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A common method for assessing blatant dehumanization asks participants to rate "how evolved" they think members of various social groups are using the Ascent of Human scale (AOH) that transitions in stages from a crawling ape to a fully upright modern human. However, little is known about how task instructions affect participant ratings. In this pre-registered study, participants saw alternative forms of instruction including the traditional instructions emphasizing "evolution", a prompt without any reference to evolution, and a prompt that clearly explained that the scale assesses dehumanization. Instruction type had no effect on dehumanization ratings on the AOH scale. These results support the idea that the AOH scale is a robust means of assessing blatant dehumanization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This study investigated the effect of external (EC) and internal coaching cues (IC), analogies with a directional component (ADC) on sprint (20 m) and vertical jump performance in academy soccer players (n = 20). A repeated-measures analysis, with post-hoc comparisons, was used to identify any differences between these cues and a neutral (control) cue. Significant differences were found for both sprint (p < 0.001) and jump (p = 0.022) comparisons among cue types. In post-hoc analyses for the 20 m sprint, significant differences were observed between the EC and the IC, favouring the EC (p < 0.01, ES = 1.27 [CI: 0.24, 2.30]), and "away" ADC and the IC, favouring the "away" ADC (p < 0.01, ES = 1.21 [CI: 0.19, 2.22]). No other cues showed significant differences. For vertical jump, there was just one significant difference between comparisons, that being for the "away" ADC vs. the neutral cue, favouring the latter (p = 0.023, ES = 0.4 [CI: −0.04 to 0.84]). It appears that ECs and ADCs are most effective when coaching sprinting performance in academy soccer players. However, simply encouraging maximal effort from a youth athlete also appears to be a reasonable cueing strategy to drive performance in youth athletes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This case study on COVID-19 warning designs in a Swedish context illustrates how a unified affordance approach may contribute to an understanding of the meaning-making in reminders, instructions, cues and prompts that communicate the message "keep your distance." The analysis combines semiotic and ecological affordance categories, taking both Gibson's original theorizing on affordances and more recent affordance-informed research efforts into consideration. In so doing, the study aims to bridge a knowledge gap in the study of visual instructions and warning designs as well as in a more comprehensive way delineate the multimodal design strategies associated with COVID-19 warning designs. The analysis shows that Swedish COVID-19 warning designs of the keep-your-distance-kind belong to a non-standardized and emerging genre that is marked by great variation and ad-hoc design solutions, several of which combine physical blocking functions with verbally based messages. The analysis also highlights the tension between verbal and visual recourses, on one hand, and the signage placement and choice of materials, on the other hand. It is concluded that communication resources do not always appear to convey the same basic message, but in incongruent ways weaken what might be considered the intended main message. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has repeatedly suggested that an external focus of attention is far superior to an internal focus of attention in motor learning and performance. Such findings have been explained through the lens of automaticity, as focusing externally on something outside your body should promote efficient and subconscious execution of any given motor action. In this paper, I critically review evidence and propose an alternative mechanism to explain why various foci are effective. Information, and its relevance to the task at hand, are at the center of this alternative view. The strong conclusions recently put forth in favor of an external focus, and the dismissal of all internal foci, appear unfounded. Researchers and practitioners should keep exploring attentional strategies that promote task-relevant information attunement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Movement variability has been postulated to afford perception of the perceptual motor workspace and to be directly linked to improved performance. Here, we investigated how instructions mediate the search process and the relation between performance outcome and movement variability. We used a novel bimanual force tracking task where zero error was achieved via proportional output between the hands. Participants were either instructed or not as to how to coordinate their force output to achieve this goal, but the goal to minimize error was explained to all participants. The provision of instructions restricted the overall area of the task space that was searched. Moreover, the time dependent properties of the search were influenced; where instructions increased the likelihood that participants would produce a higher force level over practice. Multiple regression revealed that variability was positively correlated with performance outcome, but the strength of this relation was dependent on instructions and individual search strategies. The findings are consistent with the view that information through instructions shapes individual emergent perceptual-motor search strategies that in turn mediate how movement variability relates to performance outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the increased research interest in wayfinding assistance systems, research on the appropriate point in time or space to automatically present a route instruction remains a desideratum. We address this research gap by reporting