Towards developing competency‐based measures for project managers in mass house building projects in developing countries

Within the human resource management (HRM) genre, the identification and development of appropriate competency‐based measures is widely seen as the only viable means for validating and engendering managerial best practices. A competency‐based conceptual model is proposed towards the development of a taxonomy of project managers' (PMs') performance measures in mass house building projects (MHBPs). The model reflects elements of both performance behaviours and outcomes in predicting the performance of PMs at the construction phase of the project life cycle. Data were elicited from members of the Ghana Real Estate Developers Association (GREDA), whose speciality is the construction of residential buildings, to test the validity of this conceptual model. The findings, which confirm the validity of the model, demonstrate the suitability and potential usefulness of this model for developing a competency‐based agenda towards the professional development of PMs involved in the implementation of MHBPs in developing countries, like Ghana. The model could, therefore, form the basis for curriculum development, recruitment and selection, team deployment and job matching, career development and succession planning to facilitate the achievement of managerial best practices in MHBPs.     

Infrastructure for new Australian housing: Who pays and how?

As Australia's population rapidly increases, Australian metropolitan strategic plans seek to ensure a balanced approach to the development of new residential areas with infrastructure facilities provided as housing construction progresses. Critical questions relate to the setting of infrastructure standards, the apportioning of costs for new infrastructure and responsibility for its provision and upkeep. The historic shift away from infrastructure funding based on general taxation to a user pays approach, raises questions about social and intergenerational equity. We explore current debates in respect of cost, value and responsibility regarding infrastructure provision in residential development. A case study of a proposed development in South Australia is used to illustrate some of these issues. Finally, new provisions introduced under South Australia's planning reform agenda are examined in light of this evidence.     

Do economic regulatory agencies matter to private-sector involvement in water utilities in developing countries?

This paper suggests that, for developing countries, the creation of economic regulatory agencies, separate from the ministry in charge of water and sanitation, may not be a necessary or sufficient condition to stimulate large scale private involvement (PPPs) in the sector. The odds of an impact are higher for Latin American countries than other regions and for countries with higher income levels. They are also better when inflation is high. At the margin, the odds are unrelated to the contract type, except for greenfield projects, for which they may be contraindicated.     

Urban and semi‐urban planning in developing countries from a water and waste water treatment point of view

Several appropriate technology alternatives are suggested for water and wastewatei treatment in less developed countries. Large‐scale water supply systems employing conventional water treatment methods should be replaced by several small‐scale water treatment units utilizing appropriate water treatment methods.

Conventional sewerage systems should be replaced by low cost on‐site sanitation systems and several other low‐cost wastewater treatment methods such as oxidation ponds, aerated lagoons and anaerobic lagoons. Wastewater renovation and re‐use should be actively encouraged in view of dwindling water resources in these countries.     

Urban sustainability in developing countries’ megacities: modelling and predicting future urban growth in Lagos

In the first part of the paper urban sustainability issues in African countries are considered with a focus on urban growth. The need for urban management tools that are able to provide prospective scenarios is addressed. Urban simulations can represent a useful approach to an understanding of the consequences of current planning policies or their incompleteness. Simulations of future urban growth are usually quite difficult without tools that embrace the complexity of the urban system. The second part of this paper describes an urban growth simulation for the city of Lagos in Nigeria using a dynamic spatial model prototype. We propose a bottom-up approach, integrating land-use factors with a dynamic approach for modelling future urban land-use scenarios. The model for Lagos was calibrated and tested using measured time-series data on land-use, through a set of spatial metrics and Kappa (κ) coefficients. Afterwards, a twenty-year simulation was run until 2020. The simulation results are realistic and relatively accurate, confirming the effectiveness of the proposed model. This work was performed in the framework of the European Commission’s MOLAND project.     

A ratio or budget benchmark for comparing affordability across countries?

