Local Construction Research Articles

Aging in Place in the Triad: Community Housing Solutions

By Cheryl Brandberg. CHS is a small, local nonprofit construction company whose construction team members assess and design home modifications and solutions to address accessibility and aging-in-place.

Strategies Used by the Sri Lankan Construction Industry to Overcome the Challenges Posed by the Covid-19

The global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown the world's political, social, economic, religious, and financial structures into disarray. COVID-19 has a broad range of effects on numerous industries, including construction. Sri Lanka as a developing country is also affected by the pandemic and many sectors of the Sri Lankan economy such as construction, education, tourism, imports and exports, agriculture, and health etc are experiencing negative consequences of the pandemic, Construction industry as one of the key sectors of the economy was also severely affected by the COVID-19 global pandemic in various ways. Construction companies and government institutes are taking action to face these challenges. This study describes how COVID-19 impacts the local construction industry throughout the construction process. Furthermore, the impact was evaluated with regard to several aspects namely, financial, human resources, supply chain and logistics, legal, and completion and handover of the project. The strategies which are used by the construction industry participants to face the challenges of the pandemic are also discussed. A mixed research approach was used in the study and questionnaires which comprised of both qualitative and quantitative questions were used as a data collection tool. This research revealed new knowledge about the construction industry in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. The study's most important finding was that the spread of the virus influenced the entire construction process. The pandemic had a major impact on the construction stage as well as the human resources aspect of the industry. KEYWORDS: COVID-19, Construction Industry, Sri Lanka, Strategies

Extraction strategies and technological tradition at late pre-Hispanic quarries, southern Peru (ca. 1000–1532 CE)

Studies of Inka quarry operations have focused on large-scale quarries in the Inka imperial heartland, with emphasis on finishing techniques and geochemical sourcing. To assess diachronic variation in the technological organization of late pre-Hispanic building stone extraction, we compare survey data from the Chuquibamba District (Arequipa Region) – an Inka provincial context – and the Sacred Valley, a vital part of the Inka imperial heartland. Our sample (n = 41) includes small- and large-scale quarries that supplied material for Inka state and elite projects as well as local vernacular construction during the Late Intermediate Period and Late Horizon (ca. 1000–1532 CE). To chronologically contextualize quarry sites, we assess use periods based on scale, diagnostic technology, and building stone provenance. We deploy a multilinear approach using archaeological data, colonial chronicles and dictionaries, and analogies to ethnographic and modern cases to analyze the knowledge, decision-making process, and mechanics that facilitated material extraction. The results demonstrate that Inka building stone quarrying techniques developed out of widely shared vernacular knowledge and practice. This study articulates a new approach to late pre-Hispanic Andean architecture while providing a case study to evaluate the relationship between political organization and technological systems.

Deep Learning Method Based on Spectral Characteristic Rein-Forcement for the Extraction of Winter Wheat Planting Area in Complex Agricultural Landscapes

Winter wheat is one of the most important food crops in the world. Remote sensing technology can be used to obtain the spatial distribution and planting area of winter wheat in a timely and accurate manner, which is of great significance for agricultural management. Influenced by the growth conditions of winter wheat, the planting structures of the northern and southern regions differ significantly. Therefore, in this study, the spectral and phenological characteristics of winter wheat were analyzed in detail, and four red-edge vegetation indices (NDVI, NDRE, SRre, and CIred-edge) were included after band analysis to enhance the ability of the characteristics to extract winter wheat. These indices were combined with a deep convolutional neural network (CNN) model to achieve intelligent extraction of the winter wheat planting area in a countable number of complex agricultural landscapes. Using this method, GF-6 WFV and Sentinel-2A remote sensing data were used to obtain full coverage of the region to evaluate the geographical environment differences. This spectral characteristic enhancement method combined with a CNN could extract the winter wheat data well for both data sources, with average overall accuracies of 94.01 and 93.03%, respectively. This study proposes a method for fast and accurate extraction of winter wheat in complex agricultural landscapes that can provide decision support for national and local intelligent agricultural construction. Thus, our study has important application value and practical significance.