on the results of an outdoor, within-subject design wayfinding study ( N = 52). Participants walked two different routes for which they requested spoken, landmark-based turn-by-turn route instructions. By means of a survival analysis, we model the points in space at which participants issue such requests, considering personal, environmental, route- and trial-related variables. We reveal different landcover classes (e.g., densely built-up areas) and personal variables (e.g., egocentric orientation and age) to be important, discuss potential reasons for their impact and derive open research questions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is scant information on the instructions provided by health workers to patients diagnosed with tuberculosis and the implications these instructions have for sexual and reproductive health and rights and tuberculosis control in Bangladesh. This paper aims to draw attention to tuberculosis control guidelines and information dissemination practices that may need to be adapted to the living situations of those with tuberculosis. Data collection took place in the Monohardi and Narsingdi Sadar sub-districts in Narsingdi and the Mirpur slum in Dhaka, Bangladesh, between December 2015 and March 2016. We present findings from an analysis of four significant documents, 45 in-depth interviews (of current and former tuberculosis patients, their family members, and health workers), and two focus group discussions with health workers. The findings show that the official guidelines and policies hardly address sexual health or rights. During the treatment period, patients received mixed and inconsistent instructions from health workers on sexual intercourse, contraception, pregnancy, and living arrangements. The messages were interpreted differently based on who delivered and received them, and different instructions were provided to women and men. The instructions were not specific to the living situations of patients and therefore led to implementation challenges. Future interventions should ensure correct and consistent messaging, and policies should be adapted to the sexual needs of those infected with the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous studies exhibit detrimental effects of an internal focus of attention compared to an external focus in terms of running economy. The instructions to manipulate attentional focus are primarily explicit. This study compares explicit verbal (top-down) and natural implicit (bottom-up) focus manipulations, assuming that they present different ways of information processing. Forty trained runners completed a 36-min-run focusing internally (running movement) and externally (video). Both foci were explicitly manipulated through instructions and implicitly by creating situations where participants unconsciously adopted the required focus. Between each manipulated condition participants ran 5 min without any instruction. Oxygen consumption was assessed via spiroergometry. Results revealed a main effect of focus (lower VO2 values for both external conditions) with F(1,39)= 7.40, p =.01 and η2p=.16, but no main effect of instruction type and no interaction effect. This finding strengthens the detrimental effect of an internal focus compared to an external focus regardless of the instruction type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper suggests a new technique to facilitate consistent transition between planning and production stages of small lots of complex products (in quantities that do not justify full automation). Despite the usage of modern approaches such as design for assembly and design for manufacturing the typical product planning ends up before production planning begins, instead of having a unified seamless planning process. This paper presents a new three stage technique to fill the gap between product planning and production. The paper shows how to generate a rigorous production plan by: (1) extending the Bill-of-Materials to include additional required information, (2) constructing an assembly ‘method prototype’ and (3) using the ‘method prototype’ to calculate time standards for executing the assembly. A case study illustrates the proposed technique. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Britons and Americans seem to have agreed about most constitutional principles in 1776, apart from who was to be represented and how. It has been argued by many historians of the American Revolution that this formed the basis for conflict and change. Examining how representation was conceptualized in Jamaica during the same period suggests that these differences have been overdrawn. Concepts of direct and 'virtual' representation were inchoate and inconsistent in all three places. They were often used strategically rather than to express essential and irreconcilable differences. Consequently, the debate over representation continued in all three places after 1776, and although compromises were struck in Britain and America through the rise of parliamentary sovereignty and republican constitutionalism respectively, in Jamaica the principles and practices of representation therefore continued to be contested. More broadly, this suggest that such tensions are immanent and unavoidable in any parliamentary system, and they can only be balanced rather than fully reconciled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The activity described in this paper is based on the idea that reading an introductory undergraduate mathematics text is similar to reading instructions. I want my students to think about how to read when the goal is to learn to complete a task. I give them written instructions for doing a card trick and ask them to complete the trick. The subsequent discussion helps the students identify the reading strategies they used to complete the card trick; for example, reread the step to make sure you got it right. I point out the