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Building permitting is mostly a manual, labor intensive and time-consuming process. Initiatives for streamlining the process are not always helpful since they often fail to address the core problems within the process. A framework for modeling the permitting process can be useful to identify bottlenecks, core challenges and best practices. Hence, the authors aim to demonstrate and validate a previously suggested workflow for permit process modeling using the permitting process in Israel as a test case.

The authors implement qualitative expert interviews for data acquisition. The collected data are then processed for a qualitative data analysis. The results of the analysis are then validated using a focus group workshop in the field of building permits. In the test case the focus group consisted of Israeli experts.

The authors present a detailed overview of the as-is building permit process in Israel and the existing challenges. Through this test case, the authors found that the framework is applicable in different countries and that it can provide valuable insights into the core problems within the process. In addition, application of the same framework in different countries can provide comparable results that would allow the authors to identify best practices.

The major contribution of this work is the development and validation of a framework for building permitting process modeling which can be used to identify existing challenges and bottlenecks in the process. Implementing a structured and unified approach provides an opportunity to easily compare processes in different countries to identify best practices.

Formwork design and construction for reinforced concrete buildings take significant time, effort and money. Construction procedures are time-consuming for designers and costly for the contractor. Poor engineering decisions have led to several workplace accidents in the construction industry. This paper aims to present an integrated building information modeling – genetic algorithm (BIM-GA) model to automate formwork design, 3D visualization and optimization.

Data are precisely extracted from a 3D structural model and used to optimize formwork design based on available formwork components and prices. Optimization models are made using GA approach. A library of 3D formwork components was modeled and stored using Revit. The optimized design solution thereafter would be visualized automatically in Revit to readily acquire formwork quantities schedules and shop drawings.

A case study illustrating the proposed approach demonstrated that using BIM will reduce formwork design, quantification and drawing time by more than 50% of the traditional approach with safer design and accurate results due to process automation and optimize cost for the given data.

This research introduces an innovative integrated BIM and GA model for the optimization and automation of slab formwork design, which has significantly benefited the construction industry. The utilization of GA in the optimization process allows for the attainment of an optimal formwork design, ultimately leading to a reduction in construction cost and time.

This study aims to review recent advances towards the implementation of ANN and NLP applications during the budgeting phase of the construction process. During this phase, construction companies must assess the scope of each task and map the client’s expectations to an internal database of tasks, resources and costs. Quantity surveyors carry out this assessment manually with little to no computer aid, within very austere time constraints, even though these results determine the company’s bid quality and are contractually binding.

This paper seeks to compile applications of machine learning (ML) and natural language processing in the architectural engineering and construction sector to find which methodologies can assist this assessment. The paper carries out a systematic literature review, following the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses guidelines, to survey the main scientific contributions within the topic of text classification (TC) for budgeting in construction.

This work concludes that it is necessary to develop data sets that represent the variety of tasks in construction, achieve higher accuracy algorithms, widen the scope of their application and reduce the need for expert validation of the results. Although full automation is not within reach in the short term, TC algorithms can provide helpful support tools.

Given the increasing interest in ML for construction and recent developments, the findings disclosed in this paper contribute to the body of knowledge, provide a more automated perspective on budgeting in construction and break ground for further implementation of text-based ML in budgeting for construction.

Given the considerable challenges posed by disinformation to both society and journalism, how do news media outlets in Hispanic America and Spain address this pervasive global phenomenon? The purpose of this study is to evaluate the extent to which these outlets embrace recommendations from academic, professional and institutional spheres for countering false contents.

A qualitative content analysis was used using variables linked to transparency, verification and potential errors incurred. This study comprehensively analyses the ethical codes of 34 digital native outlets spanning 12 Hispanic American countries (Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela), as well as Spain.

The key findings reveal significant variations in adherence to the recommended guidelines. Particularly striking is the disparity between compliance with transparency and verification compared to notably higher adherence to measure aimed at rectifying errors. This exploratory study paves the way for further research on additional countries.

