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The purpose of this paper is to identify the most influential buildings elements in term of the cost for timber restoration works.

The research employed the case studies methods with questionnaires surveys. Two case studies were chosen and questionnaire surveys were distributed to contractors and consultation companies. The cost was identified based on the elemental cost analysis of historic timber buildings.

The restoration of historic timber buildings in Malaysia has grown rapidly, especially in the UNESCO world heritage sites, Melaka and Penang. Data obtained on the restorations of timber buildings show that the most influential elements were upper floors, roofs and walls. Termites’ invasions and the lack of building analysis were found to be the major issue in timber restoration works. In addition, the availability of timber material contributed significantly to the increase of cost for restoration works.

The cost for every element was identified and was used as a reference for new restorations projects of historical, timber buildings. This paper also highlighted the causes for the problems and the factors affecting the cost of timber restoration works. These data are useful information, especially for surveyors and contractors who are involved in the restoration of historic timber buildings. Maintaining or replacing these elements with other material can help to minimise the restoration cost of timber buildings in Malaysia.

The chapter dwells on barriers for restoration and development of country's infrastructure on the platform of individual physical and practical forces, which are peculiar for the states with developing and transitional economy, as well as for developed countries. Directions of formation of the organizational model of restoration and development of country's infrastructure on the platform of individual physical and practical forces are presented; forms of public–private partnership are studied, as well as possibilities of financing. An important aspect is finding the mechanisms of leveling the risks according to the given classification. A mechanism of organizational model of controlling development of country's infrastructure and its structural elements are provided.

Coastal zone ecological restoration project is of great significance to alleviate marine ecological degradation. Evaluating the effect of coastal ecological restoration projects and identifying the obstacle factors affecting their restoration level can provide an empirical basis for future Marine ecological restoration projects.

However, due to the initial stage of coastal zone ecological restoration projects, the actual monitoring data of coastal zone ecological restoration is relatively lacking. Based on the CRITIC-TOPSIS (combination of CRITIC method and TOPSIS method) method, combined with the subjective perception of the public and the actual data of the restoration project, this paper proposes an evaluation method of the coastal zone ecological restoration effect to obtain the specific implementation effect of the coastal zone ecological restoration project. The main obstacle factors affecting the evaluation of coastal ecological restoration effect are identified by using the obstacle degree model.

This paper conducted an empirical study on the restoration of sandy shoreline and coastal wetland in Qinhuangdao city. Based on the data of restoration projects and the subjective perception of ecological restoration by the public in Qinhuangdao city, the research results showed that the coastal zone ecological restoration effect of Qinhuangdao city was general. The quality of the restoration project and the public perception have an important influence on the evaluation of the restoration effect. Improving the quality of the restoration project, strengthening the public's participation in ecological restoration and allowing the public to better participate in the ecological restoration of the coastal zone can improve the effect of ecological restoration of the coastal zone in an all-round way.

The research results of this paper have a guiding role in the ecological restoration of coastal cities in the future, and also have a demonstration and reference role for the assessment of the effect of ecological restoration of coastal zones.

This research aims to propose a model for the complex decision-making involved in the ecological restoration of mega-infrastructure (e.g. railway engineering). This model is based on multi-source heterogeneous data and will enable stakeholders to solve practical problems in decision-making processes and prevent delayed responses to the demand for ecological restoration.

Based on the principle of complexity degradation, this research collects and brings together multi-source heterogeneous data, including meteorological station data, remote sensing image data, railway engineering ecological risk text data and ecological restoration text data. Further, this research establishes an ecological restoration plan library to form input feature vectors. Random forest is used for classification decisions. The ecological restoration technologies and restoration plant species suitable for different regions are generated.

This research can effectively assist managers of mega-infrastructure projects in making ecological restoration decisions. The accuracy of the model reaches 0.83. Based on the natural environment and construction disturbances in different regions, this model can determine suitable types of trees, shrubs and herbs for planting, as well as the corresponding ecological restoration technologies needed.

Managers should pay attention to the multiple types of data generated in different stages of megaproject and identify the internal relationships between these multi-source heterogeneous data, which provides a decision-making basis for complex management decisions. The coupling between ecological restoration technologies and restoration plant species is also an important factor in improving the efficiency of ecological compensation.

