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The project selection criteria are required for an effective project lifecycle, and the selected projects should correspond with organizational aims and objectives; yet, the organization lacks severely in its ability to act decisively on the problem. Hence, this study aims to highlight the best project selection criteria that are related to organizational success. In this manner, a quantitative survey approach was used, with closed-ended questions distributed to employees in Pakistan's construction industry. The relationship between project selection criteria and organizational performance was evaluated using structural equation modelling in SmartPLS through measurement and structural models. The findings reveal that a significant positive correlation was found for all the project selection criteria, except for the financial criteria. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that project selection criteria are critical for organizational success; hence, the findings will assist organizations in making better project selection decisions.

A novel approach to wide-band antenna gain measurement is presented in this article, offering practical solutions to address the challenges posed by traditional measurement methods. The proposed system enhances efficiency, reduces complexity, and improves accuracy, making it a valuable tool for antenna testing in research and industry settings. A discussion of the challenges and complexities involved in measuring the specifications of manufactured antennas is made. We are particularly focusing on wide-band antenna gain measurement. It highlights the need for special equipment and expertise to conduct these tests effectively, especially for wide-band antennas. The proposed automated measurement system aims to simplify and streamline the gain measurement process by remotely driving the necessary instruments and reducing the complexity of the measurement mechanism. The novelty of this new automated measurement system can be divided into two branches. The first branch improves the standard approach of wide-band antenna gain measurement. The second branch modifies the structure of the software of the traditional remote access applications by mixing the operational instructions of the instrument with the direct SCPI commands. The resulting software has the ability to remotely drive many instruments synchronically, reducing the number of experienced people needed to complete the measurement process.

The Geographic Information System (GIS) is one of the modern database software which is used to collect, analyze, display, processing and produce geographic information maps for a specific objective. In addition, a statistical analysis can be generated within GIS on specific data to produce quantitative results. In this study, the GIS utilized to produce thematic maps showing the variation of bearing capacity of shallow foundation in Al-Basrah province soil. All the features mentioned above illustrate the importance of GIS exploring more valuable results such as the bearing capacity of shallow foundation from the results of standard penetration tests (SPT) conducted in Al-Basrah province soil. The total number of boreholes drilled was 135 distributed irregularly in the study area. In each borehole, three SPTs were performed at depths of 1.5, 6, and 9.5 m measured from the existing ground level (EGL). The results of the study can be summarized by the production of thematic maps showing the variation of the bearing capacity of the soil over the whole area of Al-Basrah city correlated with several depths. These maps can be used by different local authorities to predict soil bearing capacity and choose a suitable type of foundation. In addition, it can be utilized to assess the foundations of existing and irregularly constructed buildings and to assess the extent of the risks of failure and collapse.

Utilizing a turnkey approach to deliver a construction project entails significant risks from the contractor’s perspective. Essentially, the owner awaits project completion without commitments regarding additional expenditures incurred by the contractor during the project’s duration. This paper specifically focuses on estimating and analyzing the contingency value for residential turnkey projects in Saudi Arabia. The contingency value across the project’s life cycle is estimated using six Artificial Neural Network (ANN) models, which are compared to identify the best-trained network according to project complexity, contingency factor, and contingency impact during the project phases. The output layer provides the contingency factor percentages for each project phase. A 13-story reinforced concrete (RC) residential building established in one of Saudi Arabia’s cities was selected to implement the developed methodology. The contingency estimation, performed using @Risk 7.5 and NeuralTools 7.5, was determined to be 11.34% and was distributed across the five phases of the project’s life cycle: 0.30% for predesign, 0.99% for design, 2.61% for preconstruction, 6.33% for construction, and 1.12% for postconstruction. Furthermore, it was found that the estimated contingency varies based on project complexity, which is 7.20% for low complexity, 8.16% for medium complexity, 9.41% for complicated, and 11.34% for very complicated projects. Historical data and peer review approaches are employed to validate the results, both of which are endorsed by professionals in this field. This paper highlights two main contributions: Firstly, it significantly enhances risk management by facilitating a comprehensive understanding and systematic analysis of risks, thus improving the contractors’ ability to mitigate potential negative impacts on projects. Secondly, it supports more informed decision-making through the use of advanced techniques to estimate and analyze contingency values. These contributions are critical for contractors engaged in Saudi construction projects, particularly those involving residential buildings.

