bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The development of a condition survey protocol matrix
Authors: Ifran Che‐Ani Adi , Samsul Mohd Tazilan Azimin , Afizi Kosman Kamarul 
Published: March 2011

PurposeBuilding inspection is one of the key components of building maintenance. The primary purpose of performing a building inspection is to evaluate the building's condition. Without inspection, it is difficult to determine a built asset's current condition, so failure to inspect can contribute to the asset's future failure. Traditionally, a longhand survey description has been widely used for property condition reports. Surveys that employ ratings instead of descriptions are gaining wide acceptance in the industry because they cater to the need for a quantitative approach. These kinds of surveys are also in keeping with the new RICS HomeBuyer Report 2009. This paper aims to describe an assessment method.Design/methodology/approachThe paper proposes a new assessment method, derived from the current rating systems, for assessing the building's condition and rating the seriousness of each defect identified. These two assessment criteria are then multiplied to find the building's score, which is called the condition survey protocol (CSP) 1 matrix. The matrix is assessed by means of a case study.FindingsInstead of a longhand description of a building's defects, the matrix requires concise explanations about the defects identified, thus saving on‐site time during a building inspection. The full score is used to give the building an overall rating: good, fair or dilapidated. The overall findings reflect the reliability of the CSP1 matrix.Practical implicationsThe matrix needs to be tested on more and larger buildings to further assess its reliability.Originality/valueThe paper focuses on the CSPI Matrix, a reliable and practical assessment method for building inspections performed under reasonable property conditions.
The flexural strength of earth‐block masonry for sustainable walling
Authors: Williams Colin , Goodhew Steve , Griffiths Richard 
Published: March 2011

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to explore the structural feasibility of substituting traditional thick joint mortars with earth slurry mortars modified with varying amounts of sand. Thin jointing of earth blocks would reduce the cost of sustainable earth construction.Design/methodology/approachCompressive strength of earth‐block cubes was determined. Flexural strength was measured using the BRE electronic bond wrench, which enables block couplets to be tested quickly and accurately. Three samples of earth block, one from southwest England and two from East Anglia, together with nine examples of earth slurry mortar jointing were studied, including the effect of reinforcing the joint and or the block using hessian.FindingsThe 28‐day cube characteristic compressive strengths were determined for Appley soil, Norfolk lump and Beeston soil, the last with 0 per cent sand, 25 per cent sand and with 25 per cent sand with hessian. The flexural strengths of Appley and Beeston earth slurries were determined, along with Thermalite thin jointed cement and cement mortar for comparison. The Beeston soil flexural strength increased with increasing sand content. Earth slurry with 40 per cent sand and hessian present in the joint gave the greatest strength. It is important to use blocks and slurry mortars of the same soil. Extruded and compressed earth blocks are best suited to slurry jointing.Originality/valueThis work successfully demonstrates the structural feasibility of carefully reducing the thickness of earth mortars when constructing sustainable earth block walling. Characteristic flexural strengths are suggested where the test results were sufficiently consistent, and of a magnitude likely to be useful in design.
Fibre reinforced polymer and steel rebar comparative performance
Authors: Richardson Alan , Drew Paula 
Published: March 2011

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the necessary requirements that a concrete reinforcement material must satisfy; namely the ability to resist tensile forces and have good bond strength while providing structural qualities of toughness and flexural strength.Design/methodology/approachThe bond and strength properties were mainly tested in a paired comparison test using 6 mm diameter steel and fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) rebar specimens in beams and cubes. Bond strength was examined using 12 concrete cube specimens of 150 mm, six cubes had steel rebar and six had FRP rebar inserted through the full depth of the cube and they were subject to pull out tests. To determine flexural strength and toughness, a three point loading test was performed to provide load/extension data on 28 500×100×100 mm concrete beams. A total of 14 beams were cast with steel rebar and 14 were cast with FRP rebar.FindingsThe results showed for equal diameter bars the FRP specimens had outperformed steel in each test. Failure modes of FRP specimens showed higher degrees of toughness when compared to steel.Originality/valueSteel rebar has a long and proven track record of satisfactory use in reinforced concrete. For designers and clients to change from traditionally used materials, there is a need for investigative research to prove the worth of the new material. This paper goes part of the way to fulfil this need.
