scholarly journals Construction output modelling: a systematic review

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (10) ◽  
pp. 2959-2991 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olalekan Oshodi ◽  
David J. Edwards ◽  
Ka Chi lam ◽  
Ayokunle Olubunmi Olanipekun ◽  
Clinton Ohis Aigbavboa

PurposeConstruction economics scholars have emphasised the importance of construction output forecasting and have called for increased investment in infrastructure projects due to the positive relationship between construction output and economic growth. However, construction output tends to fluctuate over time. Excessive changes in the volume of construction output have a negative impact upon the construction sector, such as liquidation of construction companies and job losses. Information gleaned from extant literature suggests that fluctuation in construction output is a global problem. Evidence indicates that modelling of construction output provides information for understanding the factors responsible for these changes.MethodologyAn interpretivist epistemological lens is adopted to conduct a systematic review of published studies on modelling of construction output. A thematic analysis is then presented, and the trends and gaps in current knowledge are highlighted.FindingsIt is observed that interest rate is the most common determinant of construction output. Also revealed is that very little is known about the underlying factors stimulating growth in the volume of investment in maintenance construction works. Further work is required to investigate the efficacy of using non-linear techniques for construction output modelling.OriginalityThis study provides a contemporary mapping of existing knowledge relating to construction output and provides insights into gaps in current understanding that can be explored by future researchers.

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xichen Chen ◽  
Alice Yan Chang-Richards ◽  
Antony Pelosi ◽  
Yaodong Jia ◽  
Xuesong Shen ◽  
...  

PurposeWith interest in modern construction methods and new technologies on the rise, construction companies globally are increasingly looking at how to embrace new ideas and engage with new approaches to do things better. A significant amount of work has been carried out investigating the use of individual technologies in the construction sector. However, there is no holistic understanding of the new and emerging technologies that have had proven benefits for construction projects. To fill this gap, this paper aims to provide a landscape of technologies that have been implemented in the construction industry and the benefits associated with their implementation.Design/methodology/approachA systematic review approach and PRISMA guidelines were used. A total of 175 articles published between 2001 and 2020 were identified and thoroughly reviewed.FindingsThe results show that a total of 26 technologies were identified from the literature, and these can be categorised into five groups in terms of their functionality in construction process, namely: (1) data acquisition, (2) analytics, (3) visualisation, (4) communication and (5) design and construction automation. Digital technologies, especially for data acquisition and visualisation, generally appear to underpin and enable innovation in many aspects of construction. Improvements in work efficiency, health and safety, productivity, quality and sustainability have been cited as being the primary benefits of using these technologies. Of these, building information modelling (BIM) appears to be the single most commonly used technology thus far. With the development of computer technology, BIM has constantly been used in combination with other technologies/tools such as unmanned aerial vehicles/systems (unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)/UAS), geographic information systems (GIS), light detection and ranging (LiDAR) and multidimensional modelling to realise a specifically defined benefit.Practical implicationsThe findings from this review would help construction practitioners identify the types of technologies that can be implemented in different stages of construction projects to achieve desired outcomes, and thus, make appropriate decisions on technology investment and adoption. This review also suggests that to reap the full potential that these technologies offer, aside from construction companies changing their culture and business models, corresponding changes in the construction sector’s operating systems related to building regulation, education and training, as well as contracting and procurement are required.Originality/valueThis paper undertakes a comprehensive systematic review of studies on technology implementation in the construction sector published between 2001 and 2020. It is the first attempt internationally to provide a holistic picture of technologies that have been studied and implemented in construction projects.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles James ◽  
Catherine Walshe ◽  
Katherine Froggatt

Abstract Background The knowledge about the experience of informal caregivers who provide care to people with moderate to advanced dementia in a domestic home setting is limited. A consequence of long hours of caregiving in addition to dealing with normal challenges of daily living is their experience of a poor quality of life. Some of their experiences may be described in terms of a feeling of powerlessness to make changes during care provision. This feeling may also suggest an experience of moral distress. The aim of this systematic review is to synthesise qualitative evidence relating to these experiences. Methods This review adopts a narrative synthesis approach. A search will be conducted for studies written in the English language in the bibliographic databases MEDLINE Complete, CINAHL, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Web of Science and Academic Search Complete covering periods from 1984 to present. Included studies will be qualitative or mixed-methods designs. The search terms will be related to dementia and caregivers, and the process will be focused on dementia at the moderate to the advanced stages within the domestic home setting. Reference lists of included papers will also be searched for additional relevant citations. Search terms and strategies will be checked by two independent reviewers. The identification of abstracts and full texts of studies will be done by the author, while the quality and the risk of bias will also be checked by the two independent reviewers. Discussion Psychological distress is cited as an experience reported within informal caregiving. For the caregiver, it is associated with a negative impact on general health. To date, no synthesis exists on the specific experience of informal caregiving for people with moderate to advanced dementia within the domestic home setting. This review considers that variation of accounts contributes to how the informal caregivers’ general experience is explored in future research. This may enable gaps in current knowledge to be highlighted within the wider context of caregiving in the domestic home setting. Systematic review registration This review is registered with PROSPERO (CRD42020183649).


