Decision Support for Plan Adaptation in Unforeseen Situations

Handling irregular phenomena might bring great complexity for involved teams. Variables considered for undertaking recommended procedures may yield many decision alternatives, challenging to deal with at planning time. Additionally, expectations regarding the phenomena handling may not match those observed. This means that the existing plan’s application may become inappropriate, and teams must be creative in performing actions and decision-making. An approach for on-the-fly adaptation of plans aims to assist teams in identifying and diagnosing unforeseen situations, besides adjusting previously developed plans at runtime. This approach was evaluated through experiments in the emergency management domain, and the initial results indicate its feasibility in dealing with unforeseen situations while handling irregular phenomena in complex environments.

Towards a SDG Compliant Framework for the Open Learning Modules

The implement-ability of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) depend on effective Project Planning, Development & Management (PPD&M). This applied research bases on the extensive possibilities for open learning modules via distance education. The two-fold research gap addressed are content and delivery. Participants need a SDG-embedded Project Planning, Development and Management offering. This curriculum redesign initiative is in line with the book's aim to disseminate, sustain and continuously improve content and practice incorporating new tools, insights, methods, necessary for proper implementation of the SDGs. The re-designed content emphasizes the ability to inter-relate through appropriate tool-sets on challenges, priorities, themes, sectors in the project development management domain. Complex developmental concerns are best served when the participant deploys the right combination of tools. Need for re-look at the evaluation system is highlighted with an interesting proposal to engage PPD&M alumni for continuous improvement on SDG-led growth.

An Efficient Data-Balancing Cyber-Physical System Paradigm for Quality-of-Service (QoS) Provision over Fog Computing

Cyber-physical systems (CPSs) have greatly contributed to many applications. A CPS is capable of integrating physical and computational capabilities to interact with individuals through various new modalities. However, there is a need for such a paradigm to focus on the human central nervous system to provide faster data access. This paper introduces the CPS paradigm that consists of CPS enabled human brain monitoring (CPS-HBM) and efficient data-balancing for CPS (EDB-CPS). The CPS-HBM provides architectural support to make an efficient and secure transfer and storage of the sensed data over fog cloud computing. The CPS-HBM consists of four components: physical domain and data processing (PDDP), brain sensor network (BSN), Service-oriented architecture (SOA), and data management domain (DMD). The EDB-CPS module aims to balance data flow for obtaining better throughput and lower hop-to-hop delay. The EDB-CPS accomplishes the goal by employing three processes: A node advertisement (NA), A node selection and recruitment (NSR), and optimal distance determination with mid-point (ODDMP). The processes of the EDB-CPS are performed on the PDDP of the CPS-HBM module. Thus, to determine the validity of EDB-CPS, the paradigm was programmed with C++ and implemented on a network simulator-3 (NS3). Finally, the performance of the proposed EDB-CPS was compared with state-of-the-art methods in terms of hop-to-hop delay and throughput. The proposed EDB-CPS produced better throughput between 443.2–445.2 KB/s and 0.05–0.078 ms hop-to-hop delay.

Short-Term Psycho-Education for Caregivers to Reduce Overmedication of People with Intellectual Disabilities (SPECTROM): Development and Field Testing

People with intellectual disabilities (PwID) are at a higher risk of developing challenging behaviours (CB). Despite the poor evidence for the effectiveness of medications in managing CB, they are used widely among PwID (50–63%). The aims of our study were to develop a training programme, SPECTROM for support staff to help reduce overmedication in PwID and carry out field testing of SPECTROM including a process evaluation. We developed SPECTROM using the Experience-based co-design method that included four focus groups and a one-day co-design event. Twenty trainees received SPECTROM training. We used the Management of Aggression and Violence Attitudes Scale-Revised-Intellectual Disabilities (MAVAS-R-ID) and the Psychotropic knowledge questionnaire. A semi-structured interview and a feasibility questionnaire were used for process evaluation. SPECTROM website contains 14 modules, resources, and face-to-face training. MAVAS-R-ID scores showed change in staff attitude to ‘medication management’ domain was statistically significant (p < 0.05). Psychotropic knowledge questionnaire showed statistical post-training improvement in correct responses (p < 0.05). Process evaluation data showed that SPECTROM was acceptable, applicable, practical, and relevant to staff practice, and helped to improve self-reflection, knowledge, and support to PwID. SPECTROM is a useful training that helps to change the support staff’s attitude toward CB and improve their knowledge of psychotropic medications.

