Cost estimating practice incorporating Building Information Modelling (BIM): Malaysian Quantity Surveyors perspectives

Cost estimating is a key task within Quantity Surveyors’ (QS) offices. Provision of an accurate estimate is vital to ensure that the objectives of the client are met by staying within the client’s budget. Building Information Modelling (BIM) is an evolving technology that has gained attention in the construction industries all over the world. Benefits from the use of BIM include cost and time savings if the processes used by the procurement team are adapted to maximise the benefits of BIM. BIM can be used by QSs to automate aspects of quantity take-off and the preparation of estimates, decreasing turnaround time and assist in controlling errors and inaccuracies. The Malaysian government has decided to require the use of BIM for its projects beginning from 2016. However, slow uptake is reported in the use of BIM both within companies and to support collaboration within the Malaysian industry. It has been recommended that QSs to start evaluating the impact of BIM on their practices. This paper reviews the perspectives of QSs in Malaysia towards the use of BIM to achieve more dependable results in their cost estimating practice. The objectives of this paper include identifying strategies in improving practice and potential adoption drivers that lead QSs to BIM usage in their construction projects. From the expert interviews, it was found out that, despite still using traditional methods and not practising BIM, the interviewees still acquire limited knowledge related to BIM. There are some drivers that potentially motivate them to employ BIM in their practices. These include client demands, innovation in traditional methods, speed in estimating costs, reduced time and costs, improvement in practices and self-awareness, efficiency in projects, and competition from other companies. The findings of this paper identify the potential drivers in encouraging Malaysian Quantity Surveyors to exploit BIM in their construction projects.

Effects of different instructional constraints on task performance and emergence of coordination in children

The objectives of this study were to determine the impact of different instructional constraints on standing board jump (sbj) performance in children and understand the underlying changes in emergent movement patterns. Two groups of novice participants were provided with either externally or internally focused attentional instructions during an intervention phase. Pre- and post-test sessions were undertaken to determine changes to performance and movement patterns. Thirty-six primary fourth-grade male students were recruited for this study and randomly assigned to either an external, internal focus or control group. Different instructional constraints with either an external focus (image of the achievement) or an internal focus (image of the act) were provided to the participants. Performance scores (jump distances), and data from key kinematic (joint range of motion, ROM) and kinetic variables (jump impulses) were collected. Instructional constraints with an emphasis on an external focus of attention were generally more effective in assisting learners to improve jump distances. Intra-individual analyses highlighted how enhanced jump distances for successful participants may be concomitant with specific changes to kinematic and kinetic variables. Larger joint ROM and adjustment to a comparatively larger horizontal impulse to a vertical impulse were observed for more successful participants at post-test performance. From a constraints-led perspective, the inclusion of instructional constraints encouraging self-adjustments in the control of movements (i.e., image of achievement) had a beneficial effect on individuals performing the standing broad jump task. However, the advantage of using an external focus of attentional instructions could be task- and individual-specific.

Programming: Reading, writing and reversing

In this paper, we look at the concept of reversibility, that is, negating opposites, counterbalances, and actions that can be reversed. Piaget identified reversibility as an indicator of the ability to reason at a concrete operational level. We investigate to what degree novice programmers manifest the ability to work with this concept of reversibility by providing them with a small piece of code and then asking them to write code that undoes the effect of that code. On testing entire cohorts of students in their first year of learning to program, we found an overwhelming majority of them could not cope with such a concept. We then conducted think aloud studies of novices where we observed them working on this task and analyzed their contrasting abilities to deal with it. The results of this study demonstrate the need for better understanding our students' reasoning abilities, and a teaching model aimed at that level of reality.