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 910-920 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sani Abubakar Saddiq ◽  
Abu Sufian Abu Bakar

Purpose The purpose of the study is to investigate the impact of economic and financial crimes on the economies of emerging and developing countries. Design/methodology/approach Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines and meta-analysis of economics research reporting guidelines were used to conduct a quantitative synthesis of empirical evidence on the impact of economic and financial crimes in developing and emerging countries. Findings A total of 103 studies were searched, out of which 6 met the selection/eligibility criteria of this systematic review. The six selected studies indicated that economic and financial crimes have a negative impact in emerging and developing countries. Originality/value To the best knowledge of the authors, no published systematic review of the impact of economic and financial crimes in developing countries has been conducted to date.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Vitória Lachowski Volochtchuk ◽  
Higor Leite

PurposeThe healthcare system has been under pressure to provide timely and quality healthcare. The influx of patients in the emergency departments (EDs) is testing the capacity of the system to its limit. In order to increase EDs' capacity and performance, healthcare managers and practitioners are adopting process improvement (PI) approaches in their operations. Thus, this study aims to identify the main PI approaches implemented in EDs, as well as the benefits and barriers to implement these approaches.Design/methodology/approachThe study is based on a rigorous systematic literature review of 115 papers. Furthermore, under the lens of thematic analysis, the authors present the descriptive and prescriptive findings.FindingsThe descriptive analysis found copious information related to PI approaches implemented in EDs, such as main PIs used in EDs, type of methodological procedures applied, as well as a set of barriers and benefits. Aiming to provide an in-depth analysis and prescriptive results, the authors carried out a thematic analysis that found underlying barriers (e.g. organisational, technical and behavioural) and benefits (e.g. for patients, the organisation and processes) of PI implementation in EDs.Originality/valueThe authors contribute to knowledge by providing a comprehensive review of the main PI methodologies applied in EDs, underscoring the most prominent ones. This study goes beyond descriptive studies that identify lists of barriers and benefits, and instead the authors categorize prescriptive elements that influence these barriers and benefits. Finally, this study raises discussions about the behavioural influence of patients and medical staff on the implementation of PI approaches.


2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 647-658 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Kashif ◽  
Mubashir Ayyaz ◽  
Sara Basharat

Purpose – There is plethora of advertising research that has highlighted the mothers’ perspective to TV food advertising. However, the fathers’ perspective on children food advertising in societies that score high on masculinity is important but absent from literature. The purpose of this paper is to present opinions of respondents as fathers, concerning the impact of TV food advertisements on children buying and consumption habits. Design/methodology/approach – The qualitative data through semi-structured interviews has been collected from 32 males having at least one child between the ages of seven and 14 years. The respondents were purposefully selected from a private sector university located in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. The collected data have been analysed through thematic analysis. Findings – Thematic analysis revealed six themes; quantity of ads, negative impact of TV food ads, changing buying patterns, positive/productive impact on children, father's perceptions of TV advertising, and advertising changes to be incorporated. The findings have some social, cultural, and managerial implications for core advertising stakeholders. Practical implications – This study is useful for marketing managers whose job is to persuade children and their families into buying their products. They can benefit from the findings of this study to customize the brand communication strategies as per the expectations of respondents as fathers. Furthermore, the study proposes useful insights that will help in devising consumer-led advertising policies in Pakistan. Originality/value – The gender role of males while influencing family decision making with regards to food products marketing has been a new area of research. The study is pioneer in the field of consumer socialization in that it focuses upon the fathers’ perspective on TV advertising to children.


2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 98-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lim Yoke Mui ◽  
Yahaya Ahmad ◽  
Faezeh Nabavi

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the reasons for the variance among tenders for conservation projects in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach – Semi-structured interview approach was adopted because this method allows for effective probing of issues. The interviews are conducted with experienced conservation contractors. The interviews are transcribed and the data are analysed using thematic analysis. Coefficient of variation (CV) measure was also used to determine the level of variance that occurs in tenders for conservation projects. Findings – The study found that contractors faced difficulty in pricing competitively due to the following four factors, namely, uncertain information on the actual work on site, inexperience in conservation construction works, information in the bill of quantities is incomplete and uncertain labour and material cost. The study of 22 tenders also ascertains that there is a high variance among the tenderers for building conservation projects. This is determined by the CV analysis where conservation works has a mean CV of 25.5 per cent as compared to 6.5 per cent for new build works. Research limitations/implications – While the interviews managed to draw out insights into the reasons for the high variance among the tender amounts, a definitive conclusion cannot be drawn on the level of variance in tendering for conservation projects due to the limited data that is available for analysis. Originality/value – The paper offers an insight into the reasons why tenders for conservation projects usually have a higher variance than the norm.


