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The study aims to develop an integrated model for three-dimensional (3D) printing adoption in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) context to form a baseline for more theoretical and empirical debate from emerging markets.

A qualitative approach with a convenience sample is adopted since there is no formal body that has accurate data about the number of companies, governmental bodies, nongovernmental organizations, universities, labs, etc. that already have adopted 3D printing.

The results indicate that the technological usefulness of 3D printing and its ease-of-use factor were found to be lacking among community members and governmental officials. Yet, these factors were the most influential factor affecting the spread of 3D printing technology adoption in the GCC countries. Nevertheless, the adaptation of 3D printing is not yet at the level of its global markets, nor is it used within leading companies’ assembly lines. In addition, the 3D printing awareness and use increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, the adaptation rate is still below expectations due to several challenges that face the growth of the 3D printing market in the GCC countries. The most vital challenge facing 3D printing growth is manifested in governmental policies and regulations.

Companies’ managers can benefit from the current study results by focusing on the factors that facilitate 3D adoption and avoiding bottle-neck factors that hinder the speed of the 3D adoption. 3D providers can also benefit by understanding the factors that affect 3D adoption and designing their machine and marketing strategy in a way that helps the intended companies to easily adopt 3D printing.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that explored 3D printing adoption on the GCC countries’ level. It also adds a new flavor to the literature by exploring 3D adoption during the COVID-19 crisis.

The need to improve sustainable construction with the appropriate technology adoption in the fourth and fifth industrial revolutions cannot be overemphasized. This study modelled the adoption of Internet of things (IoT) technologies in the construction industry to improve sustainable construction. Consequently, the study would assist construction stakeholders and policymakers in achieving sustainable construction through concerted efforts toward improving IoT adoption.

The study obtained the IoT technologies and the challenges of IoT adoption in the construction industry through a literature review. Subsequently, the awareness (knowledge of the existence and uses) of IoT technologies, the significance of the challenges and the level of adoption of the IoT technologies were tested on construction stakeholders in Kigali with a structured questionnaire. Consequently, a structural equation model of IoT adoption was developed.

The structural equation model indicates the relationship between the awareness, challenges and adoption of IoT technologies. It equally describes the effect sizes of the awareness and challenges of IoT on the adoption of IoT technologies.

This study is beneficial to construction stakeholders as it portrays the exclusive impacts of the awareness and the challenges of IoT technologies on the adoption of IoT. The study also benefits the government and policymakers as it provides a basis for intensifying efforts to create awareness and mitigate the challenges of IoT adoption for sustainable construction. The study also provides a basis for future studies on IoT adoption in the construction industry.

There are several studies on the adoption of IoT. There is however scarcity of studies on how the awareness and the challenges of IoT technologies impact the adoption of IoT in the construction industry. Thus, this study bridges the gap by modelling the adoption of IoT technologies for improved sustainable construction.

The main objective of the present research is to depict the experience of challenges and opportunities for virtual accreditation peer review team (PRT) visits. COVID-19 has changed higher education delivery. Higher education accreditation and PRT visits have become online. The lockdown forced schools and accreditation agencies to cancel or change visit arrangements. PRT visits could not be stopped during the COVID-19 pandemic, but accrediting agencies needed to review programme quality to meet standards.

Eight former and present accreditation specialists were interviewed. The researchers described the challenges and opportunities in virtual accreditation visits (VAV). Also, the authors have explained their own experience of coordinating on-site and virtual accreditation visits. Using the NVIVO tool, the experts' replies are transcribed and categorised as challenges and opportunities.

The findings will help the professionals and academicians better prepare for, plan and execute virtual PRT visits for accreditation agencies and schools. The results revealed that the evaluation and accreditation outcomes are similar for virtual and physical accreditation visits. Finally, the findings suggest that accreditation agencies and schools need to adopt a hybrid site visit model for accreditation visits.

The school can prepare better for virtual PRT visits by identifying the challenges and opportunities ahead of time. The finding may motivate authorities to schedule meetings in different time zones, prepare document evidence rooms, save money, time, and travel time, and benefit the environment by eliminating paper printing, fuel use, and paper printing.