In this article, the methodological strengths and weaknesses of two common housing affordability indicators—the expenditure-to-income ratio and the residual income—are discussed, using data for the Belgian region of Flanders and the Netherlands. Affordability standards are used in order to distinguish the group facing affordability problems. In case of residual income, we use minimum budget standards—excluding housing—that allow for decent participation in society. For the expenditure-to-income ratio, we apply the internationally frequently used 30 % benchmark. Our comparison of the two methods results in a preference for the budget approach. Consequently, we explore the possibilities of applying the budget approach in a comparative context. We conclude by making recommendations for future research.     

Innovative potential for development of Europe’s neighbouring countries and regions

The European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) is intended to promote development in bordering states and regions positioned along a broad arc from Morocco to Ukraine to become more friendly, stable, and prosperous. The policy offers limited but attractive terms of association with selected non-EU members concerning trade, mobility, innovation, and assistance in exchange for the adoption of important Western features that comprise the Community Acquis. The theme of this special issue hews closely to the economic development goals of the ENP by examining forces and factors that underlie the ability of neighbouring regions and countries to acquire and exploit innovative technologies, which are seen as the key element of a successful ENP.     

An economic–probabilistic model for project selection and prioritization

This paper presents an economic–probabilistic model for project selection and prioritization that enables necessary investments and potential benefits and their inherent variability to be quantified, thus providing a stochastic analysis of expected returns for projects. The model was developed in three steps: definition of criteria; definition of the most appropriate method to be used; and model building. A practical test to evaluate the applicability and usefulness of the model comprising a portfolio of investment projects at a power distribution company was conducted. The results show three major contributions of the proposed model: i) a set of sufficiently complete criteria, ii) the combined use of economic and probabilistic approaches which qualifies the information available to decision makers, and iii) the use of financial language, which is more easily understood and has a concrete meaning for both management and technical staff.     

Fukuoka: Adapting to climate change through urban green space and the built environment?

This paper profiles Fukuoka City in Kyushu, Japan. We focus on the city's local climate change adaptation policies, and in particular the role of urban and greenspace planning in facilitating adaptation actions within Fukuoka. Fukuoka is a humid subtropical city which is currently experiencing significant population and economic growth. It has also made comparatively rigorous advances in climate adaptation, in a country context where local governments have been criticised for focusing more on mitigation. Fukuoka hence may yield lessons for other rapidly urbanising subtropical Asian cities. We illustrate that Fukuoka has a long tradition of science-policy connection towards the creation of a liveable urban environment. This creates a favourable research and policy infrastructure for adaptation, in particular mitigation of heat risk. This is evidenced in consideration of climate issues within the city's greenspace plans since the 1990s, and in an extensive body of underpinning applied research from local institutions into urban thermal environments in particular. Fukuoka's green terraced ACROS building has come to symbolise adaptation via the built environment, and has been followed by the emergence of further green roofs and through citizen and private sector involvement in smaller-scale greening actions. We caution that challenges remain around connecting different sections of local governments, and in maintaining climate and environmental imperatives in the face of ongoing development and expansion pressures.     

Do restrictive regulatory policies matter for telecom performance? Evidence from MENA countries

The past decade has witnessed a significant transformation in trade and regulatory policies of the telecom sector across the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region. Many countries committed to opening up their telecom sector for trade and investment under WTO commitments. However, these commitments do not always reflect actual policies. Although some MENA countries started alleviating telecom market restrictions and tended to adopt more open policies, other countries are still reluctant to change and adopt highly restrictive policies limiting foreign ownership and control in the market. This paper assesses the impact of telecom restrictions on landline and mobile sector performance in MENA countries using the World Bank Services Trade Restrictiveness database (STRD). We use three-stage least squares-seemingly unrelated regression (3SLS-SUR) to test for the effect of restrictions and the level of competition in the telecom sector on selected performance indicators. Our findings suggest that restrictive policies in the telecom sector are rather likely to affect landline than mobile communications. Moreover, being a MENA country affects the level of competition in the landline market. MENA countries are very protective to their incumbent operators, irrespective of the stipulated market regulations in place.