A proposed framework for hydrogeological conceptual modelling

The process whereby hydrogeologists interpret the available information to produce a justifiable set of simplifying assumptions to describe a groundwater system is called conceptual modelling. Although this process is inherent in all hydrogeological assessments and can therefore be regarded as synonymous with hydrogeological practice there are no standard specifications for it. A framework for conceptual modelling has been designed to both assist in the planning and process of the work and to provide an audit trail to facilitate independent scrutiny. The application of this framework is illustrated by two case histories, one of a small-scale investigation for a proposed cemetery and the other of an investigation of the migration of a large-scale sulphate plume in a public supply aquifer. This framework is applicable across the full range of scales of hydrogeological systems, and indeed is readily extendable to other analogous areas of endeavour in the management of natural resources.     

Understanding project resilience: Designed,cultivated or emergent?

This paper combines insights from complexity and resilience research with a process view of project organizations to advance our understanding of project resilience. We propose the concept of evolving resilience as the dynamic interaction between perturbations and processes of anticipatory shaping, regular becoming and exceptional organizing in project networks. Adopting a theory elaboration approach, we apply an initial conceptual framework on data regarding four complex projects. This enables us to identify a typology of emergent responsiveness patterns, namely reinforce trajectory, bounce back to trajectory, and jump to alternative trajectory. This typology provides the building blocks for elaborating an integrative process model of evolving project resilience. Results contribute to research on project resilience, and on the complexity of front-end shaping and ongoing organizing processes, and sheds light on the debates surrounding agile methods and allocational versus relational contracts.     

An ontology-based approach for formalisation and semantic organisation of conformance requirements in construction

This paper presents an ontology-based method for the formalisation and application of construction conformance requirements for effective code checking. This research continues our work on the development of a generic model automating the conformance checking of construction projects against building codes. We start from the analysis of the related research on the formalisation and organisation of building codes that allows us to formulate our approach for semantic annotation and scheduling of conformance requirements for conformance checking task. Our approach comprises 5 main steps: formalisation, semantic annotation, classification, context-based scheduling and semantic search of conformance requirements. They are implemented as corresponding key components of the C3R (Conformance Checking in Construction — Reasoning) prototype that we have developed to model the conformance checking process in construction. Finally, we discuss the ongoing work and perspectives of our research: the validation of our model by construction practices and the enrichment of our approach by usage-based knowledge.     

Computer-aided qualitative data analysis: panacea or paradox?

Following the methodological debate within the construction management research community in the 1990s, research studies adopting inductive methodologies have increased. Many such projects have adopted computer-aided qualitative data analysis in order both to facilitate the research process and to ensure methodological rigour and transparency. However, there remains a paucity of critical discourse within the construction management research literature about the impact of such approaches on the depth and rigour of the resulting analyses. This paper posits that so-called computer-aided approaches have the potential to affect detrimentally the outcomes of construction management research if researchers see such tools as a panacea for ensuring the rigour and transparency of their work. Paradoxically, computer-aided approaches often restrict rather than aid the analytical process. The paper draws upon the authors' experiences of using a leading package from which a number of considerations for the use of computers in qualitative data analysis are discussed. It is concluded that the research community would benefit from an open debate on whether computer packages really do provide a panacea to the analysis of qualitative data in applied construction management research projects or whether their use merely provides a label with which to convince sceptical positivists of the rigour of inductive research techniques.     

