Search

Purpose: Accurate and timely cost prediction is critical to the success of construction projects which is still facing challenges especially at the early stage. In the context of rapid development of machine learning technology and the massive cost data from historical projects, this paper aims to propose a novel cost prediction model based on historical data with improved performance when only limited information about the new project is available. Design/methodology/approach: The proposed approach combines regression analysis (RA) and artificial neural network (ANN) to build a novel hybrid cost prediction model with the former as front-end prediction and the latter as back-end correction. Firstly, the main factors influencing the cost of building projects are identified through literature research and subsequently screened by principal component analysis (PCA). Secondly the optimal RA model is determined through multi-model comparison and used for front-end prediction. Finally, ANN is applied to construct the error correction model. The hybrid RA-ANN model was trained and tested with cost data from 128 completed construction projects in China. Findings: The results show that the hybrid cost prediction model has the advantages of both RA and ANN whose prediction accuracy is higher than that of RA and ANN only with the information such as total floor area, height and number of floors. Originality/value: (1) The most critical influencing factors of the buildings' cost are found out by means of PCA on the historical data. (2) A novel hybrid RA-ANN model is proposed which proved to have the advantages of both RA and ANN with higher accuracy. (3) The comparison among different models has been carried out which is helpful to future model selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China leads the world in the volume of outward foreign direct investment (FDI) in agriculture. This status is the result of long-term policies, including the agricultural «going out» strategy and the «Belt and Road» initiative. Despite this leadership, the overall volume of both total FDI and agricultural FDI has been declining in recent years. This paper aims to analyse the structure and trends of Chinese outward FDI in agriculture, given the limited availability of statistical data. The results show that the total volume of China's agricultural FDI exceeded $106.98 billion (7.4% of China's total outward FDIs) in the period from 2005 to 2023. Despite fluctuations in investment volume, there has been a growth trend, with a peak in 2017 marked by significant transactions such as the acquisition of Syngenta. Developed countries are the primary recipients of Chinese FDI in agriculture, while developing countries dominate Chinese construction projects. The list of both investors and builders includes predominantly state-owned enter-prises. In summary, the trajectory of Chinese outward foreign direct investment in agriculture presents a compelling narrative of strategic global engagement and economic expansion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction industry is an important material production sector of the national economy, and trade in goods and services between different industrial sectors in different regions may result in the transfer of embodied carbon emissions from the construction industry. A systematic identification of the relationships and structural characteristics of the embodied carbon transfer in the construction industry is crucial for rationally defining the responsibility for emission reduction and scientifically formulating emission reduction policies to promote the effective promotion of China's carbon emission reduction actions. Based on the calculation of input-output theory, this study constructs a multiregional input-output (MRIO) model of 31 provinces in China containing 28 industries to estimate the carbon emissions of the construction industry in 2017, it also combines the complex network theory to construct the industrial and regional embodied carbon transfer network of China's construction industry, and calculates the network structure indexes to deeply explore the spatial transfer network structure characteristics of the embodied carbon transfer between regions of China's construction industry in 2017. The results show that the construction, energy and building materials manufacturing sectors are at the core of the sectoral carbon transfer network structure, with strong network control. The embodied carbon transfer network between regions in the construction industry has a small-world character, more than 40% of all relevant regions have carbon transfer relationships with other regions, significant carbon emissions are transferred from the resource-rich, industrially well-endowed central-western and north-eastern provinces to the economically developed south-eastern coastal provinces. According to the results of the study, differentiated carbon emission reduction plans are formulated, and policy suggestions for optimizing the carbon emission reduction plan of the construction industry are put forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Public-private partnership (PPP) projects for construction waste recycling have become the main approach to construction waste treatment in China. Risk sharing and income distribution of PPP projects play a vital role in achieving project success. This paper is aimed at building a practical and effective risk sharing and income distribution model to achieve win–win situation among different stakeholders, thereby providing a systematic framework for governments to promote construction waste recycling. Design/methodology/approach: Stakeholders of