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This study reviews the extent of application of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in the construction industry.

A thorough literature review (based on 165 articles) was conducted using Elsevier's Scopus due to its simplicity and as it encapsulates an extensive variety of databases to identify the literature related to the scope of the present study.

The following items were extracted: type of AI tools used, the major purpose of application, the geographical location where the study was conducted and the distribution of studies in terms of the journals they are published by. Based on the review results, the disciplines the AI tools have been used for were classified into eight major areas, such as geotechnical engineering, project management, energy, hydrology, environment and transportation, while construction materials and structural engineering. ANN has been a widely used tool, while the researchers have also used other AI tools, which shows efforts of exploring other tools for better modelling abilities. There is also clear evidence of that studies are now growing from applying a single AI tool to applying hybrid ones to create a comparison and showcase which tool provides a better result in an apple-to-apple scenario.

The findings can be used, not only by the researchers interested in the application of AI tools in construction, but also by the industry practitioners, who are keen to further understand and explore the applications of AI tools in the field.

There are no studies to date which serves as the center point to learn about the different AI tools available and their level of application in different fields of AEC. The study sheds light on various studies, which have used AI in hybrid/evolutionary systems to develop effective and accurate predictive models, to offer researchers and model developers more tools to choose from.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on all facets of education. This led to educational institutions deploying blended and online systems for teaching and learning. The purpose of this study was to assess the role of blended learning in promoting quality education during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The qualitative research design was deployed in this study and enabled the researcher to collect data via in-depth interviews. Twenty-five (25) tertiary institutions accredited by the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) were randomly selected to participate in this study. The registrars of the institutions were purposively selected and served as the participants for the study. Thematic content analysis was used to analyze the data collected via the interview. Ethical considerations were adhered to during the study.

The study established that COVID-19 had a devastating effect on tertiary institutions; multiple technological and open-sourced systems were deployed for teaching and learning; blended learning was adopted to augment the traditional face-to-face mode of teaching and learning due to its ease of use, usefulness and accessibility as it was used for quizzes and assignments, accessing lecture notes, among others. Despite these, the deployment of technological and blended systems was met with challenges that somehow affected effective teaching, learning.

The study was limited to 25 tertiary educational institutions in Ghana. It was again limited to the COVID-19 era.

This research aids in understanding the extent of the impact of COVID-19 on teaching and learning and how blended learning is currently deployed and used in tertiary institutions in Ghana. The findings are relevant to policymakers and management of educational institutions as it informs them of the right method and tools to deploy for teaching and learning during pandemics.

As educational institutions globally are dealing with the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is prudent to look into how tertiary institutions in Ghana deploy blended learning to facilitate teaching and learning. Thus, this paper is original as it fills the relevant literature gap in terms of scope, setting, methodology and findings.

This study provides the critical masses (thresholds) at which the positive incidence of finance and economic growth will be dampened by the negative effects of income inequality and poverty on energy consumption in Sub-Saharan Africa for policy direction.

The study employed the two steps systems GMM estimator for 41 countries in Africa from 2005–2020.

The study found that for finance to maintain a positive effect on energy consumption per capita, the critical thresholds for the income inequality indicators (Atkinson coefficient, Gini index and the Palma ratio) should not exceed 0.681, 0.582 and 5.991, respectively. Similarly, for economic growth (GDP per capita growth) to maintain a positive effect on energy consumption per capita, the critical thresholds for the income inequality indicators (Atkinson coefficient, Gini index and the Palma ratio) should not exceed 0.669, 0.568 and 6.110, respectively. On the poverty level in Sub-Saharan Africa, the study reports that the poverty headcount ratios (hc$144ppp2011, hc$186ppp2011 and hc$250ppp2005) should not exceed 7.342, 28.278 and 129.332, respectively for financial development to maintain a positive effect on energy consumption per capita. The study also confirms the positive nexus between access to finance (financial development) and energy consumption per capita, with the attending adverse effect on CO₂ emissions inescapable. The findings of this study make it evidently clear, for policy recommendation that finance is at the micro-foundation of economic growth, income inequality and poverty alleviation. However, a maximum threshold of income inequality and poverty headcount ratios as indicated in this study must be maintained to attain the full positive ramifications of financial development and economic growth on energy consumption in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The originality of this study is found in the computation of the threshold and net effects of poverty and income inequality in economic growth through the conditional and unconditional effects of finance.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the insights of founding entrepreneurs to understand what they consider as motivating factors in their decision to act upon entrepreneurial intentions. Using this information, the entrepreneurial trigger event influence was conceptualized, and a scale developed for use in subsequent testable models.