A unified classification of manufacturing strategies and designprocesses

This article categorises manufacturing strategy design processes and presents the characteristics of resulting strategies. This work will therefore assist practitioners to appreciate the implications of planning activities. The article presents a framework for classifying manufacturing strategy processes and the resulting strategies. Each process and respective strategy is then considered in detail. In this consideration the preferred approach is presented for formulating a world class manufacturing strategy. Finally, conclusions and recommendations for further work are given     

Performance Measurement Innovation in English Planning Authorities

Much scholarly and practical policy work has been carried out in recent years on evidence-based policy making and measurement-based performance management. Yet research on performance measurement in spatial planning is still rare. The ‘Best Value’ performance management framework imposed by the UK central government has precipitated a flurry of initiatives amongst English local planning authorities. This article reports on innovations in performance measurement amongst some of these local authorities, reviewing the objectives and mechanisms of measurement, as well as the drivers and inhibitors of measurement behaviour. The research reflects a nationally fragmented picture of measurement and uneven innovation within and amongst authorities, but highlights a number of initiatives that show promise as the basis upon which to develop a more holistic framework for measurement in the future, both in the UK and elsewhere.     

Data co-synthesis in developing public product service systems

ABSTRACT

Design and research teams working on public product service systems (PPSS) are often confronted with large data sets, presented in a complex language. This paper presents a method for how designers may translate quantitative aggregated data with a toolkit that enables qualitative co-synthesis to generate novel PPSS proposals. The toolkit development and application is shown through a specific case study in Melbourne, Australia, that focused on reimagining a public transport bus service in light of emerging propulsion and information technologies. People affected by the service were able to assist in co-synthesising existing data from transport planning literature into emergent ideas for system upgrades or even complete overhauls. A variety of multi-faceted service interventions were developed through a series of workshops with different participant groups. Workshop outcome variations further support the notion of emergence in co-creation, and reinforce the importance of running multiple sessions due to their potential impact on project outcomes. This paper proposes that co-synthesising complex data with the help of a toolkit, which may be a powerful way to inform PPSS design. An application framework is presented to summarise this process and to generate discussion towards broader application and further refinement.     

Applying Theories of Social Communication to Housing Law: Towards a Workable Framework

Discussions of housing policy generally either ignore housing law or treat it as a passive instrument for policy implementation. More attention needs to be paid to a theoretical analysis of housing law, especially in the light of growing legal regulation. Critical instrumentalism and discourse analysis offer possible alternatives to the usual pragmatic instrumental approach. Critical instrumentalism provides a historical understanding of legal rights and enables a reflection on the role of the law in promoting democratic accountability. Discourse analysis enables a reflection on the use of power and the conditions for the enforcement of the law. Critical instrumentalism and discourse analysis possess internal theoretical debates and also involve contrasting views of society. They may, however, be related to one another in a pragmatic search for a workable analytical framework.     

Grasping project complexity in large engineering projects: The TOE (Technical, Organizational and Environmental) framework

This paper presents a framework for characterising project complexity in large engineering projects, which can be used to adapt the front-end development phase of engineering projects to the particular complexity. Recently, a large number of project complexity related papers were published, demonstrating the evident importance of “complexity” in current project management research. However, no generally accepted framework is available to support the characterising and understanding of project complexity that appreciates the richness of project complexity in large engineering projects. Therefore the TOE (Technical, Organizational, and Environmental) framework was developed, based on a literature survey building upon existing work and on new empirical work consisting of eighteen interviews about six projects in the process engineering industry. As a result of an inductive approach, this framework presents the elements that contribute to project complexity from a theoretical as well as a practical perspective. The framework can be used to assess the complexity of engineering projects, and subsequently adapt the front-end development phase of projects in order to better manage the complexity of the project.     

Measuring project team performance: A review and conceptualization

Performance measurement has been a central topic of study in project management research for many years. However, the literature on project team performance measurement is fragmented and underdeveloped. To address these limitations, we conducted a systematic literature review aimed at organizing the state-of-the art, providing a better conceptualization of project team performance measurement, and strengthening theory in the field. We used an inductive approach to synthesize the literature and, building upon the performance measurement design literature and the Input-Mediator-Outcome (IMO) model of team effectiveness, we propose a theoretical framework that organizes project team performance measures around two axes: the nature of performance (i.e., efficiency or effectiveness), and the nature of the measure (i.e., tangible or intangible). By combining these two axes, we propose a 2 × 2 performance measurement structure composed of four dimensions: (1) project team processes, (2) project team emergent states, (3) project team tangible outcomes, and (4) project team perceptual benefits. Our study advances theory by offering a comprehensive and integral understanding of project team performance measurement and providing an evidence-based framework that could help practitioners improve the design of performance measurement systems for project teams.     