connections to reading their mathematics textbooks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The current study assessed whether modifying instructions on the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales, Second Edition (PDMS-2) affected scores in children with typical development. Methods: The gross motor portion of the PDMS-2 was administered twice, 2–10 days apart, to 38 children. Age- and gender-matched groups received instructions in both standard and modified formats, with order depending on group assignment. Results: Gross Motor Quotient results showed an effect for instruction type (p =.03) and an interaction between instruction type and order (p =.02). Improved scores for those given modified instructions during the second session indicated the interaction favored modifications. Stationary scores showed an effect for instruction type (p =.01) and an interaction between instruction type and age (p =.02). Object Manipulation scores showed an interaction between instruction type and order only (p =.002); Locomotion scores showed no significant changes (p =.25). Percentile rank changes ranged from 9% to 22% across subtests. Conclusions: Findings suggested instruction modifications may change PDMS-2 gross motor scores, even in children with typical development. Findings also suggested normative scores should not be reported if modifications were used during testing. Research is needed to determine optimal cues for the best representation of true motor ability during standardized assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teaching methods in skiing have marginally developed within the last decades. An intervention comparing the conventional approach (SP) and the One-Ski-Method (OSM) is proposed in which the main body actions are first trained on one ski and successively transferred to two skis. The OSM teaches the main body actions towards a proper position on parallel skis. The snowplow gets avoided as it implies obstructive body actions. Two groups were trained using each method. Video footage from the first and the fifth day were evaluated by experts following selected criteria. OSM learners showed significantly larger improvements compared to SP. Results indicate a faster acquisition of key elements of alpine skiing and provide a foundation for further investigations of the OSM method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electroencephalography (EEG) measures can provide extensive and detailed knowledge of how the brain works during imagery. Prior to imagery performance, individuals may acquire information on how to imagine the movement through either visual or auditory instructions. The purpose of this study was to determine differences in cerebral cortical activation during kinesthetic and visual imagery performance while following visual- and audio-guided imagery instructions. EEG recordings were collected from 28 participants and guided imagery instructions were given in two versions: audio and visual. The results revealed that lower alpha values (8-10 Hz) were greater when participants were performing kinesthetic imagery following auditory instructions as opposed to following visual instructions. Furthermore, lower alpha values were greater at the right hemisphere than the left hemisphere and greater at the right temporal site than the left temporal site. In the upper alpha band (11-13 Hz), results showed that values were greater at the temporal site in the right hemisphere than the temporal site in the left hemisphere. In addition, upper alpha values were greater at the right hemisphere than the left hemisphere and greater at the right temporal site than the left temporal site. The findings of this study suggest that electro- cortical measures can detect differences of the processes involved during guided imagery performance while following either audio or video instructions. In the applied setting, practitioners can implement neurofeedback techniques to assess the specific mental effort required by individuals following guided instructions to perform imagery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior research showed that mere instructions about the contingency between a conditioned stimulus (CS) and an unconditioned stimulus (US) can generate fear reactions to the CS. Little is known, however, about the extent to which actual CS–US contingency experience adds anything beyond the effect of contingency instructions. Our results extend previous studies on this topic in that it included fear potentiated startle as an additional dependent variable and examined return of fear (ROF) following reinstatement. We observed that CS–US pairings can enhance fear reactions beyond the effect of contingency instructions. Moreover, for all measures of fear, instructions elicited immediate fear reactions that could not be completely overridden by subsequent situational safety information. Finally, ROF following reinstatement for instructed CS+s was unaffected by actual experience. In summary, our results demonstrate the power of contingency instructions and reveal the additional impact of actual experience of CS–US pairings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of this study was to test the Self‐Defining Memory Task (SDM Task)—i.e., the possibility to retrieve personally meaningful memories in an experimental context. Methods: A sample of young adults (N = 36) were asked to recall personal memories in response to different sets of instructions: self‐defining memory instructions versus detailed/non‐detailed autobiographical memory instructions. Participants' subjective ratings of memory qualities and behavioural measures were considered, such as latency and narrative duration times. Results: Self‐defining memories were rated as more important and emotionally intense compared to other autobiographical memories. The use of detailed memory instructions, however, increased the time of retrieval