Critical Comparative Review Research Articles

Critical comparative review of international standards on wireless charging for light-duty electric vehicles

Critical comparative review of international standards on wireless charging for light-duty electric vehicles

A critical comparative review of generalized gradient approximation: the ground state of Fe3Al as a test case

Quantum-mechanical calculations have become an indispensable tool for computational materials science due to their unprecedented versatility and reliability. Focusing specifically on the Density Functional Theory (DFT), the reliability of its numerous implementations was tested and verified mostly for pure elements. An extensive testing of binaries, ternaries and more-component phases is still rather rare due to a vast configurational space that is nearly infinite already for binaries. Importantly, there are well known cases of theoretical predictions contradicting experiments. In this paper, we analyze the failure of theory to reproduce correctly the ground state of the Fe3Al intermetallic compound. Namely, most exchange-correlation (xc) energies within the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) predict this material in the L12 structure instead of the experimentally found D03 structure. We test the performance of 36 combinations of 6 different GGA parametrizations and 6 different Fe and Al potentials. These combinations are evaluated employing a multi-dimensional multi-criteria descriptor {, a, {}, {C ij }} consisting of fundamental thermodynamic properties (energy difference between the D03 and L12 structures), a structural aspect (lattice parameter a), electronic-structure related magnetic properties (local magnetic moments of Fe atoms {}) and elastic properties (a complete set of second-order elastic constants {C ij }). Considering the thermodynamic stability as the most critical aspect, we identify the Perdew–Wang (1991) GGA xc-functional parametrization as the optimum for describing the electronic structure of the Fe3Al compound.

A critical comparative review of evidence on alternative instruments for supporting research and innovation in agri-food systems in the Global South

Financial support is a critical enabling factor for healthy agri-food innovation systems, particularly within resource-limited settings, though additional forms of support are also necessary. This motivated a critical comparative review of evidence in peer-reviewed and gray literature on the range of instruments that support innovation in agri-food systems in the Global South, toward achieving sustainable agriculture intensification. The main aim is to provide recommendations to innovation managers on the choice of different instruments for supporting innovation. The key guiding questions for the comparative analysis were whether the instrument fosters uptake of innovation and whether it promotes inclusive development. A review of the literature was supplemented with a scan of websites for sources of peer-reviewed and gray literature documenting the application of the 12 selected instruments. The study revealed three categories of instruments: (Type A) those that support entrepreneurship; (Type B) those that primarily finance innovation; and (Type C) those that support innovation in real-life contexts. Our analysis indicates that innovation managers and funders need to select instruments that are likely to fit the specific context as well as to address the mandates of their organizations, and in so doing, they must consider how to ensure the sustainability of their investments and meet the needs of their beneficiaries. This review represents one of a handful that have compared the use of multiple instruments across multiple continents in the Global South, and can serve as an important decision-making tool for investors and funders looking to invest in agri-food innovation systems.

Exploring the Current Technologies Essential for Health and Safety in the Ghanaian Construction Industry

Technology has undoubtedly played a vital role in improving construction procedures and processes for many years. However, its application for health and safety monitoring and management has not been fully exploited in the Ghanaian construction industry. This study aims at exploring the current technologies essential for health and safety in the Ghanaian construction industry. Three specific objectives are set: (1) to identify the current health and safety technologies important in the Ghanaian construction industry; (2) to examine the level of utilization of the current health and safety technologies in the Ghanaian construction industry; (3) to identify the barriers to the adoption of the current health and safety technologies in the construction industry. A structured questionnaire is used to solicit the views of 123 construction professionals who double as health and safety officers in large construction firms in Ghana. The questions are developed through a critical comparative review of the related literature. The data are analyzed via descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings reveal that key among the current technologies important for health and safety in the Ghanaian construction industry are wearable safety devices, geographic information systems, sensing technologies, virtual reality, and BIM. The findings further reveal a moderate level of usage of the key technologies among construction professionals in Ghana. Key among the barriers to the adoption of these technologies for health and safety in the Ghanaian construction industry are the factors ‘excess costs related to acquiring new technologies’, ‘weak innovation culture’, ‘lack of continuous training of the workforce in adapting to the technologies’, ‘resistance to change with aging workforce’, and ‘little or no governmental support and regulations for the use of the technologies’. The findings from this study provide insight into the ever-increasing state-of-the-art technologies used in the construction industry.

