Contingent Use of Negotiators’ Tactics in Construction Dispute Negotiation

In the course of negotiation, negotiators’ tactics should be responsive to the situational factors. This is commonly described as the contingent use of negotiators’ tactics. This study examines this concept in construction dispute negotiation and has three stages of work. Stage 1 develops taxonomies of the three construction dispute negotiation dimensions: dispute sources, negotiators’ tactics, and negotiation outcomes by exploratory factor analysis. A structural equation modeling is also used to confirm the taxonomies. Stage 2 examines the contingent use of negotiators’ tactics on outcomes respective to the dispute sources through the use of moderated multiple regression (MMR). Stage 3 discusses the findings. The dispute source, “Delay” is found to be a universal moderator in the MMR analysis of the tactic-outcome relationships. That means when the dispute source is delay, a wide range of negotiators’ tactics can be used, respective to outcome intended. It is also found that the most versatile tactics are those that seek progress. This group of tactics is effective in almost every group of dispute source and, in general, positive results can be expected. However, aggressive and assertive tactics should be used restrictively, as they will only be useful against a compromising negotiation counterpart.     

Efficacy of Trust-Building Tactics in Construction Mediation

Distrust hinders disputing parties and mediators from achieving mediation success. Mediators therefore often use different trust-building tactics to generate some degree of trust in themselves and in the mediation process. This paper reports a study that identified the trust-building tactics used by construction mediators and examined the efficacy of these tactics with respect to their outcomes. Three study stages were designed. With reference to the mediation model of Sloan (1998), trust-building tactics and outcomes were first identified in Stage I. Next, the data were collected from accredited mediators with a questionnaire survey in Stage II. The collected data were then validated via reliability assessments in Stage III. With the use of multiple regression analyses, the efficacy of the trust-building tactics was examined by relating these tactics to their outcomes. The findings of this study suggest that the trust-building tactics used in Step 4 (i.e., explore interests) of Sloan’s (1998) mediation model are influential in developing trust among disputing parties and that they can also act as a time-saving tool in the mediation process. Furthermore, it was found that mediators can earn trust by adopting the trust-building tactics used in Step 3 (i.e., issues and trust) of Sloan’s (1998) model. These tactics can also serve to improve the relationships between the disputing parties. The results show that the trust-building tactics used in the final step (i.e., solutions) of Sloan’s (1998) model seem to have low efficacy in developing trust among disputing parties.     

Contingencies in the mediation of disputes.

Although it is widely recognized that the behavior of mediators in resolving disputes is often contingent on the characteristics of disputes, little systematic research has examined mediators' perceptions of the contingent use or effectiveness of their behavior. We surveyed 255 professional mediators about the features of the disputes they encountered, the tactics they used, and the outcomes they achieved in their most recently completed case. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test a hypothesized factor structure for mediator behavior, and exploratory factor analyses provided information about the underlying structures of dispute features and mediation outcomes. The results of the factor analyses served as the basis for an assessment of perceived contingencies among dispute sources, mediator tactics, and outcomes. The results of correlational analyses suggest that the mediators used many tactics contingently. The results of moderated multiple regression analyses indicate that mediators believed some tactics were effective in certain dispute situations and not in others. Tactics viewed as positively related with success in some disputes were viewed as unrelated or even negatively related with success in other disputes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Exploring the Potential for Predicting Project Dispute Resolution Satisfaction Using Logistic Regression

The success of a construction project depends on the coordinated efforts of project team members. This is especially crucial when a project is in dispute and hence the achievement of satisfactory project dispute resolution is critical to project success. This proposition has been empirically demonstrated a previous research that studied project dispute resolution satisfaction (DRS) using multivariate discriminant analysis (MDA). This paper reports on a study that builds on that research, with the specific aim of predicting project DRS through the use of logistic regression (LR). In this study, a LR model of project DRS (Model 1) is developed, and then compared with the MDA model. The findings suggest that the LR technique provides a higher hit rate and thus a higher proportion of correct classification. With the wider acceptance of the use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods, the effect, on the LR model, of changing the demarcation between adverse and favorable project DRS is also examined. For this examination, another LR model (Model 2) was developed. It is believed that Model 2 may reflect the prevailing sentiment that ADR is viewed as an amicable way to resolve disputes. Both the MDA model and LR models (Model 1 and Model 2) indicated that “design changes” are the root cause of adverse project DRS. Within the scope of the project data, these findings suggest that design changes are not just disruptive to project progress but also a critical cause of construction disputes.     