Unlike previous studies, which have selected a typical section of a railway for specialized analysis, the complex decision-making model for ecological restoration proposed in this research has wider geographical applicability and can better meet the diverse ecological restoration needs of railway projects that span large regions.

Built heritage or historic assets (BHAs) constructed in the pre-nineteenth century in the UK are perceived to have certain characteristics which instill cultural significance in them and have seen them become valuable to the economy of the country. The heritage sector makes significant contributions to the UK economy through provision of tourist attractive sites, construction and servicing of heritage assets, heritage conservation, research, and commercial activities carried out within and around heritage assets. These benefits have seen them draw considerable interests from diverse stakeholders within and outside the heritage sector. Hence, a lot of attention is drawn toward restoration of such assets, from stakeholders of different interests, ranging from advocacies for no alteration to complete alteration of the heritage assets. As with construction projects, conflict of interests amongst stakeholders affect the outcome of restoration projects and the purpose of this paper is to examine the critical success factors (CSFs) for managing the stakeholders to achieve the projects’ objectives.

This paper examines the views and experiences of practitioners in the heritage sector who have been involved with BHA restoration projects. A total of 32 CSFs for stakeholder management, obtained through rigorous reviews of literature, were subjected to a severe scrutiny with eight restoration experts to determine the importance of the CSFs in restoration projects. The outcome of the exercise was a modified list of 20 CSFs which were further tested on 52 restoration practitioners in the UK using a structured questionnaire to determine the degree of importance of each of the CSFs in restoration projects and their relationships as perceived by the practitioners.

The results of the analyses performed on the data show that most of the CSFs were perceived by restoration practitioners as truly critical and vital for successful management of stakeholders in restoration of BHAs. The results also indicate that there is a strong consensus amongst over 50 percent of the practitioners on the rankings of the CSFs.

The identified CSFs could be used by the restoration practitioners as a “road map” for the development of appropriate solutions for successfully managing stakeholders associated with the promotion and BHAs restoration assets.

Although CSFs for stakeholder management in construction have been studied by many scholars, no specific research could be identified prior to this study to have been done in defining the CSFs for stakeholder management in restoration projects.

This research aims to investigate the current patterns of social media adoption for marketing in the restoration industry and analyse the strategies used by those restoration companies that have adopted social media. Social media marketing has been proven as a cost-effective way to engage new customers, and especially useful for small businesses. The disaster “restoration industry” is the special sector of general contracting that serves both commercial and residential property owners in terms of restoring their disaster-affected property. The restoration industry is characterised by small-business domination and constant need of new customers to survive in the market. Many restoration contractors have started adopting social media for marketing. However, goals and social media marketing strategies have not yet been clearly articulated.

Data were collected through a systematic content analysis (CA) of sample restoration companies’ Facebook and Twitter posts over a 30-day study period. After a preliminary investigation of the industry, the researchers selected the Restoration Industry Association (RIA) member companies, as the research population. Sixty companies were randomly selected from the 1,165 RIA member companies, which equals to 5 per cent of the population. Reliability was tested statistically using Cohen’s Kappa.

Three levels of adoption were derived from the data: active users, non-active users and non-adopters. More than half of the sample companies were found to have adopted at least one social media channel for marketing. However, only 26 out of the 60 sample companies were active on the social media that they have adopted. Active adopters showed, on average, relatively frequent usage patterns, with 10 Facebook posts and 37 tweets in a 30-day period. Sampled restoration companies which were active social media users posted mostly announcements and educational information of Facebook and used Twitter for news and direct interaction with customers. The observed companies revealed a mix of business-relevant content and personalised content including personal greetings, sharing of photos about holidays and fun events.

Three levels of adoption were derived from the data: active users, non-active users and non-adopters. More than half of the sample companies were found to have adopted at least one social media channel for marketing. However, only 26 out of the 60 sample companies were active on the social media that they have adopted. Active adopters showed, on average, relatively frequent usage patterns, with 10 Facebook posts and 37 tweets in a 30-day period. Sampled restoration companies that were active social media users posted mostly announcements and educational information of Facebook and used Twitter for news and direct interaction with customers. The observed companies revealed a mix of business-relevant content and personalised content including personal greetings, sharing of photos about holidays and fun events.