Qualitative and quantitative techniques were used to construct an instrument that measures the presence and influence of entrepreneurial behavior triggers. The concept of triggering events was explored with 14 founding entrepreneurs. Themes emerged from this enquiry process which informed the development of four primary entrepreneurial triggering events. Over 600 entrepreneurs participated in the study. Exploratory factor analysis was used to identify dimensions of entrepreneurial triggers and was tested using confirmatory factor analysis.

Entrepreneurs perceive that personal fulfillment and job dissatisfaction serve as two significant trigger events which will lead individuals to engage in entrepreneurial behaviors. This research supports theorizing that suggests entrepreneurial trigger events have influence in motivating individuals to act upon entrepreneurial intentions and some trigger events may have more influence toward behavior than others.

This research is subject to multiple limitations. Trigger events were limited to those identified in literature and the interviews. Most entrepreneurs participating in this study were from a limited geographic region. The entrepreneurs in this study reported their triggering event based on their memory which could have been affected by inaccurate recall or memory bias. No attempt has been made to model the comparative effects of the different variables on entrepreneurial outcomes. Finally, the entrepreneurial trigger event instrument did not measure the participant's demographics or psychographics which could have played a role in the influence of reported trigger event.

This study extends previous research that trigger events serve as catalysts for entrepreneurial behavior. Findings support the premise that different types of triggers have different levels of influence as antecedents of entrepreneurial behavior. Specifically, positive, negative, internal and external entrepreneurial triggering events were explicated. The Entrepreneurial Trigger Event Scale created to facilitate this study enables researchers to explore the effects of types and perceived influences of precipitating trigger events on the intentions of the individual that result in entrepreneurial behavior. The optimized instrument further expanded Shapero's (1975) proposed theory of the origins of entrepreneurial behavior.

The development of a scale provides researchers with the opportunity to include the influence of entrepreneurial trigger events, as perceived by entrepreneurs, in future testable models. Entrepreneurial development organizations can use the knowledge to assist in understanding when potential entrepreneurs may act upon entrepreneurial intentions. Information gained can have significant implications for understanding the initiation of entrepreneurial behavior, entity establishment and business growth.

This research responds to a call for investigation into the influence of entrepreneurial trigger events on a person's decision to act upon entrepreneurial intentions. It is an early attempt to conceptualize a relevant construct of entrepreneurial trigger event influence and to develop a scale for use in empirical testing. It is distinguished by using planned behaviors, push and pull, motivation and drive reduction theories. These theories are applied to the perceptions of successful entrepreneurs to develop a construct and validate it.

This review aims to provide synoptic documentation on acclaimed anecdotal plant-based remedies used by Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) communities to manage COVID-19. The theoretical approaches that form the basis for using the anecdotally claimed phytotherapies were reviewed against current scientific evidence.

In this paper plant-based remedies for managing COVID-19 were searched on social and print media to identify testimonies of people from different communities in LAC countries. Information was extracted, evaluated and reviewed against current scientific evidence based on a literature search from databases such as Journal Storage (JSTOR), Excerpta Medica Database (EMBASE), SpringerLink, Scopus, ScienceDirect, PubMed, Google Scholar and Medline to explore the scientific basis for anecdotal claims.

A total of 23 medicinal plants belonging to 15 families were identified as phytotherapies used in managing COVID-19 in LAC communities.

The plant-based remedies contained valuable phytochemicals scientifically reported for their anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antioxidant and anticancer effects. Anecdotal information helps researchers investigate disease patterns, management and new drug discoveries. The identified acclaimed plant-based remedies are potential candidates for pharmacological evaluations for possible drug discovery for future pandemics.

The purpose of this study is to investigate how the congruence between predecessor and successor personality traits (PTs) with the values of their small family business (SFB) contributes to a successful succession transition across generations.

The conceptual model method was employed in this investigation, which describes an entity and identifies issues that should be considered in a study (MacInnis, 2011). It involves a form of theorizing that seeks to create a nomological network around the focal concept, to examine and detail the causal linkages and mechanisms at play (Delbridge and Fiss, 2013).

Drawing on the trait activation theory (TAT), this study conceptualizes that the congruence of the successor's PTs with those of the predecessor, as well as the values, transitions and nature of the assigned task, activates the successor's PTs and motivates him to work diligently for a successful succession transition while preserving the business's core values established by the founder.

