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Work-related low back disorders (LBDs) are prevalent among rebar workers although their causes remain uncertain. The purpose of this study is to examine the self-reported discomfort and spinal biomechanics (muscle activity and spinal kinematics) experienced by rebar workers.

In all, 20 healthy male participants performed simulated repetitive rebar lifting tasks with three different lifting weights, using either a stoop (n = 10) or a squat (n = 10) lifting posture, until subjective fatigue was reached. During these tasks, trunk muscle activity and spinal kinematics were recorded using surface electromyography and motion sensors, respectively.

A mixed-model, repeated measures analysis of variance revealed that an increase in lifting weight significantly increased lower back muscle activity at L3 level but decreased fatigue and time to fatigue (endurance time) (p < 0.05). Lifting postures had no significant effect on spinal biomechanics (p < 0.05). Test results revealed that lifting different weights causes disproportional loading upon muscles, which shortens the time to reach working endurance and increases the risk of developing LBDs among rebar workers.

Future research is required to: broaden the research scope to include other trades; investigate the effects of using assistive lifting devices to reduce manual handling risks posed; and develop automated human condition-based solutions to monitor trunk muscle activity and spinal kinematics.

This study fulfils an identified need to study laboratory-based simulated task conducted to investigate the risk of developing LBDs among rebar workers primarily caused by repetitive rebar lifting.

The advances in green city growth are widely discussed in extant literature. The benefits of green cities to urban development in recent discussions of sustainability and sustainable development are well documented and cannot be overemphasised. Although a growing study on green building development in developing countries has been advanced in literature, there is a paucity of studies that explore green cities in developing countries. Moreover, evidence of studies that have focussed on green cities development in Ghana is lacking. Because of this identified knowledge gap, the purpose of this study is to establish the indicators/attributes for measuring the level of greenness of cities in developing countries.

A comprehensive literature review was conducted to identify the indicators/attributes for measuring the level of greenness of cities in developing countries. This study has adopted the pragmatism as its undergirding research philosophy and the deductive research approach. In terms of methodological choice, quantitative research strategy was used to collect data from experts in sustainable urban development. The primary data retrieved from this study was analysed using descriptive statistics, relative importance index and one-sample t-test. The reliability and validity of this study were measured with the Cronbach’s alpha test.

This study established eight indicators for measuring green city development: air quality, water, sanitation, land use, health and safety, transportation, energy and building and construction. It was discovered that the development of green cities should enhance air quality, improve water production and supply, improve management in sanitation, promote mixed and integrative land use, maintain the health and safety of city dwellers, reduce the demand for transportation and formalise public transport, adopt renewable and efficient energy technologies and promote sustainable construction and green buildings. These indicators are key to policymaking and implementation of green cities development.

This study focusses primarily on Ghana; however, the findings of this study do not limit the generalisability, as it can be used as an example for other developing countries.

Theoretically, this study adopted quantitative indicators that are reproducible in another geographical context. This study contributively adds to the discourse on sustainability, especially in Ghana, and can be a source of reference to motivate others to conduct further research in related areas. The outcomes of this study will help the local government, policymakers, city stakeholders and industry expertise to gain insights of the overall indicators that underpin green city development.

This paper attempts to posit in literature the foremost appraisal of green city indicators adaptive in Ghana, which could motivate other developing countries to develop their own green cities.

This study aims to investigate the effects of moral hazard on quality and satisfaction of public–private–partnership (PPP) construction projects in Ghana.

After undertaking a literature review, questionnaires were used to elicit responses from respondents. Population consisted of quantity surveyors, project managers, procurement officers, consultants, public agency officers involved in PPP projects, private partners and contractors. A total of 211 questionnaires were received from 250 distributed. Purposive and snowballing sampling techniques were adopted. Analytical tools were Cronbach’s alpha for testing reliability, regression, mean score ranking and relative importance index.