Ethical codes are a fundamental instrument of media accountability. Nevertheless, their utility in the fight against misinformation has barely been addressed. This study is pioneering in the field of disinformation and ethical codes within digital native media outlets in Hispanic America and Spain.

This study examines the types, quality, and financial effects of explanations for non-compliance (NCEs) with corporate governance codes.

This study used content analysis to examine various types of NCEs and developed an NCE index (NCEI) to assess their quality and degree of informativeness. Static and dynamic multivariate panel data regression models were used to analyze the relationship between NCEI and firm performance (FP) of 38 non-financial listed Mauritian firms from 2009 to 2019.

Listed Mauritian firms do not provide explanations for all non-compliance, and the most common type of NCE is momentary deviation. The NCEI is 0.243, which implies that the overall quality of the NCEs is poor or uninformative. The NCEI varies according to the listing status and industry type. NCEI has a negative and insignificant relationship with both ROA and Tobin’s Q. The results are inconsistent with the agency, stakeholder, stewardship, and resource dependency theories. Sensitivity analysis indicated that the findings were robust.

Multiple theoretical frameworks offer a deeper understanding of corporate governance practices than a single theory does. A decline in the NCEI in 2019 indicates that the move from the “comply or explain” to the “apply or explain” principle does not necessarily result in enhancements in the degree of informativeness. Regulators should develop guidelines on how to disclose NCEs better. Investors appear to be more concerned about “comply/apply or perform” than the “comply/apply or explain” approach.

This study adds to the extant literature by providing new evidence on the types and quality of NCEs as well as their relationship with FP in emerging economies, where such studies are rare.

The purpose of this study is to construct a robust index and subindices to measure the quality of corporate governance for 266 firms listed in South Africa from 2004 to 2021.

Public information on the compliance of King Code of Good Corporate Governance is used to construct a main index predicated on provisions relating to board characteristics, accounting and auditing and risk management. These categories are transformed into three subindices. All constructs are scored with binary coding and equally weighted.

Cronbach’s alpha test reveals that the index and subindices are highly reliable measures of corporate governance. The principal component analysis supports the construct validity of all measures.

The index is limited to only three corporate governance subcategories and only focuses on South Africa.

These corporate governance indices provide governing authorities, policymakers, investors and other market participants direct information on the quality of corporate governance in South African firms.

As South Africa lacks a formal corporate governance indicator, the development of an appropriate corporate governance index and subindices contributes towards understanding the quality of corporate governance in South African firms. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper to conduct robustness tests on corporate governance indices designed for South African companies.

This paper aims to analyse the gender wage gap (GWG) in the board of directors at the executive-director level. The authors aim to answer two questions: (1) Is the GWG explained by differences between males and females, by discriminatory causes or by both? and (2) what are the main factors that cause or increase the existence of GWGs? Specifically, the authors pay special attention to compliance with good governance codes as a fundamental variable in explaining the GWG.

The study uses a sample of directors in Spanish companies listed on the continuous market from 2013 to 2021 and uses Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition and unconditional quantile regressions to analyse the GWG.

The findings demonstrate both discriminatory reasons and differences between individuals when explaining the GWG and showing that compliance with remuneration practices issued by good governance codes considerably reduces the GWG for all remuneration components.

The study confirms adequacy of regulator remuneration recommendations but highlights GWG persistence within boards. To counter this, enforcing pay transparency aids female directors’ advancement, reducing bonuses’ impact on wage disparity, necessitating monitored laws for fairer compensation systems and meeting 40% of women directors’ proposals.

Primarily, this study significantly influences public attitudes towards GWG. Specifically, it calls for companies to not only increase female leadership representation but also to ensure equitable remuneration aligned with their male counterparts, conduct regular pay equity assessments, implement pay transparency policies and support work-life balance through flexible hours and parental leave. Furthermore, the work serves as a crucial resource for female directors, empowering them to advocate for their rights in the context of GWG.