and the duration of the narrative, eliciting more remote memories, compared to non‐detailed instructions. Conclusions: The SDM Task seemed to be more likely to elicit the personally meaningful memories that might be shared with a significant other or in a therapeutic context. Research in autobiographical memory processes constitutes valuable material for clinical psychologists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many practical situations, learners are provided with feedback in the form of knowledge of results (KR) by a peer. However, when peers provide KR is currently unknown. When given the opportunity to request KR in a self-controlled manner, some participants have reported a preference for requesting KR after good performances. Alternatively, peers may provide KR in a different fashion. Subsequently, a discrepancy between the learner's desire to receive KR and when a peer provides KR may arise. In our study, peer- and self-controlled KR schedules were compared. Participants were peers who controlled KR (PC; 8), learners with peers (P-L; 8), or learners with self-control (SC; 8). Participants in the two learning groups (P-L and SC groups) completed a serial-timing task with a goal time of 2500 ms. Absolute error data on KR and no-KR trials along with self-reports indicate that participants with self-control preferred KR after good trials and peers preferred to provide KR after both good and bad trials equally. Results from the delayed retention test indicated that peer-controlled learners were more consistent (i.e., in terms of variable error) than the self-control group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines tutorials from the Web site, Instructables.com, to highlight the rhetorical possibilities of including personal narratives in instructions. The narratives in these tutorials offer detailed accounts of their authors’ experiences when constructing their projects, thereby functioning as accounts of the authors’ craft knowledge. Pitched to amateur hobbyists, rather than the professional audiences of many forms of conventional technical communication, these tutorials offer new ways of teaching craft knowledge and techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In 1798, Laborie published a manual with detailed instructions for building a coffee plantation, for example, how to purchase and care for slaves, design plantation buildings, and maintain authority. Laborie's language is that behind the institution of slavery: Slaves are property and thus relate to economic success. Through this review, we investigate historical technical documents to see how our past informs our present and how our attention to technical communication today can inform the future. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objective: The aim of this study was to analyse the content, design, and readability of printed hearing aid user guides to determine their suitability for older adults, who are the main users of hearing aids. Design: Hearing aid user guides were assessed using four readability formulae and a standardized tool to assess content and design (SAM - Suitability Assessment of Materials). Study sample: A sample of 36 hearing aid user guides (four user guides from nine different hearing aid manufacturers) were analysed. Results: Sixty nine percent of user guides were rated ʽnot suitable' and 31% were rated ʽadequate' for their suitability. Many scored poorly for scope, vocabulary, aspects of layout and typography, and learning stimulation and motivation. The mean reading grade level for all user guides was grade 9.6 which is too high for older adults. Conclusion: The content, design, and readability of hearing aid user guides are not optimal for older adults and thus may serve as a barrier to successful hearing aid outcomes for this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The instructions used in think-aloud studies can range from a simple request to think-aloud, to an explicit instruction to include certain types of content. The present study compared two think-aloud instructions: the classic neutral think-aloud instruction and an explicit instruction requesting explanations and content that is relevant to the user experience. Data from task performance, mental workload, think-aloud protocols and usability problems were collected from 16 participants, equally distributed between the two think-aloud instruction conditions. No differences were found in task performance, however, participants in the explicit instruction condition reported higher mental workload and a focus on finding interface problems. The explicit instruction condition also yielded more utterances about the user experience, expectations and explanations of behaviour than the neutral condition. An analysis of the resultant usability problems revealed that the explicit instruction led to a larger number of dialogue, navigation, layout and functionality problems, but that the problems which were unique to this condition were, in the main, at a low level of severity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past 15 years, research on focus of attention has consistently demonstrated that an external focus (i.e., on the movement effect) enhances motor performance and learning relative to an internal focus (i.e., on body movements). This article provides a comprehensive review of the extant literature. Findings show that the performance and learning advantages through instructions or feedback inducing an external focus extend across different types of tasks, skill levels, and age groups. Benefits are seen in movement effectiveness (e.g., accuracy, consistency, balance) as well as efficiency (e.g., muscular activity, force production, cardiovascular responses). Methodological issues that have arisen in the literature are discussed. Finally, our current understanding of the underlying mechanisms of the attentional focus effect