Cynthia Wang

Using Domain Ontology in a Semantic Blogging System for Construction Professionals

Abstract Smooth communication is essential for the success of construction projects. As an easy-to-use, context-rich, and high-capacity communication tool, blogging is gaining popularity in construction industry. In this paper, the features of blogging technology and how it could benefit construction organizations are presented. To further improve the effectiveness of blogging technology in information and knowledge sharing, an ontology-based semantic blogging system is proposed. Semantic blogging is an extension of conventional blogging and ontology is the key enabling technology for it. Domain-ontology-based semantic blogging site is composed of a network of concepts, which are clearly defined and interlinked according to their context and bound to certain behaviors. This paper reports how the e-Cognos ontology was implemented into a blogging system and how the system functions to process its contents. The paper concludes that using ontology-based semantic blogging site can greatly enhance information sharing between construction professionals and it is a very promising tool for construction communities to publish and share their experience.

The Prototype Model of a Web-Based Knowledge Sharing and Collaboration Support System for the Building Industry

Abstract A broad literature review reveals that the majority of existing software systems for the building industry are data/document storage systems connected to a database. High-level software applications with ability to analyse data and share knowledge are rare in the building industry. This paper proposes a web-based system for the building industry, which focuses on the implementation and sharing of expert knowledge, and provides a platform to support online collaboration. The logic design, system architecture and functionalities of the prototype system are presented. The current stage of developing the prototype system is reported and its successful completion will enable full implementation of a knowledge sharing and management system.

Relations between Safety Climate, Awareness, and Behavior in the Chinese Construction Industry: A Hierarchical Linear Investigation

The vast majority of accidents in construction are generated by unsafe behaviors. Some researches also find that the behaviors could be influenced by the awareness and safety climate. The safety behavior and awareness belong to individual levels, while the safety climate belongs to the organization level. Previous studies mainly focus on the relationships between safety climate, safety awareness, and safety behavior without considering their different respective levels and the interaction between levels. This study establishes a hierarchical linear model (HLM) of safety climate, individual safety awareness, and safety behavior to examine the multilevel relationships between them. Data were collected using questionnaire from workers in different teams on the construction site in China. The results indicate that organizational safety climates affect individual safety behavior and safety awareness. In addition, there is a positive correlation between individual safety awareness and safety behavior, and the safety climates have a positive moderating effect on the relationship between them. The final conclusion offers a path for the current practice of safety management in the construction industry.

Pushover testing of circular adobe structure

Many unreinforced adobe or mud-brick structures have in the past suffered severe damage from seismic forces and have caused a vast number of deaths. In contrast, some adobe buildings located in seismic regions have performed well under several seismic events. Researchers noticed that most existing circular adobe houses performed well in withstanding earthquakes even though some did not have any additional ductile reinforcement. This paper presents the investigation of seismic performance of unreinforced circular adobe buildings using static pushover testing. A scaled model (1:3 scale) of adobe circular structure were built and tested by static lateral load and pushed to total collapse. The results presented in the form of capacity curves, are compared with the expected lateral loading obtained from the static tilt testing carried out in earlier research. The outcome of this research can be used to evaluate the existing circular adobe houses and can give design recommendations of suitable configurations for new circular adobe buildings.

A prototype of knowledge-based decision support system for construction cost management

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the use and development of decision support systems of cost management in construction industry. The cost-related softwares available in the market are estimating softwares, and usually they are connected with a database. They represent low-level computer-based systems for data storage and retrieval, with functions of calculating and estimation. High-level softwares with ability of data analyzing and decision support are rare in building construction industry. The chapter presents the design of the prototype of knowledge-based decision support system for construction cost management. The proposed knowledge-based decision support system is web-based, which provides global access and other service excellence. It is an integrated tool suite of several software subproducts, which is linked to the knowledge base, which contains the six types of knowledge. The knowledge base serves as the backbone of the system. The chapter finally describes the structure of the knowledge base and the logistical design of the system. The implemented system helps project managers to acquire timely and accurate information, carry out statistic analysis, and what-if analysis, as well as access expert knowledge base, and this will lead to an improved decision making in construction cost management.