Champions of practice: context and habitus for unbounded learning in construction projects
Authors: Love Peter , Edwards David , Love Joanne , Irani Zahir 
Published: March 2011

PurposeKnowledge is recognised as a valuable resource for organizational growth and sustained competitive advantage, especially for organizations operating in uncertain and challenging environments such as construction. Within the construction industry, communities of practice (CoP) have not been effectively embraced as a strategic tool for knowledge creation and sharing within and between organizations. Accordingly, this paper aims to review CoP and present a pragmatic approach for their utilisation.Design/methodology/approachA review of the literature on CoPs is provided and examples from the authors' experience are provided to demonstrate their usefulness in addressing problems that are being confronted within the construction industry.FindingsThe construction industry is sceptical about adopting “management fads” and gimmick technologies that provide no strategic competitive advantage. Evidence of this can be seen with the industry's reluctance, particularly in Australia, to embrace re‐engineering and concepts associated with lean construction. The industry has been informally using CoP, or aspects thereof, for many years but it has not been formally recognised as a performance improvement tool. Organizations may find it difficult to build, sustain and integrate CoP within their organization, especially when staff are geographically spread over numerous remote locations. It is suggested that the underlying concept of CoP can create and sustain learning and knowing in projects.Originality/valueThe challenge for construction organizations is not necessarily to use intra‐organizational forms of CoP, but to learn how they can use them within the project environment within which they operate. A proposal for using communities of practice, namely “champions of practice” (CoPE), at an inter‐organizational level is proposed in this paper. This hybrid form of CoP is dependent on the sharing of knowledge within and across organizational boundaries. For this to happen effectively within a project environment, the right set of communication tools, incentives, motivation, organizational and managerial mechanisms need to be in place for “best practice” to be formalised and shared in a meaningful and reflective way.
Healthy, productive workplaces: towards a case for interior plantscaping
Authors: Smith Andrew , Tucker Matthew , Pitt Michael 
Published: March 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate office users' perceptions of their working environment in relation to the addition of plants.Design/methodology/approachOffice users' perceptions were examined using a survey, administered to an experimental group and a control group before and after the installation of plants. The results were analysed to determine any statistically significant differences between the two groups and between the pre‐ and post‐test surveys for the experimental group. Absence data were analysed to establish any changes in absence rates.FindingsSignificant differences were found between the experimental and control groups for the work environment contributing to pressure, health concerns, morale and preference for plants. There were also perceived improvements in productivity, pressure, privacy and comfort although these were non‐significant. Sickness absence reduced substantially in the area with plants and increased slightly in the control area.Research limitations/implicationsIt would be useful to extend this research over a longer time frame and in a greater range of buildings to validate the results.Practical implicationsBy providing well‐designed workplaces, including living plants, organizations can potentially improve employee perceptions, leading to performance gains and reduced absence. This paper suggests that significant savings can be achieved in comparison to the cost of plants.Originality/valueThe role of indoor nature has received relatively little attention compared to the number of studies on outdoor nature. Additionally, this paper applies the research to a real working environment as opposed to experimental designs, which have formed the majority of previous studies.
Major obstacles to improving the performance of waste management in China's construction industry
Authors: Yuan Hongping , Shen Liyin , Wang Jiayuan 
Published: March 2011

PurposeThe generation of construction and demolition waste in China is a pressing need to be minimized in order to alleviate the environmental burden. The effectiveness of implementing construction and demolition waste management in this economy, however, is very limited due to various barriers. Therefore, this paper aims to explore the major obstacles to managing construction and demolition waste in China.Design/methodology/approachThe views from Chinese practitioners were collected via a questionnaire survey. The respondents were invited to rate a total of 16 obstacles that hinder the effective implementation of construction and demolition waste management as gleaned from previous literature and six semi‐structured interviews. The results of the questionnaire were analyzed by ranking analysis and factor analysis.FindingsThe findings show that “lack of a well‐developed waste recycling market”, “insufficient regulation support” and “waste reduction does not receive sufficient attention in construction design” are perceived as the three barriers of most importance. Furthermore, the 16 obstacles could be grouped into five underlying components including: component 1 – weak awareness and inadequate training, component 2 – insufficient support of the authority, component 3 – economic consideration, component 4 – immature market and component 5 – barriers related to site activity.Practical implicationsBased on the findings, industry practitioners' understandings about the barriers to better performing construction and demolition waste management in China can be deepened. Furthermore, the results also provide useful information for developing strategies to improve the performance of construction and demolition waste management in China.Originality/valueMajor obstacles to improving the performance of construction and demolition waste management in China are identified and analyzed in this study.
