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Article
Publication date: 9 January 2024

Claudia Calle Müller, Piyush Pradhananga and Mohamed ElZomor

The built environment is responsible for approximately 40% of the world’s energy consumption, 30% of raw material use, 25% of solid waste, 25% of water use, 12% of land use and…

Abstract

Purpose

The built environment is responsible for approximately 40% of the world’s energy consumption, 30% of raw material use, 25% of solid waste, 25% of water use, 12% of land use and 33% of greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, environmental improvement and decarbonization are becoming increasingly critical objectives for the construction industry. Sustainable construction can be achieved through several practices, including: considering life-cycle assessment, circular construction, resource efficiency and waste management and providing eco-efficient materials, reducing energy demands and consumption and incorporating low-carbon technologies and renewable energy sources. To achieve sustainable construction goals, it is critical to educate the future workforce about decarbonization, circular construction and how to overcome the challenges involved in transitioning to sustainable construction. This study aims to understand the gap in student knowledge related to decarbonization and circular construction and the importance of incorporating these topics in civil engineering and construction management curricula.

Design/methodology/approach

This study surveyed 120 undergraduate and graduate students at one of the largest minority-serving institutions in the USA to understand the gap in student knowledge related to decarbonization and circular construction as well as the importance of incorporating these topics in civil engineering and construction management curricula. The authors conducted several statistical measures to assess the consistency, reliability and adequacy of the sample size, including the Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin measure of sampling adequacy, the normality test to evaluate the appropriateness of using an ordered probit regression analysis and a multicollinearity test to observe the correlation between independent variables. The data was analyzed using ordered probit regression analysis to investigate the need for a curriculum that serves in educating students about decarbonization and circular construction.

Findings

The results of this research highlight the gaps in students’ knowledge pertaining to sustainable practices and the importance of providing future construction workforce with such knowledge to tackle global inevitable challenges.

Originality/value

The findings of this study contribute to sustainable construction bodies of knowledge by advocating for a reformed curriculum to prepare the future workforce and adopt less carbonized, more circular approaches within the engineering and construction industry.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 25 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 February 2024

Rubaya Rahat, Claudia Calle Müller and Mohamed ElZomor

Construction education rarely addressed the importance of disseminating knowledge on infrastructure equity, thus impeding progress toward creating equitable and sustainable…

Abstract

Purpose

Construction education rarely addressed the importance of disseminating knowledge on infrastructure equity, thus impeding progress toward creating equitable and sustainable developments. This study aims to investigate the existing sustainability courses under the American Council for Construction Education (ACCE) accredited construction management (CM) programs to examine the integration of infrastructure equity topics and assess improvement in CM students’ knowledge and awareness to address this issue through an intervention.

Design/methodology/approach

To achieve these objectives, this research reviewed the sustainability course descriptions of the ACCE-accredited undergraduate and graduate CM curricula. Furthermore, the study implemented a workshop within a CM sustainability course that taught the students about the key concepts of infrastructure equity as well as how to address this issue by leveraging the Envision infrastructure rating system.

Findings

The course review results showed that most sustainability courses lack topics such as infrastructure equity and social sustainability. Moreover, the analysis of pre- and postworkshop surveys indicated that guided training could improve the students’ understanding as well as boost their confidence to address and mitigate infrastructure inequity issues.

Originality/value

The findings of the study are valuable for increasing awareness of infrastructure equity and facilitating the future construction workforce with the required expertise to develop equitable infrastructure systems.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 September 2018

Tatiana Lopez and Claudia Alvarez

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the state of entrepreneurship research in the Latin American context, with special emphasis on international entrepreneurship research…

1223

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the state of entrepreneurship research in the Latin American context, with special emphasis on international entrepreneurship research developed in this region. Therefore, the aim and contribution are to identify the main themes in the literature about entrepreneurship and show the evolution of entrepreneurship research in Latin America to stimulate the research and provide future research lines.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology is based in a systematic literature review, using 128 articles published between 2002 and 2018, in scientific journals in the region according to SCImago Journal & Country Rank.

Findings

The results show the evolution through the journals, authors, topics and methodologies used by the researchers. It is emphasized that there is a very low level of research in international entrepreneurship in Latin America. This result is coherent with higher levels of entrepreneurship in Latin American countries but very few oriented to international markets. This is one of the challenges considering the importance of this field.

Originality/value

Entrepreneurship is a field of study that has grown throughout history. Even so, in the Latin American context, research published in high impact journals is limited. This paper is the first systematic literature review and thematic analysis of research on the field of entrepreneurship in the Latin American context. In this way, it serves as encouragement for future research, providing possibilities and challenges within the field of study.