How Long Does Madness Take? Time and the Construction of Mental Illness in Community Mental Health Work

ABSTRACT How do temporal understandings shape the construction of social problems and the work of addressing them? This article takes up a social problem with an explicit time dimension – severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI) – to advocate for a focus on time in the analysis of social problems. Drawing on interviews with community mental health workers (n=100) and observations of a police department and a psychiatric emergency department, I show how the work of these organizations yields two distinct sociotemporal orders – what I deem pursuing quick closure for police and rushing to wait for emergency hospital staff. The sociotemporal orders influence how these workers construct and approach the problem of SPMI. While these sociotemporal orders enable coordination within organizations, they produce temporal incongruence across organizations, which leads to conflict and undermines wider system coordination. Because police and hospital staff are not on the same time, their organizations are not on the same page. This article underscores the extent to which local constructions of social problems carry temporal assumptions that have practical effects on the work of ameliorating such problems. I conclude by discussing how this temporal analysis provides insight into the operation of power in community mental health.

Emergence of high piezoelectricity from competing local polar order-disorder in relaxor ferroelectrics

Relaxor ferroelectrics are known for outstanding piezoelectric properties, finding a broad range of applications in advanced electromechanical devices. Decoding the origins of the enhanced properties, however, have long been complicated by the heterogeneous local structures. Here, we employ the advanced big-box refinement method by fitting neutron-, X-ray-based total scattering, and X-ray absorption spectrum simultaneously, to extract local atomic polar displacements and construct 3D polar configurations in the classical relaxor ferroelectric Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–PbTiO3. Our results demonstrate that prevailing order-disorder character accompanied by the continuous rotation of local polar displacements commands the composition-driven global structure evolution. The omnidirectional local polar disordering appears as an indication of macroscopic relaxor characteristics. Combined with phase-field simulations, it demonstrates that the competing local polar order-disorder between different states with balanced local polar length and direction randomness leads to a flattening free-energy profile over a wide polar length, thus giving rise to high piezoelectricity. Our work clarifies that the critical structural feature required for high piezoelectricity is the competition states of local polar rather than relaxor.

An Analysis Procedure for the Surviving Rural Architecture, Built with Raw Earth Mortars, in the Amatrice Area (Italy) as a Starting Point for the Development of Conservation Strategies

The contribution of this article is that it provides indications for the conservation of the surviving architecture in the Amatrice area, which was severely affected by the long seismic sequence between 2016 and 2017. The traditional construction technique was carefully studied during the safety works that were carried out in the villages from 2018 to 2020. From the studies conducted, it emerged that most of the historical building fabrics date to a post-seismic reconstruction phase of the seventeenth–eighteenth century. The masonry construction technique found on the site is homogeneous throughout the area and is based on the use of local sandstone and raw earth mortars. The mineralogical nature of the materials used for building was identified by means of specific diagnostic analyses as well as the production processes of the materials. An interpretation of the use of different materials and processes was provided by cross-referencing the analytical results with the existing data on the seismic history and on the geographical and geological characteristics of the territory; additionally, an interpretation of the development of the local historical construction techniques was provided as well. Defining conservation strategies for buildings that are still recoverable is an important objective that is aimed at safeguarding the material evidence of the local construction tradition. The same conservation strategies could be pre-emptively adopted in similar rural contexts.

Reconsidering the Unwanted Sexual Touching of Boys by Adults: An Ethnographic Study in Rural Cambodia.