A critical comparative review of cavitation peening and other surface peening methods

Mechanical surface modification such as shot peening offer powerful enhancement of fatigue properties of metals and other materials. Cavitation usually causes surface damage in hydraulic machineries. However, careful selection of process parameters allowed developing an approach known as “cavitation peening.” Its advantage is surface roughness increase is lower than in conventional shot peening as there are no solid collisions involved. As cavitation is a hydrodynamic phenomenon, an understanding of both fluid dynamics and materials science is required. Cavitation peening is distinguished from “water jet peening,” in which water column impulse is used. Another flavor is “Submerged laser peening” that involves the use of a pulsed laser and can be considered a type of cavitation peening where cavitating bubbles are generated due to laser ablation. Ultrasound vibration, a popular method for generating cavitation for cleaning, has also been adapted for cavitation peening. The present comparative review presents key insights and achievements and addresses future directions that are required for advancing cavitation peening technology by considering the mechanisms of cavitation peening based on the reported data for water jet, pulsed laser, and ultrasonic cavitation peening. The data and methods are critically considered and summarized in comparison with shot peening. Strategic view of future challenges is presented. • Fatigue resistance enhancement using water jet, pulsed laser and ultrasonic cavitation peening was quantified • Cavitation peening using jet, pulsed laser & ultrasonic enhanced fatigue properties • Cavitation peening clearly distinguished from water jet peening • Cavitation peening benefits shown to exceed those by shot peening • Dislocation density induced by cavitation peening was lower than by shot peening • Importance of vortex cavitation is shown for experimental and numerical future work

Key drivers for green building project financing in Ghana

PurposeThe majority of the literature on green buildings in Ghana focuses on environmental benefits, innovative designs, construction technologies and project management techniques. However, little is known about how such facilities are financed. This issue creates potential knowledge gaps, one of which this study aims to address. This study examines the key drivers for green building project financing in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses an explanatory sequential design with an initial quantitative instrument phase, followed by a qualitative data collection phase. An extensive critical comparative review of the literature resulted in the identification of eight potential drivers. One hundred and twenty-seven questionnaire responses based upon these drivers from the Ghanaian construction industry were received. Data were coded with SPSS v22, analysed descriptively (mean, standard deviation and standard error) and via inferential analysis (One Way ANOVA and One-Sample t-Test). These data were then validated through semi-structured interviews with ten industry professionals within the Ghana Green Building Council. Data obtained from the semi-structured validation interviews were analysed through the side-by-side comparison of the qualitative data with the quantitative data.FindingsThough all eight drivers are important, the five key drivers for the Ghanian construction industry were identified as, in order of importance, “high return on investment”, “emerging business opportunity”, “ethical investment”, “conservation of resources” and “mandatory regulations, standards, and policies”. The interviewees agreed to and confirmed the importance of these identified drivers for green building project financing from validating the survey's key findings.Research limitations/implicationsKey limitations of this study are the restrictions regarding the geographical location of the collected data (i.e. Kumasi and Accra); timing of the study and sample size (i.e. the COVID-19 pandemic making it difficult to obtain adequate data).Practical implicationsThough this study was conducted in Ghana, its implications could be useful to researchers, policymakers, stakeholders and practitioners in wider sub-Saharan Africa. For instance, financial institutions can invest in green buildings to expand their green construction and mortgage finance products to build higher value and lower risk portfolios. The findings from this study can provide investors with the enhanced certainty needed to help guide and inform their investment decisions, i.e. what to invest in, and when, by how much and how a scheme being “green” may influence their rate of return. Also, for building developers, it will give them a clearer understanding of the business case for green buildings and how to differentiate themselves in the market to grow their businesses.Originality/valueThis study's findings provide insights into an under-investigated topic in Ghana and offer new and additional information and insights to the current state-of-the-art on the factors that drive green building project financing.

