Drivers of e-bidding implementation in the Saudi Arabian construction industry

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-27
Author(s):  
Ahmed M.Z. Sayed ◽  
Sadi Assaf ◽  
Adel S. Aldosary ◽  
Mohammad A. Hassanain ◽  
Abdullatif Abdallah
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Rank Correlation ◽  
Construction Costs ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Significance Level ◽  
Spearman’S Rank Correlation ◽  
Spearman’S Rank Correlation Coefficient ◽  
Key Drivers ◽  
Public Construction

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the key drivers for adopting electronic bidding (e-bidding) systems in public construction projects located in Saudi Arabia. Design/methodology/approach Literature review was undertaken to identify the drivers of e-bidding practices. Nine drivers, classified under four categories, were identified. A questionnaire survey was developed to assess the significance of the identified drivers. Responses were obtained from 20 large contractors, classified as Grade I and II contractors in Saudi Arabia, and 12 governmental authorities, representing owners of construction projects. The drivers were ranked according to their respective significance index (SI) values. Finally, a Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient was employed to ascertain the extent to which the two parties agreed on the significance level of the drivers. Findings Analysis of the identified drivers revealed that the most significant driver was “reduction in the physical storage requirements of bidding paperwork.” Further, a consensus was observed with regards to the significance of the drivers. The findings of the present study highlight the strong potential of widespread e-bidding adoption in Saudi Arabia. It demonstrates the key drivers for the implementation of e-bidding through the perspective of professionals within the context of Saudi Arabia. Originality/value Prior to this study, no previous research has endeavored to assess the drivers of e-bidding adoption in Saudi Arabia. The adoption of e-bidding will benefit organizations through improved efficiencies, which could potentially lower construction costs, thereby contributing to economic growth and benefitting the society at large.

scholarly journals Correlation between nasopharyngoscopy and cephalometry in the diagnosis of hyperplasia of the pharyngeal tonsils

2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (02) ◽  
pp. 209-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luana Berwig ◽  
Ana da Silva ◽  
Eliane Corrêa ◽  
Eliane Serpa ◽  
Rodrigo Ritzel
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Study ◽  
Fiber Optic ◽  
Rank Correlation ◽  
Accurate Diagnosis ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Significance Level ◽  
Spearman’S Rank Correlation ◽  
Spearman’S Rank Correlation Coefficient ◽  
Tonsil Hyperplasia ◽  
Pharyngeal Tonsil

Summary Introduction: Hyperplasia of the pharyngeal tonsil is one of the main causes of mouth breathing, and accurate diagnosis of this alteration is important for proper therapeutic planning. Therefore, studies have been conducted in order to provide information regarding the procedures that can be used for the diagnosis of pharyngeal obstruction. Objective: To verify the correlation between nasopharyngoscopy and cephalometric examinations in the diagnosis of pharyngeal tonsil hyperplasia. Method: This was a cross-sectional, clinical, experimental, and quantitative study. Fifty-five children took part in this study, 30 girls and 25 boys, aged between 7 and 11 years. The children underwent nasofibropharyngoscopic and cephalometric evaluation to determine the grade of nasopharyngeal obstruction. The Spearman's rank correlation coefficient at the 5% significance level was used to verify the correlation between these exams. Results: In the nasopharyngoscopy evaluation, most children showed grade 2 and 3 hyperplasia of the pharyngeal tonsil, which was followed by grade 1. In the cephalometry assessment, most children showed grade 1 hyperplasia of the pharyngeal tonsil, which was followed by grade 2. A statistically significant regular positive correlation was observed between the exams. Conclusion: It was concluded that the evaluation of the pharyngeal tonsil hyperplasia could be carried out by fiber optic nasopharyngoscopy and cephalometry, as these examinations were regularly correlated. However, it was found that cephalometry tended to underestimate the size of the pharyngeal tonsil relative to nasopharyngoscopy.

