Project Success Research Articles

‘My life is not to be called a failure’: how family reputation in the origin affects return considerations among South Asian migrants in the Gulf

ABSTRACT Families are an important factor to consider when trying to understand if and when labor migrants decide to return to the origin. Research has mainly focused on how families provide incentives to return. During the COVID-19 pandemic, however, stories about return migration decisions among male South Asian migrants in the Gulf reveal that families can exert substantial pressure on migrants to stay abroad, even during times of crisis. Using in-depth interviews with maigrants in the UAE, returnees and family members between 2020 and 2022, we find that social expectations of migrants to maintain or build family reputation through actions abroad, in the context of broader communities of origin, is a key factor in deterring migrants from returning. Migrants and their families in the origin often seek to continue signaling a successful migration project, particularly by telling stories of entrepreneurial success or of being embedded in the destination through strong and resourceful networks. Returning early from a migration project, even during the pandemic, can be interpreted as a failure and risks negatively impacting the family's reputation. We observe that those who return early, despite family pressure to stay, face significant social sanctions from family and community.

Effect of Financial Resources Management on Project Success in Rwanda; Case of Green Gicumbi Project

Effect of Financial Resources Management on Project Success in Rwanda; Case of Green Gicumbi Project

A DEA Game Cross-Efficiency Model with Loss Aversion for Contractor Selection

Evaluating and selecting appropriate contractors is critical to the success of specific construction projects in the building industry. Existing approaches for addressing this problem are unsatisfactory due to the ignorance of the multi-dimensional nature of the evaluation process and inappropriate consideration of existent risks. This study presents a DEA game cross-efficiency model with loss aversion for evaluating and selecting specific contractors. The competitiveness of the evaluation process is modeled using game theory with respect to the adoption of the cross-efficiency model. The attitude of the decision maker toward risks is tackled with the use of loss aversion, which is a phenomenon formalized in prospect theory. As a result, the proposed approach can adequately screen available contractors through prequalification and adequately consider the attitude of the decision maker toward risks, leading to effective decisions being made. An example is presented to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed model in evaluating and selecting appropriate contractors for specific construction projects. The results show that the proposed model is effective and efficient in producing a unique solution for contractor selection through appropriate modeling of the multi-dimensional contractor selection process and adequate consideration of the competition between the contractors and the attitude of the decision maker toward risks in practical situations.

Co-Creating a Seniors’ Meeting Place: A Prototype Pop-Up Installation on a Popowice Housing Estate in Wrocław, Poland

Citizens worldwide are increasingly engaged in co-creation processes. It can be applied to meet the needs of seniors regarding their living arrangements or activities in public spaces. This article presents a fragment of research aimed at identifying problems and needs faced by older adults (aged 65 and older) in the Popowice neighborhood in Wrocław, Poland, and co-creating solutions with them. Using the co-creation method—both qualitative and quantitative research—a series of activities were conducted (workshops, interviews, surveys) during five phases of the Living Lab, culminating in the creation of a physical prototype. Intervention through a physical prototype allowed for verifying the validity of the conclusions drawn in the earlier part of the study, serving as an activator and accelerator of neighborhood life. The research suggests that the co-creation process and the prototype can influence the social activity of seniors. Recommendations for future co-design processes with older people include establishing relationships with stakeholders and beneficiaries, which is essential for the success of co-creation projects, and involving participants in directly creating solutions to increase their engagement and willingness to collaborate. In the face of aging societies, co-creation can be a useful method for creating tailored solutions to meet users’ needs.

Working From Within: The Rural Community Participatory Design Framework.