Environmental performance indicators for assessing sustainability of projects in the Ghanaian construction industry

PurposeRecent reports based on the sustainable development goals (SDGs) have revealed that no country is in line with achieving the targets of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, with the slowest progress being witnessed mainly on goals that are focused on the environment. This study examines environmental performance indicators for assessing the sustainability of building projects.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses an explanatory sequential design with an initial quantitative instrument phase, followed by a qualitative data collection phase. An extensive critical comparative review of the literature resulted in the identification of ten environmental sustainability indicators. One hundred and sixty-seven questionnaire responses based upon these indicators from the Ghanaian construction industry were received. Data were coded with SPSS v22, analysed descriptively, and via inferential analysis. These data were then validated through semi-structured interviews with six interviewees who are fellows of their respective professional bodies, a senior academic (professor in construction project delivery) and a government official. Data obtained from the semi-structured validation interviews were analysed through the side-by-side comparison of the qualitative data with the quantitative data.FindingsThe findings from the study suggest that all the indicators were important in assessing building projects' environmental sustainability across the entire life cycle. Key among the identified indicators is the effects of the project on “water quality, air quality, energy use and conservation, and environmental compliance and management”. The interviewees further agreed to and confirmed the importance of these identified indicators for assessing the environmental sustainability of building projects in Ghana.Originality/valueCompared to existing studies, this study adopts the exploratory sequential design to identify and examine the critical indicators in assessing the environmental sustainability across the entire lifecycle of building projects in a typical developing country setting, i.e. Ghana. It reveals areas of prime concern in the drive to place the local construction industry on a trajectory towards achieving environmental sustainability.

A critical comparative review of emergency and disaster management in the Arab world

PurposeThe Arab world is made up of 22 countries in the Middle East and North Africa. These countries are subjected to many social, economic, political and geographical vulnerabilities contributing to increased risks or ineffective emergency and disaster management. This paper examines these vulnerabilities, how they may impact the country's ability to face disasters, and how they can improve disasters' overall management.Design/methodology/approachThe author selected Qatar, Oman to represent the Arab oil-rich countries, while Jordan, Egypt and Morocco to represent non-oil rich countries. The research was conducted in a qualitative, inductive systematic literature review based on a well-established systematic literature review methodology. Selected literature was based on its recency and the countries in question.FindingsThe review reveals population gaps that could threaten the social system in the event of a disaster in countries like Qatar and Oman. The majority of the countries lack community engagement and pre-planning for emergency preparedness due to social and cultural barriers. Other nations like Jordan, Egypt and Morocco are prone to long-lasting economic challenges due to lack of resources, mismanagement or corruption. The paper also highlights the need to raise the educational attainment among citizens to understand disaster risk reduction.Originality/valueThis study utilized the research method developed by Williams et al. (2017) to present a comprehensive systematic and comparative review of disaster management in the Arab world. Considering that disaster and emergency management has remained disproportionately unexplored in the Arab world, this paper reviewed several vulnerabilities and how those vulnerabilities may affect disaster and emergency management efforts in the Arab countries.

Ethical misconducts within the invitation to tender and tender evaluation and award stages of construction contracts in Ghana

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the views of construction practitioners on the prevalence of ethical misconduct within the invitation to tender and tender evaluation and award stages of construction contracts in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachFollowing a critical comparative review of literature resulting in the identification of 18 potential misconducts within the invitation to tender and 11 potential misconducts within the tender evaluation and award stages of construction contracts, a questionnaire survey was conducted among 65 construction professionals. Data obtained from the survey were analysed using both descriptive (i.e. frequencies, mean scores and standard deviations) and inferential statistics (paired t-test), followed by gap analysis.FindingsThe findings revealed that corrupt, fraudulent, collusive or coercive practices, client divulging more information to the preferred bidder and inflating tender prices by tenderers in return for kickbacks are key unethical practices prevalent at the invitation to tender stage. Following these key unethical practices, the findings further suggested through gap analysis that submission of bids on non-working days and inadequate time for preparation and submission of tenders were the top two unethical practices that needed serious interventions at this stage. At the tender evaluation and award stage, the findings revealed that interference by influential people in political positions, fake tendering and bid shopping are prevalent. Again, from the gap analysis, interference by influential people in political positions and poor definition of selection criteria were identified to be the two key unethical practices that need urgent intervention at this stage of construction contracts.Practical implicationsThis study holds a significant practical implication in the sense that key unethical practices at the invitation to tender and tender evaluation and award stages of construction contracts have been identified, and this provides a suitable basis for stakeholders that spearhead such activities to offer suitable interventions to control such practices.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the body of knowledge as it uncovers ethical misconducts within two important phases of construction contracts in a developing country setting. As there is a continuous effort by the international community towards finding lasting solutions to such misconducts, the findings from this study can be used as a starting point for appropriate policies to be put in place in Ghana to control such misconducts.