Linking energy and maintenance management for sustainability through three American case studies
Authors: Lewis Angela , Elmualim Abbas , Riley David 
Published: March 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present the findings and lessons learned from three case studies conducted for facilities located in California, North America. The findings aim to focus on energy and maintenance management practices and the interdependent link between energy and maintenance.Design/methodology/approachThe research is based on a positivist epistemological philosophical approach informed by action research. The research cycle was completed for each case study. A case study report was provided to each facility management team to foster collaboration with the researcher and to document case study process and results.FindingsComposite findings of the case studies include: there is an interdependent link between energy and maintenance management; reactive maintenance and energy management methods are commonly used; and more proactively operated and managed buildings require the interdependent link between energy maintenance management to be better understood.Research limitations/implicationsThe three case studies were located in California. Although the case study results can be generalized, determination of how to generalize and apply the results to commercial buildings outside of the USA is beyond the scope of this paper.Practical implicationsDetailed discussion of the needs of the three facility management teams are discussed by identifying a current challenge, developing a solution and documenting lessons learned using the research cycle.Originality/valueThe paper seeks to demonstrate the interdependencies of energy and maintenance management, two topics which are often researched interdependently. Additionally, the paper provides insight about maintenance management, a topic often cited as being under researched.
Integrating sustainability and buildability requirements in building envelopes
Authors: Singhaputtangkul Natee , Pheng Low Sui , Lin Teo Ai 
Published: March 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to present the importance of integrating common features between the Green Mark Scheme (GMS) and the Buildable Design Appraisal System (BDAS) requirements in building envelopes.Design/methodology/approachThe study presents the common features that influence both the GM score of the building envelope and the buildability score of the wall system. A case study is developed to show the effects of varying the value of a representative common feature in the GM score and the buildability score.FindingsThe study finds that lengths of window and wall, and wall materials are the common features that can influence the GM score of the building envelope and the buildability score of the wall system. The case study suggested that the window‐to‐wall ratio (WWR), which is the representative common feature, shows negative relationship with the GM score of the building envelope and positive relationship with the buildability score of the wall system.Research implications/limitationsThe results show that varying the WWR influences the GM score of the building envelope more strongly than the buildability score of the wall system. This seems to imply that building professionals when determining the WWR may have to concern themselves with the GM score of the building envelope more as compared to the buildability score of the wall system.Originality/valueThe study suggests that integrating the common features between GMS and BDAS requirements with other relevant factors such as cost, social and environmental impacts of design can help to save workload, time and budget, as well as facilitate the delivery of more reliable design, planning and management from a practical viewpoint.
Warehousing in Northern Europe: longitudinal survey findings
Authors: Hilmola Olli‐Pekka , Lorentz Harri 
Published: March 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to shed light on the development and change in priority of international warehouse location criteria during a business cycle (i.e. from years 2006 to 2010), by examining the responses of Finnish and Swedish companies on their European‐based facilities. The authors also investigate how the size of European warehouses will develop within medium term.Design/methodology/approachThe authors' research is based on three online surveys completed during years 2006, 2009, and 2010. The 120 respondents were large Finnish and Swedish companies.FindingsFinnish companies tend to focus on the emerging East European markets through their warehousing network structure, while Swedish companies focus more on Western Europe. Selection of warehouse location is dominated by three criteria, namely distribution cost, road transportation connection, and proximity of assembly and manufacturing units. Most of the longitudinal changes occur in less important warehousing criteria; companies seem to see warehousing decisions as less complex, incorporating a lower amount of criteria in the decision. Warehouse size analysis shows that in the future, the average size will slowly continue to increase, however, both small and large warehouses have justification for their existence. Finnish and Swedish respondents were mostly aligned in terms of warehouse location criteria, however, in terms of warehouse size Swedish companies are in favor of larger units.Research limitations/implicationsResearch is limited in terms of geography and respondent size. This will limit the generalizability of the results.Originality/valueThis research is based on a longitudinal survey, and provides insight on the evolution of warehouse location criteria in changing economic conditions.