Reading the Texture of Reality : Chaos Theory, Literature and the Humanist Perspective

Tutkimuksessa analysoidaan kaaosteorian vaikutusta kaunokirjallisuudessa ja kirjallisuudentutkimuksessa ja esitetään, että kaaosteorian roolia kirjallisuuden kentällä voidaan parhaiten ymmärtää sen avaamien käsitteiden kautta. Suoran soveltamisen sijaan kaaosteorian avulla on käyty uudenlaisia keskusteluja vanhoista aiheista ja luonnontieteestä ammennetut käsitteet ovat johtaneet aiemmin tukkeutuneiden argumenttien avaamiseen uudesta näkökulmasta käsin. Väitöskirjassa keskitytään kolmeen osa-alueeseen: kaunokirjallisen teoksen rakenteen teoretisointiin, ihmisen (erityisesti tekijän) identiteetin hahmottamiseen ja kuvailemiseen sekä fiktion ja todellisuuden suhteen pohdintaan. Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on osoittaa, kuinka kaaosteorian kautta näitä aiheita on lähestytty niin kirjallisuustieteessä kuin kaunokirjallisissa teoksissakin. Väitöskirjan keskiössä ovat romaanikirjailija John Barthin, dramatisti Tom Stoppardin ja runoilija Jorie Grahamin teosten analyysit. Nämä kirjailijat ammentavat kaaosteoriasta keinoja käsitteellistää rakenteita, jotka ovat yhtä aikaa dynaamisia prosesseja ja hahmotettavia muotoja. Kaunokirjallisina teemoina nousevat esiin myös ihmisen paradoksaalisesti tunnistettava ja aina muuttuva identiteetti sekä lopullista haltuunottoa pakeneva, mutta silti kiehtova ja tavoiteltava todellisuus. Näiden kirjailijoiden teosten analyysin sekä teoreettisen keskustelun kautta väitöskirjassa tuodaan esiin aiemmassa tutkimuksessa varjoon jäänyt, koherenssia, ymmärrettävyyttä ja realismia painottava humanistinen näkökulma kaaosteorian merkityksestä kirjallisuudessa.

Expert Identity in Development of Core-Task-Oriented Working Practices for Mastering Demanding Situations

The point of departure in this dissertation was the practical safety problem of unanticipated, unfamiliar events and unexpected changes in the environment, the demanding situations which the operators should take care of in the complex socio-technical systems. The aim of this thesis was to increase the understanding of demanding situations and of the resources for coping with these situations by presenting a new construct, a conceptual model called Expert Identity (ExId) as a way to open up new solutions to the problem of demanding situations and by testing the model in empirical studies on operator work. The premises of the Core-Task Analysis (CTA) framework were adopted as a starting point: core-task oriented working practices promote the system efficiency (incl. safety, productivity and well-being targets) and that should be supported. The negative effects of stress were summarised and the possible countermeasures related to the operators' personal resources such as experience, expertise, sense of control, conceptions of work and self etc. were considered. ExId was proposed as a way to bring emotional-energetic depth into the work analysis and to supplement CTA-based practical methods to discover development challenges and to contribute to the development of complex socio-technical systems. The potential of ExId to promote understanding of operator work was demonstrated in the context of the six empirical studies on operator work. Each of these studies had its own practical objectives within the corresponding quite broad focuses of the studies. The concluding research questions were: 1) Are the assumptions made in ExId on the basis of the different theories and previous studies supported by the empirical findings? 2) Does the ExId construct promote understanding of the operator work in empirical studies? 3) What are the strengths and weaknesses of the ExId construct? The layers and the assumptions of the development of expert identity appeared to gain evidence. The new conceptual model worked as a part of an analysis of different kinds of data, as a part of different methods used for different purposes, in different work contexts. The results showed that the operators had problems in taking care of the core task resulting from the discrepancy between the demands and resources (either personal or external). The changes of work, the difficulties in reaching the real content of work in the organisation and the limits of the practical means of support had complicated the problem and limited the possibilities of the development actions within the case organisations. Personal resources seemed to be sensitive to the changes, adaptation is taking place, but not deeply or quickly enough. Furthermore, the results showed several characteristics of the studied contexts that complicated the operators' possibilities to grow into or with the demands and to develop practices, expertise and expert identity matching the core task. They were: discontinuation of the work demands, discrepancy between conceptions of work held in the other parts of organisation, visions and the reality faced by the operators, emphasis on the individual efforts and situational solutions. The potential of ExId to open up new paths to solving the problem of the demanding situations and its ability to enable studies on practices in the field was considered in the discussion. The results were interpreted as promising enough to encourage the conduction of further studies on ExId. This dissertation proposes especially contribution to supporting the workers in recognising the changing demands and their possibilities for growing with them when aiming to support human performance in complex socio-technical systems, both in designing the systems and solving the existing problems.