construction waste recycling PPP projects were reclassified according to the stakeholder theory. Best-worst multi–criteria decision-making method and comprehensive fuzzy evaluation method (BWM–FCE) risk assessment model was constructed to optimize the risk assessment of core stakeholders in construction waste recycling PPP projects. Based on the proposed risk evaluation model for construction waste recycling PPP projects, the Shapley value income distribution model was modified in combination with capital investment, contribution and project participation to obtain a more equitable and reasonable income distribution system. Findings: The income distribution model showed that PPP Project Companies gained more transaction benefits, which proved that PPP Project Companies played an important role in the actual operation of PPP projects. The policy change risk, investment and financing risk and income risk were the most important risks and key factors for project success. Therefore, it is of great significance to strengthen the management of PPP Project Companies, and in the process of PPP implementation, the government should focus on preventing the risk of policy changes, investment and financing risks and income risks. Practical implications: The findings from this study have advanced the application methods of risk sharing and income distribution for PPP projects and further improved PPP project-related theories. It helps to promote and rationalize fairness in construction waste recycling PPP projects and to achieve mutual benefits and win–win situation in risk sharing. It has also provided a reference for resource management of construction waste and laid a solid foundation for long-term development of construction waste resources. Originality/value: PPP mode is an effective tool for construction waste recycling. How to allocate risks and distribute benefits has become the most important issue of waste recycling PPP projects, and also the key to project success. The originality of this study resides in its provision of a holistic approach of risk allocation and benefit distribution on construction waste PPP projects in China as a developing country. Accordingly, this study adds its value by promoting resource development of construction waste, extending an innovative risk allocation and benefit distribution method in PPP projects, and providing a valuable reference for policymakers and private investors who are planning to invest in PPP projects in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Architectural Journal / Jian Zhu Xue Bao is the property of Architectural Journal Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Construction accidents occur frequently in China because the supervision of safety standards mandated by the government has not had its intended effect. In this paper, the authors propose a model to incentivize the management of safety during construction that involves the government as well as the owners and contractors in the industry. This study analyzes the principal–agent relationship involving each participant to determine their utility function and the minimum constraints on their participation, and uses this to obtain the optimal parameters to incentivize the management of safety during construction by solving for the ones related to the contractor's effort and reward for their performance in the proposed model of incentives. Through the design of contractor incentive parameters and owner incentive parameters to further influence the government contractor and owner tripartite safety incentive model to make the model more perfect and in line with the development status of China. This study tested the proposed model using simulations. The results indicated that increasing the cost coefficient and level of the contractor's effort increases their expected safety-related benefits, and increasing the coefficients of reward and punishment by the government reduces the contractor's expected safety-related benefits. Moreover, the government can motivate the management of safety during construction by offering appropriate rewards and punishments. In particular, if the government increases incentives for safety, the safety-related benefits for owners and contractors decrease in the short term but increase significantly in the long term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction of green and smart cities is an important approach to enhancing the level of high-quality development and modern governance, in which infrastructure construction is the antecedent condition. From the perspective of green total factor productivity (GTFP), this paper adopts the SBM–GML (Slack-Based Model and Global Malmquist–Luenberger) index to measure the urban green and smart development level (GSDL) considering smart input–output factors. Based on the panel data of China’s 223 prefecture-level cities from 2005 to 2018, the dynamic impacts, temporal, and spatial differences of energy, transportation, and telecommunication infrastructure construction on the urban GSDL are discussed, and the threshold effects of urban scale are tested. The following conclusions are drawn: (1) On the whole, energy infrastructure inhibits the urban GSDL, while transportation and telecommunication infrastructures significantly promote it. There are distinct spatial and temporal characteristics among the impacts of these three infrastructures on the urban GSDL, in which the facilitating role of transportation and telecommunication infrastructures are further enhanced during the period of 2013–2018. Furthermore, the impacts of these three infrastructures on the urban GSDL all show “U” shape in terms of non-linearity. (2) Economic development