Reduced mutual trust and respect, poor clarity of project objectives; consequence on decision-making; less effective construction process; and increased construction risks were the significant effects of moral hazard on satisfaction of PPP construction projects. Value-based effects; manufacturer-based effects; product-based effects; user-based effects; and transcendent-based effects were the significant effects of moral hazard on quality of PPP construction projects.

Construction stakeholders involved in delivering PPP projects ought to take note of the findings and recommendations arising. Further studies should explore the effects on other project performance indicators apart from satisfaction and quality.

This paper extends knowledge in the area of exploring the effects of moral hazard on PPP project satisfaction and quality. The findings are beneficial to both academia and industry practitioners.

In comparison to other countries, power generation in Sub-Sahara Africa is poor. Public–private partnership (PPP) model has become increasingly popular for addressing infrastructural challenges, especially in the power sector. The purpose of this study is to evaluate and classify the factors that influence public sector involvement in Ghanaian PPP power projects.

Using purposive and snowball sampling techniques, questionnaires were used to gather responses from experts in the PPP power sector in a two round Delphi survey. Analytical tools adopted were descriptive statistics, mean score ranking, Cronbach’s alpha and factor analysis.

The most significant factors that influence public sector involvement in PPP power projects were: achieving improved value for money; access to additional capital; increased certainty of projects; greater efficiency of project delivery services; and improved ability to deliver new infrastructure. From factor analysis, the four components were: value for money and efficiency; capital and skills; innovation and technology; and project delivery.

Government bodies in the power sector will benefit from the findings, as it would aid them develop policies that would strengthen regulatory structures as well as institutions.

Conditions of inadequate and asymmetric information when an agent is hired by a principal have resulted in the problems of moral hazard and adverse selection (MHAS) in public–private partnership (PPP) construction projects. The purpose of this study is to explore strategies to reduce MHAS in PPP construction projects.

Questionnaires were used to elicit responses from respondents. Mean score ranking was used to rank these strategies while reliability analysis was conducted using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and level of agreement tested using Kendall’s concordance. Factor analysis grouped the strategies into eight components.

From the mean score ranking, monitoring; transfer of risks; screening; managing of construction risks; and increased incentives to control costs were the most significant strategies. The eight components were transparent process and contract, incentives and monitoring, screening and technical assistance, unbundling and benchmarking, funding and small liabilities, information clarification and signaling, risk and contract management and cooperation and finance factors.

The findings of this study have identified the most significant strategies to reduce MHAS on PPP construction projects to serve as a guide to PPP practitioners in reducing MHAS.

The output of this research contributes to the checklist of strategies that reduce PPP project failures arising from MHAS and contributes to the development of the agency theory.

The purpose of this study is to develop a framework to guide green cities development in developing countries. The study adapted and validated indicators that can be adopted, to predict, estimate, depict and measure green city development in developing countries. In using a covariance-based structural equation model (CBSEM), the study developed a framework for green cities development in developing countries using Kumasi city (Ghana) as a case study.

To test the proposed framework, a quantitative methodology was used, in which, data was collected using research questionnaires that targeted a sample of 200 green city experts. In total, 154 useable questionnaires were retrieved, representing a response rate of 77%. The confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses were adopted in a CBSEM.

The indices reported were indicative that the model/framework is a good fit for the data. This points to the direction that the model for measuring green city development was statistically significant and acceptable. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis revealed a robust fit of the indices, as they met the standardised cut-off points and as such the model fits the data.

This novel research is one of the few studies investigating green cities development in Ghana which could serve as a lesson for other developing countries. The proposed green city framework will serve as a guide to stakeholders in identifying the key indicators/factors that are critical to green city development in developing countries, especially Ghanaian cities.

This study proposed a green city framework to guide the development of green cities based on the local context of Ghana.

In the past few years, the public–private partnership (PPP) model has become increasingly popular in the infrastructure projects of developing countries, especially in the power sector. The purpose of this study is to ascertain the motivations for engaging in PPP power projects in Ghana by comparing the public and private sectors.