This article describes the development of the rural community-based participatory design framework to guide healthcare design teams in their integration of rural community and clinical voice during the planning, design, and construction of a healthcare facility. Rural communities are facing an alarming rate of healthcare facility closures, provider shortages, and dwindling resources, which are negatively impacting population health outcomes. A prioritized focus on rural care access and delivery requires design teams to have a deeper understanding of the contextual considerations necessary for a successful healthcare facility project, made possible through engagement and partnership with rural dwelling community members and healthcare teams. The rural community participatory design framework is adapted from the rural participatory research model, selected due to its capture of key concepts and characteristics of rural communities. Underpinning theories included rural nursing theory and theory of the built environment. The framework encompasses healthcare facility project phases, key translational concepts, and common traits across rural communities and cultures. As a middle-range theoretical framework, it is being tested in a current healthcare project with a Critical Access Hospital in Montana to facilitate design team and stakeholder collaboration. The rural community participatory design framework may be utilized by design teams as a means of familiarization with rural cultures, norms, values, and critical needs, which relate to meaningful design. The framework further enables design teams to critically appraise best practices of stakeholder engagement throughout the project lifecycle.

Decarbonizing Affordable Housing in New York City

Buildings account for about 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Retrofitting existing buildings for electrification and energy efficiency is a necessary first step toward building decarbonization. For the City of New York to reach its ambitious decarbonization goals, the city must create market conditions to allow rapid scaling up of deep energy retrofits. RiseBoro Community Partnership delivered one such innovative deep energy retrofit project called Casa Pasiva. This case study reveals ways in which affordable housing developers are uniquely positioned with many supporting policies in New York to become early adopters of deep energy retrofits, given their need to improve both business operations and tenant health. However, future projects still face steep obstacles ranging from funding gaps, a lack of familiarity with new building technologies, and conservative investors. RiseBoro’s successful Casa Pasiva pilot project identifies many of the remaining challenges related to deep energy retrofit capital projects as well as further opportunities to scale necessary retrofits across the New York affordable housing market. Readers will learn about options for and obstacles to implementing and scaling up deep energy retrofits in the affordable housing industry.

The Knowledge Acquisition Process in Interorganizational Projects: A Multiple-Case Study of Infrastructural Projects in Pakistan

Knowledge acquisition is pivotal for delivering successful interorganizational projects where multiple organizations are involved. The phenomenon, however, has been the subject of very few comprehensive empirical studies. Hence, this article sets out to understand how knowledge is acquired, particularly in the context of interorganizational projects. It explores the knowledge acquisition process at different levels, including the individual, team, organizational, and interorganizational levels. For this purpose, metro train and metro bus projects in Pakistan were examined. A multicase study approach is employed in this article; semistructured interviews and archival documents are included in the empirical data. Within and across case analysis is used for analyzing the data. The findings present the knowledge acquisition process, including types of knowledge (i.e., explicit and tacit knowledge) and multiple levels such as individuals, teams, organizations, and the interorganizational level. By examining knowledge acquisition in interorganizational projects, this article contributes to the literature on knowledge-based theory.

Unleashing the Power of Django for Construction Materials Rental

In the realm of construction equipment rental, efficient management of resources and seamless access to construction materials are paramount for project success. This paper explores the utilization of Django, a high-level Python web framework, to revolutionize the construction equipment rental industry. By harnessing the power of Django, this study proposes a comprehensive platform that streamlines the process of renting construction equipment and accessing necessary materials. The platform integrates features such as user-friendly interfaces, robust inventory management systems, real-time tracking, and secure payment gateways to enhance user experience and optimize operational efficiency. Through a combination of Django's flexibility, scalability, and rich ecosystem of plugins, this solution aims to address the challenges faced by construction companies in managing equipment rentals and material procurement. Furthermore, the paper discusses the technical implementation of Django within the context of construction equipment rental, highlighting its potential to transform traditional workflows and propel the industry towards digital innovation. This study specify the adoption of Django in construction equipment rental has the potential to unleash a new era of efficiency, transparency, and productivity, thereby driving the industry towards greater success and competitiveness in the modern era

Project Risk Management and Project Success of Rice Production in Rwanda; A Case of Rice Cooperatives of Bugesera District (2019-2022)

Project Risk Management and Project Success of Rice Production in Rwanda; A Case of Rice Cooperatives of Bugesera District (2019-2022)

