Deconstruction plan assessment using multi-criteria decision-making methods

The purpose of this paper is to present two multi-criteria decision-making models, including an Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) model and an Analytic Network Process (ANP) model for the assessment of deconstruction plans and to make a comparison between the two models with an experimental case study. Deconstruction planning is under pressure to reduce operation costs, adverse environmental impacts and duration, in the meanwhile to improve productivity and safety in accordance with structure characteristics, site conditions and past experiences. To achieve these targets in deconstruction projects, there is an impending need to develop a formal procedure for contractors to select a most appropriate deconstruction plan. Because numbers of factors influence the selection of deconstruction techniques, engineers definitely need effective tools to conduct the selection process. In this regard, multi-criteria decision-making methods such as AHP have been adopted to effectively support deconstruction technique selection in previous researches. in which it has been proved that AHP method can help decision-makers to make informed decisions on deconstruction technique selection based on a sound technical framework. In this paper, the authors present the application and comparison of two decision-making models including the AHP model and the ANP model for deconstruction plan assessment. The paper concludes that both AHP and ANP are viable and capable tools for deconstruction plan assessment under the same set of evaluation criteria. However, although the ANP can measure relationship among selection criteria and their sub-criteria, which is normally ignored in the AHP, the authors also indicate that whether the ANP model can provide a more accurate result should be examined in further research.

The market in freehold land, 1300-1509: the evidence of feet of fines

This article provides time series data on the medieval market in freehold land, including the changing social composition of freeholders, level of market activity, size and complexity of landholdings, and shifts in the market value of land. These are subjects hitherto largely ignored due, in part, to the disparate nature of the evidence. It argues that feet of fines, despite archival limitations, if employed with care and an understanding of the underlying changes in the common law of real property, are capable of providing quantifiable evidence spanning hundreds of years and comparable across large areas of England.

Married woman and their landholdings: the evidence from feet of fines, 1310-1509

Despite the recent expansion in studies of medieval women, uncertainty surrounds their married lives due to the social and legal constraints that existed at that time. Here it is argued that feet of fines provide a lens, albeit partial, on the activities of married women who were effectively managing the disposal and inheritance of their landed estates. At the same time the importance to the purchaser of ensuring the lawful acquisition of the property is also observed. As a result, greater insights into married women and their property in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries are obtained.