions about their wider impacts have started to reverberate around various disciplines. This study aims to track the unfolding landscape of general issues surrounding GenAI tools and to elucidate the specific opportunities and limitations of these tools as part of the technology-assisted enhancement of mechanical engineering education and professional practices.

As part of the investigation, the authors conduct and present a brief scientometric analysis of recently published studies to unravel the emerging trend on the subject matter. Furthermore, experimentation was done with selected GenAI tools (Bard, ChatGPT, DALL.E and 3DGPT) for mechanical engineering-related tasks.

The study identified several pedagogical and professional opportunities and guidelines for deploying GenAI tools in mechanical engineering. Besides, the study highlights some pitfalls of GenAI tools for analytical reasoning tasks (e.g., subtle errors in computation involving unit conversions) and sketching/image generation tasks (e.g., poor demonstration of symmetry).

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study presents the first thorough assessment of the potential of GenAI from the lens of the mechanical engineering field. Combining scientometric analysis, experimentation and pedagogical insights, the study provides a unique focus on the implications of GenAI tools for material selection/discovery in product design, manufacturing troubleshooting, technical documentation and product positioning, among others.

The aim of this study was to appraise the delivery of information communication technology (ICT) projects and identify key determinants for stakeholder integration.

Given that empirically, little was known about stakeholder integration in the ICT sector and its influence or effect on project delivery; qualitative method was used. Forty-seven semi-structured interviews were carried out to derive senior project practitioners and policymakers' constructs of stakeholder integration and infrastructure performance improvement of ICT projects. The verification and validation of the proposed assessment tool were achieved through the use of focus group discussion.

As established in this research study, there is a need for project delivery teams to evaluate the level of stakeholder integration, the formulation of a project business case, the project processes and issues of compliance and regulation in ICT projects. What is evident in the findings of the study is that the management model adopted for the stakeholders in the Kenyan ICT sector ought to make communication the fulcrum of their engagement.

The inferences made herein are critical in contributing to knowledge regarding the ICT infrastructure project management terrain in developing countries. There is evidence in the study to conclude that the concept of stakeholder management and integration has implications for the sustainability of ICT projects. One of the issues that predominantly featured in the research was the input of stakeholder integration in terms of project sustainability.

The circular economy concept emerged as the resolution to the destructive linear economy practices. Nevertheless, the transition to a circular built environment is hindered due to the ambiguities of the economic value of the concept. Conversely, numerous decision-making tools are applied in the construction industry in assessing economic alternatives, even if there is a gap in utilising these tools in appraising circular economic practices. Hence, this study investigates the potential benefits of applying proven decision-making practices, particularly criteria scoring matrices, in developing circular built environments.

A qualitative approach was followed to achieve the aim of the study. A conceptual design of a criteria scoring matrix was developed with a comprehensive literature survey. Semi-structured interviews of a three-round Delphi expert survey were employed to assess the matrix qualitatively and develop the matrix further. Data were analysed using the content analysis method.

The lack of a value assessment tool in economically assessing the circular economy principles is a key barrier to transcending to a circular built environment. In addressing this issue, this study develops a criteria scoring matrix for circularity value assessment during the design stage of a construction project.

This research contributes to the theory by developing a criteria scoring matrix to measure the economic contribution of circular economy principles. Further, this research contributes to the practice by allowing construction alternatives to be selected, balancing the potential economic return options of a project with the project's contribution to a circular economy.