Analyses of systems theory for construction accident prevention with specific reference to OSHA accident reports

To enhance workplace safety in the construction industry it is important to understand interrelationships among safety risk factors associated with construction accidents. This study incorporates the systems theory into Heinrich's domino theory to explore the interrelationships of risks and break the chain of accident causation. Through both empirical and statistical analyses of 9358 accidents which occurred in the U.S. construction industry between 2002 and 2011, the study investigates relationships between accidents and injury elements (e.g., injury type, part of body, injury severity) and the nature of construction injuries by accident type. The study then discusses relationships between accidents and risks, including worker behavior, injury source, and environmental condition, and identifies key risk factors and risk combinations causing accidents. The research outcomes will assist safety managers to prioritize risks according to the likelihood of accident occurrence and injury characteristics, and pay more attention to balancing significant risk relationships to prevent accidents and achieve safer working environments.     

Putting academic ideas into practice: technological progress and the absorptive capacity of construction organizations

This paper focuses on how knowledge is produced by academics and on mechanisms for and constraints upon absorbing new ideas within the construction sector. It draws upon two bodies of work: Cohen and Levinthal's concept of ‘absorptive capacity’ and Gibbons and coworkers' ‘new production of knowledge’. Much of Steven Groák's work was concerned with technology transfer and how ideas generated during research could be put into practice. He developed the concept of ‘practitioner-researcher’ to illustrate the ways in which many built environment professionals approach their work. The paper suggests that a few construction firms have the capabilities to absorb and act directly upon the results of academic research in the UK. These firms are likely to employ a critical mass of professionally qualified practitioners and they usually compete for work in technically demanding and often specialist areas. They probably have a track record of collaboration with university researchers, and are likely to have their own internal technical support infrastructure which assists in learning between projects. However, the majority of construction organizations learn of new ideas through a range of different published media and by participating in complex sets of interactions in a wide range of networks. The role of professional institutions is important, acting as repositories of knowledge. But these institutions may also constrain development when they adhere to outmoded notions of narrowly defined discipline-based activities. Governments can play a part in putting ideas into practice as catalysts in bringing academic research and industrial practitioner communities together through sponsorship of collaborative research projects. The paper concludes that construction organizations could improve their absorptive capacity by developing better feedback and life-long learning mechanisms, education and training.     

智能控制理论在盾构施工中的应用

根据目前地下工程学科发展的现状以及盾构法隧道施工的实际问题,提出了智能控制理论研究盾构法隧道施工系统变形预测的常用方法:人工神经网络和模糊逻辑控制,并分析了这两种方法研究的基本理论,对实际施工有重要的意义.     

Re-engineering construction: the role of research and implementation

This note reports the background research sponsored by the International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction (CIB) for the development of a strategy for re-engineering construction. Three different data collection methods were used: a survey of CIB coordinators, a web-survey and three regional workshops. The principal conclusion is that the concept of Re-engineering Construction restrictive, and the concept of re-valuing construction was posed as a broader alternative that better captures the challenges facing the international construction industry. Other important findings are the widespread perception that the challenges facing the construction industry are shared by many countries and that considerable scope exists for international exchange and collaboration in this area. Relatively low emphasis has been given to technology issues such as prefabrication and information technology in meeting these challenges.     

Understanding the Underrepresentation of Qualitative Research Approaches to Built Environment Research in Nigeria

There is evidence that scholars in some countries, including Nigeria, primarily employ the quantitative approach to research, and that in some cases this approach is used inappropriately. This leaves research questions that should be tackled from a qualitative standpoint either unaddressed or incorrectly addressed. The aim of this study is to understand why the qualitative approach (QA) has failed to gain similar recognition in Nigeria and other countries, and by extension, the disposition of researchers towards its use. The impact of the disposition of researchers toward QA was also explored. Researchers in the various built environment (BE) disciplines in Nigeria were interviewed. The results revealed that there is a preference for quantitative research, while QAs are used if convenient. Furthermore, the study revealed that the educational background of academics and their poor understanding of the qualitative paradigm explain their disposition toward the adoption of the QA in research. This finding suggests that academic followers instead of leaders are being produced, and that research is done for ad hominem promotion. In advancing the understanding of QA in BE research in Nigeria, this study also draws the attention of stakeholders in the academia to the implications of a preference by researchers for quantitative research.     