A Critical Comparative Review of Nature-Inspired Optimization Algorithms (NIOAs)

A Critical Comparative Review of Nature-Inspired Optimization Algorithms (NIOAs)

Three Models of Political Membership: Delineating ‘The People in Question’ †

Abstract In her timely monograph, The People in Question, Jo Shaw provides a much-needed critical comparative review of the complex interactions between citizenship and constitutional law. I argue that, despite its emphasis upon citizenship’s essentially contested nature, Shaw’s latest work contains rich moral commitments and an important caution against uncritically eliding ‘full citizenship’ with ‘political membership’ more broadly construed. To establish these claims, I present a tripartite taxonomy of approaches to defining ‘the people’ based, respectively, upon the concepts of status, subjugation and duty. I claim that Shaw’s incisive analysis demonstrates perfectly why we should avoid placing undue reliance upon ‘status-based’ models of community membership and conclude by advancing an original, alternative and hybridised model of ‘the people in question’.

Obstacles to green building project financing: an empirical study in Ghana

This study examines the perception of professionals in the Ghanaian construction industry regarding the obstacles to green building project financing. Following an extensive critical comparative review of literature resulting in the identification of ten potential obstacles, a cross-sectional survey was conducted among 520 construction industry professionals. Data obtained from the survey were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings from the study revealed that split incentives, risk related barriers, capital expenditure, lack of incentives, and initial capital cost are the key obstacles that hinder green building project financing. The findings further revealed significant differences in the views of the professionals regarding four obstacles to green building project financing. From the discussion, it was realized that for some of the identified obstacles, the differences resulted from the fact that the different professionals have different interests in green building projects, and those interests depict the kind of risks they are exposed to. The value of this paper is to help built environment professionals to understand these obstacles and find a better way of turning these challenges into opportunities for the construction industry.

Research Synthesis Infrastructures: Shaping Knowledge in Education

Research syntheses provide one means of managing the proliferation of research knowledge by integrating learnings across primary research studies. What it means to appropriately synthesize research, however, remains a matter of debate: Syntheses can assume a variety of forms, each with important implications for the shape knowledge takes and the interests it serves. To help shed light on these differences and their stakes, this chapter provides a critical comparative review of six research synthesis infrastructures, entities that support research syntheses through investments they make in synthesis production and/or publication—enabling (and constraining) the ways knowledge takes shape. Identifying our critical cases through purposive selection, we examined research synthesis infrastructure variations with respect to four different kinds of investments they make: in the genres of synthesis they support, in their promotion of synthesis quality, in sponsoring stakeholder engagement, and in creating the conditions for collective work. We draw on this comparison to suggest some of the potential changes and challenges in store for education researchers in future years.

