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Competitive tendering in South Africa is often associated with procurement based on the lowest fee tendered. Previous research on this topic did not provide in-depth examinations of how pricing within consulting engineering companies was affected by competitive tendering nor did it illuminate the extent to which professional services were impacted by competitive tendering. This paper aims to examine the implications of competitive tendering on pricing and delivery of consulting engineering services in South Africa.

A survey research strategy with a questionnaire as the research instrument elicited qualitative data from 28 experienced consulting engineers in South Africa. Thematic analysis was used to analyse qualitative data from the questionnaires.

Three key themes were identified, namely: considerations when determining consulting engineering fees on competitively tendered projects; the impact of reduced fees due to competitive tendering on the delivery of consulting engineering services; and interventions to prevent unsustainably “low” professional fees. Many consulting engineers in South Africa still determine fees using fee scales, while other considerations include resources, project complexity, risk, etc. Most participants asserted that design optimisation/value engineering, training, meetings and construction monitoring were adversely impacted by “low” fees.

This paper provides in-depth qualitative feedback from experienced consulting engineers (most having more than 20 years’ experience) on a topical issue in the South African construction industry. Thematic analysis was a novel method of analysis that was not used previously in this area of study.

Construction projects require a range of documents (e.g. drawings and specifications) prepared by built environment professionals. In recent years, there has been a perception amongst professionals that quality of documentation has declined. “Low” professional fees were cited as one of the reasons for poor quality documentation. However, most studies on the topic contained inappropriate methodologies. Therefore, the purpose of this paper was to develop a conceptual methodology to comprehensively examine the relationship between fees and professional service output quality.

A systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted to evaluate the limitations of previous methodologies and identify variables in the relationship between fees and quality of professional service outputs. Findings from the SLR were used to develop a conceptual methodology to investigate the relationship between fees and quality of professional service outputs.

Based on a frequency analysis of factors in the construction literature, the three main variables influencing professional service output quality were fees, coordination and amount of time available for project tasks. The SLR and shortcomings in previous studies informed the development of a conceptual methodology to examine the relationship between fees and professional service output quality.

The conceptual methodology will assist in comprehensively investigating the effect of fees on the quality of professional service outputs. This is particularly relevant in countries where clients procure built environment professional services based on the lowest fee tendered but are concerned about quality. The methodology can establish how and to what extent “low” fees impact on professional service output quality. Industry professionals can also use variables identified in this paper to mitigate quality-related risks when producing professional service outputs.

This paper adds to the body of knowledge by identifying variables in the relationship between fees and professional service output quality. The identified variables can be monitored and controlled by researchers during future investigations. Additionally, a conceptual methodology was proposed to assist researchers to determine the effect of fees on professional service output quality. The flexibility of the conceptual methodology enables it to comprehensively investigate other key variables (apart from fees) impacting on professional service output quality.

Several researchers in the construction industry have mentioned that quality of tender documents is declining without tangibly assessing quality. Similarly, in practice, no standardised instrument exists to assess tender document quality. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to develop a framework to assess the quality of tender documents produced by built environment professionals in the construction industry. A framework was chosen to address the gaps in theory and practice as it provides a flexible but structured mechanism to assess tender document quality.

The research methodology contained three stages, namely: multi-investigator triangulation, a workshop with infrastructure experts and framework development and validation. A consolidated list of key quality indicators was developed following the literature review and multi-investigator triangulation. The indicators were discussed with ten experts in the South African construction industry, who were responsible for validating and providing insight on whether additional indicators were required. This informed development of the framework.

This paper proposes a framework to assess tender document quality by evaluating six key quality indicators namely: accuracy, clarity, completeness, standardisation, relevance and certainty.

The framework is limited to the assessment of tender document quality in the construction industry and is suited to the “Design by Employer” contracting strategy. From an academic perspective, this paper provides researchers with a framework to measure and benchmark quality of tender documents in future studies.

This framework can be used by clients to continuously assess and benchmark quality of tender documents produced by professionals.

A comprehensive and standardised approach to assess tender document quality was not available in the construction literature or the construction industry. Therefore, this paper addressed this gap in knowledge, by providing consumers (clients and contractors) of tender documents and researchers a mechanism to assess quality.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the life stories of migrant workers in Israel by analyzing different aspects of the information behavior that emerged from their narratives through a transitional perspective.

