Sittimont Kanjanabootra

Evaluating knowledge management systems efficacy and effectiveness in a design science context

Purpose – This paper aims to propose a framework for the evaluation of artefacts in Design Science and test it using an exemplar case of a knowledge management system (KMS) developed for an Australian refrigeration manufacturing company. Design/methodology/approach – The research uses Design Science research methodology in a specific case study context. The artefact studied was developed using an ontology based on an engineering design conceptualisation and created using an ontology generator, Protege. Research data for the evaluation of the framework were collected using a combination of document analysis, interviews, shadowing and observations. Findings – The evaluation framework developed for the research and applied to the KMS specifically built for the company was shown to be useful in determining the efficacy and effectiveness of the research outcomes in terms of usefulness to the company engineers in the technical analysis of their work, and for the CEO and COO as part of their strategic planning f...

Competence-based system development for post-disaster project management

Purpose – One of the key elements contributing to successful post-disaster project teams is individual competence. Each project participant brings his or her own knowledge, experience and ideas to the collective. The kind of chaotic and fragmented environment that is common in post-disaster scenarios presents specific barriers to the success of projects, which can be mitigated by ensuring that staff members possess competencies appropriate for their deployment to particular contexts. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – The study utilizes a mixed-methods approach, incorporating unstructured interviews to extract key factors of competence, project barriers and strategy, and a subsequent questionnaire survey, designed to quantify the various elements. Interviews were undertaken and analysed using a cognitive mapping procedure, while survey data were processed using SPSS. The data were then utilized in the development of a software prototype using Design Science Research meth...

Balancing costs and benefits in Vietnam’s hydropower industry: a strategic proposal

Purpose One of the main strategic targets in the national power development plan of Vietnam is to give priority to hydropower. However, there is evidence that the most “at risk” in Vietnamese society have, to date, broadly failed to benefit from hydropower development but rather have become more vulnerable. This paper aims to broaden the perspective of decision makers (government agencies, investors and banks) in the hydropower industry regarding the environmental and social impacts of unrestrained development and the critical need to not only reduce disaster risk for communities but also provide a sustainable model for Vietnam’s energy demand. Design/methodology/approach This position paper presents a critique of public policy in Vietnam related to hydropower industry, undertaken alongside an analysis of socio-economic community resilience and disaster risk reduction literature. Findings Small hydropower investment must be delayed until measures are put in place to ensure that multi-stakeholder risk is a central component of the investment dialogue. Current pricing policies are not aligned with the hydropower development management, and this erects barriers to environmentally and socially conscious decision-making. Practical implications This paper suggests that the development of small hydropower projects must be curtailed until new measures are put in place. This has practical implications for investors, policy makers and residents of affected areas. The authors argue for a significant shift in government strategy toward building resilience as opposed to growth and profit at any cost. Social implications Conscious of Vietnam’s energy demands and development goals, this paper investigates the context of increasing disaster risk and ecological pressures, as well as social injustice relating to the hydropower industry. This kind of analysis can support future efforts to reduce disaster risk and the vulnerability of marginalized groups in Vietnam. Originality/value The authors present a comprehensive review of Vietnamese hydropower from a disaster resilience perspective and provide analysis that will be useful in further research in this emerging area.

Reproducing knowledge in construction expertise: a reflexive theory, critical approach

An auto-ethnography and then analyses of narratives and ethnographies of other construction professionals are used to argue that reproduction of knowledge and expertise development is constrained by both normative professional thinking and a discourse of economic constraint generated by a highly competitive marketplace with a focus on time, cost, and quality trade-offs. The analysis of construction professionals’ narratives suggests that expertise development in construction is essentially an incremental process built on scenarios and influenced mostly by context and people, discourses of practices, legalities and professional expectations. Sometimes that incrementalism is distorted through radical innovation, but that is rare. Construction expertise in these stories is reproduced from base level learning and grows through practice. Practitioners, it is argued, accumulate knowledge and expertise, but the practice that emanates remains bounded within prevailing discourse which itself changes incrementally.

