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Article
Publication date: 8 August 2016

Wei Wang, Shoujian Zhang and Andrew Philip King

The engineering construction standards in China play an important role in protecting the safety of the construction projects. They are the basic principles that standardize the…

1468

Abstract

Purpose

The engineering construction standards in China play an important role in protecting the safety of the construction projects. They are the basic principles that standardize the construction activities and guarantee the quality of projects. However, there are many barriers that affect the adoption of the engineering construction standards. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the barriers that challenge the adoption of the engineering construction standards in China.

Design/methodology/approach

The research reveals the barriers that affect the implementation of the engineering construction standards in China through a literature review. Then this study uses factor analysis to analyze 12 indices which we get from a questionnaire to build explanations from the results.

Findings

According to this paper, four main brands of uncorrelated variables are derived which are the main challenges in implementing the engineering construction standards in China: management barriers, policy barriers, knowledge barriers and market barriers. This paper gives a clear classification of the barriers that the enterprises face while adopting the engineering construction standards in China.

Originality/value

This paper makes a contribution to the understanding of the barriers that affect the adoption of the engineering construction standards in China.

Details

Structural Survey, vol. 34 no. 4/5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-080X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 May 2018

Wei Zhang, Xianghong Hua, Kegen Yu, Weining Qiu, Shoujian Zhang and Xiaoxing He

This paper aims to introduce the weighted squared Euclidean distance between points in signal space, to improve the performance of the Wi-Fi indoor positioning. Nowadays, the…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to introduce the weighted squared Euclidean distance between points in signal space, to improve the performance of the Wi-Fi indoor positioning. Nowadays, the received signal strength-based Wi-Fi indoor positioning, a low-cost indoor positioning approach, has attracted a significant attention from both academia and industry.

Design/methodology/approach

The local principal gradient direction is introduced and used to define the weighting function and an average algorithm based on k-means algorithm is used to estimate the local principal gradient direction of each access point. Then, correlation distance is used in the new method to find the k nearest calibration points. The weighted squared Euclidean distance between the nearest calibration point and target point is calculated and used to estimate the position of target point.

Findings

Experiments are conducted and the results indicate that the proposed Wi-Fi indoor positioning approach considerably outperforms the weighted k nearest neighbor method. The new method also outperforms support vector regression and extreme learning machine algorithms in the absence of sufficient fingerprints.

Research limitations/implications

Weighted k nearest neighbor approach, support vector regression algorithm and extreme learning machine algorithm are the three classic strategies for location determination using Wi-Fi fingerprinting. However, weighted k nearest neighbor suffers from dramatic performance degradation in the presence of multipath signal attenuation and environmental changes. More fingerprints are required for support vector regression algorithm to ensure the desirable performance; and labeling Wi-Fi fingerprints is labor-intensive. The performance of extreme learning machine algorithm may not be stable.

Practical implications

The new weighted squared Euclidean distance-based Wi-Fi indoor positioning strategy can improve the performance of Wi-Fi indoor positioning system.

Social implications

The received signal strength-based effective Wi-Fi indoor positioning system can substitute for global positioning system that does not work indoors. This effective and low-cost positioning approach would be promising for many indoor-based location services.

Originality/value

A novel Wi-Fi indoor positioning strategy based on the weighted squared Euclidean distance is proposed in this paper to improve the performance of the Wi-Fi indoor positioning, and the local principal gradient direction is introduced and used to define the weighting function.

Article
Publication date: 9 May 2018

Wei Wang, Shoujian Zhang and Christine Pasquire

Green specifications are some of the most important strategies for energy saving and describe the best practice in the field of sustainable construction. They have great effects…

Abstract

Purpose

Green specifications are some of the most important strategies for energy saving and describe the best practice in the field of sustainable construction. They have great effects on resource saving and environmental protection. The demand of sustainable construction has spurred the emerging and development of green specifications. However, there are many factors that affect the adoption of green specifications in China. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that affect the adoption of green specifications in China.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the comprehensive literature review, a questionnaire survey has been conducted to with major stakeholders in construction area to identify issues concerning the adoption of green specifications in China. In total, 18 variables that affect the adoption of green specifications in were summarized. Then this study uses factor analysis and mean score method to analyze 18 variables which the authors get from the questionnaire.

Findings

Using the rank analysis and factor analysis, the variables have been ranked, analyzed and categorized into five independent factors. They are summarized as: green technology and techniques; awareness and attitude; policies and regulations; market; and economics. This study provides a variable reference for policy makers to put forward focused policies and incentives for green specifications implementation and industry practitioners to better understand of green specifications adoption in China.

Originality/value

This paper makes a contribution to the understanding of the factors that affect the adoption of the green specifications in China. The results can also contribute to better adoption of green specifications in other developing countries.

Details

International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation, vol. 36 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2398-4708

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 April 2014

Zhi Sun and Shoujian Zhang

The complexity of the construction standards affects the relevance between the system internal elements. Therefore, research on the systematic effect can make the construction…

1497

Abstract

Purpose

The complexity of the construction standards affects the relevance between the system internal elements. Therefore, research on the systematic effect can make the construction activities get the optimum benefit. The purpose of this paper is to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

The research reveals the complex adaptive characteristic of the standard system by using system science theory, analyzes the emergent property mechanism of construction standard system, and provides the mathematical form of the system.

Findings

Finally, according to the complex characteristic of standard system, the structure modeling method of complex system is given. This paper provides a new method and theory bases for the construction standard system establishment.

Originality/value

Dynamic, open and non-linear can be considered as the core characteristics of construction standard system in structure, environment and behavior aspects, and that means the standard system is a typical complex system.

Details

Structural Survey, vol. 32 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-080X

Keywords

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