Questionnaires were used to elicit responses from respondents using a two-round Delphi survey. Mean score ranking was used to rank the motivation factors, while reliability analysis was conducted using Cronbach alpha coefficient, and level of agreement was tested using Kendall’s concordance. One-sample t-test assessed the relative significance of these motivation factors.

For the public sector, the topmost motivations were achieving improved value for money; access to additional capital; increased certainty of projects; greater efficiency of project delivery services; and improved ability to deliver new infrastructure. For the private sector, the topmost motivations were obtaining of investment support; improvement in private sector’s international image; synergy with public sector; sharing of risks; and gaining of profits.

The findings of this study will lead to increased knowledge on the motivation factors for the public and private sectors engaging in PPP power projects in Ghana.

The output of this research contributes to the checklist of motivation factors for engaging in PPP power projects and contributes to the development of PPP practice.

In comparison to other countries, power generation in Sub-Saharan Africa is poor. The demand for power has surged in recent times and continues to increase at a fast rate. The public–private partnership (PPP) model has been identified as an option to address the challenges in the power sector. The purpose of this research paper is to critically explore the reasons for entering into PPP power projects in Ghana by the public and private parties.

Questionnaires were used to elicit responses from respondents using a two-round Delphi survey. From 60 respondents contacted in round one, 48 responses were obtained, and these 48 respondents further took part in round two. Mean score ranking was used to rank the reasons for entering into PPP power projects, while analysis of variance (ANOVA) was run to test significant difference in perceptions among the respondents.

From round 2 of the Delphi survey, the significant reasons for public sector entering into PPP power projects were as follows: achieving improved value for money, access to additional capital, increased certainty of projects and greater efficiency of project delivery services. For private sector, most significant reasons were as follows: obtaining of investment support, improvement in private sector’s international image and synergy with public sector. From ANOVA analysis, there were significant different perceptions among some of factors on the respondent profile variables and the reasons for entering into PPP power projects, while other factors did not have significant different perception.

Significant reasons for both public and private sectors identified would be incorporated by the government when PPP policy guidelines and laws are reviewed. This will aid in the effective implementation of PPP for power projects.

This research aims to investigate and identify knowledge transfer (KT) enablers within the developing country of Ghana. These enablers act as mechanisms to stimulate knowledge creation, knowledge protection and build effective knowledge-sharing (KS) behaviour in construction companies – consequently, they are crucial to business survival in a globally competitive market.

A perception questionnaire survey was used to elicit responses from construction practitioners using purposive and snowballing non-probability sampling techniques. Summary statistical analysis and a chi-square test was used to uncover relationships between the independent and dependent variables.

An empirical examination of data collected indicated that knowledge strategy, organizational culture, information technology and knowledge leadership as knowledge enablers have a significant positive relationship with KT. Future research is however required to measure transfer within an organization vis-à-vis measure perception of such.

The work presents a rare glimpse of the relationship between knowledge enablers and KT (particularly in a developing country context) and as such provides utility to policymakers and construction firms to enhance their knowledge capabilities.

Public-private partnership (PPP) power projects are associated with varying risk factors. This paper aims to develop a fuzzy quantitative risk allocation model (QRAM) to guide decision-making on risk allocation in PPP power projects in Ghana.

A total of 67 risk factors and 9 risk allocation criteria were established from literature and ranked in a two-round Delphi survey using questionnaires. The fuzzy synthetic evaluation method was used in developing the risk allocation model.

The model’s output variable is the risk allocation proportions between the public body and private body based on their capability to manage the risk factors. Out of the 37 critical risk factors, the public sector was allocated 12 risk factors with proportions = 50%, while the private sector was allocated 25 risk factors with proportions = 50%.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research presents the first attempt in Ghana at endeavouring to develop a QRAM for PPP power projects. There is confidence in the model to efficiently allocate risks emanating from PPP power projects.