This study is an eye-opener for strategists and SFB predecessors to ponder the successor's PTs disparities across generations. Additionally, it urges them to consider the congruence of SFB's values and nature of operations with the successor's PTs for successful succession transition. Thus, such awareness may contribute to stabilizing the SFB's survival rate.

This study contributed to the existing literature by answering how predecessor’s and successor's PTs congruence and SFB's values and nature of operations congruence with their PTs may contribute to successful succession transition across generations. This study contributed to the TAT by thematically explaining the organizational cues to bridge a relationship between entrepreneurial personality traits (EPT) and succession success of SFBs.

This study aims to develop a comprehensive conceptual framework that serves as a foundation for identifying most critical delay risk drivers for Building Information Modelling (BIM)-based construction projects.

A systematic review was conducted using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) to identify key delay risk drivers in BIM-based construction projects that have significant impact on the performance of delay risk predictive modelling techniques.

The results show that contractor related driver and external related driver are the most important delay driver categories to be considered when developing delay risk predictive models for BIM-based construction projects.

This study contributes to the body of knowledge by filling the gap in lack of a conceptual framework for selecting key delay risk drivers for BIM-based construction projects, which has hampered scientific progress toward development of extremely effective delay risk predictive models for BIM-based construction projects. Furthermore, this study's analyses further confirmed a positive effect of BIM on construction project delay.

Human capital flight from developing countries to developed nations has been rising and giving concerns to governments and scholars alike. This paper aims to explore the impact migration from Nigeria has on economic output growth by focusing on the migration rate, remittances, population growth and secondary school enrolment. This has not received adequate attention in the literature, as many papers have primarily focused on the impact of remittances on economic growth.

Leveraging on the macro-level approach to migration, remittances and the economy, this research considers the nexus among the human capital flight and output growth variables by using the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) method of analysis for time series data between 1986 and 2018.

The net migration rate from Nigeria was found from the empirical analysis to be more disadvantageous for the economy, given its negative relationship with economic growth despite the large volume of foreign incomes (remittances). It also shows that secondary school enrolment positively and significantly impacted the Nigerian growth rate in the long run.

This research has widened the use of variables by combining net migration rate, remittances from abroad, population growth rate and secondary school enrolment to obtain a more robust outcome with implications for research and practice.

This study aims to analyze the perceptions of smallholder farmers on climate change and events and further explores climate change adaptation strategies and associated challenges. The findings provide useful information for enhancing the adaptive capacity of smallholder farmers to adjust to climate-related hazards and improve their resilience and disaster preparedness in northern Ghana.

This study uses a multistage sampling procedure and sample size of 150 farmers, the Binary Probit Model (BPM), to identify and examine the determinants of climate change adaptation strategies adopted by smallholder farmers. Also, the constraints of adaptation were analyzed using Kendall’s coefficient of concordance.

The results from the BPM and statistics of Kendall’s coefficient revealed that the farm risk level, ability to adapt, farmer’s income, age, farming experience, climate change awareness and extension visits were factors that significantly influenced the adaptation strategies of smallholder farmers (in order of importance). The majority (60%) of the farmers ranked farm risk level as the major constraint to adopting climate change strategies.

The findings of this study enhance understanding on access to relevant and timely climate change adaptation information such as an early warning to farmers during the start of the farming/rainy season to support their adaptive responses to climate change.

Using cross-sectional household survey data, this paper aims to determine the impact of food price increases on poverty in Indonesia.

This paper uses the quadratic almost ideal demand system applied to the 2013 Indonesian household survey data. The impact of food price increase on household welfare is calculated using a welfare measure, compensating variation.

Three food groups with the most outstanding price impact on poverty, rice, vegetables and fish, were studied. The 20% increase in the price of each food group causes an increase in the headcount ratio by 1.360 points (rice), 0.737 points (vegetables) and 0.636 points (fish). Maintaining food price stability for these food groups is very important because the more the price increases, the more the impact on poverty. Food price policies in rural areas are also more critical than in urban areas because the impact of food price increases in rural areas is higher.

This paper does not consider the positive impact of rising food prices on food-producing households.

Implementing appropriate poverty alleviation policies through food policies for main food groups and social protection.

Promoting rural development policies and agricultural growth.

This paper contributes to the existing literature by providing empirical results regarding the impact of domestic food prices increase on poverty in Indonesia.