Recent Progress in Electrical Generators for Oceanic Wave Energy Conversion

Oceanic wave energy extraction through electrical generator is one of the most interesting topics in the field of power engineering. Almost all the existing relevant review paper focus on electrical generator with the working principle of electromagnetic induction or piezoelectric or triboelectric effect. In this paper, all the existing types (based on principle of operation) of electrical generator used for wave power harvesting are discussed. This paper not only covers recent progress in electrical power generation by electro-magnetic induction, piezoelectric generator, and electrostatic induction, but also presents critical comparative review as well where suitable use and weakness of each type of generators are discussed. Moreover, the application of advanced magnetic core, winding, and permanent magnets are discussed with extensive explanation which are not focused in the existing reviews. Various new constructional features of the electrical generators such as split translator flux switching, two-point absorber, triangular coil, dual port linear generator, piezoelectric, triboelectric nanogenerator, etc. are highlighted with principles of operation. It also includes emerging human intervened optimization method for determining optimum shape of generator and cooling system which is necessary to prevent demagnetization of the permanent magnet. Finally, the way of supply the generated electrical power form the generator to load/grid is thoroughly described in a separate section that would be obvious for successful operation. The comparison among all types of generators in terms of output voltage, current, scale of power production, power-frequency characteristics, power density, cascading, and approaches are tabulated in this paper.

Identifying the Constraints of Traditional Zoning Regulation: Form-Based Codes as Alternatives to Urban Communities

Form-based codes (FBCs) have recently been introduced as a viable alternative to the traditional zoning regulations. They are land regulations where building form rather than solely land use is the guiding principle of the code. This is in contrast to the traditional (conventional) zoning regulation which separates land by uses for the purpose of maintaining an orderly separation of incompatible uses. This study is set to undertake a critical comparative review of form-based code against the traditional zoning codes. The comparative review seeks to carefully review the constraints of the traditional building regulations with the aim of identifying the prospects of form-based code implementation in urban communities. Secondary data will be the main source of data for this study, and it will be gotten from existing literature as contained in published and unpublished materials. The outcome of the study is expected to champion the implementation of code and new urbanism that will utilize the advantages of both the form-based codes and the conventional building codes towards a sustainable living and working environment.

Personal well-being and curriculum planning: a critical comparative review of theory, policy and practice coherence

ABSTRACT There is a heightened interest nowadays in educating for personal well-being based on the belief that schools can be a civilising force for good and help make young people’s lives more fulfilling and meaningful. At the same time, there is a premium placed on high-quality subject teaching and academic achievement and on countries doing well in tables of international comparison. The degrees to which these priorities can be coherently pursued are discussed in this critical article. The article begins with a theoretical overview of well-being values before reviewing the extent to which these values are recognisable in policy guidelines in Australia, England, New Zealand and Scotland. The article then outlines how a version of well-being could plausibly connect with policy and planning aspirations to take forward improvements in subject teaching and personal well-being, and where a middle-path focus could benefit students’ wider achievements and teachers’ sense of agency.

The Contact Dynamics method: A nonsmooth story

When velocity jumps are occurring, the dynamics is said to be nonsmooth. For instance, in collections of contacting rigid bodies, jumps are caused by shocks and dry friction. Without compliance at the interface, contact laws are not only non-differentiable in the usual sense but also multi-valued. Modeling contacting bodies is of interest in order to understand the behavior of numerous mechanical systems such as flexible multi-body systems, granular materials or masonry. These granular materials behave puzzlingly either like a solid or a fluid and a description in the frame of classical continuous mechanics would be welcome though far to be satisfactory nowadays. Jean-Jacques Moreau greatly contributed to convex analysis, functions of bounded variations, differential measure theory, sweeping process theory, definitive mathematical tools to deal with nonsmooth dynamics. He converted all these underlying theoretical ideas into an original nonsmooth implicit numerical method called Contact Dynamics (CD); a robust and efficient method to simulate large collections of bodies with frictional contacts and impacts. The CD method offers a very interesting complementary alternative to the family of smoothed explicit numerical methods, often called Distinct Elements Method (DEM). In this paper developments and improvements of the CD method are presented together with a critical comparative review of advantages and drawbacks of both approaches.

Research Designs for Intervention Research with Small Samples II: Stepped Wedge and Interrupted Time-Series Designs.