Effective facility asset management requires specific skills and tools to optimize the use of limited resources, making a decision support system essential. This research introduces a comprehensive decision support system, which is a framework organized into three models: the criticality model, the rehabilitation model, and the optimum criticality model to manage the rehabilitation of facility assets. The criticality model utilizes the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to assess the group of assets. Emphasizing criticality as a central management factor, this model lays the foundation for subsequent decision-making. The rehabilitation model employs an Artificial Neural Network (ANN), integrating Customer Level of Service (CLoS), Technical Level of Service (TLoS), and asset criticality to determine appropriate rehabilitation actions. NeuralTools 7.5 is leveraged for precise predictions of rehabilitation strategies tailored to specific assets. The third model, optimum criticality, focuses on prioritizing rehabilitation activities within the constraints of limited budgets. Lingo 20.0 is utilized to optimize rehabilitation activities, considering budget limitations and other constraints, offering a strategic approach to maximize the impact of available resources. This integrated framework provides decision-makers with a systematic and data-driven approach to facility management, enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of rehabilitation actions. An academic building was chosen as a hypothetical example to implement the three models and suggest the essential considerations for managing both the academic building itself and other infrastructure assets. The results obtained demonstrate that the principles and methodologies encapsulated in this project can be extrapolated and scaled up for application to large-scale infrastructure assets, ensuring the sustenance of the requisite level of service and the management of acceptable risk on a broader scale.

Job stress (JS) is a significant issue in the construction industry of developing countries. This study aims to examine the impact of error-management climate (EMC), safety climate (SC), and psychological capital (PC) (as a mediator) on employee JS in the construction industry, and establish relationships between these constructs. A questionnaire survey was conducted to gather data from 144 respondents. The study’s hypothesized relationships were tested using partial-least-squares structural-equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The analysis indicated a positive association between EMC and PC. Conversely, EMC did not have a negative impact on JS. The study also established a constructive relationship between SC and PC, and a significant negative association between SC and JS. Regarding mediation, PC was found to partially mediate the effect of EMC on JS, accounting for 55% of the variance accounted for (VAF). The study’s innovative contribution lies in exploring the limited research on PC within the construction industry, and investigating the interactions among SC, EMC, PC, and JS.

Non-renewable resources have been becoming scarcer on a global scale by the day, while energy demand has been rising exponentially. To tackle this problem, organizations worldwide have been striving to learn and adopt green practices to sustain themselves and benefit society. In this context, the current study aims to identify and understand the critical factors that encourage individuals working in construction organizations to adopt green behavior. The current study surveyed 121 top managers working in 150 construction firms deployed across Pakistan. It was found that knowledge and awareness significantly contributed to green behavioral adoption. Additionally, behavioral intention, motivation, and environmental consciousness have been found to positively mediate the impact of knowledge and awareness on green behavior adoption. The findings of this study highlight the important factors to consider when developing future policies. Moreover, the research provides a stepping stone for future researchers to evaluate other sectors and regions in similar contexts to draw comparisons and identify areas for improvement.

Selecting a suitable bidder to execute a construction project is not an easy task, especially for the short bidder list. The consequences of the selection might affect the project performance in terms of cost, money, and quality. The current research in this work deals with the selection of a contractor, who bids on a specific project. The historical data of contractors are a key of the selection based on three approaches: the quick selection approach (QSA), generic selection approach (GSA), and comprehensive selection approach (CSA). The QSA relies on the scoring system according to delay factors. The QSA is the weighted average of the delay factors using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP), the CSA is based on the integrated QSA and the bidding strategy using Friedman’s theory. The current three approaches can be utilized by public and private owners, who intend to select a general contractor to execute new construction projects. A hypothetical case study is implemented to demonstrate the developed models. Several experts in the field of construction management have confirmed the findings. The third strategy (CSA) is found to be the most appropriate for selecting construction bidders.

