Architecture Commons^™

Measuring Construction: Prices, Output And Productivity, Rick Best, Jim Meikle

Rick Best

Despite the size, complexity and importance of the construction industry, there has been little study to date which focuses on the challenge of drawing reliable conclusions from the available data. The accuracy of industry reports has an impact on government policy, the direction and outcomes of research and the practices of construction firms, so confusion in this area can have far reaching consequences. In response to this, Measuring Construction looks at fundamental economic theories and concepts with respect to the construction industry, and explains the merits and shortcomings, sometimes by looking at real life examples.

The International Comparison Program And Purchasing Power Parities For Construction, Rick Best, Jim Meikle

Rick Best

Extract: It is not uncommon to hear or read statements that suggest that people in some countries are living on just a couple dollars a day. "How can they survive?" we ask ourselves. The answer is that price levels are different between countries, and that is very much the case between wealthy industrialized nations and poorer developing countries. If one earns five local dollars a day and it costs only two to live, then survival at least is possible. The inconsistency lies in the use of money market exchange rates to convert amounts of money to the same currency and …

Setting The Scene, Jim Meikle, Rick Best

Rick Best

Extract: Peter Drucker, a prolific writer on various aspects of management, is often erroneously cited as the originator of the phrase, "If you can't measure it, you can't manage it". Exactly where the phrase came from is unknown, but the idea remains valid. Measuring construction in the sense of measuring quantities of building work is a well-established technical process carried out routinely by quantity surveyors and estimators, and in many places there are agreed-upon rules and procedures that are used for such work. Measuring construction industries or parts of those industries is another matter. While there must have been construction …

International Construction Cost Comparisons, Rick Best, Jim Meikle

Rick Best

Extract: Comparisons of the cost of construction across national boundaries have been routinely undertaken for many years for a variety of purposes. For clients, the reason may be as simple as wanting to know how much it will cost them in their own national currency to build a facility in another country; for governments and other agencies, it may be about how competitive their industry is in a global marketplace. For example, in 1949, a UK group, the Building Industry Productivity Team, visited the US (Anglo-American Council on Productivity 1950). A primary purpose of the visit was to compare the …

Grey Forecasting Of Construction Demand In Hong Kong Over The Next Ten Years, Yongtao Tan, Craig Langston, Min Wu, Jorge Ochoa

Craig Langston

The Hong Kong construction industry since 1997 has experienced a difficult time in regard to construction output until recently. The future of the local construction industry remains uncertain. Forecasting of future development would be attractive to parties in the industry. Based on past data of the local construction industry, a grey forecasting model is developed to predict the annual growth of construction demand for Hong Kong over the next ten years. With the implementation of ten large infrastructure projects and further collaboration with the Pearl River Delta region, there will be many potential opportunities for the local industry, especially in …

Report On The Establishment Of An Arabic Manuscripts Conservation Laboratory At Arewa House, Michaelle L. Biddle

Michaelle Biddle

During August 2015 a laboratory for the conservation of Nigerian manuscripts in Arabic script was established at Arewa House, Ahmadu Bello University, Kaduna, Nigeria. In addition to a full range of hand tools, the lab is equiped with a variable speed control vacuum for cleaning manuscripts and a vacuum chamber pump machine for creating anoxic enclosures on bagged wet, moldy or insect infested manuscripts

Cellular Tessellation, Chris Knapp, Jonathan Nelson, Michael Parsons, Nathan Freeman

Chris Knapp

Cellular Tessellation is a small yet generous pavilion put on display as part of the Sydney Vivid Light festival in 2014. The project is both spatial and aesthetic, bringing the quality of architectural inhabitation and visceral experience to an urban festival which is typically limited to visual engagement.

Planning For The Gold Coast: Processes, Challenges And Opportunities, Bhishna Bajracharya, Linda Too, Daniel O'Hare, Isara Khanjanasthiti

Bhishna Bajracharya

Extract: This chapter provides a broad overview of the Gold Coast from an urban planning perspective. What are the social and physical structures of the city? How has the city developed over time? What are some of the key planning challenges and opportunities the Gold Coast is facing? To answer these questions, the chapter provides a brief social profile of the city and examines its current land use patterns and urban form. It then discusses the planning processes and the role of key stakeholders in development of the city. Next, key current planning initiatives for the Gold Coast are outlined. …

Planning For The Gold Coast: Processes, Challenges And Opportunities, Bhishna Bajracharya, Linda Too, Daniel O'Hare, Isara Khanjanasthiti

Daniel O'Hare

Extract: This chapter provides a broad overview of the Gold Coast from an urban planning perspective. What are the social and physical structures of the city? How has the city developed over time? What are some of the key planning challenges and opportunities the Gold Coast is facing? To answer these questions, the chapter provides a brief social profile of the city and examines its current land use patterns and urban form. It then discusses the planning processes and the role of key stakeholders in development of the city. Next, key current planning initiatives for the Gold Coast are outlined. …