Cognitive deficits and the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test performance among patients with multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, inflammatory disease of the central nervous system, characterized especially by myelin and axon damage. Cognitive impairment in MS is common but difficult to detect without a neuropsychological examination. Valid and reliable methods are needed in clinical practice and research to detect deficits, follow their natural evolution, and verify treatment effects. The Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT) is a measure of sustained and divided attention, working memory, and information processing speed, and it is widely used in MS patients neuropsychological evaluation. Additionally, the PASAT is the sole cognitive measure in an assessment tool primarly designed for MS clinical trials, the Multiple Sclerosis Functional Composite (MSFC). The aims of the present study were to determine a) the frequency, characteristics, and evolution of cognitive impairment among relapsing-remitting MS patients, and b) the validity and reliability of the PASAT in measuring cognitive performance in MS patients. The subjects were 45 relapsing-remitting MS patients from Seinäjoki Central Hospital, Department of Neurology and 48 healthy controls. Both groups underwent comprehensive neuropsychological assessments, including the PASAT, twice in a one-year follow-up, and additionally a sample of 10 patients and controls were evaluated with the PASAT in serial assessments five times in one month. The frequency of cognitive dysfunction among relapsing-remitting MS patients in the present study was 42%. Impairments were characterized especially by slowed information processing speed and memory deficits. During the one-year follow-up, the cognitive performance was relatively stable among MS patients on a group level. However, the practice effects in cognitive tests were less pronounced among MS patients than healthy controls. At an individual level the spectrum of MS patients cognitive deficits was wide in regards to their characteristics, severity, and evolution. The PASAT was moderately accurate in detecting MS-associated cognitive impairment, and 69% of patients were correctly classified as cognitively impaired or unimpaired when comprehensive neuropsychological assessment was used as a "gold standard". Self-reported nervousness and poor arithmetical skills seemed to explain misclassifications. MS-related fatigue was objectively demonstrated as fading performance towards the end of the test. Despite the observed practice effect, the reliability of the PASAT was excellent, and it was sensitive to the cognitive decline taking place during the follow-up in a subgroup of patients. The PASAT can be recommended for use in the neuropsychological assessment of MS patients. The test is fairly sensitive, but less specific; consequently, the reasons for low scores have to be carefully identified before interpreting them as clinically significant.

Auditory - Visual Matching in Learning Disabilities : Intervention Studies from Finland and Sweden

The present thesis discusses relevant issues in education: 1) learning disabilities including the role of comorbidity in LDs, and 2) the use of research-based interventions. This thesis consists of a series of four studies (three articles), which deepens the knowledge of the field of special education. Intervention studies (N=242) aimed to examine whether training using a nonverbal auditory-visual matching computer program had a remedial effect in different learning disabilities, such as developmental dyslexia, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Specific Language Impairment (SLI). These studies were conducted in both Finland and Sweden. The intervention’s non-verbal character made an international perspective possible. The results of the intervention studies confirmed, that the auditory-visual matching computer program, called Audilex had positive intervention effects. In Study I of children with developmental dyslexia there were also improvements in reading skills, specifically in reading nonsense words and reading speed. These improvements in tasks, which are thought to rely on phonological processing, suggest that such reading difficulties in dyslexia may stem in part from more basic perceptual difficulties, including those required to manage the visual and auditory components of the decoding task. In Study II the intervention had a positive effect on children with dyslexia; older students with dyslexia and surprisingly, students with ADD also benefited from this intervention. In conclusion, the role of comorbidity was apparent. An intervention effect was evident also in students’ school behavior. Study III showed that children with SLI experience difficulties very similar to those of children with dyslexia in auditory-visual matching. Children with language-based learning disabilities, such as dyslexia and SLI benefited from the auditory-visual matching intervention. Also comorbidity was evident among these children; in addition to formal diagnoses, comorbidity was explored with an assessment inventory, which was developed for this thesis. Interestingly, an overview of the data of this thesis shows positive intervention effects in all studies despite learning disability, language, gender or age. These findings have been described by a concept inter-modal transpose. Self-evidently these issues need further studies. In learning disabilities the aim in the future will also be to identify individuals at risk rather than by deficit; this aim can be achieved by using research-based interventions, intensified support in general education and inclusive special education. Keywords: learning disabilities, developmental dyslexia, attention deficit disorder, specific language impairment, language-based learning disabilities, comorbidity, auditory-visual matching, research-based interventions, inter-modal transpose