Objetivo

Este artículo presenta el estado de la investigación en emprendimiento en el contexto latinoamericano, haciendo énfasis en el emprendimiento internacional.

Diseño/metodología/aproximación

Se llevó a cabo una revisión sistemática de la literatura en la cual se encontraron 147 artículos, publicados entre 2002 y 2018 en revistas científicas de la región de acuerdo con el ranking SCImago Journal & Country Rank (SJR).

Resultados

Los hallazgos presentan la evolución de las revistas, los autores, los temas y las metodologías usadas por los investigadores. Se resalta el bajo nivel de investigaciones en emprendimiento internacional en la región, lo cual es coherente con altas tasas de actividad emprendedora de Latinoamérica, pero baja orientación a la internacionalización. Este es uno de los retos de los países, considerando la importancia de esta área.

Originalidad

Aunque la investigación en emprendimiento ha aumentado a través de la historia, en el contexto latinoamericano las publicaciones en revistas de alto impacto son limitadas. Este estudio es la primera revisión sistemática de la literatura y análisis temático de la investigación en emprendimiento. En este sentido, los resultados sirven somo estímulo a la investigación futura mostrando las oportunidades y los desafíos dentro de este campo de estudio.

Details

Academia Revista Latinoamericana de Administración, vol. 31 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1012-8255

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 16 November 2020

Friederike Fleischer and Ivette S. Sepúlveda Sanabria

According to the Colombian Labour Ministry, in 2015, 750,000 persons officially worked as household employees. Ninety-eight per cent of these employees are women who tend to live…

Abstract

According to the Colombian Labour Ministry, in 2015, 750,000 persons officially worked as household employees. Ninety-eight per cent of these employees are women who tend to live in Bogotá’s (southern) urban fringe and travel to the city’s wealthier north on a daily basis. Yet public transportation in the Colombian capital is subject to stratification. Besides overcrowding and delays, petty crime and sexual harassment, fringe areas remain underserved. Based on ethnographic data, in this chapter, the authors discuss findings from a 3-year research project on female household employees’ subjective experience of space. Specifically, the authors explore their capacity (motility) to be mobile. This perspective breaks with the limits of bounded categories such as ‘urban’, ‘neighbourhood’ or ‘class’, to highlight their situational and spatial mutability. Moreover, an investigation of motility includes people’s potential to move as well as their subjective experiences of mobility. The research shows how gender intersects with local labour regimes and infrastructure to negatively affect women’s mobility. Urban stratification is not only a question of locale of residence and access to services, but importantly (re)produced in the household employees’ subjective experience of their daily commute, which they describe as suffering. In their limited spare time, female household employees abstain from travelling, effectively curbing their active appropriation of urban space. The research thus illuminates how spatial, social and economic dimensions mutually interact to impact on the women’s lives and possibilities.

Details

Urban Mobility and Social Equity in Latin America: Evidence, Concepts, Methods
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78769-009-7

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 November 2006

Valéria Martin Valls and Waldomiro de Castro Santos Vergueiro

This paper focuses on the use of ISO 9000 standards for the introduction of quality management in information services, with a special emphasis on the Brazilian experience, aiming…

3426

Abstract

Purpose

This paper focuses on the use of ISO 9000 standards for the introduction of quality management in information services, with a special emphasis on the Brazilian experience, aiming to provide support to information services managers in the use of quality management.

Design/methodology/approach

The research is based on a comprehensive review of the literature, from the earliest citations to those published more recently, principally articles relating to the application of quality programs in Brazilian information services.

Findings

The paper presents and discusses the main benefits (ordered according to the eight principles of quality management), the concerns and the difficulties of the use of ISO 9000 mentioned by the analyzed literature.

Research limitations/implications

Although the literature describes several practical experiences and theoretical studies that analyze the application of ISO 9000 in information services, each organization has its own typical characteristics and their internal and external environments may differ, helping or making it more difficult to implement projects related to quality management.

Practical implications

The paper observes a general predisposition towards the principles defined on the ISO 9000 standard series, which can be used as a parameter to guide and support quality improvement initiatives.

Originality/value

The research supports the idea that ISO 9000 standards are a guideline for the implementation of quality management in organizations of different types and sizes. The exponential growth on the number of ISO 9000 certificates in Brazil has created a scenario that has certainly favoured the option of several information services towards the ISO 9000 standard series.

Details

New Library World, vol. 107 no. 11/12
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0307-4803

Keywords

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