Contractor Performance Prediction Model for the United Kingdom Construction Contractor: Study of Logistic Regression Approach

An accurate prediction of contractor potential is of vital importance during contractor selection and evaluation process. Such prediction enables identification and classification of contractor performance to ease the selection process. This paper outlines the use of clients' tender evaluation preferences for predicting a contractor performance via a logistic regression (LR) approach. A total of 31 clients’ tender evaluation criteria were selected to develop a LR model for predicting contractor performance. The proposed model was developed based on 48 of United Kingdom public and private construction projects and validated in 20 independent cases. It was found that 75% of the cases correctly and the model statistically accurate for contractor performance prediction, where the input variables consist of nominal and interval data. The paper summarized techniques and advantages of LR analysis and discussed literature findings of contractor selection and evaluation methodologies undertaken by construction researchers and commentators from the United Kingdom and Northern America.     

Automated Generation of Construction Plans from Primitive Geometries

Current construction simulation systems need detailed architectural models and schedules in order to estimate costs and visualize the construction process. However, the process of developing a building model, formulating a schedule, and eventually synchronizing them is a time-consuming and laborious process. When changes occur, the model and schedule must be modified or rebuilt using the same time-consuming and laborious process. Therefore, systems of this kind are used only for some demonstrations. This paper describes a new way to automate construction simulations using simple architectural information and predefined “construction method templates.” A number of construction method templates are computer readable and are stored as a knowledge base. The writer proves the concept by implementing a computer system to process building models and construction methods. The concept allows designers and construction engineers to build a model and simulate construction processes in a short period of time in the early stage of construction projects.     

Moderating Effect of Equity Sensitivity on Behavior-Outcome Relationships in Construction Dispute Negotiation

This study builds on Adam’s equity theory by examining the moderating effects of equity sensitivity (i.e., a person’s perception of what is equitable or inequitable) on behavior-outcome relationships among negotiators in construction dispute negotiation. First, an equity sensitivity construct is developed. This construct reveals that most construction negotiators are entitleds, also known as “takers,” at the negotiation table. Moderated multiple regression (MMR) is used to test the moderating effects of equity sensitivity. The MMR models affirm that the nature of behavior-outcome relationships varies, depending on the perception of equity. An entitled construction negotiator is found to be a versatile moderator who fosters satisfactory negotiation outcomes. The models show that negotiators are able to predict inequitable responses and to take measures to forestall or deal with different inequitable situations. This study indicates the merit of further study of equity theory in the context of construction dispute negotiation. Future challenges in this area include the examination of the equity restoration responses of negotiators to create an equitable environment.     

Judging Unreasonable Litigation Behavior at the Interface of Mediation in the English Jurisdiction