Pre-maps : An Educational Programme for Reading Tactile Maps

It is demanding for children with visual impairment to become aware of the world beyond their immediate experience. They need to learn to control spatial experiences as a whole and understand the relationships between objects, surfaces and themselves. Tactile maps can be an excellent source of information for depicting space and environment. By means of tactile maps children can develop their spatial understanding more efficiently than through direct travel experiences supplemented with verbal explanations. Tactile maps can help children when they are learning to understand environmental, spatial, and directional concepts. The ability to read tactile maps is not self-evident; it is a skill, which must be learned. The main research question was: can children who are visually impaired learn to read tactile maps at the preschool age if they receive structural teaching? The purpose of this study was to develop an educational program for preschool children with visual impairment, the aim of which was to teach them to read tactile maps in order to strengthen their orientation skills and to encourage them to explore the world beyond their immediate experience. The study is a multiple case study describing the development of the map program consisting of eight learning tasks. The program was developed with one preschooler who was blind, and subsequently the program was implemented with three other children. Two of the children were blind from birth, one child had lost her vision at the age of two, and one child had low vision. The program was implemented in a normal preschool. Another objective of the pre-map program was to teach the preschooler with visual impairment to understand the concept of a map. The teaching tools were simple, map-like representations called pre-maps. Before a child with visual impairment can read a comprehensive tactile map, it is important to learn to understand map symbols, and how a three-dimensional model changes to a two-dimensional tactile map. All teaching sessions were videotaped; the results are based on the analysis of the videotapes. Two of the children completed the program successfully, and learned to read a tactile map. The two other children felt happy during the sessions, but it was problematic for them to engage fully in the instruction. One of the two eventually completed the program, while the other developed predominantly emerging skills. The results of the children's performances and the positive feedback from the teachers, assistants and the parents proved that this pre-map program is appropriate teaching material for preschool children who are visually impaired. The program does not demand high-level expertise; also parents, preschool teachers, and school assistants can carry out the program.

Past-day recall of sedentary time: Validity of a self-reported measure of sedentary time in a university population

Background Sedentary behaviour is associated with several deleterious health consequences. Although device-based measures of sedentary time are available, they are costly and do not provide a measure of domain specific sedentary time. High quality self-report measures are necessary to accurately capture domain specific sedentary time, and to provide an alternative to devices when cost is an issue. In this study, the Past-day Adults’ Sedentary Time (PAST) questionnaire, previously shown to have acceptable validity and reliability in a sample of breast cancer survivors, was modified for a university sample and validity of the modified questionnaire was examined compared with activPAL. Methods Participants (n = 58, age = 18–55 years, 48% female, 66% students) were recruited from the University of Queensland (students and staff). They answered the PAST questionnaire, which asked about time spent sitting or lying down for work, study, travel, television viewing, leisure-time computer use, reading, eating, socialising and other purposes, during the previous day. Time reported for these questions was summed to provide a measure of total sedentary time. Participants also wore an activPAL device for the full day prior to completing the questionnaire and recorded their wake and sleep times in an activity log. Total waking sedentary time derived from the activPAL was used as the criterion measure. Correlation (Pearson's r) and agreement (Bland–Altman plots) between PAST and activPAL sedentary time were examined. Results Participants were sedentary (activPAL-determined) for approximately 66% of waking hours. The correlation between PAST and activPAL sedentary time for the whole sample was r = 0.50 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.28–0.67]; and higher for non-students (r = 0.63, 95% CI = 0.26–0.84) than students (r = 0.46, 95% CI = 0.16–0.68). Bland–Altman plots revealed that the mean difference between the two measures was 19 min although limits of agreement were wide (95% limits of agreement −4.1 to 4.7 h). Discussion The PAST questionnaire provides an acceptable measure of sedentary time in this population, which included students and adults with high workplace sitting. These findings support earlier research that questionnaires employing past-day recall of sedentary time provide a viable alternative to existing sedentary behaviour questionnaires.