The unwanted sexual touching of boys by adults is a form of child sexual abuse. However, the genital touching of boys may be culturally "normal," with not all instances necessarily being "unwanted" or "sexual." This study, set in Cambodia, explored the genital touching of boys and the local cultural constructions of it. It entailed ethnography, participant observation, and case studies involving 60 parents, family members, caregivers, and neighbors (18 men, 42 women) in 7 rural provinces and Phnom Penh. Informants' views, along with their use of language, proverbs, sayings, and folklore were recorded. The combination of the emotional driver for touching a boy's genitals and the physical action of doing so is /krɨɨt/ (គ្រឺត or ក្រឺត). The motivation is usually overwhelming affection, and to socialize the boy to cover his nakedness in public. The spectrum of action ranges from light touching to grabbing and pulling. Benign and non-sexual intention is signaled by adding the Khmer predicative /tʰoammeaʔtaa/, or "normal," as an adverb to the attributive verb /leiŋ/, or play. The genital touching of boys by parents and caregivers is not necessarily sexual in nature, though it is possible that abuse can be committed despite the absence of such intention. Cultural insights are not a "defense" or basis for exculpation, with each case evaluated simultaneously through cultural and rights-based lenses. There are anthropological implications in gender studies, and it is essential to have an understanding of the concept of /krɨɨt/ to ensure that interventions to protect the rights of children are culturally responsive.

Use of Audiovisual Methods and Documentary Film for the Preservation and Reappraisal of the Vernacular Architectural Heritage of the State of Michoacan, Mexico

The State of Michoacan has a wide and rich architectural heritage which is represented by different vernacular typologies which employ different materials and techniques according to the local resources. However, this wide knowledge and cultural heritage are disappearing, with several monuments and buildings being abandoned due to new dynamics and social changes. The traditional techniques have been substituted for modern and industrial construction systems since they are associated with obsolete ways of life. Through international cooperation for development and research projects, many activities were carried out to analyze the durability of local materials and vernacular constructions of the state. The main ones included the architectural survey and inspection of these buildings, photographic and drone surveys, characterization in the laboratory and oral interviews with local users. During the field work, these interviews with the local population, the creation of multimedia content and the use of audiovisual methods had crucial importance in the documentation of this local knowledge and culture, being great methods for scientific communication and dissemination. The main product is the documentary Xirangua, which means ‘roots’ in the Purépecha language, the main indigenous ethnicity in the state. This documentary explores the traditional architecture and construction of Michoacan, showing the reality within the loss of this vernacular heritage and portraying the importance of its conservation through the perspective of the local population, users and artisans. The use of these audiovisual techniques has demonstrated to be a suitable option to promote and preserve cultural heritage and educate, include the local actors in the process, and make the general public aware of the current issues, with this being one of the first works which explores this approach.

A framework for evaluation of improvement opportunities for environmental impacts on construction works using life cycle assessment and value stream mapping concepts: offsite and onsite building construction

There have been various concerns about the environmental impact of construction works. This generates a need to take a more proactive approach in evaluating the environmental impacts of construction operations and further explore ways to reduce the environmental impacts. Enormous opportunities exist within the building industry to achieve a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The aim of the study is to develop a framework for the evaluation of improvement opportunities for environmental impact for onsite and offsite building construction works using life cycle assessment (LCA) and value-stream-mapping concepts. Various tools for LCA exist; however, there is a need for the development of an LCA framework and improvement opportunities that can be localized to various communities to evaluate improvement opportunities for building construction. This study conducts a review of methods to evaluate the LCA of buildings on local construction sites. A procedure for establishing improvement opportunities is also developed. Based on the author’s knowledge and experience, including site visits, using value stream mapping (VSM) techniques, a conceptual framework of the present state map and future state map of residential construction works was developed. The study presents a procedure for the evaluation of improvement opportunities for the environmental impacts of construction operations.

Factors Influencing Disputes in Construction Projects: A Case Study on Local Cambodian Construction

The construction industry is a driver of growth in another sector due to its heavy reliance on an extended and varied supply chain. Like Cambodia as a developing country, the construction industry significantly contributed to the economic development and created many jobs. The construction becomes one of the important pillars supporting the Cambodian economy. However, the construction is typically more prone to disputes. Understanding the cause of disputes in construction projects improves the efficiency of a local company and the success of projects. The study was carried out using a quantitative research method with 385 respondents from local construction companies, located in Phnom Penh city, Cambodia. The confirmation factor analysis (CFA) analysis the three important groups of disputes: Human Behavior Conflict, Contractual Conflict, and Technical Conflict. The findings are useful for local Cambodian construction companies in the avoidance of disputes and better improvement on customer satisfaction. Keywords: Construction Dispute, Human Behavior Conflict, Contractual Conflict, Technical Conflict DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/15-4-03 Publication date: February 28 th 2023

