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This research was undertaken to comparatively assess the unprecedented travel and activity conditions related to the onset of coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) in the US in the first half of 2020. In this effort, roadway traffic volumes were used to relate government directives for social separation and COVID-19 case progression in ten diversely populated and located states. Among the key contributions of the research were its illustration of the amount and time scale of public response to activity restrictions across the country and the general finding that overall, governmental directives, as reflected in rapid traffic decreases, likely served their purpose. Another key finding was that by June 1st, no state had completely returned to routine levels of travel. Combined, the results of this study illustrate the effect of governmental action with respect to the course of the virus, including how varied timings of responses reflected outcomes based on the levels of threat and characteristics of individual locations. It is expected that this paper will be of use to practitioners, governmental, and researchers to assess and develop plans for future similar major events and emergencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of a study on the impact of climate change on road infrastructure in South Africa. The approach used built on previous work associated with the UNU-WIDER Development under Climate Change (DUCC) effort, emphasizing understanding of the impact of climate change on roads. This paper illustrates how climate change effects on road infrastructure can be evaluated at a national and provincial level to produce quantitative estimates of climate change from multiple future scenarios. The results of the study indicate that the national-level climate change cost impact in South Africa will vary between US$116.8 million and US$228.7 million annually in the 2050 decade for the median and maximum climate scenarios if a no-adaptation policy action is taken. Conversely, if a proactive adaptation action is taken, these costs can be reduced to US$55.7 million. The savings in costs arising from climate change impacts based on this policy approach is equivalent to building more than 10,000 km of new, secondary paved road by 2050. The analysis focused on the advantage of a proactive policy approach: the upgrade of road infrastructure where climate impacts will exceed current design and maintenance standards. A stressor-response methodology created by the writers is briefly explained, including the application of 54 potential climate futures using general circulation models (GCMs) approved by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This paper focuses on provincial-level impacts of both a proactive and a reactive approach. Decadal and average annual costs are detailed through 2100. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Managing the increased complexity, emerging uncertainties, and diversity of cultures on global projects is creating significant challenges for architecture, engineering, and construction firms. In global projects, differences in “institutions”—including language, beliefs, values, group norms, work practices, professional roles, industry organizations, and legal frameworks—among team members from different national backgrounds can lead to misunderstanding and conflicts that cause delays, increase costs, and reduce quality. Previous research has examined risk factors associated with international project execution. However, little research to date has explored whether reconfiguring project networks might mitigate such risks. Project organizational simulation tools have been combined with “robust design” experimental techniques to design robust project networks that can perform reliably in uncertain conditions. This paper extends project network design research to examine whether robust designs for given project networks differ between “domestic” and “global” projects, given differing organizational uncertainties. The results demonstrate that robust project network designs may differ for global project networks. This finding has significant implications for the design of project networks in an industry where firm participation in global project networks is increasing, both domestically and abroad. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing globalization is creating both challenges and opportunities for engineering and construction (E&C) companies. Many researchers have examined the drivers and key success factors that enable globalizing E&C firms to become truly global. However, although firms integrate recommended globalization tactics, they lack an approach to evaluate the effect of different tactics and strategies on their globalizing performance. This paper presents an index that enables firms to assess their globalizing performance in two dimensions: degree of global reach and degree of global integration. Data were collected from 15 E&C companies to internally validate the developed globalizing index. The globalizing scores of the 15 E&C companies with their international revenue ratios were then compared to externally validate that the international revenue ratio is positively correlated with the global reach score. This research fills an essential gap in the construction engineering and management literature by contributing a novel index for E&C firms' to measure their globalizing performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]