level and industrial structure have significant positive effects on the urban GSDL, whereas human capital only has positive effect in the northeast and southwest regions, and government scale shows no positive impact yet. (3) There is a single threshold for the impact of urban scale on these three infrastructures, among which the impacts of energy and transportation infrastructures on the urban GSDL remain consistent before and after the threshold, while the impact of telecommunication infrastructure on the urban GSDL varies from having no significance to being positive when crossing the threshold. Thus, capital investment for infrastructure construction should be further allocated reasonably, the positive potential of human capital should be fully released, and the urban scale should be appropriately controlled in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to analyse the structural function and symbolic function of the historic building Yuan Guan during the inculturation process in the early Qing dynasty in China. This process was the dominant Western practice during the early Qing dynasty, when technology, design, aesthetics, and linear perspective were considered indispensable tools to express the nature of an architectural encounter between China and Europe. Given the artistic–cultural richness of this context, the masterwork Yuanying Guan complex can be examined from a spatial semiotic study in an original and unique way. Thus, semiotic tools were used to interpret the expression of the architectural space and to formulate a subsequent understanding of the architectural forms of this destroyed heritage, turning each element into a tool of communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, there are still some obstacles in the development of China's construction projects, such as low information transmission efficiency, poor information coordination and sharing, and low value of information utilization. Based on this, the BIM architecture is described and applied. This paper uses the SURAIN model algorithm. The conceptual model of information integration management with data layer, information model layer and functional application layer as the core in distributed network environment is constructed and verified. The results show that the functional design of the BIM information integration management system platform for building information is conducive to the improvement of building information transmission efficiency and accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We analyse wage differences between Chinese and non-Chinese firms in Angola and Ethiopia. • There is scarcity of rigorous quantitative comparative work on working conditions in Chinese firms operating in Africa. • We find that Chinese firms do not consistently pay less than comparable firms. • A combination of individual worker characteristics, sector specificities, and firm attributes other than the national origin, are necessary to explain variations in wages in both countries. This paper analyses wage differences between Chinese and non-Chinese firms in Angola and Ethiopia. The growing engagement of Chinese firms in sub-Saharan Africa has generated debates about the working conditions offered to African workers. However, the evidence for many of the claims made about wages in Chinese firms operating in sub-Saharan Africa is unconvincing. In this paper the authors identify problems with the existing literature and provide new comparative evidence on wages in Chinese, other foreign and domestic firms in Angola and Ethiopia. Drawing on over 1,400 worker-level interviews the authors find that Chinese firms do not consistently pay less than comparable firms. Using a multi-scalar labour regime framework the authors show that a combination individual worker characteristics, sector specificities, and firm attributes are necessary to explain variations in wages in both countries. The national origin of firms by itself cannot explain the observed differences in wages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese expatriate workers in Africa remain an under-researched and poorly understood group despite their large numbers. Based on data collected through interviews and participant observations during 2013 and 2014 among Chinese expatriate construction workers employed by a large-scale Chinese state-owned construction enterprise in Zambia, this article offers an analysis of their migration experience as it relates to the context of China's growing economic involvement with Africa. This paper further argues that Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in Africa function as transnational social organizations to promote Chinese expatriate workers' migration to Africa and provide them social support and care when they experience difficulties during their sojourn. In this way, the patron–client relationship was formed between Chinese SOEs and Chinese expatriate workers, paralleling the existing employment relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the urgency of the transition to renewable energy, this study examines the challenges and opportunities associated with the electrification of heavy-duty vehicles, particularly new energy construction dump trucks, in China. Through a combination of policy analysis and empirical research, it investigates drivers' purchase intentions towards these alternative energy vehicles in a designated study area. The findings reveal that while policies aimed at encouraging adoption are in place, drivers' purchase intentions remain low due to factors such as high costs, technical concerns, inadequate infrastructure, and satisfaction with existing trucks. Specifically, the study