This research offers nuanced insights into the GWG in corporate boards, corrects the main limitations of previous studies and calls for regulatory reinforcement and the active involvement of female directors and firms in creating equitable policies.

The building sector contributes one-third of the energy-related carbon dioxide globally. Therefore, framing appropriate energy-related policies for the next decades becomes essential in this scenario to realize the global net-zero goals. The purpose of the proposed study is to evaluate the impact of the widespread adoption of such guidelines in a building community in the context of mixed-mode buildings.

This study decentralizes the theme of improving the energy efficiency of the national building stock in parcels by proposing a community-based hybrid bottom-up modelling approach using urban building energy modelling (UBEM) techniques to analyze the effectiveness of the community-wide implementation of energy conservation guidelines.

In this study, the UBEM is developed and validated for the 14-building residential community in Mumbai, India, adopting the framework. Employing Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) compliance on the UBEM shows an energy use reduction potential of up to 15%. The results also reveal that ECBC compliance is more advantageous considering the effects of climate change.

In developing countries where the availability of existing building stock information is minimal, the proposed study formulates a holistic framework for developing a detailed UBEM for the residential building stock from scratch. A unique method of assessing the actual cooling load of the developed UBEM is presented. A thorough sensitivity analysis approach to investigate the effect of cooling space fraction on the energy consumption of the building stock is presented, which would assist in choosing the appropriate retrofit strategies. The proposed study's outcomes can significantly transform the formulation and validation of appropriate energy policies.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has gained tremendous importance after several corporate scandals, financial crises and the rise of the hyper-competitive world. Firms must address multiple stakeholders’ interests to increase firm value. This study aims to investigate the effect of CSR on firm value. This study also examines the mediating role of enterprise risk management (ERM) and the moderating influence of corporate governance (CG) in this CSR-firm value relationship.

The sample of the study comprises 119 Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) listed firms and the study covers the period from 2010 to 2021. The corporate social responsibility performance has been quantified across five dimensions. These aspects are product, environment, employee relations, diversity and community. Four proxies i.e. strategy, operation, reporting and compliance, have been used to measure ERM. The governance quality of the sample companies was evaluated using the governance index, which included 29 governance provisions. The authors used the dynamic panel data technique (system-GMM) is used to achieve the objectives of the study. Furthermore, a firm’s engagement in CSR activities can also be measured through a multinational financial approach to check the robustness of the result.

Based on the regression analysis, the authors discovered that CSR was positively connected with firm value, validating the stakeholder view of CSR. Furthermore, following Baron and Kenny’s (1986) mediation technique, the findings confirm that ERM mediates this association. These results are robust by using the bootstrapping tests by Preacher and Hayes (2004). Furthermore, the result shows that corporate governance (CG) is positively connected with firm performance, and this relationship is strengthened in the presence of an effective governance system in the organization.

This study provides useful insights to regulators, investors and policymakers to consider CSR as a value-enhancing factor and encourage the development of enterprise risk management and compliance with CG mechanisms to improve firm value.

The presented analysis strengthens the existing CSR–firm value relationship by analyzing the mediating and moderating roles of ERM and CG, which have not yet been tested, particularly in the context of Pakistan.

This study explores the association between institutional investors’ stewardship activity, disclosed under Japan’s Stewardship Code, and the R&D investments of their investee companies.

Recognizing the pivotal role of R&D investment in long-term value creation, this study uses comprehensive data from institutional investor disclosures to assess the impact of stewardship activity on their investee companies.

The findings show that investor stewardship activity is a factor that influences strategic R&D investment. Specifically, a positive association is found between code-compliant institutional investor shareholding and R&D investment, contingent on high levels of stewardship activity.

By using stewardship disclosures to measure stewardship activity, this study sheds new light on institutional investors’ role in promoting R&D investment. The findings suggest that stewardship regulation is a valid governance policy mechanism to the extent that it promotes stewardship activity. Moreover, the findings show that stewardship disclosures provide valuable information about the potential value enhancement associated with institutional shareholding.