The stepped wedge design (SWD) and the interrupted time-series design (ITSD) are two alternative research designs that maximize efficiency and statistical power with small samples when contrasted to the operating characteristics of conventional randomized controlled trials (RCT). This paper provides an overview and introduction to previous work with these designs and compares and contrasts them with the dynamic wait-list design (DWLD) and the regression point displacement design (RPDD), which were presented in a previous article (Wyman, Henry, Knoblauch, and Brown, Prevention Science. 2015) in this special section. The SWD and the DWLD are similar in that both are intervention implementation roll-out designs. We discuss similarities and differences between the SWD and DWLD in their historical origin and application, along with differences in the statistical modeling of each design. Next, we describe the main design characteristics of the ITSD, along with some of its strengths and limitations. We provide a critical comparative review of strengths and weaknesses in application of the ITSD, SWD, DWLD, and RPDD as small sample alternatives to application of the RCT, concluding with a discussion of the types of contextual factors that influence selection of an optimal research design by prevention researchers working with small samples.

Continuous and discrete models for masonry like material: A critical comparative study

Abstract The aim of this paper is to present a critical comparative review of different models that may be adopted for modelling the mechanical behaviour of masonry, with particular attention to microstructured models. Several continuous and discrete models are discussed. Such models are based on the following assumptions: i) the structure is composed of rigid blocks; ii) the mortar is modelled as an elastic material or an elastic interface. The rigid block hypothesis is particularly suitable for historical masonry, in which stone blocks may be assumed as rigid bodies. For this type of masonry, mortar thickness is negligible if compared with block size, hence it can be modelled as an interface. Masonry-like materials may be modelled taking into account their heterogeneity by adopting a heterogeneous Finite Element Model (FEM) or a Discrete Element Model (DEM). The former seems to be more representative of masonry, but it is computationally onerous and results interpretation may be difficult; the latter is limited to rigid block assumption and mortar joints modelled as interfaces. For this reason, continuous equivalent models may be suitable to investigate masonry behaviour. Continuum equivalent models provide, in an analytical form, constitutive functions, but Cauchy model may be not suitable to describe masonry behaviour due to not negligible size of heterogeneity (block size) with respect to masonry panel size. For this reason, micropolar equivalent continuum may be adopted. By reference to the existing literature, a simple and effective DEM is adopted, in which masonry is modelled as a ‘skeleton’ having a behaviour depending on forces and moments transferred between blocks through the interfaces (mortar joints). Moreover for the micropolar equivalent continuum, an ad hoc enriched homogenised FEM is formulated by means of triangular elements. The proposed numerical models represent two possible simple approaches for solving heterogeneous problems. Such models are developed both by means of fast numerical routines and do not require specific computer codes, whereas the heterogeneous FEM may be studied by adopting a traditional FE code. DEM and heterogeneous FEM are adopted to verify reliability and application field of Cauchy and micropolar continua. Moreover, sensitivity of micropolar model to the Representative Elementary Volume (REV) chosen is discussed. For these purposes, ad hoc FE models are adopted, with constitutive functions obtained from an identification procedure (both for Cauchy and micropolar continua). An extensive comparison between DEM, heterogeneous FEM and equivalent homogenous FEM is presented in some meaningful cases, taking into account also the effect of heterogeneity size on models behaviour.

Practitioner leadership: a missing link in leadership theory

Purpose – In the collective or distributed leadership models that are now increasingly dominant in the literature about leadership in public services, the role of the “practitioner as leader” takes on powerful significance. The purpose of this paper is to address a gap in this corpus of research, which is a critical analysis of what constitutes the role of the practitioner leader, and the strengths and limitations of these informal leaders as agents of organisational change. Design/methodology/approach – The paper develops a critical comparative analysis of the role of ordinary teachers and doctors as leaders, as a way of gaining purchase on what comprises and shapes the role of practitioner leader and the potential of this form of leadership to be a driver for quality improvements in the public sectors of education and health. Findings – Traversing traditional academic divides and comparing medical and teacher leadership provides a clearer picture of how professional and organisational culture strongly influences the roles that practitioner leaders can take up and the influence they can wield. This comparison also shows that building capacity of practitioner leadership in the public services should be approached as an expansion of professional identity, rather than an “added extra” for keen few. Originality/value – Importantly, this critical comparative review indicates that practitioner leadership is best understood and fostered as a particular ethical stance, rather than a special form of power or knowledge and that it occupies an interstitial space in between formal leadership structures and ordinary practitioners. This is both its strength and its weakness as a form of leadership.