Dentists’ knowledge of fluoride cariostatic mechanisms

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Urszula Kaczmarek ◽  
Wojciech Kowalczyk ◽  
Dariusz Gozdowski ◽  
Dorota Olczak-Kowalczyk
Keyword(s):  
Rank Correlation ◽  
Bone Fragility ◽  
Caries Prevention ◽  
Water Fluoridation ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Significance Level ◽  
Spearman’S Rank Correlation ◽  
Spearman’S Rank Correlation Coefficient ◽  
Chi Square Test ◽  
Almost All

Introduction. The use of age- and risk-adjusted caries prevention requires up-to-date knowledge on the cariostatic effects of fluoride, as well as the methods and safety of fluoride prophylaxis. Aim. The aim of the study was to assess dentists’ knowledge of the safety and mechanism of anticaries effects of fluoride. Material and methods. An anonymous questionnaire was conducted among 212 dentists participating in dental training. The questions included in the questionnaire related to knowledge about water fluoridation, fluoride cariostatic mechanisms and the safety of fluoride prophylaxis. The chi-square test and the Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient were used for statistical analysis. A significance level of 0.05 was used. Results. Incorrect knowledge about water fluoridation was demonstrated by 26.9% of respondents in the country and 16.0% of respondents in Europe. Most respondents (80.7%) reported higher efficacy of exogenous vs endogenous anticaries approaches, and more than half of respondents (59.0%) considered the processes of remineralisation and demineralisation as the most important anticaries activity. Almost all respondents (95.7%) agreed that the use of fluoride for caries prevention is controversial, mainly due to its dose-dependent therapeutic or toxic effects (85.4%). According to about 20% of respondents, cariostatic fluoride doses have adverse effects on the general health, mainly in the form of bone fragility (10.4%). Conclusions. Lack of correct knowledge about the dominant cariostatic effects of fluoride may result in the choice of an inappropriate preventive method or avoiding local application of fluoride preparations for fear of adverse systemic effects, which may in turn lead to increased caries prevalence in a given population.

Contractor prequalification for green buildings—evidence from Turkey

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 1377-1400 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asli Pelin Gurgun ◽  
Kerim Koc
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Cost ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
Rank Correlation ◽  
Green Building ◽  
Evaluation Tool ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Spearman’S Rank Correlation ◽  
Spearman’S Rank Correlation Coefficient ◽  
Practical Evaluation ◽  
Hierarchy Process

PurposeCompetent contractors are one of the critical stakeholders to achieve targeted sustainability objectives in green building (GB) projects. Prior to contractor selection, prequalification is an important step, which requires contractors with certain capabilities in addition to traditional features. This study aims to develop a systematic and practical model for prequalification in GB projects using a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach by adopting the analytical hierarchy process (AHP).Design/methodology/approachThe AHP model with 8 main criteria groups and 25 sub-criteria is structured based on literature review and professional opinions accompanied by a pilot study. Then, interviews with experts, who are experienced in the development and application phases of GB projects in Turkey, are arranged to collect judgements. The agreement levels between different groups of experts are analysed via Pearson's and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. Model applicability is tested on six hypothetical contractors for practicality.FindingsThe results show that i) financial capabilities, ii) legal status and iii) sustainability groups are the top three main criteria, while i) compliance with schedule requirements of the client, ii) current legal status including suits, iii) negative litigation history records, iv) contractor's compliance capacity to client's sustainability checklist for the proposed project and v) sustainability with lower life cycle cost (durability, maintenance, constructability) are the top five sub-criteria.Originality/valueThere is a gap in the literature analysing contractor prequalification phase in GB projects. This study attempts to fill this lack provided with a practical evaluation tool.

Resource allocation based on overall equipment effectiveness using cooperative game

Kybernetes ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 819-834 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seyed Hadi Mousavi-Nasab ◽  
Jalal Safari ◽  
Ashkan Hafezalkotob
Keyword(s):  
Resource Allocation ◽  
Optimal Allocation ◽  
Rank Correlation ◽  
Nash Bargaining Solution ◽  
Nash Bargaining ◽  
Bargaining Solution ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Spearman’S Rank Correlation ◽  
Spearman’S Rank Correlation Coefficient ◽  
Topsis Technique

Purpose Resource allocation has always been a critical problem with significant economic relevance. Many industries allocate the resources based on classical methods such as overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) and data envelopment analysis (DEA). The lack of OEE factors’ weight, how it is defined, analyzed, interpreted and compared in OEE and selection of unrealistic weights, self-appraisal and disability of complete ranking in DEA are challenges that are possible to occur. These defects may result in unfair allocation of the resources. This study aims to overcome the mentioned weaknesses. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, an approach using a set of various DEA models and Nash bargaining solution (NBS) is designed to solve the resource allocation problem based on OEE, among a set of comparable and uniform DMUs (decision-making units) in a fair way. Findings The results show that a unique Pareto optimal allocation solution is obtained by the proposed DEA–NBS model among the DMUs. This allocation is more acceptable for players, because the allocation results are commonly determined by all DMUs rather than a specific one. Furthermore, the rankings achieved by the utilized methods and TOPSIS (technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution) are compared by Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient to validate the resource allocation plan. The findings indicate that the DEA–NBS method has the best correlation with the TOPSIS approach. Originality/value To the best of authors’ knowledge, no research has considered the use of DEA and NBS with OEE.