Reactions to changes in work control: Implications for self-determined and non-self-determined individuals

We investigate the extent to which individuals’ global motivation (self-determined and non-self-determined types) influences adjustment (anxiety, positive reappraisal) and engagement (intrinsic motivation, task performance) in reaction to changes to the level of work control available during a work simulation. Participants (N = 156) completed 2 trials of an inbox activity under conditions of low or high work control—with the ordering of these levels varied to create an increase, decrease, or no change in work control. In support of the hypotheses, results revealed that for more self-determined individuals, high work control led to the increased use of positive reappraisal. Follow-up moderated mediation analyses revealed that the increases in positive reappraisal observed for self-determined individuals in the conditions in which work control was high by Trial 2 consequently increased their intrinsic motivation toward the task. For more non-self-determined individuals, high work control (as well as changes in work control) led to elevated anxiety. Follow-up moderated mediation analyses revealed that the increases in anxiety observed for non-self-determined individuals in the high-to-high work control condition consequently reduced their task performance. It is concluded that adjustment to a demanding work task depends on a fit between individuals’ global motivation and the work control available, which has consequences for engagement with demanding work.

Early school-based parent involvement, children’s self-regulated learning and academic achievement: An Australian longitudinal study

Parent involvement is widely accepted as being associated with children’s improved educational outcomes. However, the role of early school-based parent involvement is still being established. This study investigated the mediating role of self-regulated learning behaviors in the relationship between early school-based parent involvement and children’s academic achievement, using data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (N = 2616). Family socioeconomic position, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status, language background, child gender and cognitive competence, were controlled, as well home and community based parent involvement activity in order to derive a more confident interpretation of the results. Structural equation modeling analyses showed that children’s self-regulated learning behaviors fully mediated the relationships between school-based parent involvement at Grade 1 and children’s reading achievement at Grade 3. Importantly, these relationships were evident for children across all socio-economic backgrounds. Although there was no direct relationship between parent involvement at Grade 1 and numeracy achievement at Grade 3, parent involvement was indirectly associated with higher children’s numeracy achievement through children’s self-regulation of learning behaviors, though this relationship was stronger for children from middle and higher socio-economic backgrounds. Implications for policy and practice are discussed, and further research recommended.

Multilayer single-component thin films and microcapsules via covalent bonded layer-by-layer self-assembly

Fabrication of single-component multilayer thin films still remains a challenging task via the layer-by-layer (LbL) approach. In this communication, we report the self-assembly of single-component multilayer thin films on flat and colloidal substrates through glutaraldehyde mediated covalent bonding.