Mechanism Design of Blockage Management Based on Local Flexibility Market under High Proportion of Distributed Energy

Continuous access to distributed energy sources greatly increases the uncertainty and complexity of distribution network operations. The distribution network is prone to congestion phenomena such as voltage or tide overruns and equipment overloads, thus causing a decrease in distribution network power supply reliability. Blockage management in distribution networks based on local flexibility markets is one of the blockage management methods currently adopted in many European regions. In order to clarify the operation mechanism of the local flexibility market, firstly, the basic requirements of the local flexibility market are introduced, including the concept of the local flexibility market, market members, and their rights and responsibilities; secondly, four key issues of local flexibility market construction are analyzed in detail: timing, controllability of resources, operating ownership, and Coordination of market members. Further, the organization and transaction process of the European local flexibility market is sorted out. Finally, two typical cases in the UK and their current market operation are introduced.

Critical Factors Affecting the Safety Communication of Ethnic Minority Construction Workers

Ethnic minority workers (EMWs) or migrant workers continue to be confronted with communication problems, which can have serious effects on safety outcomes. This study aims to help improve construction industry EMW safety communication by uncovering and analyzing the criticality, underlying constructs, and explanatory power of the influencing factors involved. A mixed research design was employed by combining a literature review, semistructured interviews, and a questionnaire survey. Following the identification of an initial set of safety communication factors (SCFs) and a questionnaire designed and administered to EMWs in the Hong Kong and Australian construction industry, a total of 134 valid responses were analyzed through mean scoring, factor analysis, and importance-explanation analysis. Eighteen critical EMW SCFs are identified and categorized into three groups of worker-related SCFs, manager-related SCFs, and organization-related SCFs. A set of 36 SCFs identified cannot only be used to examine the relative importance of EMW SCFs, but can also be adopted to capture the critical SCFs for both local and ethnic minority construction workers in other countries. Narrowing a wide range of SCFs for EMWs provides stakeholders with the insights needed to the key contributory factors of safety communication, which in turn has a positive impact on safety performance. Despite this study being conducted in Hong Kong and Australia, its findings can also be used as a reference for other countries where EMWs are employed (e.g., the US, the UK, Canada, the Middle East, Malaysia, Singapore, and South Africa).

The Relative Distance Prediction of Transmembrane Protein Surface Residue Based on Improved Residual Networks

(1) Background: Transmembrane proteins (TMPs) act as gateways connecting the intra- and extra-biomembrane environments, exchanging material and signals crossing the biofilm. Relevant evidence shows that corresponding interactions mostly happen on the TMPs’ surface. Therefore, knowledge of the relative distance among surface residues is critically helpful in discovering the potential local structural characters and setting the foundation for the protein’s interaction with other molecules. However, the prediction of fine-grained distances among residues with sequences remains challenging; (2) Methods: In this study, we proposed a deep-learning method called TMP-SurResD, which capitalized on the combination of the Residual Block (RB) and Squeeze-and-Excitation (SE) for simultaneously predicting the relative distance of functional surface residues based on sequences’ information; (3) Results: The comprehensive evaluation demonstrated that TMP-SurResD could successfully capture the relative distance between residues, with a Pearson Correlation Coefficient (PCC) of 0.7105 and 0.6999 on the validation and independent sets, respectively. In addition, TMP-SurResD outperformed other methods when applied to TMPs surface residue contact prediction, and the maximum Matthews Correlation Coefficient (MCC) reached 0.602 by setting a threshold to the predicted distance of 10; (4) Conclusions: TMP-SurResD can serve as a useful tool in supporting a sequence-based local structural feature construction and exploring the function and biological mechanisms of structure determination in TMPs, which can thus significantly facilitate the research direction of molecular drug action, target design, and disease treatment.