Impact of project managers emotional intelligence on megaprojects success through mediating role of human related agile challenges: Project management as a moderator

Globalization and competition drive rapid adoption of new technologies, leading to a rise in complex projects. Project managers need to know how to lead teams through the planning and execution phases of a project while keeping in line with the organization's objectives. In order to successfully manage complex projects, emotional intelligence is an essential leadership quality. Therefore, the present research aimed to investigate the impact of project manager's emotional intelligence (PMEI) on megaprojects China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) success through mediating roles of human-related agile challenges Inventory (HRACI) and project success factors (PSF), and project management as a moderator. The study employed convenience and purposive sampling methods to collect data from 533 project managers working on CPEC projects. The Smart PLS 4 software was utilized to evaluate the hypotheses. The results of this study indicated that the direct effect of a PMEI is not significant on CPEC. However, through mediating variables, HRACI exhibited a negative and significant association, while PSF positively and significantly mediate the relationship among PMEI and CPEC. Furthermore, project management as a moderator has a significant and positive effect on PMEI and PSF, however, insignificant between PMEI and CPEC, and negatively significant among PMEI and HRACI. The findings of this study are of great significance for project managers and project leaders. They will need to acquire the skills to prevent issues from arising, particularly when conflicts emerge, in order to ensure the success of megaproject. Therefore, current study recommend that PMEI appears to have a vital role in social interactions, promoting emotions of trust, efficient communication, and cooperation with other project teams in high-stress work environments like CPEC. Lastly, theoretical and practical contributions are discussed, as well as research constraints and future research directions.

A systematic literature review of research examining the impact of citizenship education on active citizenship outcomes

AbstractThis article reports on a systematic review of the evidence concerning the impact of citizenship education, specifically focusing on the effect of different teaching activities on a range of active citizenship outcomes. It provides a narrative synthesis of 109 articles in peer reviewed journals, representing a wide range of methodological approaches. The review was undertaken for a teacher audience and the research team identified four themes with practical implications. First, we discuss the significance of school ethos and distinguish between distinctive aspects of ethos in the literature including relationships between students and teachers, values and behaviours. Second, we explore some of the characteristics of successful projects, including detailed consideration of the type of projects selected for action by young people, the role of teachers, and the duration of projects. This discussion suggests that, whilst full project cycles (involving students identifying and researching areas for action and devising, implementing and reviewing action plans) are valuable, there is also evidence to suggest that short, partial projects may be easier to implement and still secure comparable benefits. Third, we consider the evidence about whether and how citizenship education can have some compensatory effect, closing the civic gap between different groups of young people. In the fourth theme we consider the wide range of teaching strategies which have been demonstrated to have some success in practice.Context and implicationsRationale for this studyThis literature review was undertaken on behalf of a teacher's organisation to consider the evidence base for citizenship education.Why the new findings matterThe review demonstrates the breadth of evidence for the positive impact of citizenship education and highlights several avenues for further exploration relating to school ethos, action projects and reducing inequalities.Implications for researchers and educational institutionsImplications for practice relate to the importance of how students perceive the ethos of the school as a whole, as well as their experiences when learning citizenship. This has specific implications for school leaders whose support is required to nurture a positive school ethos (beyond the formal curriculum). Implications for citizenship teachers include making use of short, partial active citizenship projects more routinely; and adopting strategies for closing the civic gap. Researchers are urged to move beyond large‐scale surveys to explore longitudinal studies in specific contexts to track impacts over time for different students.