A reverse Stroop task with mouse tracking

In a reverse Stroop task, observers respond to the meaning of a color word irrespective of the color in which the word is printed—for example, the word red may be printed in the congruent color (red), an incongruent color (e.g., blue), or a neutral color (e.g., white). Although reading of color words in this task is often thought to be neither facilitated by congruent print colors nor interfered with incongruent print colors, this interference has been detected by using a response method that does not give any bias in favor of processing of word meanings or processing of print colors. On the other hand, evidence for the presence of facilitation in this task has been scarce, even though this facilitation is theoretically possible. By modifying the task such that participants respond to a stimulus color word by pointing to a corresponding response word on a computer screen with a mouse, the present study investigated the possibility that not only interference but also facilitation would take place in a reverse Stroop task. Importantly, in this study, participants’ responses were dynamically tracked by recording the entire trajectories of the mouse. Arguably, this method provided richer information about participants’ performance than traditional measures such as reaction time and accuracy, allowing for more detailed (and thus potentially more sensitive) investigation of facilitation and interference in the reverse Stroop task. These trajectories showed that the mouse’s approach toward correct response words was significantly delayed by incongruent print colors but not affected by congruent print colors, demonstrating that only interference, not facilitation, was present in the current task. Implications of these findings are discussed within a theoretical framework in which the strength of association between a task and its response method plays a critical role in determining how word meanings and print colors interact in reverse Stroop tasks.

Effect of GPS on understanding relationship between mobile map and environment : A field experiment

Objectives: GPS technology enables the visualisation of a map reader s location on a mobile map. Earlier research on the cognitive aspects of map reading identified that searching for map-environment points is an essential element for the process of determining one s location on a mobile map. Map-environment points refer to objects that are visualized on the map and are recognizable in the environment. However, because the GPS usually adds only one point to the map that has a relation to the environment, it does not provide a sufficient amount of information for self-location. The aim of the present thesis was to assess the effect of GPS on the cognitive processes involved in determining one s location on a map. Methods: The effect of GPS on self-location was studied in a field experiment. The subjects were shown a target on a mobile map, and they were asked to point in the direction of the target. In order for the map reader to be able to deduce the direction of the target, he/she has to locate himself/herself on the map. During the pointing tasks, the subjects were asked to think aloud. The data from the experiment were used to analyze the effect of the GPS on the time needed to perform the task. The subjects verbal data was used to assess the effect of the GPS on the number of landmark concepts mentioned during a task (landmark concepts are words referring to objects that can be recognized both on the map and in the environment). Results and conclusions: The results from the experiment indicate that the GPS reduces the time needed to locate oneself on a map. The analysis of the verbal data revealed that the GPS reduces the number of landmark concepts in the protocols. The findings suggest that the GPS guides the subject s search for the map-environment points and narrows the area on the map that must be searched for self-location.

Self Assessment-Based Decision Making for Multiagent Cooperative Search

This paper addresses a search problem with multiple limited capability search agents in a partially connected dynamical networked environment under different information structures. A self assessment-based decision-making scheme for multiple agents is proposed that uses a modified negotiation scheme with low communication overheads. The scheme has attractive features of fast decision-making and scalability to large number of agents without increasing the complexity of the algorithm. Two models of the self assessment schemes are developed to study the effect of increase in information exchange during decision-making. Some analytical results on the maximum number of self assessment cycles, effect of increasing communication range, completeness of the algorithm, lower bound and upper bound on the search time are also obtained. The performance of the various self assessment schemes in terms of total uncertainty reduction in the search region, using different information structures is studied. It is shown that the communication requirement for self assessment scheme is almost half of the negotiation schemes and its performance is close to the optimal solution. Comparisons with different sequential search schemes are also carried out. Note to Practitioners-In the futuristic military and civilian applications such as search and rescue, surveillance, patrol, oil spill, etc., a swarm of UAVs can be deployed to carry out the mission for information collection. These UAVs have limited sensor and communication ranges. In order to enhance the performance of the mission and to complete the mission quickly, cooperation between UAVs is important. Designing cooperative search strategies for multiple UAVs with these constraints is a difficult task. Apart from this, another requirement in the hostile territory is to minimize communication while making decisions. This adds further complexity to the decision-making algorithms. In this paper, a self-assessment-based decision-making scheme, for multiple UAVs performing a search mission, is proposed. The agents make their decisions based on the information acquired through their sensors and by cooperation with neighbors. The complexity of the decision-making scheme is very low. It can arrive at decisions fast with low communication overheads, while accommodating various information structures used for increasing the fidelity of the uncertainty maps. Theoretical results proving completeness of the algorithm and the lower and upper bounds on the search time are also provided.