Civil procedure rules (CPRs) in the English jurisdiction were introduced to restrain the adversarial and expensive litigation activities of the legal profession. Judges use case management to fix timetables for preaction meetings, disclosure, and trial dates. Under CPR both the judiciary and the parties have a duty to consider ADR alternatives such as mediation. Costs sanctions were implemented to keep in check unreasonable litigation practices and prevent the parties and their lawyers from creating delay and unwarranted expense. Evidence exists that construction parties are beginning to utilize mediation tactically both in the settlement phases activated by CPR and during the mediation process itself and some lawyers are reported to adopt an adversarial approach in mediation. This paper examines case law from the English jurisdiction on the application of the principle of “unreasonable behavior” in litigation to analyze how effective the specialist Technology and Construction Courts (TCCs) are in countermanding the strategic interplay of mediation within CPR and to determine the developing legal rules on mediation. Case law indicates that judges in the TCC are using costs sanctions to control abuse of the preaction protocols where there is a “substantial” lack of compliance but the Halsey criteria demonstrates an uncertainty in the application of the guidelines for delay and the timing of mediation, which can impact on the expense of litigation and may result in abuse or costs injustices. Further case analysis shows that negotiations in mediation are protected by the privileged status of “without prejudice statements” but unreasonable conduct in mediation will be examined by the court if both parties waive privilege or the abuse is such that it reaches the bar set for “unambiguous impropriety.” Further protection is provided through a developing principle of confidentiality but judges are likely to use their discretion in the “interests of justice,” for example, where there are allegations of economic duress. Neither unambiguous impropriety nor economic duress is likely to encompass uncooperative or adversarial approaches within the process or hard negotiations.     

Construction Mediation Landscape in the Civil Justice System in Hong Kong

Alternative dispute resolution techniques as means to speedily and economically resolve certain types of disputes have been well recognized. In this regard, some jurisdictions have opted to use mandatory adjudication to deal with construction, in particular payment-related disputes. The situation in Hong Kong is a bit different. The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region aspires to make Hong Kong a hub for arbitration and mediation services for the region. Voluntary mediation has been introduced in the civil procedures rules of the High Court as part of the newly launched Civil Justice Reform. Adverse cost order is used to discourage “refusal to mediate” and “failing to attempt to mediate.” While the new measures that came into effect on April 2, 2009, sound sensible, a better picture on the actual impacts will unfold as more cases reach the Court. Nonetheless, the cost sanction may be able to make the voluntary use of mediation less voluntary.     

Competency-Based Model for Predicting Construction Project Managers’ Performance

Using behavioral competencies to influence human resource management decisions is gaining popularity in business organizations. This study identifies the core competencies associated with the construction management role and, further, develops a predictive model to inform human resource selection and development decisions within large construction organizations. A range of construction managers took part in behavioral event interviews where staff were asked to recount critical management incidents, decisions, and actions from which their key competencies could be identified. By delineating the sample according to their levels of performance measured against a range of role-specific performance criteria, the competencies defining superior management performance could be determined. These were then used to construct a logistic regression model from which a project manager’s performance can be predicated. The validated results reveal that “self-control” and “team leadership” are the most predictive behaviors of effective project management performance within the framework of the model. The paper explores the potential role and application of the framework to underpin human resource management decision making with regards to recruitment, performance management, succession planning, and resource allocation.     

Drivers for Cost Estimating in Early Design: Case Study of Residential Construction

This paper proposes the use of a series of independent variables for an early estimation of the building construction cost of residential buildings. Based on 70 German residential properties, these variables serve as the cost drivers of a project, and the regression model, tested against the 70 properties, has a mean absolute percentage error of 9.6%. When applied to predict the cost of five more properties that were excluded from the 70 in the regression model, the percentage error ranges between–12 and 13%. The identified cost drivers are: compactness of the building, number of elevators, size of the project, expected duration of construction, proportion of openings in external walls, and region.     

Focal calvarial bone lesions. Comparison of logistic regression and neural network models

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: To assess the accuracy of logistic regression (LR) and artificial neural networks (NN) in the diagnosis of calvarial lesions using computed tomography (CT) and to establish the importance of the different features needed for the diagnosis. METHODS: One hundred sixty-seven patients with calvarial lesions as the only known disease were enrolled. The clinical and CT data were used for LR and NN models. Both models were tested with the leave-one-out method. The final results of each model were compared using the area under receiver operating characteristic curves (Az). RESULTS: Of the lesions, 73.1%, were benign and 26.9% were malignant. There was no statistically significant difference between LR and NN in differentiating malignancy. In characterizing the histologic diagnoses, NN was statistically superior to LR. Important NN features needed for malignancy classification were age and edge definition, and for the histologic diagnoses matrix, marginal sclerosis, and age. CONCLUSION: NNs offer wide possibilities over statistics for the study of calvarial lesions other than their superior diagnostic performance.     