Assessment of commercialization strategy using R&D capability
Authors: Lin Chinho , Jiang JyunLin , Wu Ya‐Jung , Chang ChiaChi 
Published: March 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present a cooperation model identifying the R&D capability as the central driver of startup commercialization strategy, by which new startups can evaluate their relative R&D capability and consequently choose an appropriate commercialization strategy.Design/methodology/approachA cooperation model has been constructed, and drawing upon the patent data of 91 aluminum nitride manufacturers, the implications of R&D capability for commercialization strategy are illustrated.FindingsThe authors' analysis suggests that competitive interaction between startup innovators and established firms depends on the R&D capability of the startup innovators, which can be evaluated by patent data.Practical implicationsFor technologically efficient firms, a high level of integration to achieve the benefits of economies of scope will lead to more profits. However, for technologically inefficient firms, maintaining a low level of integration to achieve the benefits of specialization is the better strategy.Originality/valueThis paper provides a simplified model which combines an evaluation of R&D capability using patent data with strategic decision making to facilitate successful commercialization in startups.
Semiconductor industry value chain: characters' technology evolution
Authors: Li Yung‐Ta , Huang Mu‐Hsuan , Chen Dar‐Zen 
Published: March 2011

PurposeFoundry, Design House, and integrated device manufacturers (IDM) are major characters in the semiconductor industry value chain. The purpose of this paper is to discuss patterns of characters' evolution in technology through patents classified as wafer‐design application patents and wafer‐process patents.Design/methodology/approachVarious patent indicators, such as average patent citation count, and the combination of the average patent citation count and relative patent count share were used to measure the patent activity, patent quality, and the combination of the patent quality and relative patent activity share, respectively. The study period (1979‐2009) was divided into three major technology or wafer size eras, 1979‐1991 for the 6‐ and pre 6‐inch wafer era, 1989‐1999 for the 8‐inch wafer era, and 1997‐2009 for the 12‐inch wafer era.FindingsFoundry has gradually become the technology transferor rather than purely the manufacturing capacity provider. Foundry's impact on the technology level has risen steeply on both the wafer‐process technology fields and the wafer‐design application technology fields. As a result, IDM, traditionally considered the primary technology contributor in the semiconductor value chain for the past 30 years, will continue to be challenged in the semiconductor industry.Practical implicationsSome hypotheses are clarified to provide managerial implications for the semiconductor industry. Owing to Foundry's rise in technology activity and quality, IDM/Design House should not merely view it as one of their capacity providers but should also pursue a technology alliance with it.Originality/valueThe paper clarifies the traditional hypotheses of the characters of technology in the semiconductor value chain.
Information communication technology spending in (2008‐) economic crisis
Authors: Rojko Katarina , Lesjak Dušan , Vehovar Vasja 
Published: March 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of the recent (2008‐) economic crisis on information communication technology (ICT) spending. The empirical findings are discussed within a broader theoretical framework of technological trends/diffusion and economic cycles.Design/methodology/approachFirst, the paper introduces the innovation diffusion theory and theories of economic cycles. Next, it presents the analyses of the data from official statistics, international agencies and research companies. Finally, it summarizes the empirical findings within theoretical contexts.FindingsIn general, crises always reduce spending and therefore also ICT spending. However, focusing on the recent crisis, it affected the ICT market selectively and also much less than other sectors. In addition, the empirical findings indicate that after decades of fast ICT expansion (1971‐2000) we are now in the period of slower sectoral growth, which is in line with theories of super cycles, although, the authors also propose alternative explanations.Research limitations/implicationsThe impact of the economic crisis on the ICT market strongly depends on countries' economic situation and development stage. Nonetheless some ICT segments that allow cost savings, greater productivity and efficiency, have been strengthened during the latest (2008‐) economic crisis, which also pinpoints the directions for further transformation of ICT.Practical implicationsDespite usually reduced budgets during the crisis, managers should put increased attention to new/alternative ICT solutions (e.g. virtualization, outsourcing, cloud computing) and lowered prices of ICT products/services to increase competitiveness. The crisis can be thus an opportunity to re‐examine the contribution of ICT to productivity, workflow efficiency and introduce new methods for better exploitation of ICT capital.Social implicationsThe aim of this paper is to contribute to the understanding about the transformation of ICT in economic crises. It also demonstrates that recent crises caused another microwave within the last super cycle.Originality/valueThe paper provides empirical insight into the link between economic situation and ICT spending in past 15 years, with special attention to the changes observed during the latest (2008‐) crisis. The analysis is also put into a broader theoretical framework, where it proposes alternative explanations supported by empirical evidences.