Unlocking success: key elements of sustainable business models in the wooden multistory building sector

Few studies have investigated the processes and strategic interactions among the Wooden Multistory Construction (WMC) industry actors, its customers, and local policymakers. Further insights into this field are needed for a sustainability transition in the construction sector. This study aims to explain WMC’s corporate sustainability strategies for co-creation with customers and municipalities. This was based on interviews with key informants in the sector and WMC actors using three case studies in Sweden. Our interviews focused on business processes, interactions with users and municipalities, sustainability, and innovation in the WMC market. The findings reflect the notion of a slow transition in the Swedish WMC market toward using more wood as a bearing structure, which is supported by the competitive advantages and climate performance of wood. The three case studies indicated that the corporate focus is currently placed on incremental improvements in operations, price competitiveness, and successful project management. However, in contexts where wood construction is seen as a unique advantage, collaborations between the construction industry and end users have developed and served as novel platforms for WMC market development. The study concludes that WMCl growth hinges on the industry’s housing offerings prioritizing quality, affordability, and swift construction.

أثر جودة بيئة العمل على نجاح مشاريع شركة الراشد للتجارة والمقاولات بمدينة الرياض

Since quality is one of the most important things in life, and it is one of the goals of Vision 2030 for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, therefore Al-Rashed Trading and Contracting Company in the city of Riyadh seeks to achieve sustainable success in its projects, by focusing on the factors that greatly influence the achievement of this goal, and among the most important The factors are the quality of the work environment within the organization. There are also several other factors that reflect on the quality of the work environment, such as effective communication, trust between teams, high morale, and interest in the personal and professional development of employees. The aim of this study was: to determine the impact of the quality of the work environment on the success of the projects of Al-Rashed Trading and Contracting Company, to discover the factors affecting the quality of the work environment and its impact on the performance of projects, to provide recommendations to improve the quality of the work environment in the company, and to enhance the success of the projects. This study relied on a descriptive and analytical research approach, as well as a field research approach, using the Google Forms statistical tool by distributing an electronic questionnaire to male and female employees. The questionnaire was distributed to (350) individuals, and (303) responses were received, as a group refused. From conducting the questionnaire, a survey sample of (31) individuals from Al-Rashed Trading and Contracting Company employees was distributed from outside the actual sample of the study (comprehensive survey), equivalent to 10% of the total sample, to verify the validity of the internal consistency of the questionnaire. The study concluded that the quality of the work environment is affected by the company's policies and organizational culture, and therefore managing these elements effectively can enhance the success of the company's projects. A healthy and encouraging work environment must also be provided, as this leads to increased employee satisfaction and productivity, which reflects positively on the quality of services and products provided by the company, and thus is reflected in the success of its projects. Accordingly, Al-Rashed Trading and Contracting Company should pay attention to improving the quality of the work environment, and ensuring that it is conducive to the well-being and productivity of its employees, and this in turn will contribute to achieving the sustainable success of its projects in the city of Riyadh.

Voices from the Workplace: Exploring Communication Practices in an Engineering Firm through an Interview-Based Study

Effective communication is crucial for organizational success. This study explores communication practices within an engineering firm, to understand how communication models impact project dynamics and stakeholder relationships. We adopted a qualitative approach, conducting face-to-face, semi-structured interviews with employees and executives. The firm’s unique approach to construction projects makes it an ideal case study for understanding how communication influences this field. This research aims to unravel the communication culture within the firm, including formal and informal communication channels, and how these practices affect workplace stability and effectiveness using communication models from past researchers, such as Organizational Culture Theory, the Transactional Communication Model, and the Interactive Communication Model. The findings can help reshape communication strategies in construction, fostering better stakeholder relationships and project success. This study contributes to the body of knowledge on communication in engineering workplaces by providing insights into communication practices and their impact on an organization's efficiency and stakeholder dynamics.

INFLUENCE OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGMENENT STRATEGIES IN CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

In the dynamic landscape of project management understanding the significant relationship between human resource management functions and project health has become an essential aspect. This research has invested in a primary quantitative investigation focused on the INDIAN construction sector through which the relationship between human resource management functions and project health would be analysed and their contribution to enhancing project success rate would also be evaluated. With the growing emphasis on efficient resource utilisation and project Optimisation, the study would help into the impact of HRM practices on project teams. Scrutinisation of HRM Strategies and their Correlation with Project Success, this research has aimed at offering significant insights that can revolutionise HRM approaches within the construction sector that can ultimately enhance project health and ensure high success rates in INDIAN construction projects.