The results showed that social media adoption has not yet penetrated the restoration industry – the adoption rate of 65 per cent is significantly lower than the 77 per cent of companies in all industries. In-depth CA of active social media users revealed patterns of engagement on Facebook and Twitter. This paper built on those patterns to emphasise strategies restoration companies can use to build interpersonal relationships and trust, which can lead to increased word-of-mouth recommendations; facilitate customer contact through a cross-linking strategy; and engage in simple methods for search engine optimisation. These strategic recommendations are grounded in existing practices and, therefore, are feasible and accessible for disaster restoration companies.

The research results showed how the construction industry, especially small businesses, has adopted social media for marketing. A snapshot of the industry’s level of social media adoption for marketing strategy can provide a useful reference point about the industry’s practices and potential future directions. This paper provides suggestions about effective social media marketing strategies. The paper also illustrates the use of CA as a promising method for research in construction management.

This paper aims to identify stakeholder issues on disaster restoration projects from a contractor perspective. Disaster occurrences normally warrant substantial restoration and reconstruction efforts. These projects involve the mitigation and repair of disaster-affected buildings and structures.

This study is essentially exploratory in nature. It reviews relevant literature and then presents empirical research findings garnered from disaster restoration practitioners. A survey using the Likert rating scale method was used. The data were collected via an online questionnaire survey.

The results confirm that disaster restoration projects contain significant stakeholder issues and challenges. Furthermore, these can differ from conventional construction and the work of “first responders” to disaster situations. Hence, disaster restoration projects are seen as having their own unique identity.

This paper has only set out to uncover stakeholder issues on disaster restoration projects. Future research that delves into the issues in greater depth would be useful.

Disaster restoration practitioners need to be aware of conflicting stakeholder interests. These need careful management so that stakeholder issues do not impact successful project outcomes. Hence, informing industry (and academia) on these issues carries significant importance.

Past research has tended to adopt macro perspectives on disaster preparedness, response and management. This research focuses on repairing and restoring disaster-affected buildings and structures from a restoration industry standpoint. The findings should be useful to the global disaster restoration community and those in associated fields.

Disaster restoration concerns the mitigation and repair of buildings and property resulting from natural and man-made disasters. This paper aims to investigate current attitudes with respect to disaster restoration project management leadership and its associated education.

Relevant literature is presented to provide some background with respect to disaster restoration projects, project management and leadership education. This is followed by a questionnaire survey that seeks opinion from appropriately qualified industry practitioners on a series of important issues with respect to the topic.

The results provide some insight into disaster restoration leadership education and methods. It was found that varied degrees of support existed on issues involving knowledge, teaching approaches and delivery modes.

This research focuses on leadership and education as it pertains to the restoration of buildings post disaster. It does not delve into leadership education with respect to disaster management in general.

Appropriate education and training of industry participants needs to take place to ensure that qualified people undertake restoration projects. This study informs disaster restoration educators and industry with respect to leadership education and methods.

There have been many studies on leadership and education. However, this study has a specific focus on how disaster restoration practitioners view leadership and its associated education within their field.

The purpose of this paper is to articulate, and advocate for, a deep shift in how the authors conceptualize and enact school leadership and reform. The authors challenge fundamental conceptions regarding educational systems and call for a dramatic shift from the factory model to a living systems model of schooling. The authors call is not a metaphorical call. The authors propose embracing assumptions grounded in the basic human nature as living systems. Green school leaders, practicing whole school sustainability, provide emerging examples of educational restoration.

School reform models have implicitly and even explicitly embraced industrialized assumptions about students and learning. Shifting from the factory model of education to a living systems model of whole school sustainability requires transformational strategies more associated with nature and life than machines. Ecological restoration provides the basis for the model of educational restoration.

Educational restoration, as proposed here, makes nature a central player in the conversations about ecologies of learning, both to improve the quality of learning for students and to better align educational practice with social, economic and environmental needs of the time. Educational leaders at all levels of the educational system have critical roles to play in deconstructing factory model schooling and reform. The proposed framework for educational restoration raises new questions and makes these opportunities visible. Discussion of this framework begins with ecological circumstances and then addresses, values, commitment and judgments.

Educational restoration will affect every aspect of teaching, learning and leading. It will demand new approaches to leadership preparation. This new landscape of educational practice is wide open for innovative approaches to research, preparation and practice across the field of educational leadership.

The model of educational restoration provides a conceptual foundation for future research and leadership practice.