Search results

The need for performance improvement has led to the implementation of industry‐specific key performance indicators (KPIs) and greater awareness of the benefits of measurement in construction engineering organisations. This paper aims to present and discuss the findings of a survey based on the practical experiences of leading UK construction engineering organisations.

The paper is based on a questionnaire survey, the findings of which are discussed and analysed. The survey focused on establishing current industry practice and forms part of a larger study, which involved detailed case studies and led to the development of an innovative framework for links knowledge management initiatives with business performance measurement.

The survey shows that a significant proportion of organisations are now using a range of financial and non‐financial measures to assess business performance, and a growing number are adopting the excellence model and/or the balanced scorecard to facilitate a structured approach to implementing continuous improvement strategies. The paper identifies the barriers to the use of performance measurement models and discusses the differences between the practices in smaller and larger construction engineering firms.

The paper concludes with some practical considerations for implementing performance measurement models, which will be of value to business improvement managers and other senior managers in construction and other project‐based industries.

This paper aims to investigate how large UK construction organisations manage their knowledge assets. It then proposes STEPS, a mechanism for benchmarking organisation's knowledge management maturity.

This paper adopts a case study methodology using four large UK construction organisations.

The investigation shows that the UK‐based companies with international operations are ahead of their national counterparts in their KM implementation efforts. The paper concludes that construction organisations are likely to be successful in implementing KM if appropriate considerations are given to strategy formulation, implementation issues addressed and the link between KM and business strategy is strengthened.

The paper proposes a mechanism, entitled STEPS, for benchmarking the maturity of large construction organisations' knowledge management practices. It then uses case study organisations to demonstrate how the STEPS model should be used.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the educational journey of indigenous Australians since the time of the 1788 invasion through into the modern Australian university. This exploration is intended to clarify the way in which education delivery in this country has been used to position the nation's “first peoples” within a context of centre/periphery thinking.

The paper established an overview of the educational service provision for indigenous Australians through a review of archival materials, historical texts and education reports. This information was then aligned with the data gathered through face‐to‐face interviews and focus group meetings conducted by the author in her own PhD research, to test the complementarity of the sources in terms of the indigenous experience.

The paper provides insights into the current positioning of indigenous Australians. The process of viewing the present against the backdrop of the past identified important historical landmarks that were then examined through the diversity of lens provided through interviews/meetings with contemporary students and staff to reveal the critical impact of centre/periphery thinking on indigenous education in this country.

This paper provides an historical overview of indigenous Australian education that, in clarifying some of the connections and ruptures between “centre and periphery”, provides valuable insights into the full diversity of the indigenous historical experience in Australian education.

This study aims to examine the impact of governance on project delivery in complex private finance initiative (PFI) projects. Governance is crucial in delivering successful projects within budget, time and in accordance with other project objectives.

A two‐stage approach was used to address the research questions. First, a literature review was carried out and second, a multiple case study approach based on detailed semi‐structured interviews with project directors and senior managers was conducted to provide an in‐depth insight on how two major PFI projects were planned, managed and delivered in the National Health Service (NHS, UK).

Project governance influences project delivery in terms of cost, speed of completion, quality and its financial viability as it is critical in providing clear organisational structure, effective decision‐making structures and control processes. The success of one scheme was attributed to an appropriate governance structure enabling necessary reviews and adjustments to be made to render the scheme financially viable and affordable. The failed scheme, subsequently abandoned at a cost of over £15 million to tax payers, was due to an inadequate governance structure creating conflicting priorities of stakeholders, complex decision making with negative impact on project deliverables such as cost and time.

Previous research has not addressed the management aspect of governance which has a significant influence on financial outcomes of NHS PFI schemes. This will enable NHS and other public client organisations to understand the need for adequate governance structure in reducing the risks of projects running over time and incurring increase costs to ensure financial viability and affordability, particularly in large complex schemes.

It has been held not infrequently that of the influences which together mould the individual and determine his or her value as a social unit those of heredity are so prepotent as to leave little room for those of the environment. By others this view has seemed to involve unjustifiable pessimism. You will, I think, admit that in the past when there was little objective knowledge to bear on such questions, current views were largely decided by that ingrained difference in social outlook which has divided and still divides human opinion on so many other fundamental questions. Those who are naturally inclined to justify privilege, and who have felt instinctively that class distinctions are a social necessity founded on nature, have been tempted perhaps to emphasise too exclusively the unmistakable influence of heredity; those to whom a different outlook is natural have wished to believe, not, of course, that all are born equal as the eighteenth century philosophers declaimed, but that in favourable environments individuals tend to display greater equality of capacity.

THE Blackpool Conference has been duly held; Lord Elgin has handed his office to his successor, Dr. Lindsay; and a presidential address, full of sound commonsense and useful thought, has been delivered which has been ignored in its essentials by the popular press and inflated in respect of a jest which preceded it. As for the general results of the discussions, they are difficult to assess. Certainly useful work was done. On the “local” side the meeting was completely successful. The nights were illuminated by the wonderful autumn light‐show in which Blackpool surpasses England; in the receptions, amusements and facilities afforded no conference assembly has been entertained more royally.

The following classified, annotated list of titles is intended to provide reference librarians with a current checklist of new reference books, and is designed to supplement the RSR review column, “Recent Reference Books,” by Frances Neel Cheney. “Reference Books in Print” includes all additional books received prior to the inclusion deadline established for this issue. Appearance in this column does not preclude a later review in RSR. Publishers are urged to send a copy of all new reference books directly to RSR as soon as published, for immediate listing in “Reference Books in Print.” Reference books with imprints older than two years will not be included (with the exception of current reprints or older books newly acquired for distribution by another publisher). The column shall also occasionally include library science or other library related publications of other than a reference character.

The authors aim to investigate the ability of a New Zealand university to rely on the CO₂ sequestered in the trees on campus to mitigate the CO₂ emissions caused by operations.

The authors count and measure the trees on the university's 68 hectare main campus, ignoring smaller trees that sequester very little CO₂.

The authors estimate that the 4,139 trees the authors count contain 5,809 tonnes of CO₂. The authors further estimate the additional CO₂ sequestration over the next ten years to be 253 tonnes per year. The university's annual CO₂ emissions were 4,086 tonnes in 2011. More than 70 per cent of this amount relates to overseas travel. Therefore, CO₂ sequestration in trees promises to mitigate only about 6 per cent of total emissions over the next ten years.

This suggests that other initiatives will be needed if the university is serious about reducing its greenhouse gas emissions impact. An obvious avenue appears to be to reduce overseas travel, e.g. by finding different ways for academic staff to network and obtain feedback on their research. Other universities and other organisations starting to investigate their environmental impact are likely to similarly find that CO₂ sequestration in trees can only provide limited mitigation opportunities.

The authors contribute to the ongoing debate around carbon emissions, exploring avenues to mitigate CO₂ emissions.