identifies key technical challenges, including battery performance and range limitations, and advocates for a shift in policy support towards product development to address these issues. Overall, the paper highlights the need for a comprehensive approach that combines policy incentives with technological advancements to promote the widespread adoption of new energy construction dump trucks in China and achieve sustainability and carbon neutrality goals in the transportation sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The green innovation behavior of construction enterprises is the key to reducing the construction industry's carbon emissions and realizing the green transformation of the construction industry. The purpose of this study is to reveal the evolutionary mechanism of green innovation behavior in construction enterprises. Design/methodology/approach: This study is based on resource-based theory, Porter's hypothesis and signaling theory. First, a measurement model of the green innovation behavior of construction enterprises was constructed from three aspects: environmental regulation, enterprise resources and public opinion through hierarchical analysis. Then, the state values of the measurement model of green innovation behavior of construction enterprises were calculated through the time series data from 2011–2018. Finally, the Markov chain model was used to predict the evolutionary trend of green innovation behavior of construction enterprises, and the accuracy of the prediction effect of the Markov chain model was verified using the time series data of 2019. Findings: The Markov chain model of green innovation behavior of construction enterprises constructed in this study has high accuracy. This model finds that the transition of the growth state of green innovation behavior in China's construction industry is fluid and predicts the evolution trend of the innovation behavior of construction enterprises. In the future, the green innovation behavior of construction enterprises has a probability of 70.17% to be in a continuous growth state and 40.27% to be in a rapid growth state. Originality/value: Based on the Markov chain model of green innovation behavior of construction enterprises, this study finds that the transition of the growth state of green innovation behavior of construction enterprises in China has the characteristics of liquidity. In addition, it reveals the development process of the green innovation behavior of construction enterprises from 2011–2018 and predicts the evolution trend of the green innovation behavior of construction enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of new construction methods, China's construction industry is facing the transformation challenges of industrialization and informationization. However, migrant workers are characterized by high mobility, low education, and poor skills in China's national conditions, which can no longer meet the requirements of operations. The transformation of the low-level manual migrant workers in the construction industry to high-level skilled industrial workers is inevitable. In order to explore how to better achieve the transformation of construction workers, evolutionary game research with construction unit and labor company as the subjects was carried out. Three types of assumptions were introduced into the constructed evolutionary game model: cooperation mechanism, spillover effect, and incentive mechanism (CSI). Simulation experiments and analysis of the model were finally conducted. The results of the game analysis finally show: (1) a higher initial proportion of selected transformed industrial workers; (2) a fair benefit concession from the construction unit to the labor company; (3) a lower revenue spillover effect; (4) that a higher level of regulation and incentives are conducive to the evolutionary game to converge to the desired state at a faster rate. The findings provide ideas for improving the labor system in China's construction industry and lay the foundation for solving the labor specialization problem of new construction methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Conscious of the benefits building information modeling (BIM) has brought about to the architecture, engineering, construction and operations (AECO) industry, the Chinese government has been driving BIM adoption. Nonetheless, its acceptance and proliferation in China remain stagnant. Most relevant literature focuses on BIM diffusion at the industry and organizational levels, but the impact of non-managerial practitioners executing BIM or the traditional drafting approach in day-to-day work tends to be disregarded. This study aims to extend theoretical models pertaining to technology acceptance to understand non-managerial practitioners' perceptions toward working with BIM in China. Design/methodology/approach: A new BIM acceptance model was proposed based on previous technology acceptance theories. After a pilot study, a survey was conducted with 153 non-managerial practitioners in the Chinese AECO industry. Findings: Among factors impacting non-managerial practitioners' BIM acceptance in China, performance expectancy and task-technology fit significantly and positively influence behavioral intention to accept BIM, while the impacts from effort expectancy, social influence and facilitating conditions are not essential. Research limitations/implications: Management strategies, such as improving non-managerial staff's benefits and sense of BIM usefulness, selecting suitable tools to match with the staff's tasks and promoting a middle-out approach in parallel with top-down interventions, are proposed for Chinese AECO organizations to enhance