Practical framework for measuring performance of international construction firms

The internationalization of construction companies has become of significant interest as the global construction market continues to be integrated into a more competitive and turbulent business environment. However, due to the complicated and multifaceted nature of international business and performance, there is as yet no consensus on how to evaluate the performance of international construction firms (ICFs). The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to develop a practical framework for measuring the performance of ICFs. Based on the balanced scorecard (BSC), a framework with detailed measures is developed, investigated, and tested using a three-step research design. In the first step, 27 measures under six dimensions (financial, market, customer, internal business processes, stakeholders, and learning and growth) are determined by literature review, interviews with academics, and seminar discussions. Subsequently, a questionnaire survey is conducted to investigate weights of these 27 performance measures. The questionnaire survey also supports the importance of measuring intangible aspects of international construction performance from the practitioner’s viewpoint. Additionally, a case study is described to test the framework’s robustness and usefulness. This is achieved by benchmarking the performance of a Chinese ICF with nine other counterparts worldwide. It is found that the framework provides an effective basis for benchmarking ICFs to effectively monitor their performance and support the development of strategies for improved competitiveness in the international arena. This paper is the first attempt to present a balanced and practically tested framework for evaluating the performance of ICFs. It contributes to the practice of performance measurement and related internationalization in the construction industry in general.

Averting uncertainty : a practical guide to physical activity research in Australian schools

Preventative health has become central to contemporary health care, identifying youth physical activity as a key factor in determining health and functioning. Schools offer a unique research setting due to distinctive methodological circumstances. However, school-based researchers face several obstacles in their endeavour to complete successful research investigations; often confronted with complex research designs and methodological procedures that are not easily amenable to school contexts. The purpose of this paper is to provide a practical guide for teachers (both teacher educators and teaching practitioners) seeking to conduct physical activity-based research in Australian school settings, as well as discuss research practices. The research enabling process has been divided into six phases: preparation; design; outcome measures; procedures; participants; and feedback. Careful planning and consideration must be undertaken prior to the commencement of, and during the research process, due to the complex nature of school settings and research processes that exist in the Australian context.

A practical approach to developing the general capabilities in middle-years English

Described as a three-dimensional “living” document, the new Australian Curriculum delineates the knowledge, understandings and skills considered necessary for students in the 21st Century to become confident and creative individuals, successful learners and active and informed citizens. The Australian Curriculum comprises discipline-based learning areas, general capabilities and contemporary cross-curriculum priorities. Teachers have particularly indicated the need for more professional development in relation to the general capabilities notably personal and social capability, ethical behaviour and intercultural understanding. This article provides ideas, activities and resources for middle-years English and literacy teachers to recognise and create opportunities for teaching and learning about these three general capabilities in their classrooms.

Practical applications for clay-derived zeolite N : an ammonium-selective ion exchanger for industry use

Over the past ten years, scaled-up utilisation of a previously under-exploited zeolite, Zeolite N1, has been demonstrated for selective ion exchange of ammonium and other ions in aqueous environments. As with many zeolite syntheses, the required source material should contain predictable levels of aluminium and silicon and, for full-scale industrial applications, kaolin and/or montmorillonite serve such a purpose. Field, pilot and commercial scale trials of kaolin-derived Zeolite N have focused on applications in agriculture and water treatment as these sectors are primary producers or users of ammonium. The format for the material – as fine powders, granules or extrudates – depends on the specific application albeit each has been evaluated.

Framing fashion curation : a theoretical, historical and practical perspective

This research project frames an emerging field – fashion curation – through a theoretical, historical, and practical enquiry. Recent decades have seen fashion curation grow rapidly as a form of praxis and an area of academic attention, predominantly in museums and universities. Within this context, two major models for conceptualising the role of the fashion curator have emerged: the institutional and the independent curator. This project proposes and applies a third model: the adjunct fashion curator. In developing this model my project seeks to move the growing dialogue around fashion curation away from exclusively focusing on the museum. By proposing a third curatorial model for fashion, this research draws on the past of fashion display and exhibition for its context, while simultaneously exploring the adjunct model through my curatorial practice. The impact of sites of display, the role of gender, and the relationship between art and fashion are explored as pivotal themes in the development of fashion curation and thus provide contextual grounding for the proposal of the adjunct curatorial model. Alongside a theoretical and historical account of fashion curation, I conduct a practice-led inquiry that explores these themes through five exhibition projects and one photographic series. I argue that the introduction and application of the adjunct model enables curatorial practitioners to sensitively work around the dominant museum model, and circumvent the divide between institutional and independent curation. Introducing the adjunct model allows the curator to develop personalised narratives relating to the experience of fashion and clothing as an exhibited phenomenon in a variety of institutional and non-institutional sites. Hence this research project contributes to a developing field by proposing a valuable and nuanced model for fashion curation.