Alliance in individual psychotherapy.

This article reports on a research synthesis of the relation between alliance and the outcomes of individual psychotherapy. Included were over 200 research reports based on 190 independent data sources, covering more than 14,000 treatments. Research involving 5 or more adult participants receiving genuine (as opposed to analogue) treatments, where the author(s) referred to one of the independent variables as “alliance,” “therapeutic alliance,” “helping alliance,” or “working alliance” were the inclusion criteria. All analyses were done using the assumptions of a random model. The overall aggregate relation between the alliance and treatment outcome (adjusted for sample size and non independence of outcome measures) was r = .275 (k = 190); the 95% confidence interval for this value was .25–.30. The statistical probability associated with the aggregated relation between alliance and outcome is p     

Optimizing Launch‐on‐Time Probability

Future space projects such as space stations, large unmanned space structures, interplanetary spacecraft, and lunar and Mars bases will require highly reliable launch systems for their construction and logistic support. It may also be necessary to provide “guaranteed” commercial launches. These needs will place increased emphasis on mastering every aspect of launch‐vehicle operations, particularly a launch‐on‐time capability. Causes for delay during launch, i.e., unplanned “holds,” are attributable to several sources: weather, range activities, vehicle conditions, human performance, and so forth. In this paper, actual launch data on unscheduled hold distributions of various launch vehicles are presented. The data were supplied by industrial associate companies of the Center for Space Construction of the University of Colorado, Boulder. Probability models that can describe these historical data and be used for several purposes are determined: (1) As inputs to broader simulations of launch‐vehicle logistic space construction support processes; (2) to determine which launch operations sources cause the majority of the unscheduled holds; and (3) to suggest changes that might improve launch on time. The paper demonstrates the ability of a compound distribution probability model to fit the actual data. This model is then manipulated to develop a method for optimally improving launch‐on‐time probability.     

Implications of nursing taxonomies for middle-range theory development

Given the broad acceptance for the need to develop middle-range theory to support nursing practice, nursing scientists must consider how to proceed with dispatch to develop these theories. This article suggests using the concepts in the newly developing taxonomies of nursing knowledge as the building blocks for these theories. Taxonomies of nursing diagnoses (NANDA), nursing interventions (NIC), and nursing outcomes (NOC) can speed the construction of the theories needed for nursing practice.     

CBR Revision Model for Improving Cost Prediction Accuracy in Multifamily Housing Projects

For any construction project to succeed, it is very important to accurately estimate the construction cost during the project’s initial stage. This is why there has been much interest lately in cost prediction models that use case-based reasoning (CBR). It has been pointed out, however, that existing CBR-based cost prediction models may yield inaccurate results even though they could survey optimal similar cases, if the number of cases in the case base is not enough. As opposed to the existing CBR-based construction cost prediction models, this study developed a CBR revision model that reflects the “revise” phase of the CBR cycle (retrieve, reuse, revise, and retain) based on nine multifamily housing projects executed recently by “A” Housing Corporation. To verify the developed model, a case study was performed using three case projects completed by “B” and “C” Housing Corporations. The result showed that the prediction error ratio after the Revise (I) phase decreased from 97.44 to 22.58%. This model can be effective when there are insufficient established cases in the case base.     