scholarly journals Okul Öncesi Çocuklarda Öz Düzenleme Becerileri ile Anne-Baba Tutumları Arasındaki İlişki Üzerine Bir İnceleme / An Investigation on Relation between Self-Regulation Skills of Pre-School Students and Parental Attitudes

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 385
Author(s):  
Meryem Esra Öztabak ◽  
Arzu Özyürek
Keyword(s):  
Parental Attitudes ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Rank Correlation ◽  
School Students ◽  
Significance Level ◽  
National Education ◽  
Positive Feeling ◽  
Democratic Attitudes ◽  
Spearman’S Rank Correlation ◽  
Spearman’S Rank Correlation Coefficient

<p><strong>Abstract</strong></p><p>This research aims to investigate the relation between self-regulation skills of pre-school students and the effect of parental attitudes.  The subjects of this study consist of 155 children, 79 girls and 76 boys, who were going to the pre-school education institutions affiliated to the Bartın Provincial National Education Directorate and their parents. In order to determine the self regulation skills of the children the “Pre-school Self Regulation Scale” has been applied to the children individually, and to determine the attitudes of the parents the “Family Attitude Inventory” has been used to collect the data. Since there has been no distribution of normality encountered in the test of normality, the Mann-Whitney U test has been used in the two group comparisons, for the correlation between the variables, the Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient has been used. The significance level has been determined as 0,05.  As a conclusion, no significant correlation has been detected between the attention/impulse control and positive feeling scores, which are sub-dimensions of self regulation skills, and the sub-dimensions and total score’s of family attitudes inventory. It can be obviously seen that especially the attention and impulse sub dimensions of the pre-school girl students in the experimental group have been more developed and that these children show high self-regulation skills in this sub dimension. It was determined that the parents of the study group had the highest attitudes to identify with their children, followed by social mobility, democratic attitudes and compliance behaviors.</p><p><strong>Öz</strong></p><p>Bu çalışmada, okul öncesi periyodundaki çocukların öz düzenleme becerileri ile anne-baba tutumları arasındaki ilişkinin incelenmesi hedeflenmiştir. Çalışma grubunu Bartın İli Millî Eğitim Müdürlüğü’ne bağlı anasınıflarına devam eden 79 kız 76 erkek olmak üzere toplam 155 çocuk ve bu çocukların anne-babaları oluşturmuştur. Verilerin toplanmasında çocukların öz düzenleme becerilerinin belirlenmesinde “Okul Öncesi Öz Düzenleme Ölçeği”, annelerin ve babaların çocuk yetiştirme tutumlarının belirlenmesinde “Aile Tutum Envanteri” kullanılmıştır. Verilerin analizinde, puanlar normal dağılım göstermedikleri için iki gruplu karşılaştırmalarda Mann-Whitney U testi, değişkenler arasındaki ilişkide Spearman’s Brown korelasyon analizinden yararlanılmıştır. Anlamlılık seviyesi olarak 0,05 kullanılmıştır. Çalışma sonucunda; Okul Öncesi Öz Düzenleme Ölçeği Dikkat/Dürtü Kontrolü ve Olumlu Duygu alt boyutları puanı ile Aile Tutum Envanteri alt boyutları ve toplam puanları arasında anlamlı bağlantı bulunmamıştır. Çalışma grubundaki kız çocukların özellikle Dikkat/Dürtü alt boyutu puanlarının daha fazla olduğu, çocukların dikkat/dürtü alanında yüksek düzeyde öz düzenleme becerileri gösterdikleri belirlenmiştir. Çalışma grubundaki anne-babaların, çocuklarıyla özdeşim kurma davranışlarının en yüksek düzeyde olduğu ve bunu sosyal hareketlilik, demokratik tutum ve uyma davranışının izlediği belirlenmiştir.</p>

Altmetrics and their relationship with citation counts: a case of journal articles in physics

