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This study aims to assess the availability of micro-takāful (micro-Islamic insurance) schemes for the protection of houses belonging to low-income groups in Malaysia.

The study is conducted via desk research and interview discussions with representatives from takāful operators and key stakeholders.

Findings of the study confirm the importance of micro-takāful as a scheme for the protection of low-income groups. Micro-takāful schemes in Malaysia are, however, skewed towards the protection of health, life and family. The study finds little industry interest in the provision of micro-takāful schemes for the protection of houses for low-income groups. This represents another important area that takāful operators should take into consideration in their planning.

The paper will help the Majlis Agama Islam Negeri-Negeri (MAINs), the regulator, takāful operators and government agencies such as Jabatan Wakaf, Zakat dan Haji (JAWHAR) to generate awareness and promote the offering of micro-takāful schemes for the protection of houses belonging to low-income groups in Malaysia.

In light of the limited availability of micro-takāful schemes for the protection of houses for low-income groups, this study argues that takāful operators should offer and promote them.

The study is significant for fulfilling the need of low-income groups in Malaysia to protect their houses in the event of catastrophes so that they will not suffer significant losses. Rather, micro-takāful will assist them in improving their standard of living.

This study promotes the idea that it is essential to facilitate the low-income groups with appropriate coverage made available to them; micro-takāful schemes in protecting their houses and home contents, should any defined calamities occur. The outcomes are necessary for further development of micro-takāful models, specifically for the protection of properties. The developed model shall be proposed for application in the Malaysian takāful and housing industry to facilitate low-income groups to obtain protection for their household and home contents.

Construction 4.0 technology is a novel innovative technology that has been proved to enhance project performance. However, information on the concept's awareness, adoption readiness and challenges in developing economies is still scanty. The purpose of the study is to appraise awareness, adoption readiness and challenges of Construction 4.0 technologies in Nigeria to bring to the fore the state of art of these innovative technologies in the study area.

The study used a convenient sampling technique to select 129 construction professionals (architects, engineers and quantity surveyors) in Osun State, Nigeria, who provided data for the study through a closed-ended structure questionnaire survey. The quantitative data supplied were analysed using frequency, percentile, Cronbach's alpha, mean score (MS) analysis and analysis of variance (ANOVA).

The overall awareness level of construction professionals in the study area about Construction 4.0 technologies is at a moderate level (MS = 3.03). The analysis of each component of the Construction 4.0 technologies shows that BIM (MS = 3.69) has the highest level of awareness, while augmented reality (MS = 2.51) has the least awareness level. More results show a significant difference in the opinion of the respondents, a significant difference in the respondents on 36% of the components of Construction 4.0 technologies. The adoption readiness of the Nigerian construction industry (NCI) to Construction 4.0 technologies is at an initial level (MS = 2.86). However, the 3D printing (MS = 3.36) and augmented reality (MS = 2.49) have the highest and lowest adoption readiness ratings, respectively. There is no significant difference in how respondents ranked the NCI adoption readiness on 73% of the components of Construction 4.0 technologies. The main challenges of Construction 4.0 technologies in the study area are lack of standardisation (MS = 4.02), lack of investment in research and development and cost of implementation (MS = 3.87) each. The result shows that there is perfect unanimity in the way respondents ranked the challenges of Construction 4.0.

The study provided information on the status quo of Construction 4.0 technologies in the NCI to enhance improvement in practice and the attendant project delivery.

The study attempted to bring to the fore the state of the art on awareness, adoption readiness and challenges of Construction 4.0 technologies in Nigeria. The study's information will be valuable to improve project delivery.

The deadly nature of the coronavirus (COVID-19) has severe consequences on human health and the global economy. There are rising numbers of COVID-19 cases despite containment measures. Organizations differ in their strategic responses to institutional forces. This study investigates the role of organizational characteristics in shaping COVID-19 safety practices among small and medium construction enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria.

A quantitative research approach was employed through exploratory and descriptive designs. The study questionnaires were administered to 362 active construction SMEs which were randomly sampled from the list of 6,364 SMEs registered with the corporate affairs commission in Lagos, 296 were used for analysis; corresponding to an 82% response rate. Factor analysis was used to reduce 9 COVID-19 safety practices to 3 core practices used for further analysis. Multiple regression was employed to determine the relationship between organizational characteristics and COVID-19 safety practices.

Results show that SMEs workforce, annual turnover and total asset have a positive and significant relationship with COVID-19 safety practices, while SMEs’ area of specialization is a poor predictor. It was concluded that organizational characteristics play a significant role in shaping COVID-19 safety practices among SMEs

The study is limited to only five organizational characteristics; new variables could be examined in the future.

This study shows that organizational characteristics can shape COVID-19 safety practices among SMEs. Findings will assist procuring entities in their decision to award construction contracts during the pandemic.

Covid-19 pandemic have raised serious health concerns, work disruptions and job loss. Thus, Nigeria’s Covid-19 challenges can hinder project performance in the construction sector. By integrating the principle of sustainable construction, it can minimise the environmental and socio-economic impact of Covid-19. This research therefore aims at developing strategies to achieve sustainable project performance in the post-Covid era in Nigeria.

A qualitative research method was used. Data was collected from 13 stakeholders in the built environment. Percentages and thematic analysis were used to analyse data from the interviews.

The study reveals that stakeholders are encountering operational and financial challenges: Increased price of materials, labour and material shortage and project delays were key operational challenges. The financial challenges were related to increased construction cost, reduced profit and payment delays. To address these challenges, the study developed managerial, contractual and governmental strategies: Market survey and bulk purchase, remote working and adherence to Covid-19 protocols were among the key managerial strategies. For the contractual strategies: contracts reviews, smart contracts, working overtime and night shift were developed, while governmental strategies included provision of funds, loans and incentives for workers.

The study deduced that while environmental sustainability was employed to address the Covid-19 challenges, the economic and social aspects were found to be under-utilized. Therefore, the study concluded that a holistic application of environmental, economic and social sustainability themes while incorporating managerial, contractual and governmental strategies is significant for achieving sustainable project performance in the post-Covid era in Nigeria.

University-industry collaboration (UIC) is a symbiosis relationship, brought about through knowledge and resource sharing, with the attendant benefits of innovation and technological advancement. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the state of UIC in quantity surveying profession in Nigeria with a view to ascertaining the situation and chatting the way forward.

Using quantitative survey research approach, primary data were collected through the administration of structured questionnaires on quantity surveying academia and practitioners. A total of 126 respondents were sampled: 52 university lecturers and 74 quantity surveying firms. Of these, 32 university lecturers (61.54%) and 34 quantity surveying firms (45.95%) provided valid responses. In all, this amounts to 52.38% response rate. The quantitative data obtained were analysed using mean score, frequency distribution, percentage and Mann Whitney test.

The findings show that collaboration is very strong in the areas of student industrial placement and research cooperation between students and academic researchers. However, collaboration in the areas of funding and staff exchange was found to be lagging behind.

The findings indicate strong collaboration areas (student industrial placement and research cooperation) to be sustained as well as weak areas (funding and staff exchange) to be critically looked into.

The paper represents the first research to empirically assess the state of UIC in quantity surveying profession in Nigeria. In addition, it shows the areas where efforts should be concentrated in maximizing the benefit of UIC.