This research is unique and noteworthy since accreditation organisations, PRT members and schools are uncertain about virtual visits. This may be the first paper in this domain to assist accreditation organisations and institutions review accreditation visits online or in hybrid mode.

The purpose of this article was to identify and evaluate the benefits of adopting digital technologies (DTs) in the Nigerian construction industry, to ensure that construction projects are efficiently and effectively executed.

A scoping literature review was conducted through which benefits of implementing DTs were identified, which helped in the formulation of a questionnaire survey. Data were obtained from construction professionals including architects, builders, engineers and quantity surveyors. Retrieved data were analyzed using several statistical tools such as percentages, frequencies, mean item scores and exploratory factor analyses.

Based on the mean item score ranking results, the top five significant benefits of adopting DTs were increased operational efficiency, increased productivity, increased speed of executing tasks, seamless working methodology and accurate documentation of data. Findings from the factor analysis revealed six clusters of benefits namely an improved framework for operations, improved innovativeness, improved safety practices, increased competitive edge, greater accuracy and increased productivity.

This study expands on the existing discussions surrounding the digital transformation of the construction sector in developing countries, particularly in Nigeria, a region where the awareness and implementation of smart and innovative technologies are still at an infant stage.

Although several studies on the benefits of adopting DTs in the construction industry of developing countries exist, very few have been conducted in the Nigerian context. Thus, this is a significant knowledge gap that must be filled. Thus, the findings of this study can serve as a basis for construction organizations in Nigeria and similar countries seeking the digital transformation of their activities.

Limited evidence exists on bacha bazi, Afghanistan's steadily revived practice involving transgenerational same-sex relationships, despite its frequent association with violence towards young males, known as bacha bereesh. This paper aims to fill this critical gap.

The author conducted an integrative literature review using qualitative and quantitative secondary data. An ecological framework for violence was applied to the findings.

The findings offer a comprehensive overview of bacha bazi in its modern form, including the unique health needs, sexual practices, and gender identities and orientations of bacha bereesh. The author reveals how Afghan masculine identities and male-male sexual activity occur in relation to power structures and notions of honor. Numerous risk factors increasing bacha bereesh vulnerability for violence and socio-legal barriers constraining access to crucial services are also discussed.

Afghanistan's shame-based culture limits accurate data collection by obscuring the practice and stigmatizing bacha bereesh who serve in feminized roles.

The research highlights the inadequacies of applying Western gender-binary frameworks to bacha bazi. It contributes to our understanding of sexuality, gender, masculinity, and male-directed sexual violence within Afghan culture. These insights will help us better address the health needs of this underserved population.

The lack of evidence addressing these topics highlights our paper's originality, while the literature firmly linking violence to poor physical and psychological health outcomes emphasizes the importance of its contribution.

To understand the role of the unorganized sector in the push toward a circular economy (CE), the authors consider the case of the unorganized tire retreading industry in India and examine the barriers it faces in contributing to a circular tire supply chain in India.

The authors used grounded theory methodology (GTM) to understand the barriers to realizing the CE in the Indian unorganized tire retreading industry. This methodology facilitates the acquisition of new insights into an existing phenomenon or in studying emerging areas that require investigation.

Through the analysis, the authors tease out ten critical barriers that impede the Indian unorganized tire retreading industry. The two most vital barriers are the lack of effective promotional methods and the poor implementation of standards.

This study emphasizes the importance of further investigating the potential role of the unorganized sector in fostering the transition to a CE in emerging economies.

The research provides useful policy prescriptions to regulators and insights to original tire manufacturers (OTMs) that enable the unorganized tire retreaders in India to contribute to the movement toward a circular supply chain (CSC).

This study is the first to systematically examine the unorganized sector to understand the barriers to CE. This study provides an original theoretical contribution by expanding the scope of stakeholder and institutional theories.