Future directions for context in ICT4D: A systematic literature review

The digital divide between the Global South and North has been a major concern for researchers from various fields in the past two decades. This divide has led to an increased focus on research related to information and communication technology for development (ICT4D) and other relevant disciplines. Given the prevalence of dominant paradigms that often lead to aggregated and context-free observations, this paper emphasizes the role of context in ICT4D while advocating for more nuanced, context-specific approaches in research and policy formulation. Through a systematic literature review, it proposes a conceptual framework that captures the psycho-social and the structural dimensions of context in ICT4D as well as their impact on success of related projects. The paper highlights the need for tailored theories addressing often overlooked elements such as language, ethnicity, religion, government change, political instability, and legal frameworks in the context of ICT4D. The proposed framework offers a roadmap for researchers to navigate the complex context of ICT4D, especially in the realm of emerging technologies.

Rice Origin Tracing Technology Based on Fluorescence Spectroscopy and Stoichiometry

The origin of agricultural products is crucial to their quality and safety. This study explored the differences in chemical composition and structure of rice from different origins using fluorescence detection technology. These differences are mainly affected by climate, environment, geology and other factors. By identifying the fluorescence characteristic absorption peaks of the same rice seed varieties from different origins, and comparing them with known or standard samples, this study aims to authenticate rice, protect brands, and achieve traceability. The study selected the same variety of rice seed planted in different regions of Jilin Province in the same year as samples. Fluorescence spectroscopy was used to collect spectral data, which was preprocessed by normalization, smoothing, and wavelet transformation to remove noise, scattering, and burrs. The processed spectral data was used as input for the long short-term memory (LSTM) model. The study focused on the processing and analysis of rice spectra based on NZ-WT-processed data. To simplify the model, uninformative variable elimination (UVE) and successive projections algorithm (SPA) were used to screen the best wavelengths. These wavelengths were used as input for the support vector machine (SVM) prediction model to achieve efficient and accurate predictions. Within the fluorescence spectral range of 475–525 nm and 665–690 nm, absorption peaks of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADPH), riboflavin (B2), starch, and protein were observed. The origin tracing prediction model established using SVM exhibited stable performance with a classification accuracy of up to 99.5%.The experiment demonstrated that fluorescence spectroscopy technology has high discrimination accuracy in tracing the origin of rice, providing a new method for rapid identification of rice origin.

The shape of fringing tidal flats in engineered estuaries

For the management of estuaries and the preservation of tidal flats it is crucial to understand the tidal flat shape and development. Previous work focused predominantly on the quasi-equilibrium shape of tidal flats along open coasts with a dominant cross-shore flow and wave exposure. This paper evaluates the shape of fringing tidal flats in engineered estuaries, where longshore velocities generally dominate. Using a long-term (20 years) topographic data set of an anthropogenically modified estuary in the Netherlands (the Western Scheldt estuary), we relate key profile shape parameters and changes over time to natural and anthropogenic processes. In an engineered estuary, the tidal flat shape depends on the estuary geometry, hydrodynamic forcings and human interventions. In contrast to open coast tidal flats, the presence of the channel and dominant longshore flow determines the available cross-shore length (accommodation space) of the tidal flat and the shape of the tidal flat. This accommodation space defines the maximum tidal flat height and opportunity for marsh development. We propose the use of the Index of Development, indicating to what extend tidal flats have space to develop. This index is not only influenced by longshore and cross-shore flow, but also (or even more) by hydraulic structures, dike realignments and channel migration. Especially the latter two strongly influence the accommodation space and thereby the maximum tidal flat height and the opportunity for marsh development. For large stretches of the Western Scheldt, the accommodation space is too small, and the majority of the tidal flats do not vertically extent to mean high water. The success of tidal flat and marsh restoration projects depends on the accommodation space.

Rapid determination of starch and alcohol contents in fermented grains by hyperspectral imaging combined with data fusion techniques.