Perioperative risk factors in esophageal cancer: a retrospective study of independent variables

The postoperative outcome of 127 patients with an esophageal carcinoma was investigated retrospectively, to identify independent factors for the perioperative mortality (hospital mortality). Chi-square single factor analysis was employed to test 35 independent variables, in a second analysis stepwise logistic regression was used to determine the factors correlating with the morality. In 41 patients the esophagus was resected by a thoraco-abdominal approach, in 86 by blunt dissection. The hospital mortality was 17.3%, the 30-day mortality 12.6%. Single factor analysis revealed a significant correlation with the variable smoking (p < 0.003), post-operative morbidity (p < 0.008), CEA (p < 0.02), time of operation (p < 0.02) and surgical procedures (p < 0.02). The influence of the surgeon's experience was significant. In the stepwise logistic regression the duration of operation (p < 0.0039), the surgical procedures (p < 0.016), and the units of blood (p < 0.03) were correlated with mortality. The logistic regression showed a significant increase of mortality for the thoracoabdominal approach with increasing duration of the operation. The estimation of survival time according to Kaplan and Meier revealed a significant correlation with the stage of the tumor, but not with the surgical procedure.     

Methods for integrating moderation and mediation: A general analytical framework using moderated path analysis.

Studies that combine moderation and mediation are prevalent in basic and applied psychology research. Typically, these studies are framed in terms of moderated mediation or mediated moderation, both of which involve similar analytical approaches. Unfortunately, these approaches have important shortcomings that conceal the nature of the moderated and the mediated effects under investigation. This article presents a general analytical framework for combining moderation and mediation that integrates moderated regression analysis and path analysis. This framework clarifies how moderator variables influence the paths that constitute the direct, indirect, and total effects of mediated models. The authors empirically illustrate this framework and give step-by-step instructions for estimation and interpretation. They summarize the advantages of their framework over current approaches, explain how it subsumes moderated mediation and mediated moderation, and describe how it can accommodate additional moderator and mediator variables, curvilinear relationships, and structural equation models with latent variables. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Empirical Evaluation of Structural Frame Performance Criteria: Realizing the Potential of Hybrid Concrete Construction

Despite its enormous potential to improve performance, hybrid concrete construction (HCC) is currently underutilized. To demonstrate the benefits of using HCC (sometimes referred to as “mixed” construction) within the industry, it is essential that transparent criteria to assess this structural frame type against alternatives be determined, defined, and evaluated. Following a thorough review of literature in the building performance domain, a survey of U.K. experienced practitioners including clients, engineers, architects, quantity surveyors, and main contractors was conducted to obtain their perceptions regarding the importance of structural frame performance criteria (SFPC). A factor analysis of SFPC revealed seven dimensions, interpreted as “physical form and space,” “construction process,” “long-term sustainability,” “establishing confidence,” “building impact,” “physical appearance,” and “client satisfaction.” These dimensions should improve the decision making process when selecting an appropriate structural frame during early project stages by providing a simple list of performance criteria to be considered. Although these SFPC and dimensions were originally developed to ensure that the benefits of using HCC were apparent during the frame selection process, they are equally applicable to all frame choice comparisons. As such, they may provide a valuable tool for ensuring added value and client satisfaction.     

Perspective from the United States: Tensions between “Getting It Done” and “Getting It Right”

For over 2 decades, and in response to complaints that arbitration was too expensive and too time consuming, the American construction bar has been energetic and innovative in developing a broad array of dispute resolution tools for resolving construction disputes. These “tools” have included “partnering,” mandatory negotiations, interim decision making by design professionals, mediation, standing neutrals and dispute resolution boards, minitrials, early neutral evaluation, and expert determinations, all developed as alternatives to arbitration and litigation. More recently, in 2006, a voluntary “fast track” process for resolving construction disputes within 100?days has been proffered by the CPR Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution. Yet, there are certain dynamics or “tensions” inherent within, and associated with, all construction disputes that continue to resist efforts to speed up dispute resolution processes; these tensions must be reconciled or taken into account before any fast track or “adjudication”-type process will be generally accepted in the United States construction industry. Thus, for now and in the foreseeable future, there will continue to be a smorgasbord of dispute resolution processes for resolution of construction disputes. This is a good thing, because parties to construction disputes come with a great variety of appetites and needs. The focus of attention should be, not so much on development of the ideal or best dispute resolution tool, but having a willingness to select the “best tool for the job,” after the nature of the dispute is known.