BIM acceptance. Originality/value: Few studies have explored BIM acceptance from the perspective of non-managerial users in the Chinese AECO industry, especially using the theories related to technology acceptance. The BIM acceptance model developed in this study is different from those used in previous global studies in terms of influencing factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building on social information processing theory and social exchange theory, this research advances the emerging concept of work engagement and inclusive leadership. Surprisingly, there is no study linking work engagement and inclusive leadership style in the setting of multiple organizations in China. The main purpose of this study is to identify the effective leadership style affecting work engagement directly and indirectly through psychological safety. The trust in leader further moderated the direct relationships. Using multi‐source data of 390 responses from leaders‐subordinates dyads working in 20 Chinese companies (which include textile, manufacturing, construction, and trading), this study tested how inclusive leadership increased the work engagement of their subsequent subordinates. The mediating role of psychological safety and moderating role of trust in leader therein. The findings introduced an interactive motivational framework that revealed the positive influence of inclusive leadership on the work engagement of subordinates. Further, psychological safety mediated the direct relationship between inclusive leaders and work engagement. The role of trust in leader strengthened the direct relationship of inclusive leadership with psychological safety and work engagement. This is among the first studies to integrate inclusive leadership, psychological safety, trust in leader, and work engagement into a single interactive framework. Further, it provides empirical evidence in the context of predicting and increasing the work engagement of subordinates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decentralization and a lack of integration in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry are some of the main challenges for project management in green building construction. To address this problem, many construction companies have attempted to use building information modelling (BIM) to coordinate and optimize the management of green building projects. However, the research on successfully adopting and using BIM in interdisciplinary teams working on green building projects is limited; moreover, comprehensive comparisons across different countries and regions are lacking. Therefore, this study conducts a novel investigation of the key factors affecting the use of BIM in project management for green building construction through case studies in the UK and China. This study uses semi-structured interviews, Python-based term frequency analysis and thematic analysis to identify five key themes, namely, communication, data environment, motivation, project members and policy, which influence the adoption and implementation of BIM. In addition, based on gained insights, the impacts of different green building certification levels on BIM project management during the construction phase must be fully considered. These findings provide practical recommendations for BIM management in green building construction projects and contribute to the field of construction management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Building information modeling (BIM) is recognized as one of the technologies to upgrade the informatization level of the architecture engineering and construction (AEC) industry. However, the level of BIM implementation in the construction phase lags behind other phases of the project. Assessing the level of BIM implementation in the construction phase from a system dynamics (SD) perspective can comprehensively understand the interrelationship of factors in the BIM implementation system, thereby developing effective strategies to enhance BIM implementation during the construction phase. This study aims to develop a model to investigate the level of BIM implementation in the construction phase. Design/methodology/approach: An SD model which covered technical subsystem, organizational subsystem, economic subsystem and environmental subsystem was developed based on questionnaire survey data and literature review. Data from China were used for model validation and simulation. Findings: The simulation results highlight that, in China, from 2021 to 2035, the ratio of BIM implementation in the construction phase will rise from 48.8% to 83.8%, BIM model quality will be improved from 27.6% to 77.2%. The values for variables "BIM platform", "organizational structure of BIM" and "workflow of BIM" at 2035 will reach 65.6%, 72.9% and 72.8%, respectively. And the total benefits will reach 336.5 billion yuan in 2035. Furthermore, the findings reveal five factors to effectively promote the level of BIM implementation in the construction phase, including: policy support, number of BIM standards, owners demand for BIM, investment in BIM and strategic support for BIM. Originality/value: This study provides beneficial insights to effectively enhance the implementation level of BIM in the construction phase. Meanwhile, the model developed in this study can be used to dynamically and quantitatively assess the changes in the level of BIM implementation caused by a measure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In China, external supervision on construction safety mainly comes from the government and supervision engineers (SEs). However, the construction safety supervisory mechanism (CSSM) contains some dilemmas