Irene Lill

Post disaster waste management strategies in developing countries: Case of Sri Lanka

Disasters cause substantial damage around the world. This causes serious environmental and economic burden on normal living conditions, reconstruction and general waste collection processes. Within this context, waste management has emerged as a critical issue in responding to a disaster. Thus, this paper addresses post disaster waste management strategies adopted in developing countries and applicability of best global practices in respect of challenges encountered. Comprehensive literature review and field survey among national level institutes in Sri Lanka were conducted to gather information and semi-structured interviews were used as a method of data collection. The findings revealed that strategies, issues and challenges are varying according to type of disaster, magnitude, location, country etc. Further, poor implementation of prevailing rules and regulations; poor standards of local expertise and capacities, inadequate funds, lack of communication and coordination are identified as key issues encountered.

Life cycle process model of a market-oriented and student centered higher education

There is not a single definition/explanation about market-orientation education. Two opposite definitions/explanations of pure market-oriented education ( Cato , 2010) and social-market-oriented education (Amaratunga, 2009) are provided in the paper. Integrated multiple criteria analysis at the micro-, meso- and macro-levels are needed to increase efficiency of the market-oriented higher education reforms. Market-oriented higher education reforms management involves numerous aspects that should be considered in addition to making educational, pedagogical, didactical, economic, political and legal/regulatory decisions. These must include social, culture, ethical, psychological, environmental, technological, technical, organizational and managerial aspects. This article presents a Life Cycle Process Model of a Market-Oriented and Student Centered Higher Education (developed during BELL-CURVE (Built Environment Lifelong Learning Challenging University Responses to Vocational Education) projects activities) for such considerations and discusses certain composite parts of it. To demonstrate the application of this research, two Case Studies from Lithuania are submitted for consideration.

Multiskilling in construction ‐ a strategy for stable employment

Abstract After years of prosperity the construction industry is facing the current recession. This severely affects both construction companies and the workforce employed by them. The lack of skilled labour has always influenced construction outcomes, but, in the current economic environment, the problem is becoming more acute. The growth of unemployment among construction workers will cause additional social problems and does not alleviate the shortage of skilled craftsmen. A simulation model reflecting the performance of a construction firm is introduced. It enables the evaluation of different management strategies with consideration of the contradictory interests of owners, contractors and craftsmen in order to analyse the compromise and choose an appropriate solution for all parties.

A Framework for Managing Post-disaster Housing Reconstruction

Abstract The built environment is becoming progressively more complex and dynamic. These changes impose growing challenges on construction professionals in terms of disaster risk reduction. Construction innovations also have the potential to positively contribute to promoting disaster resilience and mitigating climate change. This initial investigation of the case studies from the literature focuses on the development of a general framework for the effective organisation and management of post-disaster housing reconstruction. The framework developed enables data collection for further investigative studies in order to improve management practices in future housing reconstruction programmes.

Towards Nearly Zero-energy Buildings through Analyzing Reasons for Degradation of Facades

Abstract Nearly Zero-Energy Buildings offer one way to reduce energy use in the built environment and thus contribute to mitigating global climate change. This paper is focused on analyzing the reasons for degradation of External Insulation Composite system facades in order to develop sustainable and cost-effective solutions for dwelling stock renovation. While several reasons for degradation of the facades have been studied in depth, the impact of building technology and site management have received undeservedly little attention. This paper systemizes the factors affecting facade quality and proposes a research plan for on-site surveillance in order to measure the weight of different degradation factors.

Analysis of On-site Construction Processes for Effective External Thermal Insulation Composite System (ETICS) Installation☆

Abstract Developing a more energy efficient building stock is the focus of the European energy policies. Much of the required reduction in energy consumption needs to be achieved through the renovation of existing buildings. The External Thermal Insulation Composite System (ETICS) is widely used for the reconstruction of apartment building facades to improve thermal performance. However, the impact of the building technology and the construction process management on the quality of these reconstructed facades has received relatively little attention. In this paper, the defects in facades reconstructed using the ETICS are identified and classified, relating them to the corresponding deficiencies in the on-site technology and management. The focus is on the identification of the factors that influence facade durability in order to outline an assessment methodology for on-site monitoring.

Enhancing post-disaster reconstruction capacity through lifelong learning in higher education

Purpose – Due to the complexities involved in disasters and due to the peculiar nature of post-disaster reconstruction, built environment professionals require continuous updating of their skills and knowledge to contribute effectively to disaster resilience. The purpose of this paper is to identify the ways in which higher education institutions (HEIs) can address this need through the provision of lifelong learning. Design/methodology/approach – This paper is based on both a literature review and on empirical evidence obtained through interviews, a workshop and group validation. Findings – The challenges faced by HEIs in accommodating lifelong learning are presented. Furthermore, good practice guidelines are provided to enable HEIs to respond effectively to industry requirements; to provide lifelong learning via through-life studentship; to promote collaboration amongst HEIs, industries, professional bodies and communities, and to promote the adoption, diffusion and exploitation of the latest learning a...

Mapping Construction Industry Roles to the Disaster Management Cycle

Abstract The construction industry is central to the promotion of disaster resilience through building procurement, design, construction, etc. It plays a key role in responding to disasters - dealing with collapsed and damaged buildings and infrastructure and providing temporary shelter and services to affected communities - and also in post-disaster reconstruction efforts. This research identifies the disaster resilience roles of construction professionals on the basis of the literature and maps these to the disaster management cycle in order to draw on the emerging framework to determine potential construction industry education and research opportunities associated with the pursuit of societal disaster resilience.

Text Analytics for Android Project

Abstract Most advanced text analytics and text mining tasks include text classification, text clustering, building ontology, concept/entity extraction, summarization, deriving patterns within the structured data, production of granular taxonomies, sentiment and emotion analysis, document summarization, entity relation modelling, interpretation of the output. Already existing text analytics and text mining cannot develop text material alternatives (perform a multivariant design), perform multiple criteria analysis, automatically select the most effective variant according to different aspects (citation index of papers (Scopus, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar) and authors (Scopus, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar), Top 25 papers, impact factor of journals, supporting phrases, document name and contents, density of keywords), calculate utility degree and market value. However, the Text Analytics for Android Project can perform the aforementioned functions. To the best of the knowledge herein, these functions have not been previously implemented; thus this is the first attempt to do so. The Text Analytics for Android Project is briefly described in this article.

Comparative Analysis of Current Guidance for the Evaluation of Building Retrofit Investments

Abstract The built environment must adapt to a rapidly changing context and, since buildings have relatively long lives, this must primarily be achieved through retrofitting the existing building stock rather than by replacing it. We therefore need robust approaches to evaluating the cost-effectiveness of retrofit investments.Some guidance for performing investment appraisals of building retrofit proposals is available for specific types of retrofit, for example, the economic evaluation procedure for energy systems in buildings in the form of the EN 15459 standard. In this preliminary study, three existing evaluation methods are reviewed and compared. On this basis, recommendations for the development of a robust, general approach to the financial and economic evaluation of building retrofits are made.