An evaluation of the use of insurance in managing construction risks

One of the major methods of managing construction risks in the Nigerian construction industry is the insurance method. On the basis of data from some selected construction sites in Nigeria, this paper evaluates the effectiveness of the method. Also it identifies, through a questionnaire survey, the various insurable construction risks perceived to be encountered in the Nigerian construction industry and the types of insurance policy employed in managing them. High importance is placed by the construction industry on site security, construction risk, and health and welfare requirements, and the use of an all-risk insurance policy is the most prominent method for managing the identified risks. Finally it is concluded that there is a correlation between insured sum and actual replacement cost when there are losses or damages. However, the insurance claims settled could cater for only 61.1% of the replacement cost of on-going construction works studied.     

Queering men and masculinities in construction: towards a research agenda

The topic of gender in the construction industry now commands a substantial literature given complaints about gender segregation and the dominance of men, culturally and numerically, within the sector. However, there is not enough research that problematizes men and masculinities as diverse and multiple, or investigates how gender binaries are implicated in sustaining heteronormativity within the construction scholarship, thereby marginalizing research on sexualities. The possibilities for ‘queering’ current research agendas are examined in regard to ‘men’ and ‘masculinities’, by introducing queer theory as a conceptual resource for disrupting and destabilizing facile notions of gender and sexuality as fixed, stable and universal. It is argued that analyses about men and masculinities in construction must take into account how men are situated in relation to formations of difference such as gender and sexuality. In so doing, concerns are expressed and new concepts and research questions are suggested with the primary aim of promoting but not prescribing further empirical research and theorizing.     

从社会交换理论的视角探讨高职院校教学团队建设

当前教学团队建设存在盲目组队、愿景目标模糊、缺乏合作、管理乏力等问题。这与教学团队自身吸引力不足、团队共享价值观不明确、成员的付出与回报失衡、团队权利地位分化与结构失衡等有关。从社会交换理论的角度重新审视高职院校教学团队建设问题并提出建设思路,旨在为全面了解教学团队的实质提供一个崭新的视角,为教学团队建设作出新的探索。     

关于系列课程建设的理论与实践研究

从本校系列课程建设实践出发,对系列课程建设的特点、优势及存在的问题进行了深入分析,对系列课程建设目标、要求及建设过程需要解决的问题提出了比较系统的建议。     

现阶段我国城市概念规划的理论研究

对国内外现阶段概念规划的实践进行研究和分析,提出了较为全面、系统的有关概念规划的理论,以实现我国的城市规划工作在新的历史时期健康、有效的开展。     

Exploring the potential for the use of video to communicate safety information to construction workers: case studies of organizational use*

Legislation requires employers to provide health and safety (H&S) training to workers and communicate safety rules, policies and procedures to them in a way they understand. As the construction industry has an increasingly multicultural and multilingual workforce, conventional written and verbal safety communication is of limited effectiveness. CodeSafe Solutions, has developed an innovative method of communicating H&S information to field-based workers using digital media. The potential of the system was explored and two organizations in the Australian construction industry were used. Qualitative data from in-depth interviews of safety managers and workers involved in system implementation and quantitative data such as incident reports and video usage were analysed. Managers perceived the CodeSafe system to be beneficial and well received by workers. In one organization, the introduction of the CodeSafe system coincided with a reduction in injury rates. However, causal inferences about the impact of the system cannot be made. Workers involved in making the films believed films would be an effective communication tool. However, barriers to implementation of the technology include workers’ reluctance to use personal smart phones, limited internet connectivity, and organizational and national regulations on mobile phone use on construction sites.     

Regulation as process: Regulation theory and comparative urban and regional research

This paper examines how recent developments within the regulation approach might be used to inform comparative urban and regional research. It begins by outlining the ways in which regulation theorists have pursued an interest in variability and uneven development. It then reviews attempts made by different authors to deploy regulationist concepts within urban and regional research, at scales varying from the local to the national and international. The paper then outlines a methodological shift which requires us to see regulation as a process, before going on to exemplify how such an approach has been used to inform empirical research. It concludes by examining how strategic-relational state theory might be used in conjunction with the regulation approach to underpin analyses of policy and politics at the urban and regional level.     