Experimental Investigation of Water Penetration through Semi-Interlocking Masonry Walls

AbstractThis study experimentally investigated water penetration through semi-interlocking masonry (SIM) walls using a standard test methodology. The main objective of this study was to investigate the water-penetration performance of dry-stacked SIM walls and the effects of using gap-fillers on the testing walls. The performance of a traditional unreinforced masonry wall was used as the benchmark against which the results for SIM walls were compared. This paper reports the water-penetration performance results of several types of SIM walls investigated in this study.

Critical dimensions for the effective design and use of simulation exercises for emergency management in higher education

Purpose There is a need to provide more effective learning experiences for higher education (HE) students in transdisciplinary contexts such as disasters and emergency management. While much has been written on the value of simulation exercises (SEs) for emergency management practitioners, research has focussed less on their value for HE students. The purpose of this paper is to identify how a practitioner-oriented framework for the design and use of SEs in emergency management is relevant to the HE context and how this framework may need to be adapted to support effective learning by HE students. Design/methodology/approach An interpretive approach based on a qualitative content analysis of 16 semi-structured interviews with emergency management practitioners and educators is used to enable an in-depth understanding of the social phenomena to be obtained. Findings The paper highlights that a framework for the design and use of SEs for emergency management practitioners is potentially valuable in the HE context but should be applied in a nuanced way. Research limitations/implications The paper is based on a small number of interviews and future studies could usefully analyse a wider set of perspectives (e.g. students), using a variety of alternative methods (e.g. surveys), to further test and/or enrich the framework. Practical implications Insights from the paper can inform the design and use of SEs in the HE context with a view to supporting more effective learning that better prepares students to operate during disaster events when they enter the emergency management workforce. Originality/value This is the first paper that has investigated the value of a practitioner-oriented framework for the design and use of disaster SEs in the HE context. In so doing, the paper has highlighted how the dimensions of the framework apply in the HE context and has revealed other issues that need to be addressed to support effective learning by HE students.

Design Science method and theory in a construction and engineering context: “a phronetic tale of research”

ABSTRACTDesign Science as a research method offers the researcher a viable way of improving the outcome of research for both the researcher and the researched. In Construction and Engineering there is almost always the intention to better understand and then improve processes, materials or outcomes. Using two case studies of research adopting Design Science, one in Engineering and one in Construction, the advantages of the use of Design Science as the research method are highlighted. The desire to improve construction and engineering through a better understanding of “practical wisdom” or domain expertise through use of the concept of phronesis enables the researcher to build solutions that reflect the practices and processes practitioners actually need, enhancing their own knowledge through the collaborative research process and enabling the researcher to better reflect on what the research produced.

Re-contextualizing extra-national policy in the Thai construction industry within the new ASEAN economic community

ABSTRACTConstruction stakeholders’ perceptions of probable impacts of the implementation of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Community (AEC) on practice in the construction industry are analyzed using a policy analysis framework. Implemented in 2015, the AEC is attempting to integrate all economic activities including construction. The construction industry in the AEC countries has been using local laws, regulations, standards, and practices which are not aligned, creating a problem for international construction, engineering, and architecture companies. No new laws or regulations have been foreshadowed or enacted, and there is no consensus about what will be done to address the current anomalies. From interviews, personal stories of senior construction professionals, engaged in construction projects in ASEAN countries, show that the national construction discourse in place currently is what they perceive will remain within an AEC even in a longer timeframe. However, their percep...

Who's on the other side of the table? Power perceptions in construction projects—Thai case studies

Through a lens of power as discourse and using a deconstruction of those discourses, the research identifies the differential perceptions of power and associated roles of the various stakeholders in Thai construction industry projects and how these perceptions of power affected decisions made, and project progress, in three case studies. Results showed that there are differentiated perceptions of power which alter dynamically across the three projects, creating a complex environment of decision-making within each project. Thai construction stakeholders have different perception of power and associated roles in construction projects. Downstream stakeholders such as contractors, sub-contractors and suppliers have perceptions that the owner of the projects has power to control everything in the project, while upstream stakeholders perceive that designers and consultants have more power to control the project. The sustainability and innovation aspects in the project designs often are neglected by decisions ma...