A Comparison of Competencies in the Self-Management and Task Management Domain for Marketing Course Undergraduates

The shift from knowledge-based curriculum to a competence-based curriculum for Marketing course undergraduates is crucial in producing work-ready talents. The study focuses on the comparison of Self-Management and Task Management domain attained by final-year marketing students in 5 different higher learning institutions in Malaysia. A survey questionnaire consisting 25 items was distributed to compare the competencies in the Self-Management and Task Management domains among 289 undergraduates. The data was analysed using one-way ANOVA on SPSS program version 26.0. The results indicated a significant difference among the undergraduates’ competency in Self-Management domain between the different groups of HEIs. However, there was no significant difference in the Task Management domain. The Public university and Distance Learning university displayed a high Self-Management competencies with a mean score of 4.04 and 4.02 respectively. The competencies attainment for Task Management domains were moderate. All the universities in this study recorded a high score for the knowledge and skills competencies in the Self-Management domain. This comparative study indicates the emphasis of knowledge and skills in their Marketing courses compared to other competencies. This study is significant to identify instructional improvement to enhance competency based learning to produce work-ready marketing undergraduates. Keywords: Competency, Higher Education, Marketing, Self-Management, Task-Management

A study on automated property management in commercial real estate: a case of India

PurposeProperty management in commercial real estate (CRE) is an important operational function that needs to be managed because it brings large cost implications to the organization. As India aspires to become a developed real estate market, analysis of the growing importance of automating property services and technology acceptance by stakeholders are two key concerns that need to be explicitly addressed. This study aims to examine the extent of property technology (PropTech) adoption in India and propose a technology-enabled stakeholder management model in Indian CRE.Design/methodology/approachThe research is qualitative in nature and follows the grounded theory approach. Research data were collected by conducting a series of semi-structured interviews with 18 property management professionals from different prominent Indian companies using PropTech.FindingsThe findings suggested the nine most typical automated property management functions in Indian CRE. The result of this research is the automated property services model for stakeholder management in CRE. The model demonstrates the value of implementing technology in property services in India.Practical implicationsThe study provides useful insights into how artificial intelligence (AI) in property management can be applied to address property-related challenges, various stakeholder needs and improve property performance in accordance with energy efficiency policies.Originality/valueThis paper attempts to add to the limited body of literature on technology in the property management domain. The model demonstrates how automated property services meet the needs of different stakeholders in CRE and provides remote working procedures within the COVID-19 pandemic context.

Research Trends on Machine Learning in Construction Management: A Scientometric Analysis

Machine learning plays a vital role in construction industry which could make improve project’s safety, productivity, and quality. Many studies have attempted to explore the potential opportunities to adopt this technology in different aspects of the construction sector. However, no comprehensive study to review the global research trends on this technological advancement in construction management domain. The goal is to investigate and summarize the state-of-the-art knowledge body in this topic in a systematic manner. To achieve this, this paper considered 161 studies on machine learning in construction management related to bibliographic records retrieved from the Scopus database by adopting scientometric analysis approach. This paper found that since 2014, there has been a considerable increase in the number of publications on this domain. Researchers from the United States, China, and Australia have been the main contributors to this research area through regional analysis. This study also revealed that approximately 34% of all countries in the world are engaged in this domain research. In addition, five main aspects in construction management have been applied machine learning techniques, namely, assess and reduce risk, safety management for construction sites, cost estimation and prediction, Schedule management, and building energy demand prediction. Furthermore, three potential construction management research areas that can apply this technology were proposed for further studies. The findings will help both professionals and researchers more understanding how machine learning knowledge is evolving and its role played in the construction management domain, and this study thus offers a useful reference point to how can develop this area in the future.