The structured and practical approach in development of decision support system for consultant selection in public sector infrastructure project

Nowadays, most of the infrastructure development projects undertaken are complex in nature. Practically, public clients who do not have a good understanding of the design and management may suffer severe losses, especially for infrastructure projects. There is a need for luring the right consultant to secure client's investment in infrastructure developments. Throughout the project life cycle, consultants play vital role from the inception to completion stage of a project. A few studies in Malaysia show that infrastructure projects involving irrigation and drainage have experience problems such as poor workmanship, delay and cost overrun due to the consultant's inability or the client incompetence of recruiting consultants in time. This highlights the need of aided decision making and an efficient system to select the best consultant by using Decision Support System (DSS). On the other hand, recent trends reveal that most DSS in construction only concentrate on decision model development. These models are impractical and unused as they are complicated or difficult for laymen such as project managers to utilize. Thus, this research attempts to develop an efficient DSS for consultant selection namely consultDeSS. Driven by the motivation and research aims, this study deployed Design Science Research Methodology (DSRM) dominant with a combination of case studies at the Malaysian Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID). Two real projects involving irrigation and drainage infrastructure were used to design, implement and evaluate the artefact. The 3-tier consultDeSS was revised after the evaluation and the design was significantly improved based on user feedback. By developing desirable tools that fit client's needs will enhance the productivity and minimize conflict within groups and organisations. The tool is more usable and efficient compared to previous studies in construction. Thus, this research has demonstrated a purposeful artefact with a practical and valid structured development approach that is applicable in a variety of problems in construction discipline.

Group interactions in science practical work

This study explored the interactions of a highly motivated group of students doing traditional practical work in science. Interest focussed on the social construction of understanding and how this could be described. Despite considerable collaboration in constructing an understanding of the task the students rarely focussed on the concepts the practical work was intended to illustrate. Collaboration was described in terms of social behaviours and discourse moves which supported the use of cognitive strategies.

Practical guidance for the use of a pattern-matching technique in case-study research : a case presentation

This paper reports on a study that demonstrates how to apply pattern matching as an analytical method in case-study research. Case-study design is appropriate for the investigation of highly-contextualized phenomena that occur within the social world. Case-study design is considered a pragmatic approach that permits employment of multiple methods and data sources in order to attain a rich understanding of the phenomenon under investigation. The findings from such multiple methods can be reconciled in case-study analysis, specifically through a pattern-matching technique. Although this technique is theoretically explained in the literature, there is scant guidance on how to apply the method practically when analyzing data. This paper demonstrates the steps taken during pattern matching in a completed case-study project that investigated the influence of cultural diversity in a multicultural nursing workforce on the quality and safety of patient care. The example highlighted in this paper contributes to the practical understanding of the pattern-matching process, and can also make a substantial contribution to case-study methods.

Frontier Techniques for Measuring and Estimating Airport Efficiency : An Empirical Review with Practical Guidelines for Analysis and Future Research

Airport efficiency is important because it has a direct impact on customer safety and satisfaction and therefore the financial performance and sustainability of airports, airlines, and affiliated service providers. This is especially so in a world characterized by an increasing volume of both domestic and international air travel, price and other forms of competition between rival airports, airport hubs and airlines, and rapid and sometimes unexpected changes in airline routes and carriers. It also reflects expansion in the number of airports handling regional, national, and international traffic and the growth of complementary airport facilities including industrial, commercial, and retail premises. This has fostered a steadily increasing volume of research aimed at modeling and providing best-practice measures and estimates of airport efficiency using mathematical and econometric frontiers. The purpose of this chapter is to review these various methods as they apply to airports throughout the world. Apart from discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the different approaches and their key findings, the paper also examines the steps faced by researchers as they move through the modeling process in defining airport inputs and outputs and the purported efficiency drivers. Accordingly, the chapter provides guidance to those conducting empirical research on airport efficiency and serves as an aid for aviation regulators and airport operators among others interpreting airport efficiency research outcomes.

