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Article
Publication date: 25 January 2013

Tristan Williams, Dino Bouchlaghem, Dennis Loveday and Charlie Law

Client satisfaction is a key element of repeat business and for securing future work in the construction industry. There are areas still in need of improvement for contractors;…

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Abstract

Purpose

Client satisfaction is a key element of repeat business and for securing future work in the construction industry. There are areas still in need of improvement for contractors; these areas include the handover process to clients and the subsequent aftercare and organisational learning. Post‐occupancy evaluation (POE) offers an opportunity for a holistic perspective towards continual improvement in construction. While the challenges of POE have been well documented in the design phase, the role of the principal contractor in this area has been under‐researched. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of the contractor in the POE process and to identify good practice in improving the building environment for the end users.

Design/methodology/approach

The research comprised a comprehensive review of current literature with a focus on existing practices. The review highlighted a need for further research into contractor involvement in POE in the UK construction industry. An electronic questionnaire survey was produced and distributed to the United Kingdom Contractors Group. Subsequent semi‐structured interviews were conducted with willing participants from the survey, to further investigate the responses to the survey.

Findings

The key findings from the research highlighted the lack of contractor involvement in POE and insufficient knowledge on how or when to conduct POE on a project. Many of the barriers to POE identified by previous research are not applicable to contractor involvement in POE. The majority of construction professionals believe that POE is time intensive and that there is difficulty in interpreting the information collected from POE. Dissemination of information internally and externally has the potential to offer significant value to organisational and individual development of all stakeholders involved in the process.

Practical implications

The findings are likely to be of interest to designer's facilities management professionals and those involved in construction. Contractors should view POE as a business opportunity to improve the end output for the client and end‐users and not as another expensive problem.

Originality/value

This paper addresses the perceptions of POE within the major UK contractor group. It identifies relevant barriers to POE in the construction process and highlights the lack of POE penetration into the wider construction industry. The research has highlighted that POE has the potential to improve contractor performance and add value to end users of new projects. It has identified that previous research has focused on consultant‐led research as opposed to contractor‐led.

Abstract

Details

Stories and Lessons from the World's Leading Opera, Orchestra Librarians, and Music Archivists, Volume 1: North and South America
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80117-653-8

Article
Publication date: 16 October 2018

Fidel Amésquita Cubillas, Oswaldo Morales and Gareth H. Rees

This paper aims to focus on the influences that lead individuals to create and continue with operating informal business ventures in Peru. It seeks to empirically identify the…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to focus on the influences that lead individuals to create and continue with operating informal business ventures in Peru. It seeks to empirically identify the factors that are significant in forming the intentions of entrepreneurs to begin or continue with their informal businesses.

Design/methodology/approach

The theory of planned behaviour (TPB) is applied using data gathered from interviews with informal domestic gas cylinder sellers using a formally conducted survey. Using structural equation modelling, the constructs that influence the entrepreneurial intentions of informal gas sellers in Lima, Peru, are determined.

Findings

Of the three TPB constructs, attitude was found to be most significant, reflecting a belief of informality’s benefits, social norm was also significant, revealing the importance of the opinions of family, whereas perceived behavioural control was found not to be significant.

Originality/value

These results provide confirmation of a policy approach developed to address the high rates of business informality while maintaining safety in a highly regulated industry segment. By providing insight into factors beyond economic drivers, the study reveals that an understanding of the prevailing social environment is important for the development of policies dealing with informal entrepreneurship.

Details

Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies, vol. 10 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2053-4604

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 1995

John J. Doherty

This bibliography is intended as a guide for librarians, scholars, students, and interested amateurs. It suggests what books or media would be an invaluable starting collection to…

Abstract

This bibliography is intended as a guide for librarians, scholars, students, and interested amateurs. It suggests what books or media would be an invaluable starting collection to understanding the Arthurian legend, which has been over a millennium in the making.

Details

Reference Services Review, vol. 23 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0090-7324

Article
Publication date: 1 June 1998

Cassandra M. Porter

Provides background to the Dada movement, founded by expatriates mainly from Europe in the period from the middle to the end of World War I; and gives guidance on developing a…

1139

Abstract

Provides background to the Dada movement, founded by expatriates mainly from Europe in the period from the middle to the end of World War I; and gives guidance on developing a collection of works covering Dadaism.

Details

Collection Building, vol. 17 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0160-4953

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 October 2023

Helen Frances Harrison, Elizabeth Anne Kinsella, Stephen Loftus, Sandra DeLuca, Gregory McGovern, Isabelle Belanger and Tristan Eugenio

This study aims to investigate student mentors' perceptions of peer mentor relationships in a health professions education program.