Dual dynamics: Project-based institutional work and subfield differences in the Dutch construction industry

This article examines how actors use relational institutional work in inter-organizational projects (IOPs) to mobilize key stakeholders from two loosely coupled subfields with the aim to institutionalize a new project delivery method with new underlying practices. In our longitudinal case study in a project-based business, in this case the Dutch construction industry, we identified three types of relational institutional work: awareness creation, selective networking, and coalition building. We found that institutional work was relatively effective in the co-supplier subfield and less effective in the architectural subfield. We explain this by zooming in on the differences between these two subfields on three interrelated dimensions that manifested themselves in institutional IOPs: nature of activities, social positions, and coopetition. Our study connects the literature on IOPs with developments in institutional theory and further advances the institutional project management literature.     

军用工程机械工作装置微机控制技术

未来高科技战争条件下的工程保障对军用工程机械的性能、作业效率要求越来越高,而随着当今科学技术的发展,特别是现代控制理论、液压比例及伺服技术、计算机控制技术的飞速发展,军用工程机械实现微机自动控制,将是提高共性能的必由之路。本文力图从军用工程机械工作装置的微机控制技术人手,阐明军用工程机械工作装置实现微机控制的可行性,作一些理论上的探讨,并简单地引入了一个实例。     

The use of game theory in regional economics: A quantitative retrospective

One of the most powerful tools within social science in general and economics in particular is game theory. This methodology allows for the formal analysis of the interactions among economic agents and, therefore, it is particularly useful for the study of economic decisions regarding spatial issues. For this reason, a quantitative systematization of the use of this tool on regional economics research is a relevant topic in the agenda concerned with progress in regional science. In this paper we study research in regional economics and provide a quantitative retrospective of the use of game theory in this field. Our main goal is twofold. First, we intend to categorize the contributions in the use of this analytical tool – by main research subjects, by authors' affiliations, by journal, etc. – using a bibliometric approach. Second, by analysing co‐authoring and using social network analysis, we want to test the existence of structures of knowledge upon which distinct co‐authorship emerges. The results of this research provide a framework for analysing the potential use of game theory in regional economics, suggesting new future research directions.     

强化科研 提升隧道工程教学品质

对于工科院校来说,提升学生的工程品质是人才培养目标的关键之一,其质量是衡量教学水平的重要依据。文章从科研提高教师自身品质、提升教材品质、科研和实践教学相结合等几个方面,并结合多年本科教学的实践和体会,提出参加科研活动可以有效提升学生工程品质。     

关于高校创新研究群体建设的几个问题

依据团队理论的有关原理，结合商校实际，从创新研究群体的定位，队伍建设、规范建设、环境建设和化建设几方面进行探讨，提出了相应的对策，对高校创新研究群体的建设有一定指导作用。     

Stakeholder management in construction: An empirical study to address research gaps in previous studies

This paper concentrates on identifying gaps in the scope of previous studies on stakeholder management, and starting to address those gaps by conducting an empirical study. To complete these research objectives, literature review, interviews, questionnaire survey, and a case study were used in this study. Four gaps regarding critical success factors, stakeholder management process, methods for stakeholder management and stakeholder relationship management were identified. Based on an empirical study, a framework for effective stakeholder management is proposed, and the application of a Social Network Analysis technique, as a means of determining the influence of stakeholders on decision making, is illustrated and validated by a case study. These findings can serve as initial references towards a more systematic approach for stakeholder management. Since the empirical study was conducted only in Hong Kong and Australia, further studies should be conducted in other regions to validate and compare with the finding in this paper.     

Globalization and construction industry development: implications of recent developments in the construction sector in Asia

Recent developments in the construction sector in the Asian region demonstrate three trends: (1) larger private sector participation in infrastructure projects, (2) increasing vertical integration in the packaging of construction projects, and (3) increased foreign participation in domestic construction. This paper attributes the trends to the globalization and deregulation of markets necessitated by fiscal, technological and managerial constraints. Although these trends present intra-Asian opportunities, there are also areas of concern. The trends have helped polarize the financial and technical superiority of the developed countries and the corresponding inferiority of the developed countries in the region of the developing ones. In the long term, this gap could be filled through technology transfer. In the short term, however, there are concerns that imported construction services could grow at the expense of the indigenous sectors of the developing countries. This paper illustrates this dilemma with the case of Japan as a world leader in international construction services. Its dominance has apparently come through the orchestration of industrial and corporate policies, implemented in a highly regulated and protected domestic market. However, construction industries in other Asian economies (such as China) will have to leapfrog in technology, finance and management know-how (e.g. through joint ventures with developed countries' construction companies) before they can become formidable powers in an environment that has become much more global, more de-regulated, more open and more competitive than before.