affecting the improvement of safety performance, such as the declining impact of SEs, the increasing rent-seeking behaviors of contractor and excessive government interference. This study aims to depict and analyze the CSSM in China from an evolutionary game view. The objectives are to understand the supervision strategy and evolutionary behaviors of different stakeholders, propose suggestions for improving safety performance and help the key safety supervision stakeholders, especially the government, formulate a suitable safety supervision strategy. Design/methodology/approach: This research uses tripartite dynamic evolutionary game theory to study the CSSM in China and solve the stable equilibrium solution using system dynamics. Findings: This study has revealed the game relationship of construction safety supervision mechanisms in China and solved the stable equilibrium solution. The results prove that a supervision engineer (SE) plays a crucial role in the CSSM, and "supervision engineer useless" is an unreasonable assertion. For government supervision agency (GSA), excessive inspection and free-market regulation are neither wise strategies. GSA can reduce the inspection frequency when general contractors (GCs) input high safety investments and SEs implement responsible supervision. But keeping proper government supervision to avoid GC's unlawful behaviors and SE's rent-seeking is indispensable. In addition, excessive governmental supervision will weaken SE's role, so the government should transfer some supervision powers to SE. Originality/value: This study focuses on the dynamic evolution process between GSA, GC and SE. This method is different from most research that neglected the dynamic characteristic of system and game solution stability. The research methods not only contribute to construction safety supervision policy-making in China but also help to improve supervision efficiency in other countries and other fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Promoting carbon reduction in the construction sector is crucial to achieving China's 'double carbon' target. However, due to the interaction of multiple factors, the carbon emission efficiency of Chinese construction industry (CEECI) varies from province to province, and the path to efficient CEECI is not uniform. This study aims to analyze the combined effects of multiple factors on CEECI and to explore the underlying logic behind the formation of efficient CEECI in the province, which measures the CEECI for 2018 and 2019 for 30 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government of China using the super-slack-based measure (Super-SBM), which includes non-desired outputs. From a group perspective, the qualitative comparative analysis method is applied to analyze the common mechanism of the regional economic development level, energy consumption structure, business management level, market openness, science, and technology innovation level on CEECI. The results show that the regional construction industry has three equivalent low-carbon development paths: "low energy management", "scale management", and "scale market opening". Finally, according to the differences in regional resource endowments, differentiated paths suitable for the low-carbon development of the construction industry in different regions are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluates carbon emissions of construction and demolition (C&D) waste generated by building refurbishment, using a life cycle assessment approach through a case study project in China. Three waste management scenarios were developed for a building refurbishment project in the city of Suzhou. Scenario 1 is under the business-as-usual C&D waste management practice in China; scenario 2 is based on the open-ended 3R strategy, which focuses on the downstream impact of waste; and scenario 3 considers both the upstream and downstream impact of waste. The results reveal that the composition of the waste generated from building refurbishment projects is different from construction and demolition projects. In the life cycle of C&D waste management of building refurbishment projects, the refurbishment material stage generates the highest carbon emissions compared to the dismantlement, refurbishment construction, and refurbishment material end of life stages. Scenario 1 produces higher carbon emissions than scenario 2, but the difference is not significant in the whole life cycle of the building refurbishment project, whereas carbon emissions for scenario 3 are significantly less than both scenario 1 and scenario 2. The study finds the reason for this difference is that scenario 1 and scenario 2 are based on a linear economy that relies on unsustainable demand for raw materials, whereas scenario 3 is based on a circular economy that uses upcycled materials to substitute for raw materials and considers waste management from a cradle to cradle perspective. This study fills a research gap by evaluating carbon emissions of different waste management strategies for building refurbishment projects, which are expected to be an increasing portion of overall construction activity in China for the foreseeable future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to cultivate the ability of independent learning and lifelong learning of medical students, improve the ability of students to analyze and solve problems, improve the competence of medical talents and cultivate high‐level and innovative talents, we have constructed the blended teaching model of "Clinical Case Investigation—Online Open Course Learning—Classroom PBL Seminar—After‐Class Health Education". At the same time, an ability‐oriented performance