is outlined, and directions for future research are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors’ aim was to understand how persons with Down syndrome (DS) perform different tasks and to assess if there were any differences in performance based on the type of instructions. This is important because of neurological differences in persons with DS and neurological demands for performing different types of tasks. Twenty right-handed participants with DS, 20 chronological age–matched (CA), and 20 mental age–matched (MA) performed unimanual, bimanual, discrete, and continuous drumming following visual, auditory, and verbal instructions. Overall, discrete drumming was performed with shorter movement times than continuous drumming and unimanual drumming was performed with shorter movement amplitude than bimanual drumming. With respect to instructions, persons with DS performed with smaller amplitudes, thus more efficient movements, following the visual instructions than auditory and verbal instructions for all types of tasks, whereas CA performed similarly with all instructions and MA performed with smaller amplitudes with visual instructions than auditory instructions. These results suggest that visual instruction provides the best information for people with DS to aid in performance of many different types of movements. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper describes the generalized finite difference method to solve second-order partial differential equation systems and fourth-order partial differential equations. This method is applied to solve the problem of thin and thick elastic plates. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Instruction is critical in order to ensure correct technique with pressurized metered-dose inhalers (pMDIs) by patients. The aim of this study was to compare the effects over time of two educational interventions delivered in community pharmacy to pMDI users. In this randomized controlled parallel-group study, pMDI technique was assessed before and after written and verbal instruction, alone or with physical demonstration, at baseline and 4, 8, and 16 weeks. The study recruited 52 subjects with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Initially only 1/52 (6%) subject had correct pMDI technique (= checklist score 8/8), with mean baseline score 5 ( SD 1) for both groups. Written and verbal information improved pMDI technique at 16 weeks (7 ± 1, p < .05). Addition of physical demonstration resulted in significant improvement at weeks 4, 8, and 16 (7 ± 1, 7 ± 1, 7 ± 1 respectively; p < .05 for each). Subjects receiving written and verbal information alone were less likely to return for follow-up than those receiving physical demonstration (8 weeks: 6/25 versus 19/27; p < .001). By the 8-week visit, 80% subjects in the physical demonstration group had correct technique prior to education, compared with 10% of subjects receiving written and verbal information alone ( p < .05). There was some decline in inhaler technique by 16 weeks. The results demonstrate that adding a physical demonstration is more effective in improving pMDI technique than written and verbal instructions alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this invited response to a Letter to the Editor by Carson, Collins, and Toner (2015), I comment on various issues raised by the authors. I highlight the broad range of tasks and dependent measures used in studies comparing the effectiveness of external versus internal foci of attention. These studies – many of which involved sport skills – have consistently found performance or learning benefits when an external focus was adopted. There is no convincing evidence that performers’ preferences, or their familiarity with a certain focus, have a moderating effect. Anecdotal evidence reported by coaches who have compared the two types of foci is consistent with research findings. An external focus presumably promotes functional connectivity and contributes to goal-action coupling. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Although many studies have supported P. M. Fitts's (1954) law as a description of the speed-accuracy trade-off for speeded movements, there has been a lack of research regarding movement duration for target-directed movements made at any other pace. In the present study, the duration of movements made at a naturally selected comfortable pace and a quick pace differed from Fitts's law in a way that was similar to the predictions of participants in previous studies of naive motor decisions and imagined movements (S. J. Young, J. Pratt, & T. Chau, 2008; S. J. Young, J. Pratt, & T. Chau, 2009). These results show that movements of various speeds have predictable patterns of movement duration. The results also suggest that individuals adjust more than the implicit target size when changing their desired movement speed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

User instructions, and especially operating instructions, are an essential part of the FDA's “medical device labeling” requirements and are intended to help ensure that the device is used safely and effectively. Their design should go hand-in-hand with the design of the product that they are going to accompany. However, for one reason or another, they are usually treated as something that can be tacked on at the end of the device development process. At this stage, it is often realized that, had the device been designed differently, it would have been easier to instruct the potential users. However, it is generally too late and the instructions have to be formulated around the fixed design of the product. Also, in the clinical engineering environment of healthcare organizations, sometimes there is a requirement to produce tailored operating instructions for certain groups of users (especially patients and carers) in certain circumstances, e.g. when the manufacturer's instructions