Narratives are a human way of communication that focuses on the stories people tell about themselves, their inner thoughts, their states of mind and how they perceive their own reality. In total, 20 Spanish-speaking domestic migrant workers were interviewed. The data collected form the narratives were study draws from the transitional theory.

The holistic phase of the content analysis revealed that participants experienced information poverty based on socioeconomic factors and perceptions of social exclusion, vulnerability and hostile surroundings. The content analysis yielded a theory of transitional information behavior that reflects the three stages of the migration process: ending of a new reality, a period of confusion and a sense of belonging. The theory encompasses four elements: process, disconnectedness, perceptions and patterns of response.

The study proposes an innovative look at information behavior of migrants by integrating a transitional perspective into the life stories of participants.

Economic adversity, geopolitical, and climate crises leading to the lack of decent and sustainable work are resulting in growing and diverse migratory movements. The precarious situation of many migrant workers in their countries of employment results in a state of social exclusion due to a lack of access to relevant information sources. The purpose of this paper is to further the understanding of the information behavior of migrants by examining the role that La Escuelita, a Hebrew night school for domestic migrant workers in Israel, plays as an information ground helping migrants struggling with social exclusion.

A qualitative methodology was used and data were collected using participation observation over a three-months period. Eight students at the school were interviewed using in-depth interviews.

La Escuelita served as a vehicle for social inclusion by providing valuable everyday information to the students in a caring environment. Information was shared in multiple directions between both the staff and the students and between the students. Language barriers were revealed as one of the main factors for social exclusion. Findings revealed that although the migrant workers who study at La Escuelita are information poor regarding their struggle for social inclusion into Israeli society, they wish to learn Hebrew as a way to overcome this exclusion.

Understanding the information behavior of marginalized populations is the first step into designing and implementing information services to help them toward social inclusion. This research presents an innovative contribution by examining the significance and roles of social connections in the setting of a unique information environment.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze flood vulnerability vis-à-vis flood-induced health risks, and understand the relationship between them to suggest measures to reduce health risks in Sudan.

This study compares the vulnerability to flood and health consequences in two communities in Aroma. This study compares the vulnerability of Aroma semi-urban vicinity and Tendellei rural village, in Sudan, to flood and health consequences. A set of socioeconomic and health indicators were studied in 251 households. Households were classified according to their calculated vulnerability composite index. The index was validated through comparing the vulnerability values with the level of impact in each household.

About 30 percent of households are highly/very highly vulnerable to flood risk. On the other hand, 41 percent of the rural households and 25 percent of the semi-urban houses are highly/very highly vulnerable to health risks. The main determinants of flood vulnerability are; the number of earning family members, level of education and economic activity of the household's head. The rural households are found to be more vulnerable to health risks while semi-urban households are more vulnerable to flooding. Flood and health vulnerabilities are positively correlated. Factors like urbanization, poverty and education directly affect the vulnerability of communities.

The methodology could be strengthened through the running of multi-various regression to relate selected vulnerability indicators to incidence of malaria and diarrhea in each household.

The method described in this paper is flexible; applicable and can be reproduced for other areas and risks.

Vulnerability determinants affect the two communities differently and this necessitates specific consideration when developing policy. The policy should tackle the root causes of vulnerability to cut the vicious circle of poverty, illiteracy and illness. Those root causes should be managed by integrating multi-hazard approaches for effective and efficient interventions.

The method described in this paper is original, flexible; applicable and can be reproduced for other areas and risks.

This paper aims to study multiobjective genetic algorithm ability in determining the process parameter and postprocess condition that leads to maximum relative density (RD) and minimum surface roughness (Ra) simultaneously in the case of a Ti6Al4V sample process by laser beam powder bed fusion.

In this research, the nondominated sorting genetic algorithm II is used to achieve situations that correspond to the highest RD and the lowest Ra together.

The results show that several situations cause achieving the best RD and optimum Ra. According to the Pareto frontal diagram, there are several choices in a close neighborhood, so that the best setup conditions found to be 102–105 watt for laser power followed by scanning speed of 623–630 mm/s, hatch space of 76–73 µm, scanning patter angle of 35°–45° and heat treatment temperature of 638–640°C.

Suitable selection of process parameters and postprocessing treatments lead to a significant reduction in time and cost.