2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rishabh Shrivastava ◽  
Preeti Mahajan
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Research Evaluation ◽  
Rank Correlation ◽  
Journal Articles ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Spearman’S Rank Correlation ◽  
Spearman’S Rank Correlation Coefficient ◽  
Low Coverage ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose The first purpose of the present study is to investigate the coverage of journal articles in Physics in various sources of altmetrics. Secondly, the study investigates the relationship between altmetrics and citations. Finally, the study also investigates whether the relationship between citations and altmetrics was stronger or weaker for those articles that had been mentioned at least once in the sources of altmetrics. Design/methodology/approach The journal articles in Physics having at least one author from an Indian Institution and published during 2014–2018 in sources of altmetrics have been investigated. Altmetric.com was used for collecting altmetrics data. Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient (ρ) has been used as the data found to be skewed. Findings The highest coverage was found on Twitter (22.68%), followed by Facebook (3.62%) and blogs (2.18%). The coverage in the rest of the sources was less than 1%. The average Twitter mentions for journal articles tweeted at least once was found to be 4 (3.99) and for Facebook mentions, it was found to be 1.48. Correlations between Twitter mentions–citations and Facebook mentions–citation were found to be statistically significant but low to weak positive. Research limitations/implications The study concludes that due to the low coverage of journal articles, altmetrics should be used cautiously for research evaluation keeping in mind the disciplinary differences. The study also suggests that altmetrics can function as complementary to citation-based metrics. Originality/value The study is one of the first large scale altmetrics studies dealing with research in Physics. Also, Indian research has not been attended to in the altmetrics literature and the present study shall fill that void.

scholarly journals ContrastingEx VivoEfficacies of “Reversed Chloroquine” Compounds in Chloroquine-Resistant Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax Isolates

2015 ◽  
Vol 59 (9) ◽  
pp. 5721-5726 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grennady Wirjanata ◽  
Boni F. Sebayang ◽  
Ferryanto Chalfein ◽  
Prayoga ◽  
Irene Handayuni ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plasmodium Falciparum ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Rank Correlation ◽  
Multidrug Resistant ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Reversal Agents ◽  
Field Isolates ◽  
Spearman’S Rank Correlation ◽  
Spearman’S Rank Correlation Coefficient ◽  
Potential Use

ABSTRACTChloroquine (CQ) has been the mainstay of malaria treatment for more than 60 years. However, the emergence and spread of CQ resistance now restrict its use to only a few areas where malaria is endemic. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether a novel combination of a CQ-like moiety and an imipramine-like pharmacophore can reverse CQ resistanceex vivo. Between March to October 2011 and January to September 2013, two “reversed chloroquine” (RCQ) compounds (PL69 and PL106) were tested against multidrug-resistant field isolates ofPlasmodium falciparum(n= 41) andPlasmodium vivax(n= 45) in Papua, Indonesia, using a modifiedex vivoschizont maturation assay. The RCQ compounds showed high efficacy against both CQ-resistantP. falciparumandP. vivaxfield isolates. ForP. falciparum, the median 50% inhibitory concentrations (IC50s) were 23.2 nM for PL69 and 26.6 nM for PL106, compared to 79.4 nM for unmodified CQ (P< 0.001 andP= 0.036, respectively). The corresponding values forP. vivaxwere 19.0, 60.0, and 60.9 nM (P< 0.001 andP= 0.018, respectively). There was a significant correlation between IC50s of CQ and PL69 (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient [rs] = 0.727,P< 0.001) and PL106 (rs= 0.830,P< 0.001) inP. vivaxbut not inP. falciparum. Both RCQs were equally active against the ring and trophozoite stages ofP. falciparum, but inP. vivax, PL69 and PL106 showed less potent activity against trophozoite stages (median IC50s, 130.2 and 172.5 nM) compared to ring stages (median IC50s, 17.6 and 91.3 nM). RCQ compounds have enhancedex vivoactivity against CQ-resistant clinical isolates ofP. falciparumandP. vivax, suggesting the potential use of reversal agents in antimalarial drug development. Interspecies differences in RCQ compound activity may indicate differences in CQ pharmacokinetics between the twoPlasmodiumspecies.