Australian Diabetes Foot Network : practical guideline on the provision of footwear for people with diabetes

Trauma, in the form of pressure and/or friction from footwear, is a common cause of foot ulceration in people with diabetes. These practical recommendations regarding the provision of footwear for people with diabetes were agreed upon following review of existing position statements and clinical guidelines. The aim of this process was not to re-invent existing guidelines but to provide practical guidance for health professionals on how they can best deliver these recommendations within the Australian health system. Where information was lacking or inconsistent, a consensus was reached following discussion by all authors. Appropriately prescribed footwear, used alone or in conjunction with custom-made foot orthoses, can reduce pedal pressures and reduce the risk of foot ulceration. It is important for all health professionals involved in the care of people with diabetes to both assess and make recommendations on the footwear needs of their clients or to refer to health professionals with such skills and knowledge. Individuals with more complex footwear needs (for example those who require custom-made medical grade footwear and orthoses) should be referred to health professionals with experience in the prescription of these modalities and who are able to provide appropriate and timely follow-up. Where financial disadvantage is a barrier to individuals acquiring appropriate footwear, health care professionals should be aware of state and territory based equipment funding schemes that can provide financial assistance. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and people living in rural and remote areas are likely to have limited access to a broad range of footwear. Provision of appropriate footwear to people with diabetes in these communities needs be addressed as part of a comprehensive national strategy to reduce the burden of diabetes and its complications on the health system.

Practical Modbus flooding attack and detection

The Modicon Communication Bus (Modbus) protocol is one of the most commonly used protocols in industrial control systems. Modbus was not designed to provide security. This paper confirms that the Modbus protocol is vulnerable to flooding attacks. These attacks involve injection of commands that result in disrupting the normal operation of the control system. This paper describes a set of experiments that shows that an anomaly-based change detection algorithm and signature-based Snort threshold module are capable of detecting Modbus flooding attacks. In comparing these intrusion detection techniques, we find that the signature-based detection requires a carefully selected threshold value, and that the anomaly-based change detection algorithm may have a short delay before detecting the attacks depending on the parameters used. In addition, we also generate a network traffic dataset of flooding attacks on the Modbus control system protocol.

Practical Advice to Entrepreneurs Series by ACE Adjunct Professor Dean Shepherd: Practical advice on whether to act entrepreneurially

The author, Dean Shepherd, is interested in the psychology of entrepreneurship — how entrepreneurs think, decide to act, and feel. He recently realized that while his publications in academic journals have implications for entrepreneurs, those implications have remained relatively hidden in the text of the articles and hidden in articles published in journals largely inaccessible to those involved in the entrepreneurial process. This series is designed to bring the practical implications of his research to the forefront.

Practical Advice to Entrepreneurs Series by ACE Adjunct Professor Dean Shepherd: Practical advice for thinking about entrepreneurial decisions

The author, Dean Shepherd, is of entrepreneurship—how entrepreneurs think, decide to act, and feel. He recently realized that while his publications in academic journals have implications for entrepreneurs, those implications have remained relatively hidden in the text of the articles and hidden in articles published in journals largely inaccessible to those involved in the entrepreneurial process. This series is designed to bring the practical implications of his research to the forefront.

Practical Advice to Entrepreneurs Series by ACE Adjunct Professor Dean Shepherd: Practical advice on engaging values to avoid causing harm

The author, Dean Shepherd, is of entrepreneurship—how entrepreneurs think, decide to act, and feel. He recently realized that while his publications in academic journals have implications for entrepreneurs, those implications have remained relatively hidden in the text of the articles and hidden in articles published in journals largely inaccessible to those involved in the entrepreneurial process. This series is designed to bring the practical implications of his research to the forefront.

Practical Advice to Entrepreneurs Series by ACE Adjunct Professor Dean Shepherd: Practical advice on transitioning from trauma to entrepreneurship

The author, Dean Shepherd, is of entrepreneurship—how entrepreneurs think, decide to act, and feel. He recently realized that while his publications in academic journals have implications for entrepreneurs, those implications have remained relatively hidden in the text of the articles and hidden in articles published in journals largely inaccessible to those involved in the entrepreneurial process. This series is designed to bring the practical implications of his research to the forefront.