Starch and alcohol serve as pivotal indicators in assessing the quality of lees fermentation. In this paper, two hyperspectral imaging (HSI) techniques (visible-near-infrared (Vis-NIR) and NIR) were utilized to acquire separate HSI data, which were then fused and analyzed toforecast the starch and alcohol contents during the fermentation of lees. Five preprocessing methods were first used to preprocess the Vis-NIR, NIR, and the fused Vis-NIR and NIR data, after which partial least squares regression models were established to determine the best preprocessing method. Following, competitive adaptive reweighted sampling, successive projection algorithm, and principal component analysis algorithms were used to extract the characteristic wavelengths to accurately predict the starch and alcohol levels. Finally, support vector machine (SVM)-AdaBoost and XGBoost models were built based on the low-level fusion (LLF) and intermediate-level fusion (ILF) of single Vis-NIR and NIR as well as the fused data. The results showed that the SVM-AdaBoost model built using the LLF data afterpreprocessing by standard normalized variable was most accurate for predicting the starch content, with an of 0.9976 and a root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) of 0.0992. The XGBoost model built using ILF data was most accurate for predicting the alcohol content, with an of 0.9969 and an RMSEP of 0.0605. In conclusion, the analysis of fused data from distinct HSI technologies facilitates rapid and precise determination of the starch and alcohol contents in fermented grains.

Impact assessment of critical success factors (CSFs) in public construction projects of Saudi Arabia

PurposeThere is a limited number of research work on critical success factors (CSFs) in public construction projects in Saudi Arabia. In response to this knowledge gap, the objective of this paper is to assess the impact of CSFs on the government construction projects in Saudi Arabia. The success factors are investigated from a broader consideration of failure criteria, from consideration of most effectiveness in successful project completion and also from consideration of the impact of implementing control processes for successful project completion.Design/methodology/approachThis study has analysed the impact of success factors on construction projects in Saudi Arabia using a descriptive methodology. An exhaustive literature survey is undertaken to identify the success and failure factors related to government construction projects in Saudi Arabia. The survey data are sorted out and analysed by cost, schedule, technical, context and finance dimensions of the projects based on project types, engineering complexity, size, modality, jurisdictional control and funding approach. To evaluate the influence of success factors implementation, qualitative data were collected in a survey via a web-based questionnaire that was sent to officials working and occupying a responsible position in national project guidelines organizations and in government construction organizations in Saudi Arabia. In all, 28 CSFs were identified, ranked and evaluated for their impact on project success. The four identified factors belong to process categories of construction projects, nine factors belong to management of construction projects and 15 success factors are identified for impact assessment of implementation in construction projects.FindingsThe study's findings have identified and ranked the top five CSFs that significantly influence project outcomes, including meeting time targets, adhering to financial budgets, delivering desired outcomes for all stakeholders, effectively managing risks and assembling the appropriate team while optimizing resource allocation. Additionally, the research indicates that hindrances to projects primarily stem from execution, economic, human and political factors. The study advocates for strict controls over incomplete engineering designs and advises against contractors independently handling design work to ensure project success. Additionally, addressing contractors' qualifications and financial matters is crucial for project success. By highlighting these CSFs and challenges, the research provides actionable insights to enhance project management practices in the construction industry.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is limited to the infrastructure projects constructed by governmental bodies with the participation of officials from government organizations. Further study, including private projects and officials working on private projects, may be needed to generalized the research outcome.Originality/valueNumerous studies have investigated CSFs in construction projects, but few have examined their relevance to Saudi Arabian government projects. This study aims to fill this gap by identifying key CSFs specific to Saudi Arabian public sector construction projects and assessing their impact on project success. It advocates for stringent controls in the Saudi Arabian construction sector, emphasizing the importance of preventing incomplete or altered engineering designs by contractors to increase the success rate of public sector projects. This research offers practical insights to stakeholders, advancing project management practices in Saudi Arabia's construction sector for improved outcomes and resource utilization.