The increasing adoption of informatization in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industries has raised the competency requirements for AEC practitioners. However, existing research primarily focuses on the integration of emerging technologies in AEC education programs, with little attention to the development of informatization-related competencies. Therefore, this paper aims to explore the competency requirements in the information age of the AEC industry.

Taking a policy perspective, this study investigates the competency requirements within the context of AEC industry informatization. By employing a competency-based theoretical framework, content analysis is conducted on China's policy document, the Outline of the Development of Informatization in the Construction Industry.

The study identifies crucial emerging technologies in the AEC industry, such as building information modeling (BIM), Big Data, Internet of things, networking, and cloud computing, along with their application scenarios. It considers various market players, including survey and design institutes, construction companies, and general contracting enterprises. Comparative analysis reveals the technology application patterns of these market players, shedding light on their preferences and perspectives. Based on these findings, the study proposes recommendations for competency requirements in the AEC industry.

This study extends the competency-based theory to AEC education from a macro perspective. The findings enhance understanding of informatization by providing insights into the related technologies, their applications, and the market players utilizing them. Moreover, the study's results have significant implications for AEC education, particularly in the design of curriculum systems for emerging technology-related fields.

Computer-assisted instruction (CAI) has been used to combat reading challenges, namely reading accuracy and rate for learners with intellectual, developmental and learning disabilities (IDLD). Whilst most reading CAI effectiveness has been studied in English, other transparent languages have less evidence. This study provides a systematic review and meta-analysis of CAI effectiveness for transparent language reading for K-3 learners with IDLD.

This study systematically reviews academic peer-reviewed studies from 2010 to 2023 with either randomised controlled treatment (RCT) or single-case treatments. Articles were searched from the ACM Digital Library, Google Scholar, IEEE Xplore, ERIC, PsychINFO and Science Direct databases, references and systematic review articles. Reading component skills effect sizes were computed using the random effect sizes model.

11 RCT studies of reading CAI for transparent languages with 510 learners with IDLD were found. A random effect sizes (Cohen’s d) of CAI on individual reading component skills were d = 0.24, p-value = 0.063 and confidence interval (CI) 95% (−0.068–0.551) for phonics and phonemic awareness d = 0.41, p-value = 0.000 and CI 95% (0.175–0.644). Given an average intervention dosage of 1.8 h weekly for a maximum of 16 weeks, CAI had better retention with d = 1.13, p-value = 0.066 and CI 95%(−0.339–2.588). However, these results must be interpreted with a concern of only using published studies.

The study contributes to quantitative CAI effectiveness for transparent language reading components for learners with IDLD.

The application of three-dimensional (3D) printing technology in construction projects is of increasing interest to researchers and construction practitioners. Although the application of 3D printing technology at various stages of the project lifecycle has been explored, few studies have identified the relative importance of critical success factors (CSFs) for implementing 3D printing technology in construction projects. To address this research gap, this study aims to explore the academics (i.e. researchers) and construction practitioners’ perspectives on CSFs for implementing 3D printing technology in construction projects.

To do this, a questionnaire was administered to participants (i.e. academics and construction practitioners) with knowledge and expertise in 3D printing technology in construction projects. The collected data were analysed using mean score ranking, normalization and rank agreement analysis to identify CSFs and determine the consistency of the ranking of CSFs between academics and construction practitioners. In addition, exploratory factor analysis was used to identify the relationships and underlying constructs of the measured CSFs.

Through a rank agreement analysis of the collected data, 11 CSFs for implementing 3D printing technology were retrieved (i.e. 17% agreement), indicating a diverse agreement in the ranking of the CSFs between academics and construction practitioners. In addition, the results show three key components of CSFs including “production demand enabling CSFs”, “optimize the construction process enabling CSFs” and “optimized design enabling CSFs”.

This study highlights the feasibility of implementing the identified CSFs for 3D printing technology in construction projects, which not only serves as a reference for other researchers but also increases construction practitioners’ awareness of the practical benefits of implementing 3D printing technology in construction projects. Specifically, it would optimize the construction lifecycle processes, enhance digital transformation and promote sustainable construction projects.