A relational approach to the implementation of the European Landscape Convention in Sweden

The European Landscape Convention (ELC) aims to promote landscape protection, management and planning and to organise European cooperation on landscape issues. The introduction of the ELC in 2000 created a need for further theoretical work within the field of landscape research, which has historically provided a weak theoretical basis for policy implementation. In this study, a relational approach was used to investigate the ongoing ELC implementation process in Sweden, illustrating government dynamics and highlighting efforts to transform discourses and practices. The conceptual framework used comprised three analytical components (policy community, policy meaning and strategy-making practice) and the relational approach was applied at national, regional and local policy levels. The results revealed both progress and obstacles to ELC implementation in Sweden and confirmed the usefulness of the relational approach.     

BIM and ontology-based approach for building cost estimation

This research proposes an ontological inference process to automate the process of searching for the most appropriate work items, which is limited to tiling in this case study. The proposed ontological approach can help engineers to find work items with greater ease and consistency. Suggestions are also made for further research on ways of improving the accuracy of BIM-based quantity take-off, and developing a methodology to match between work items which are expressed as different terms; however, the proposed approach emphasizes the automation of searches using BIM data to find items suitable for building elements and materials. To enable automated inference, this study establishes (1) a work condition ontology that consists of the determinants required to select work items, (2) a work item ontology, which consists of the factors defining the tiling method, and (3) semantic reasoning rules. By conducting a case study to demonstrate the proposed ontological inference process in a real-world situation, we confirm that the proposed process can provide consistent results; however, since work items differ depending on construction type and technological advancement, the work item ontology should be continually revised and updated.The ontological inference process removes the need for the intervention of a cost estimator's subjectivity in searching for an appropriate work item. Also, if ontology is elaborately defined by the knowledge of experienced engineers, then accurate and consistent results can be obtained. In addition, the proposed process will assist cost estimators to use BIM data more easily, and it will help the expansion of BIM-based construction management.     

A Heuristic Approach for Exploring Uncertainties in Transport Planning Research

ABSTRACT

This literature review aims to identify situations of uncertainty from differing perspectives of transport planning research. It elaborates a heuristic framework based on three potential sources of uncertainty: reality, knowledge, and products. The heuristic approach focuses on the way in which uncertainties are first identified as part of the planning context and process, then translated into planning artifacts and concepts, and finally managed in the selection of planning options and effects. We illustrate how this framework can provide a useful tool for theoretical and empirical research in transport planning.     

基于不同人群话语分析的城市历史景观 层积机制研究——以襄阳为例

人对城市风景的感知与理解,推动了城市历史景观的层积过程。基于不同人群话语分析,以元素类别和空间类型2种分类方式构建相对系统、科学的城市历史景观层积识别框架,探讨城市历史景观的动态演变机制。以明清时期襄阳为例,分政府和文人2类话语组对历史书籍、诗文的语汇逻辑、情感倾向进行统计分析,设置等里数同心圆坐标,以古城物理中心位置为圆心,标记元素空间点位。厘清作为主动因的话语作用于城市历史景观各元素及空间类别并最终实现文化层积的全过程,梳理出明清时期襄阳城市历史景观层积机制和基础框架,以期推动城市历史景观保护与发展,为襄阳的保护实践提供参考。     

关于做好公路工程施工中的计量支付工作

介绍了计量支付的概念,阐述了计量范围、计量依据及计量原则,并对计量的注意事项及其主要文件进行了论述,从前期支付、中期支付、最终支付等方面对支付工作进行了介绍,从而达到维护甲乙双方权益,顺利推进工程的目的。     

Towards developing competency-based measures for construction project managers: Should contextual behaviours be distinguished from task behaviours?