Investigating the managerial ‘‘nuts and bolts’’ for the construction industry

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 331-348
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Boon Hui Yap ◽  
Ian Ni Chow
Keyword(s):  
Project Management ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Questionnaire Survey ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Rank Correlation ◽  
Construction Time ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Planning And Control ◽  
Spearman’S Rank Correlation ◽  
And Control

PurposeManagerial shortfalls can considerably undermine the delivery performance of construction projects. This paper appraises the project management essentials (PMEs) for successful construction project delivery.Design/methodology/approachFollowing a detailed literature review, a questionnaire survey was developed encompassing 20 PMEs that were identified. An opinion questionnaire survey was used to facilitate data collection from key construction stakeholders in the Malaysian construction industry. The survey data were subjected to descriptive statistics and exploratory factor analysis.FindingsFindings indicated that the leading PMEs are competency of the project team, competency of project manager, good leadership, effective planning and control and realistic cost and time estimate. Spearman’s rank correlation tests affirmed a good agreement on the ranking of PMEs across stakeholder groups. The present study found that PMEs for construction have a total of four dimensions, namely: scope, communication and competence management; stakeholder commitment and collaborative engagement; construction time–cost planning and control; and environment, health, safety and quality management.Practical implicationsThe findings could potentially contribute to the development of appropriate project management best practices to address managerial shortfalls in Malaysia and other developing countries.Originality/valueThis paper bridges the identified knowledge gap about critical managerial dimensions for successful project management in construction. The present study adds to the existing body of knowledge around this under-explored area in the construction management literature.

scholarly journals Criticality of project knowledge and experience in the delivery of construction projects

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Boon Hui Yap ◽  
Ban Leong Lim ◽  
Martin Skitmore ◽  
Jason Gray
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Exploratory Factor Analysis ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Rank Correlation ◽  
Time Cost ◽  
Cost Overruns ◽  
Planning And Scheduling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Spearman’S Rank Correlation ◽  
Correlation Tests

Purpose Poor project knowledge and inadequate experience are frequently linked to construction time-cost overruns. This paper aims to expound on the criticality of project knowledge and experience in the successful delivery of projects in the construction industry. Design/methodology/approach Following a detailed literature review, a quantitative positivist approach with a questionnaire survey involving industry professionals is used to appraise the 30 prevalent causes of time-cost overruns according to frequency, effectiveness and importance indices. The data are then subjected to Spearman’s rank correlation tests and exploratory factor analysis. Findings Using the importance index, which assimilates both frequency and effectiveness indices, the criticality of knowledge and experience in the overall context is seen as fundamental for addressing the contractor’s faulty planning and scheduling, construction mistakes and defective work, site management and supervision, delayed/slow decision-making, incomplete drawings and design documents and change/variation orders. Spearman’s rank correlation tests indicate a good consensus of perceptions among the key parties involved. Next, an exploratory factor analysis uncovers six underlying knowledge-based factors affecting construction performance, relating to inaccurate resource estimates, design changes, resource shortages, lack of experience, incompetence and mistakes and defects. Originality/value The study draws out the repercussions of the hitherto limited research into the deficiencies in knowledge and experience in undertaking construction projects to enhance performance using knowledge management functions.

CAUSES AND IMPACT OF DELAY IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY OF INDIA

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-44
Author(s):  
Kranti kumar Myneni
Keyword(s):  
Construction Industry ◽  
Correlation Coefficient ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Construction Project ◽  
Rank Correlation ◽  
Construction Stage ◽  
Spearman’S Rank Correlation ◽  
Spearman’S Rank Correlation Coefficient ◽  
Importance Index ◽  
Causes Of Delays

Delays can be well-defined as the escalation of the stipulated time for the completion of the project. Delay is always the major loss to any construction project. In construction projects delay is a very usual thing and it can have an adverse effect on the project’s time and cost. As construction is one of the largest economic activity in India, the effects of delay are still in millions, which surely decreases the GDP of the country. Delay makes the process tardy and management of delay is extremely challenging as most of the projects do not meet the expected requirement and fails to perform within time. Therefore, various types and causes of delays should be studied accurately. There are many researches on construction delays but they talk about the wide-ranging reasons of delay, so there stays a high requirement of a notable and feasible study on delays at different stages of construction process in India. The aim of the paper is to identify the causes of delays at different stages of construction through questionnaire survey in Indian construction industry. Analytical tools used in this research are relative importance index (RII) and spearman’s rank correlation coefficient to rank the sources of delay with respect to its occurrence in the various stages of the construction project. The study concludes based on the correlation coefficient analysis between the construction stages, that the delays associated with before-construction stage is least related, with after-construction stage is third highly related, with construction stage is second highly related and delays associated with average/overall construction is highly related.

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