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate student mentors' perceptions of peer mentor relationships in a health professions education program.

Design/methodology/approach

The design uses embodied hermeneutic phenomenology. The data comprise 10 participant interviews and visual “body maps” produced in response to guided questions.

Findings

The findings about student mentors' perceptions of peer mentor relationships include a core theme of nurturing a trusting learning community and five related themes of attunement to mentees, commonality of experiences, friends with boundaries, reciprocity in learning and varied learning spaces.

Originality/value

The study contributes original insights by highlighting complexity, shifting boundaries, liminality, embodied social understanding and trusting intersubjective relations as key considerations in student peer mentor relationships.

Article
Publication date: 27 July 2018

Peter Fernandez

Social networking and mobile devices are now fully integrated into the fabric of society. Even people who do not directly use these applications are impacted by those who do…

290

Abstract

Purpose

Social networking and mobile devices are now fully integrated into the fabric of society. Even people who do not directly use these applications are impacted by those who do. These technologies structure information, media companies, education, political policies and much more.

Design/methodology/approach

At their best, these are technologies that can provide entertainment, increase productivity and improve the lives of their users.

Findings

This column will explore concerns about how technology uses unconscious biases to influence its users’ engagement. It will offer tools and techniques for those interested in exerting more control over their use of technology and how the underlying ecosystem has created this situation.

Originality/value

It highlighted the work of Tristan Harris, who had previously worked at Google as a design ethicist but left to found an organization called Time Well Spent as one of the key leaders.

Details

Library Hi Tech News, vol. 35 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0741-9058

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 January 2019

Helen M.G. Watt, John Ehrich, Sandra E. Stewart, Tristan Snell, Micaela Bucich, Nicky Jacobs, Brett Furlonger and Derek English

The purpose of this paper is to develop a professional self-efficacy scale for counsellors and psychologists encompassing identified competencies within professional standards…

1478

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop a professional self-efficacy scale for counsellors and psychologists encompassing identified competencies within professional standards from national and related international frameworks for psychologists and counsellors.

Design/methodology/approach

An initial opportune sample of postgraduate psychology and counselling students (n=199) completed a ten-minute self-report survey. A subsequent independent sample (n=213) was recruited for cross-validation.

Findings

A series of exploratory analyses, consolidated through confirmatory factor analyses and Rasch analysis, identified a well-functioning scale composed of 31 items and five factors (research, ethics, legal matters, assessment and measurement, intervention).

Originality/value

The Psychologist and Counsellor Self-Efficacy Scale (PCES) appears a promising measure, with potential applications for reflective learning and practice, clinical supervision and professional development, and research studies involving psychologists’ and counsellors’ self-perceived competencies. It is unique in being ecologically grounded in national competency frameworks, and extending previous work on self-efficacy for particular competencies to the set of specified attributes outlined in Australian national competency documents. The PCES has potential utility in a variety of applications, including research about training efficacy and clinical supervision, and could be used as one component of a multi-method approach to formative and summative competence assessment for psychologists and counsellors. The scale may be used to assess students’ perceived competencies relative to actual competency growth against national standards, and to identify trainees’ and practitioners’ self-perceived knowledge deficits and target areas for additional training.

Details

Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, vol. 9 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-3896

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 25 July 2019

Caterina Valentino

This chapter aims to expose the reader to the notion that mandated diversity and inclusion changes intended to vary the composition of institutions of learning has not…

Abstract

This chapter aims to expose the reader to the notion that mandated diversity and inclusion changes intended to vary the composition of institutions of learning has not accomplished its goal. Rather, it has triggered a complex mix of reactions from the very people for whom the policy was designed to assist and from those who work under the policy. As society is molded to meet diversity targets, salient threats from dominant groups directed toward minority groups result in interpersonal conflict. This chapter explores the benefits that instructors receive from professional development activities centered on diversity. It examines the social identity conflict that is created when different minded people work together. It provides insight into the benefits of approaching social identity conflict with a conflict transformation perspective. This chapter exposes the reality that, while the words one speaks are respectful and inclusive, one’s actions may be totally different. Educators must exhibit an overarching commitment to the making of decisions on integrity and evidence rather than impressions. This chapter discusses the importance of the role of educators as moral leaders and the need for educators to create inclusive classrooms where diversity is celebrated.

Details

Strategies for Facilitating Inclusive Campuses in Higher Education: International Perspectives on Equity and Inclusion
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78756-065-9

Keywords

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 25 July 2019

Abstract

Details

Strategies for Facilitating Inclusive Campuses in Higher Education: International Perspectives on Equity and Inclusion
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78756-065-9

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