Source apportionment and potential source regions of size-resolved particulate matter at a heavily polluted industrial city in the Indo-Gangetic Plain

This study presents results from size-resolved particulate matter (PM) source apportionment in Ghaziabad, an industrial city adjoining New Delhi in the Indo Gangetic Plain (IGP). A full-year of measurement of PM2.5 and PM10 along with their chemical constituents was performed at two locations in the city. The annual average PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations were ∼150±85 μgm−3 and ∼270±140 μgm−3, respectively, with a ratio of 0.55, indicating the considerable influence of dust. USEPA PMF5 was applied to a combination of ions, elements, and carbon fractions of both PM2.5 and PM10. The model resolved eight factors, including combustion aerosol, secondary aerosol, vehicular emissions, resuspended dust I, resuspended dust II, brick manufacturing, copper smelter, and mixed metal processing. These factors were common to both sites and PM fractions, but with different contributions. Annually, the major contributors to PM2.5 were vehicular emissions (∼21–23%), secondary aerosol (20%), and combustion aerosol (∼17–19%) and to PM10, they were dust (∼44–54%) and combustion aerosol (∼23%). When daily average PM2.5dailyavg>90 μgm−3, brick processing, vehicular emissions, and secondary aerosols were found to be contributing to ∼60% of the PM2.5 loading. However, when PM10dailyavg>250 μgm−3, combustion aerosol, and resuspended dust (I and II) were found to be contributing to ∼70% of the PM10 loading. The likely PM source locations were local as well as regional, with the brick kilns and biomass combustion in the region and states in the upper IGP, namely Punjab, Haryana, and Delhi, being important source regions. Also, specifically for PM10, local construction activity and long-range transport of aged dust from the Arabian desert through western India were found to be the source regions. The results of this study suggested that lowering the contribution of combustion sources, including vehicles, industry, and brick kilns can significantly lower the PM2.5 loading by lowering primary particle loading and secondary particle generation. Controlling local dust re-suspension can lower PM10 mass loading, enhancing local air quality.

A simplest mathematics of turn-taking: Conversational deep structure, emergence, and permeation

AbstractDavid Gibson’s (2008) examination of research on conversational interaction highlighted methodological and theoretical gaps in current understanding – particularly around the localized construction of interaction and the reproduction of social structures. This paper extends extant formal models used by group process researchers to explain how exogenous status structures shape local interaction by incorporating insights from qualitative work examining the local production of conversational interaction. Relational events serve as a bridge between conversation analytic understandings of the deep structure of conversation and expectation states formal models of permeation. We propose a theoretical integration of the status organizing process (permeation) and local turn-taking rules (deep structure) as a more complete model of conversational behavior in task groups. We test a formalized construction of this preliminary theory by examining turn-taking using data from 55 task groups whose members vary in gender, authority, and legitimacy of that authority. This integrated model offers substantial improvements in prediction accuracy over using status information alone. We then propose ways to expand the integrated theoretical framework to advance current understandings of action and events in conversation. Finally, we offer suggestions for insights from group processes theories that could be incorporated into network models of interaction outside of this theoretical framework.

Influence of Organizational Culture on Construction Firms’ Performance: The Mediating Roles of Innovation and Marketing Capabilities

Local Ghanaian construction firms have been accused of underperformance due to inadequate resources and capabilities, lack of market information, poor managerial skills, and other external factors. While construction firms may be unable to control external challenges, how they mobilize internal resources to confront them may be crucial for their performance and survival. An emerging consensus is that how organizations use their resources to respond to externalities is related to their organizational culture (OC). We contend that the unique contribution of organizational culture to firm performance (FP) may diminish in the absence of appropriate firm capabilities. Drawing on the resource-based view and capability theories, we attempt to investigate (a) how the types of OC influence FP and (b) whether innovation and marketing capabilities mediate the link between types of OC and construction firm performance. Results of partial least squares structural equation modelling show that clan, adhocracy, and market culture have significant positive association with FP, while hierarchy culture is negatively related to FP. Furthermore, innovation and marketing capabilities demonstrate a combination of full and partial mediation effects on the link between OC types and FP. Thus, the results direct senior managers’ attention towards the significance of soft assets in construction firm performance outcomes, signaling a shift from a purely technical and rationalistic approach to a more adaptable and humanistic approach. It implies that while emphasizing cultural values, managers should also give priority to these two capability dimensions.

