Search results

The purpose of this study is to investigate the energy efficiency and life cycle carbon footprint of temporary homes in Japan after the Great Eastern Tohoku Earthquake in 2011.

An energy simulation and life cycle assessment have been done for three alternative shelter models: prefabricated shelters, wooden log shelters and sea container shelters.

Shelter materials have a very high share of life cycle emissions because the use period of temporary homes is short. Wooden shelters perform best in the comparison. The clustering of shelters into longer buildings or on top of each other increases their energy efficiency considerably. Sea containers piled on top of each other have superb energy performance compared to other models, and they consume even less energy per household than the national average. However, there are several gaps of knowledge in the environmental assessment of temporary homes and field data from refugee camps should be collected as part of camp management.

The findings exemplify the impacts of the proper design of temporary homes for mitigating their energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions.

This study investigates the carbon footprint of the alternative structure types and materials used for the reconstruction of schools in Haiti. Are recycled construction materials more environmental than virgin materials? To estimate which alternative construction solution has the smallest carbon footprint, a survey was made for the school model used for the reconstruction programme in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake.

The carbon footprint was calculated using life cycle assessment methodology for five different concrete structure alternatives and five different cement mixes for the same design of a school building. In addition, the uptake of CO₂ through the carbonation of concrete during 50 years was calculated.

The carbon footprint of recycled materials can be either the best or worst option, depending on how the materials are used. The difference to using virgin materials is not big. This is mainly due to the lower structural performance of recycled materials, which needs to be compensated for by using additional reinforcements. Using cement mixes that have high amounts of substitutes for cement seems to lower the carbon footprint of structures considerably. The uptake of CO₂ in carbonation has potential but requires an optimal design and environment.

The findings give information for humanitarian project managers and designers on lowering the carbon footprint of their construction projects.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the frequency of study‐related burnout (SRB) among Finnish university students. In addition, the students' perceptions concerning the teaching‐learning environment (TLE) and their personal achievement motivation (AM) were explored, and the correlation between perceived SRB and the TLE and AM components was revealed. Finally, business students and general university students were compared in terms of the aforementioned variables.

The data were collected in the spring of 2009 based on a nationwide survey of nine Finnish universities (n=3,031).

Data analysis revealed that 45 percent of all respondents had an increased risk of burnout; while as many as 19 percent had an obviously increased risk. Regarding the frequency of SRB, there was no statistical difference between business students and general students. Using principal component analysis (PCA), 12 internally reliable pedagogical components of the TLE related to SRB were determined. Moreover, differences in the TLE and AM perceptions of business students and general students were revealed. However, the role of personal AM – such as studying abilities, study success and appreciation of studies – appeared to have the greatest effect on students' well‐being.

In the data analyzed, women represent 80 percent of participants, but in Finland, only 53 percent of university students are women. The number of business students (52) that participated in the study was low; thus, far‐reaching generalizations cannot be made.

The paper demonstrates that SRB causes drastic deterioration in students' cognitive appraisals of their AM. Perhaps, here lies the most insidious effect of SRB, because students suffering from SRB lose their self‐confidence in coping with study demands. Teachers should be able to help students seeking professional help for stress‐related problems. The rather high frequency of SRB also requires further remedies. Stress‐management techniques have proven effective in reducing stress‐related health symptoms.

The purpose of this study is to develop a decision-support framework that can be used by decision-makers to suspend public infrastructure projects. Additionally, the study also investigates how to select the most convenient infrastructure project for suspension.

The proposed framework includes an extensive set of factors and a novel comparison mechanism that can reveal the most convenient infrastructure project to be suspended. A comprehensible literature review and focus group discussion (FGD) sessions were conducted to identify factors that should be considered for suspension. Then, the neutrosophic analytic hierarchy process (N-AHP) method was used to determine the relative importance of the factors. Finally, the proposed comparison mechanism was demonstrated through a hypothetical case study and Technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) analysis.

Results showed that suspension decisions cannot be made merely based on “financial” factors. Instead, the other aspects, namely “Technical and managerial” and “Social and Environmental”, should also be taken into consideration. Second, factors related to the initial investment, cost of refinancing, cash flow, permits and approvals, insufficiency of bidders, degradation of the components, reputation, impact on stakeholders and criticality of the infrastructure were particularly elaborated as the most significant, needing the utmost attention of the decision-makers. Lastly, the results demonstrated that the proposed comparison mechanism has considerable potential to identify the most convenient infrastructure project for suspension.

Public infrastructure projects are often under pressure due to the inflationary state and economic stagnation of countries after major crises. The suspension decision for infrastructure projects necessitates comprehensible assessments to consider all consequences. Studies have widely investigated the contractual and legal aspects of project suspension in light of existing literature. However, little effort has been devoted to identifying the factors that decision-makers should consider before suspending a particular infrastructure project. Furthermore, existing literature does not investigate how to select the most convenient infrastructure project for suspension either. Thus, by developing a specific suspension framework for infrastructure projects by considering various factors, this study is the earliest attempt to examine the contract suspension mechanism of public infrastructure projects. In this respect, the study significantly contributes to the theory of contract management domain and has important managerial implications.