Impact of the strategic sourcing process on the supply chain response to the COVID-19 effects

PurposeThis research investigates the impact of the strategic sourcing process on the supply chain response to COVID-19. The paper presents practitioners' perspectives (experts in supply chain management, especially involved in the procurement field) on the strategic sourcing process's impact on the supply chain response.Design/methodology/approachThe study follows a survey-based approach for data collection. It uses a descriptive survey methodology where questions related to the impact of the strategic sourcing process on the supply chain response in the face of the coronavirus pandemic were explored by practitioners.FindingsIn total, 130 valid responses were obtained. The results showed that the majority of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that strategic sourcing positively impacts the supply chain response amid the COVID-19 effects. Also, for the five phases of the strategic sourcing process, the majority of respondents considered them as a high and very high impact on the supply chain response.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper provides timely insights for practitioners and academics, especially those involved in the supply chain management area, showing how the strategic sourcing process plays an important role in making supply chains more responsive amid disruption situations.Practical implicationsFindings of this paper clearly shows the impact of the phases of the strategic sourcing process on the responsiveness of the supply chains amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This can encourage supply chain leadership to devote more time to strategic sourcing initiatives to generate improvements on the supply chain performance.Originality/valueThis paper is unique since it brings an unexplored relation in respect to strategic sourcing amid disruption situations, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, from a practitioner's perspective. It also significantly contributes to developing new directions for the supply chain management domain to deal with large-scale disruptions, such as the coronavirus pandemic.

Ethical leadership in project-based organizations of Pakistan: the role of psychological empowerment and Islamic work ethics

Purpose This study aims to examine the relationship between ethical leadership and project success directly and indirectly through psychological empowerment along with the moderating role of Islamic work ethic. Design/methodology/approach Using a time-lagged design, data were gathered from 202 employees working in project-based organizations of Pakistan. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the distinctiveness of variables used in the study. Findings Consistent with the cognitive evaluation theory, the findings supported the hypotheses other than the moderating role of Islamic work ethics between psychological empowerment and project success. The results confirmed that ethical leadership promotes project success directly and indirectly via psychological empowerment. Furthermore, theoretical and practical implications are also discussed highlighting the importance of ethical leadership for researchers and practitioners. Originality/value Literature is insufficient on the topic of ethical leadership in the project management domain with the effect of Islamic work ethics and psychological empowerment. Therefore, the current study explored unanswered research questions in the project management domain.

Community resilience for urban flood-prone areas: a methods paper on criteria selection using the Fuzzy Delphi method

PurposeCommunity resilience decides a lot on a city's ability to withstand an external shock. It has evolved naturally from a bounce-back approach to a more robust and meaningful bounce-forward process. The study explores gaps found in community resilience and finds that criteria specific to different disasters are absent.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses a multi-criteria decision analysis technique, fuzzy Delphi, to select criteria. Derivation of the initial list of criteria was from a pilot study, a focus group discussion and other literature studies which was followed by the fuzzy Delphi survey.FindingsAfter two rounds of fuzzy Delphi analysis, the consensus among 65 experts resulted in selecting 125 sub-sub-criteria within seven criteria. Findings show that many criteria previously not discussed in other pieces of literature project high fuzzy scores such as “availability of drinking water post-disaster” and “cracking down fake news spreaders by the police”. In addition, positive cooperation between political and religious institutions have proven to expedite disaster recovery.Research limitations/implicationsThe future scope also includes weighing the selected criteria using analytical hierarchy process (AHP).Practical implicationsPolicymakers in the disaster management domain can use the study findings in implementing effective disaster mitigation strategies.Originality/valueThe selection of criteria is based on the community resilience shown by the Kerala community during the floods of 2018 and 2019 (in Kerala). Measures demonstrated by the community need to be studied, which will help foster disaster mitigation better in future scenarios.