2014 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 464-480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reto Felix

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to provide a deeper, constructivist account of multi-brand loyalty. Previous literature has acknowledged the existence of multi-brand loyalty, but described it from a narrow, rational and primarily utilitarian point of view. Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on open-ended, depth interviews. Data were labeled, coded and classified into different topics, and thematic analysis was used to identify three dominant themes. Findings – Multi-brand loyalty emerged in three forms: biased, specialized and perfect substitutes. These relationships may undergo dynamic transformations over time. Further, family tradition and perceived freedom were identified as two important motivations for consumers to be loyal to more than one brand. The managerial implications address suggestions on how companies can avoid that consumers become loyal to several brands instead of maintaining single-brand loyalty. Originality/value – The study is the first to address multi-brand loyalty based on a qualitative research approach and provides preliminary insights into occurrences and motivations related to the construct.


2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 81
Author(s):  
Loveday A. Nwanyanwu

This paper examines the influence of capital assets acquired outrightly by cash on enterprise profitability from the perspective of construction companies. Data were obtained by means of questionnaire. Analyses were performed using descriptive statistics and Pearson’s product moment coefficient of correlation. Results of descriptive statistics indicate 61.11% preference for acquisition of capital assets by outright cash purchase. Correlation analysis reveals a statistically significant moderate positive relationship between capital assets acquired out rightly through cash payment and net profit. Own capital assets acquired by outright cash purchase improves net profit performance of construction companies. Companies in the construction sector should aim at investing in capital assets through outright cash purchase instead of hiring or leasing.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles James ◽  
Catherine Walshe ◽  
Katherine Froggatt

Abstract BackgroundThe knowledge about the experience of informal caregivers who provide care to people with moderate to advanced dementia in a domestic home setting is limited. A consequence of long hours of caregiving in addition to dealing with normal challenges of daily living is their experience of a poor quality of life. Some of their experiences may be described in terms of a feeling of powerlessness to make changes during care provision. This feeling may also suggest an experience of moral distress. The aim of this systematic review is to synthesise qualitative evidence relating to these experiences.MethodsThis review adopts a narrative synthesis approach. A search will be conducted for studies written in English language in the bibliographic databases MEDLINE Complete, CINAHL, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and Academic Search Complete covering periods from 1984 to present. Included studies will be qualitative or mixed method designs. The search terms will be related to dementia and caregivers, and the process will be focused on dementia at the moderate to the advanced stages within the domestic home-setting. Reference lists of included papers will also be searched for additional relevant citations. Search terms and strategy will be checked by two independent reviewers. The identification of abstracts and full texts of studies will be done by the author, while the quality and the risk of bias will also be checked by the two independent reviewers.DiscussionPsychological distress is cited as an experience reported within informal caregiving. For the caregiver, it is associated with a negative impact on general health. To date, no synthesis exists on the specific experience of informal caregiving for people with moderate to advanced dementia within the domestic home setting. This review considers that variation of accounts contributes to how the informal caregivers’ general experience is explored in future research. This may enable gaps in current knowledge to be highlighted within the wider context of caregiving in the domestic home setting.Systematic review registrationThis review was registered and published online in the PROSPERO database of systematic reviews (www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO registration number: #CRD42020183649).


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Ali Fallah ◽  
Ali Heidari

Purpose This study aims to review the existing literature on corporate-level strategy to develop a conceptual framework of the headquarters’ roles as well as situational factors influencing them. Design/methodology/approach The systematic review is conducted. Accordingly, 598 studies (published from 1962–2018) were extracted from three databases (ProQuest, EBSCO and Web of Science). Then, after screening and ensuring the quality by the TAPUPAS checklist, 53 articles were systematically analyzed by manual coding method. Findings In total, 31 interventions in the form of four roles, namely, “value creation,” “value reduction,” “portfolio management“ and “loss prevent“ were identified for headquarters (HQ). Furthermore, four influencing situational factors distinguish “business characteristics,” “headquarters characteristics,” “corporate company characteristics” and “characteristic of the HQ-subsidiary relationships.” Originality/value The value of this research can be outlined as: mapping the cutting edge on the topic and systematizes the current knowledge; presenting an integrative, unique conceptual framework of HQs’ roles and influences, and particularly, of situational factors that determine the consequents of the interventions; and producing practical insights for corporate parent managers considering the situational factors influencing HQs’ roles and influences in managing their business portfolio successfully.


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