The Pink Poodle, Swimming Pavilions And Miami Ice, Lynne Armitage, Shelley Burgin

Lynne Armitage

Extract: The 3 km of golden beach that lap the shores of Surfers Paradise have become synonymous with urban beaches worldwide. Its name was invented, in a stroke of marketing genius, by Jim Cavill who proposed the name 'Surfers Paradise' and pipped the previous preferred title of'Sea Glint' for this beachside hideaway. Jim Cavill also built the first hotel in Surfers Paradise, in 1933, and subsequently his Surfers Paradise Zoo. However, it was not until the late 1950s and through the 1960s that the ribbon development of the Gold Coast increased rapidly. Many motels, guesthouses and holiday homes were built …

Composite Index As A Way Of Measuring Economic Distress In Nebraska, Cornelius S. Okumu

cornelius Okumu

The Nebraska state department of economic development, just like any other state’s department of economic development in the United States receives funding for economic development programs. These programs are mostly geared toward revitalizing economic situations of villages, cities or counties that are under economic distress. The purpose of this paper is to assess how the Nebraska Department of Economic Development (NEDED) currently measure distress in Nebraska Counties, and develop composite distress indexes that might improve the measure, interpretation and use of Economic distress index to help in their allocation of Economic development resources to Nebraska counties.

Advisor: Rodrigo Cantarero

Sh U Boutique, Stephanie Miller

Stephanie C. Miller

No abstract provided.

081295934688 Toko Aliong Kota Palembang Cod / Antar Geratis, Jual Obat Kuat Malang

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Traditional Heritage Management: The Case Of Australia And Tanzania, Johari Hussein, Lynne Armitage

Lynne Armitage

Much has been written within and outside the heritage sector about traditional knowledge and practice. It is often characterised as an established movement that has contributed significantly to the local, national and international practice in conservation. Yet, the emergence of conservation practice has caused tremendous changes and a neglect of traditional knowledge that was critical for the survival of the Indigenous cultural heritage that exists today. The objective of this paper is to explore diverse approaches to traditional knowledge and practice that Indigenous peoples have employed to achieve management of their cultural landscape in Australia and Tanzania. The paper also …

Radburn And The American Planning Movement, Eugenie L. Birch

Eugenie L. Birch

Many intellectual streams have contributed to the ideology of the American planning movement. Radburn, a partially built, planned, New Jersey settlement, represents the influence of English garden city theories. Radburn's plan was so well designed and rationally organized that it has become a permanent resource for planners who in every generation examine and sometimes adapt it to solve contemporary problems. As a result, it has survived as testimony to the planners' vision of suburban growth. It also represents, however, a neglected promise unfulfilled because of larger currents in American culture.

0812210741112 Cara Memperpanjang Penis Cod / Antar Gratis, Jual Obat Kuat Bekasi

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0812210741112 Alamat Penjual Obat Perangsang Wanita Di Bekasi Cod / Antar Gratis, Jual Obat Kuat Karwang

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Bringing Football Back To Los Angeles, Gabriel Leiner

Gabriel Leiner

Identifying a suitable parcel for a large scale professional football stadium in the greater Los Angeles, CA area, which does not conflict with current uses, environmental protection codes, or airspace rights, and also has adequate transportation access and nearby populated neighborhoods.

Value For Money In Project Procurement, Michael Regan

Michael Regan

Extract: Public private partnerships are a method for the delivery of social and economic infrastructure services in over 80 countries worldwide. PPPs are a contractual arrangement between public and private entities through which the skills, assets and/or financial resources of both sectors are allocated in such a manner that provides optimal service delivery and good value to society. The international evidence suggests that public private partnership procurement methods using value for money evaluation criteria are delivering better infrastructure services at lower cost than traditional procurement methods.

Nest Building In Captive Gorilla Gorilla Gorilla, Kristen E. Lukas, Tara S. Stoinski, Kyle Burks, Rebecca Snyder, Sarah Bexell, Terry L. Maple

Sarah M. Bexell, PhD

Although various aspects of gorilla nest building have been described in wild populations, nest-building behavior of captive gorillas has not been subject to much scientific review. We observed nest building in 17 gorillas during three periods: summer baseline, winter baseline, and winter treatment, in which the amount of available nesting material was doubled. We conducted observations exclusively in the indoor holding area in the hour following evening departure of animal care staff. During baseline, gorillas engaged in nest-building on 3.1% of scans and were on a constructed nest on 27.9% of scans. Overall, gorillas spent significantly more time on elevated …

Assessing The Urban Forest Values An Institutional Sector Approach, Anthony M. Rodriguez Ph.D.

Anthony M Rodriguez Ph.D.