Competency-based measures are increasingly being recognised as the most viable option for engendering the continuing professional development (CPD) of construction project managers (CPMs). Presently, an emerging view from the HRM genre is that, a somewhat robust approach for developing a more rigorous understanding of these measures is to distinguish contextual performance behaviours from task performance behaviours. The contention is that, the contextual–task framework allows for a more fine-grained analysis of managerial behaviour, its effects and measurement. Stimulated by the need to develop performance measures for CPMs in the context of a developing country, the framework has recently been replicated in identifying and developing competency profiles for project managers (PMs) in mass house building projects (MHBPs) in Ghana. Drawing from a positivist-based research approach, structured questionnaires were used to elicit the relevant data from property developers (homebuilders) who belong to the Ghana Real Estate Developers Association (GREDA). The findings presented potentially reasonable evidence that the contextual–task model has empirical relevance for application in project-based sectors of the construction industry. Subsequently, here, we proposed that the contextual–task framework could be adopted across geographical and project-based sectors by construction management researchers who are in need of an alternative methodology that can further an in-depth understanding of the competency profile of CPMs.     

建筑行业绩效与竞争力:国内外研究进展

绩效与竞争力已发展成一个比较成熟的研究领域,一系列绩效与竞争力分析框架被应用到建筑行业,如波特钻石模型、3-P竞争力模型、产业组织理论、SWOT分析等产业分析理论。建筑行业研究人员也着力于设计出一些特定的分析模型来探讨行业内问题,如H分析框架、3C模型及PMS分析框架等。建立定量绩效与竞争力测评体系已成为各国建筑行业管理的发展趋势,如美国、英国、韩国、葡萄牙及新加坡等发达国家。而研究的不同点则在于测评指标体系、指标权重与测评方法等方面。     

Status of biodiesel production using heterogeneous alkaline catalysts

This paper describes biodiesel production using heterogeneous alkaline catalysts instead of the conventional homogenous alkaline catalysts, such as NaOH, KOH or sodium methoxide, for the methanolysis reaction, in the search for more profitable and sustainable alternatives regarding biodiesel production. The heterogeneous catalytic process has many differences from that currently used in industrial homogeneous processes. The main advantage is that it requires lower investment costs, as there is no need for separation steps such as methanol/catalyst, biodiesel/catalyst and glycerine/catalyst. This paper also describes experimental work towards the development of new heterogeneous alkaline catalysts able to produce biodiesel from vegetable oils. The research has resulted in the selection of CaO and CaO modified with alkaline and alkaline earth metal catalysts. They show very good catalytic performances with high activity and stability. In fact, biodiesel (FAME) yields higher than 94% were observed in several consecutive reaction batches without expensive intermediate reactivation procedures. Therefore, those catalysts appear to be suitable for biodiesel production.     

Ordering in disguise: digital integration in built-environment practices

ABSTRACT

The digital integration of built-environment practices aims to bridge a large variety of organizations to improve building delivery and operation. However, recent research on building information modelling (BIM) reported organizational challenges arising from digital integration. This suggests a need to develop a critical perspective on digital-integration-driven organizational change. Adopting a practice-based approach, this paper exposes the practice-level phenomenon responsible for the ongoing change to develop a critical understanding and enable better interventions. The concepts of ‘simplification’ and ‘systematization’ of digital integration are developed from previous literature and then used to explore and interrelate the practice-level experiences of digital integration (i.e. the experience of the change from within) and the emerging patterns of interactions (i.e. the picture of the change from outside) in a BIM-enabled design project. The concept of ‘ordering in disguise’ is proposed to capture this phenomenon. It shows that practitioners experience digital integration as various task-specific instances of unresponsive technology. However, they are unaware that their ongoing efforts to accommodate it actually further reinforce digital integration’s simplification and systematization. This makes the unresponsiveness of technology harder to challenge, and ultimately forces the organization to change and adapt to it. Implications for management of practice are outlined.