evaluation system improved the teaching quality feedback system has also established. This article introduces the construction and application of the blended teaching model, as well as the problems it faces, provides a theoretical basis for the optimization and improvement of this model. It also provides a model theory and practical basis for creating a blended online and offline "golden course" for the professional courses of medical laboratory technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China faces rapid urbanisation at present, which would lead to exponential increment in construction waste (CW) generation. CW management (CWM) therefore has become essential. Urban CWM depends on various policies, laws and micro- and macro-factors. This research study aims to propose a new hybrid simulation model for carrying out an in-depth analysis of urban CWM. The proposed hybrid simulation model integrates agent-based modelling, system dynamics and discrete-event simulation. The lean construction (LC) theory is also considered for source reduction in waste generation. This research study obtained waste-generation data from 51 newly built residential houses in Shenzhen, China. Researchers longitudinally compared waste management from two different processes of LC and traditional construction under the benchmark policy using the hybrid model. The simulation results show that the average landfill time of the LC waste-treatment process is about 17% shorter than that of traditional construction. Further, the treatment cost saves approximately US$56 100 and then additionally generates environmental benefits worth approximately US$0.429 million. This study reveals the dynamic principle through hybrid simulation, which provides scientific guides for relevant management departments or enterprises to control CW, design corresponding control measures and reduce illegal dumping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past several years, the high frequency of cave-in failures of urban roadways has posed a serious threat to the safety of traffic, pedestrians, and existing structures and facilities in China, and they have often led to fatalities, injuries, and significant economic losses. First, this study collates 379 cases to characterize roadway cave-in failures. Then the major causes associated with these events are classified, which includes damage and defects on preexisting underground structures and facilities, washout and erosion of roadway subgrade by seepage water, underground construction, loose subgrade, excessive lateral wall movement and through-wall leaking of deep excavations adjacent to roadways, and rapid decline in water table levels. Then four enormously influential failure cases are described as typical examples. Finally, the primary characteristics of the cave-in failures are discussed, including their temporal and spatial distributions, sizes, and morphologies, as well as the number of casualties and injuries involved. This review concludes that it is of paramount importance to inspect healthy conditions of aging underground structures and pipelines and to adopt or develop reliable measures to check unseen loose zones, voids, and cavities underneath urban roadways, in particular those adjacent to construction sites, with erodible subsurface conditions, or frequently subject to disturbing forces (seepage flow and vibration). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tower-crane accidents occur frequently with serious consequences, including deaths, serious injuries, and economic losses. To identify the critical causes and paths of tower-crane accidents, the network analysis method is utilized. First, according to the relevant laws, regulations, and standards regarding tower-crane safety, a system of tower-crane accident causes is decomposed into 6 subsystems and 34 causal factors through system thinking. Then a sample of 194 tower-crane accident reports is used as empirical data. Accident causes are considered the nodes, and correlations among the causes are considered edges, through which a network model of tower-crane accident causes is established. The statistical indicators of the network model, such as the degree, strength, and shortest path, are calculated, after which seven critical factors and three critical paths of tower-crane accident causation are identified. Finally, a major tower-crane collapse accident in the city of Yueyang is adopted to conduct a case study and verify the practicality of the established systematic model and the reasonability of the analysis results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through the theoretical lenses of cultural gaming and paradigmatic assumptions of Eastern and Western cultures, this article looks into the interrelationships between game intentions and communication strategies. Through a thematic analysis of the Chinese traditional cultural classics from the pre-Qin (221 BCE–206 BCE) to the Republic of China (1912–1949) from the Chinese Text Project, three featured themes of water including the best and the softest, carrying boats and capsizing boats, and the most violent and the strongest have emerged in correspondence to the positive zero sum, zero sum, and negative zero sum game intentions. Thus, a water and game theory for intercultural communication has been constructed. The theory is applicable to managing intercultural communication barriers, esp. systematic misunderstanding between individuals from China and the West, between Chinese enterprises and their counterparts in other countries, and between China and other countries on various intercultural communication occasions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]