Quantifying the cost of quality in construction projects: an insight into the base of the iceberg

Construction projects are complex endeavors where achieving higher quality standards is challenging due to the intrinsic difficulties and dynamic quality management processes. Several quality management techniques exist to overcome quality concerns, such as the cost of quality (COQ). However, implementing COQ in building construction is challenging due to the absence of a comprehensive quality cost-capturing system. Several studies have tried to quantify different quality costs but are mainly focused on visible failure cost—the tip of the iceberg while the base of the iceberg has rarely been explored. This study develops and quantifies each component of the visible and hidden quality costs—the base of the iceberg. Accordingly, a modified prevention, appraisal, and failure model is developed and applied to the primary data of 25 building projects. The findings highlight the unfamiliarity and passive attitude of the involved construction firms towards quality, thus, incurring higher failure costs amounting to over 12% of the total project cost. Most of this cost remains hidden as traditional accounting systems cannot capture it. Such costs must be eliminated by implementing COQ systems as utilized in the current study. Further, a quality costing framework is established for building projects and applied to the local construction industry to reduce construction failures and improve the quality performance of building projects.

Sustainability Impacts of Wood- and Concrete-Based Frame Buildings

The European Commission adopted a long-term strategic vision aiming for climate neutrality by 2050. Lithuania ratified the Paris agreement, making a binding commitment to cut its 1990 baseline GHG emissions by 40% in all sectors of its economy by 2030. In Lithuania, the main construction material is cement, even though Lithuania has a strong wood-based industry and abundant timber resources. Despite this, approximately twenty percent of the annual roundwood production from Lithuanian forests is exported, as well as other final wood products that could be used in the local construction sector. To highlight the potential that timber frame construction holds for carbon sequestration efforts, timber and concrete buildings were directly compared and quantified in terms of sustainability across their production value chains. Here the concept of “exemplary buildings” was avoided, instead a “traditional building” design was opted for, and two- and five-floor public buildings were selected. In this study, eleven indicators were selected to compare the sustainability impacts of wood-based and concrete-based construction materials, using a decision support tool ToSIA (a tool for sustainability impact assessment). Findings revealed the potential of glue-laminated timber (GLT) frames as a more sustainable alternative to precast reinforced concrete (PRC) in the construction of public low-rise buildings in Lithuania, and they showed great promise in reducing emissions and increasing the sequestration of CO2. An analysis of environmental and social indicators shows that the replacement of PRC frames with GLT frames in the construction of low-rise public buildings would lead to reduced environmental impacts, alongside a range of positive social impacts.

Qualitative and quantitative study to assess the use of rammed earth construction technology in Perth and the south-west of Western Australia

During the last decades, rammed earth technology has been explored worldwide because of a growing concern for sustainable constructions. A relevant, contemporary technical culture of rammed earth developed in the south-west of Western Australia (WA) from the 1970 s. Several examples of residential, educational, commercial and community buildings in the region were built in rammed earth during the last 40 years. An active group of professionals involved in rammed earth construction operates in the region. This study assesses the state of the art of rammed earth construction practice in the south-west of WA based upon a qualitative and quantitative questionnaire to the professionals involved in the local rammed earth construction industry. The questionnaire collects data on five major technical areas: (i) strengths and weaknesses of rammed earth technology; (ii) opportunities and deterrents to employ rammed earth in the south-west of WA; (iii) rammed earth materials and on-site equipment and construction process; (iv) aesthetic and design qualities of rammed earth buildings; and (v) thermal performance of rammed earth buildings. The study's objective is to analyse the potential of the rammed earth technology within the local construction sector, engaging the local industry to identify the paths for further development of the current guidelines.