# The Construction Industry in a War-Ravaged Region: Examination of Challenging Factors
## 3 Methods
### Data Collection  
The modified number of challenges became 35 after the pilot survey, as shown in Table 1. The second stage was composed of the questionnaire design and data collection. The questionnaire was designed to gather data on the relative levels of importance of the predetermined factors. In designing the questionnaire, there is no consensus on the sample size that should be used for SEM. Ref. [52] recommends aiming for a sample size beyond 100, ideally surpassing 200 participants. The data for the questionnaire were obtained through an online survey sent to a representative sample of CI professionals using snowball sampling, ref. [53] which enabled the researcher to obtain a large number of completed questionnaires. The sample is identified by friends and through referral networks. This sampling strategy is chosen when it is challenging to obtain responses from randomly selected sample elements. The survey was distributed through friends to professionals who have worked or lived in Nigeria, Ethiopia, Yemen, Palestine, and Ukraine, representing regions affected by war. In this study, a total of 150 respondents completed the questionnaire, which is enough for developing the model. Figure 2: Flowchart of research methodology. The questionnaire was separated into two parts, namely \"General information\" and \"challenging factors groups affecting the CI in the region under study\". The first section \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{l l l} \hline \hline
**Code** & **Challenging Factors** & **References** \\ \hline CF1 & Lack of modern curriculum (Lack of & [54; 55; 56; 57; 58] \\  & environmental education) & \\ CF2 & Poor construction demolition and waste & [15] \\ CF3 & Limited allocation of funds for research & [18; 39; 55] \\ CF4 & Poor disaster management training & [21; 39; 56] \\ CF5 & Poor environmental legislation and policy on & [17; 40] \\ CF6 & Professional institute’s involvement in & [55] \\  & environmental support & \\ CF7 & High taxation on sustainable products & [39] \\ CF8 & Political instability & [39] \\ CF9 & Bribery and corruption & [39] \\ CF10 & Low government support for & [39] \\ CF11 & Construction sector & [59] \\ CF12 & Improper enforcement of safety regulations & [59] \\  & Lack of supportive legislation (disaster & \\ CF12 & management, post-conflict reconstruction, & [8; 9; 15; 16; 57; 60; 61] \\  & waste management) and programme & \\ CF13 & Low level of stakeholders and management & [49; 50; 62] \\  & commitment to health and safety & [49; 50; 62] \\ CF14 & Inadequate Safety training & [49; 50; 62] \\  & Low level of usage of technology for health & [47; 49] \\ CF15 & safety and environment (e.g., BIM, sensor, and & [47; 49] \\ CF16 & Limited funds for safety precautions & [39] \\ CF17 & High inflation rate & [38; 39; 41; 63] \\ CF18 & High interest rate & [19; 39; 63] \\ CF19 & Direct foreign investment & [18; 64] \\ CF20 & Low credit facilities & [19; 39] \\ CF21 & Adjustment to new economic policies & [18; 27; 44; 57] \\ CF22 & Lack of support from the banking sector & [39; 65] \\ CF23 & Lack disaster-resistant buildings & [66] \\ CF24 & Reluctant in using innovative & [17; 18; 19; 39] \\ CF25 & Inadequate support from & [39; 55; 57; 65] \\ CF26 & Low level and scarcity of skilled workers & [11; 17; 18; 39; 41; 57; 58; 60; 67], \\ CF27 & Lower supply of eco-friendly materials & [16; 17; 37; 40; 58] \\ CF28 & Sustainable supply chain management & [16; 68; 69] \\ CF29 & Low capital base of contractors & [38; 65] \\ CF30 & Poor contractual management & [1; 19; 39; 56; 65] \\  & Implementation of Industrial Revolution (IR) & \\ CF31 & 4.0 (e.g., BIM, 4D design, blockchain, smart & [14; 16; 47; 48; 57; 60; 70; 71] \\ CF32 & Lack of knowledge of new technologies & [11; 39] \\ CF33 & Poor technological application and transfer & [39] \\ CF34 & Value engineering & [16] \\ CF35 & Lack of funding for implementation of & [47; 48] \\  & new technologies & \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 1: Challenging factors affecting CI in war-ravaged regions.