are inadequate or a device has been configured for a particular type of user group. This paper attempts to demonstrate a practical approach to producing effective operating instructions for a product that is already at the far end of its development process or even marketed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Age-related changes in cognition and in particular, working memory, can impact older adults' abilities to comprehend linguistic information. Many investigators have undertaken the study of age effects on language comprehension, but confounding variables, such as vocabulary level, general knowledge, and episodic memory ability limit what can be inferred about linguistic processing in ageing. Aims: The purpose of this study was to investigate young and older adults' performance on a language-processing task that assessed ability to follow instructions. Despite having ecological validity, little attention has been paid to age effects on the processing of procedural information. The use of the instruction task allowed for an investigation of age effects on language comprehension while mitigating the effects of thematic knowledge, vocabulary and episodic memory. Methods & Procedures: A total of 37 older adults (M = 72.1 years) and 41 young adults (M = 22.5 years) received three measures of verbal memory: digit span, word span, and listening span. In addition, they were administered an experimental instruction task requiring participants to sort coloured pills into pill containers in response to spoken instructions. Information load of the instructions was manipulated by varying the number of actions per instruction and the number of components to be remembered per action. For example, the instruction “Take three pills on Monday and two on Tuesday” has two actions, and each action has two components to remember (number of pills and day). The dependent variable was participants' performance accuracy in following the instructions. Outcomes & Results: Significant age effects were observed on the experimental instruction task, as well as on word and listening span measures. As the information load of the instructions increased, accuracy decreased for both groups, although this effect was greater for the older adults. When comparing instructions that had the same number of total components to be remembered, but differed in how these components were structured, participants performed more accurately when the instruction contained fewer actions, even if each action had more components to remember. Digit span was a significant predictor of performance on the instruction task, together with age accounting for more than half of the variance. Conclusions: The results of this study demonstrate the expected age effects on working memory span capacity, and illustrate the effect of span capacity on following verbal instructions. From a practical perspective, these findings suggest that when a procedural instruction loaded with content is presented to an older adult, processing will be enhanced when it requires fewer actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A focus of attention on the step-by-step control of a skill has been shown to be detrimental to experts' performance but to have no significant effect on novices' performance (e.g., S. L. Beilock, T. H. Can; C. MacMahon, & J. L. Starkes, 2002), contrary to the results of manipulations of the direction of attentional focus (e.g., G. WuIf, M. HoB, & W. Puinz, 1998). In previous studies, researchers have not separated the focus of attention from the nature of the instruction provided or the skill level of the participants. In the present experiment, 10 skilled and 10 less skilled soccer players dribbled a ball after receiving instructions directing attention to an internal, skill-relevant feature (foot); an internal, skill-irrelevant feature (arm); or a skill-irrelevant task (word-monitoring). Performance was evaluated in relation to a no-attentional-focus control condition. For skilled performers, an internal focus on the arms and feet interfered with performance. For less skilled performers, an internal, yet skill-relevant, focus of attention (foot) did not degrade performance, whereas attention to the arms and word monitoring had a detrimental effect. No significant differences were observed across the three attentional manipulations when the skilled performers used the non-dominant foot. The results generally supported the deautomization of skills hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Construction claims are inherent in civil engineering contracts, for example arising from the need to provide for changed circumstances of the project or site, and the increasing frequencies and magnitudes of the claims in relation to planned project costs and durations have attracted considerable attention. Hong Kong provides many examples of such developments, being a hive of construction activities relating to the construction of the new airport and associated infrastructure. Despite the Hong Kong Government's efforts to achieve certainty in price for construction projects, the incidence of significant claims often has resulted in increased project costs. Mitigation of such events can be achieved by providing performance criteria for temporary works and allowing the contractor to carry out his design to satisfy these criteria. The engineer will of course have to check that the contractor's proposed methods satisfy such performance criteria. The inaccuracies of utility records in Hong Kong currently are under study by a separate body under the auspices of the Hong Kong Government with the objective of equitable allocation of risk among utility companies, employer and contractor.

Variations are a major source of delay and disruption on construction sites and this first‐stage research gives an indication of the work yet to be done. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]