The presentation is an aspect of an ongoing study that demonstrates and maps the urban forest values. Using ARCGIS the paper will model social change and the potential for expanding or not the natural environment focusing on the values and the projected change based on the sectors position in reference to sustainability and more specifically the urban forest as an artifact to foster positive spatial change.

Reyner Banham, Mike Davis, And The Discourse On Los Angeles Ecology, Jonathan P. Bell

Jonathan P. Bell

UrbDeZine, July 14, 2015.

Internationalization Of The Construction Industry, Weisheng Lu, Huan Yang, Craig Langston

Craig Langston

Extract: With the globalization of the world economy, today’s construction business is fast becoming an internationally interdependent marketplace. Construction yields on the order of USD4.6 trillion annually and contributed 6.6% to the global gross domestic product (GDP) in 2011 (Davis Langdon 2012). A significant part of that total is attributable to international contractors. With the rise of modern industrialized countries, more and more complex civil engineering projects are being procured, and the increased scale of these projects has provided a launching pad for international construction. For instance, data published by Engineering New-Record (ENR) shows that ENR’s top 225 international contractors …

Performance Measures For Construction, Craig Langston

Craig Langston

Extract: The global construction industry is highly competitive, fragmented and cyclical and frequently operates on low margins (Loosemore 2003). Yet construction accounts for a significant portion of economic activity and is a catalyst for many other sectors. The industry is also labour intensive and project specific and involves team relationships that form and disband on a regular basis. It is not surprising, therefore, that construction performance and reform have dominated research within the industry for more than 50 years.

Refining The Citibloc Index, Craig Langston

Craig Langston

Extract: The previous chapter investigated the performance of selected high-rise construction projects completed between 2003 and 2012 in the five largest cities in Australia and the United States. Part of this research required the conversion of cost data into a comparable form. Cost conversion is critical to international performance comparisons. A reliable method for doing this is necessary. Purchasing power parity (PPP) is generally accepted as the appropriate philosophy, but there are a number of detailed approaches for determining indices. Which one should be used? How can we be sure that cost conversion using currency exchange rates is unreliable? How …

City Of Felt And Concrete: Negotiating Cultural Hybridity In Mongolia's Capital Of Ulaanbaatar, Joshua Hagen, Alexander Diener

Joshua Hagen

Capital cities play an integral role in the construction of national identity. This is particularly true when the capital is the country's only major urban center. Over the course of its history, Mongolia's capital of Ulaanbaatar has been periodically reshaped to reflect competing trajectories of national culture. This article examines the evolving symbolism of architecture, urban design, and public space in Ulaanbaatar as a means of exploring Mongolia's complex negotiation between its traditional culture (mobile pastoralism and Shamanism/Buddhism), its socialist legacy, and globalization. Amidst the rampant social change of the last two decades, rather ambiguous national narratives have emerged in …

From Socialist To Post-Socialist Cities: Narrating The Nation Through Urban Space, Joshua Hagen, Alexander Diener

Joshua Hagen

The development of post-socialist cities has emerged as a major field of study among critical theorists from across the social sciences. Originally constructed under the dictates of central planners and designed to serve the demands of command economies, post-socialist urban centers currently develop at the nexus of varied and often competing economic, cultural, and political forces. Among these, nationalist aspirations, previously simmering beneath the official rhetoric of communist fraternity and veneer of architectural conformity, have emerged as dominant factors shaping the urban landscape. This article examines patterns, processes, and practices concerning the cultural politics of architecture, urban planning, and identity …

The Pyramids Of Egypt, Fathi Habashi

Fathi Habashi

Investigation On The Soundscape Preference And Perception Of Highlands Environment: A Preliminary Study, Nazli Che Din, Engku Mastura Engku Ahmad, Hazreena Hussein

Hazreena Hussein

Highland environment is one of the popular tourist destinations because it holds a rich array of natural resources. However, the economic and development growth of highlands gave potential effect of biological wealth and environment surrounding. Noise pollution in developing highland area could intrude the ability to comprehend of natural and environmental sounds. As preliminary, the main objective of this research is to identify factors and elements that characterise the soundscape in three selected green areas on highland environment. The research was carried out through a series of field measurement and audio-visual experiment. At the first stage of the study, the …

Prof. Vibhuti Patel Safe Cities And Gender Budgeting Peoples Reporter Vol. 28 No. 15 2015, Professor Vibhuti Patel

Professor Vibhuti Patel

Abstract Urbanisation often goes hand in hand with a rise in urban violence and crime that manifests in terms of street harassment of women and girls, stalking, sexual violence, blackmailing and extortion rackets. Children and women are seen as soft spots who can be victimized by predators. One such incident in the city is enough and the feeling of insecurity is spread like wild fire. It not only frightens girls and women, it controls every act they consider doing then onwards (UN Women, 2015). Smart cities have to be Safe cities. Town planners, policy makers and budget experts need to …