To ensure quick socio-economic recovery of the communitiesaffected by insurgents’ attacks in the north-eastern Nigeria, the first phase of the mass-housing reconstruction scheme has been completed but with many issues overshadowing the achievement like unsatisfactory involvement of local beneficiary communities;poor cooperation among key stakeholders; and communication gaps between donors, construction companies and local beneficiaries, which results inlow quality housing products. Therefore, it became necessary to ensure that only contractors who satisfactorily passed the efficiency test are allowed to participate in the subsequent phases of the reconstruction scheme. Thus, this paper provides quantitative technique for evaluating the efficiency of contractors in managing the housing reconstruction.It is expected that the techniquewill seek to guide informed decisions on the efficiency of managing the reconstruction scheme, which is in different phases and locations. Although the evidences on which the results of this study emanate from reconstruction of building structures experiences in some parts of Nigeria, the technique developedcould be adopted in other areas faced with similar issues.This paper updated existing knowledgeon the management of mass-housing reconstructionworks and offers support to decision-makers and practitioners involved in managing reconstruction of building structures affected by insurgency

لعبت الرموز الإسلامية الدور الأكبر والمتميز في أظهار الصورة الجمالية لذلك المجتمع الذي يتبناه الفكر الإسلامي، فقد تزاحمت الرموز التراثية والفلكلورية وتوافقت في نسيج واحد، نسيج مرن يتقبل كل جديد يمكن أن ينتجه المجتمع ويوقن به، وهذا لا يعني أن الرموز الإسلامية في حقيقتها إسلامية أنما هي ارث تراثي يمتد عبر العصور توارثته الأجيال جيل بعد جيل، امتلكت تلك الرموز فلسفة خاصة لم تتقاطع مع التفلسف الإسلامي ألا في البعض اليسير منه رغم أن بعض الرموز تجرد من مفهومه القديم كرمز الهلال الذي كان يرمز للإله سن اله: القمر فأصبح هذا الرمز شاهدا على شهر الصيام الإسلامي مما جعل له بروز وثبات بقوة وجوده كرمز إسلامي لا مناص منه يرتقبه المسلمون بغاية الصبر كل عام، ويمكن القول أن الرموز الإسلامية وغيرها من الرموز جاءت كحل أستعاري وكبديل لخطاب من المشاعر والأحاسيس للمرموز اليه فتقديم وردة للحبيب تغني عن ألاف الرسائل المزوقة وهذا كله مرهون بطبيعة المجتمعات وطريقة التفكير وما لا يصح في مجتمع يصح في آخر في بحثنا هذا تعرضنا إلى بعض من الرموز الإسلامية والتراثية التي وردت في أعمال الفنان (سلمان عباس) في محاولة استقراؤها والكشف عن دلالاتها ومضامينها الفكرية الكامنة فيها. ولقد تضمن البحث اربعة محاور هي: (الاطار المنهجي) والذي تكون من مشكلة البحث والحاجة اليه واهمية البحث واهداف البحث ثم تحديد مصطلحات البحث. اما (الاطار النظري) فتضمن مبحثين هما: المبحث الاول: مرجعيات الرموز الإسلامية في الفن العراقي، المبحث الثاني: الدلالات الرمز ية للعمارة الاسلامية. ثم اجراءات البحث والذي تضمن مجتمع البحث ومنهج البحث وعينه البحث وادوات البحث وتحليل عينات وختم بالنتائج والاستنتاجات والمقترحات والتوصيات وقائمة المصادر والمراجع والملخص باللغة الانكليزية.

Background: Jaundice is a common neonatal problem. This may be due to the limited ability of a neonate to metabolize indirect bilirubin, which predisposes to the risk of encephalopathy and long-term sequelae if not managed promptly. Sufficient hydration and good urine output improve the efficacy of intensive phototherapy The aim of this study: was to evaluate the role of intravenous extra fluid supplementation in accelerating the reduction of serum bilirubin levels in neonates and to find out whether intravenous fluid supplementation decrease the total duration of phototherapy and the need for exchange transfusion Methods: This is a prospective clinical trial study that was conducted at phototherapy ward at Karbala teaching hospital for children, Iraq from January 2017 to December 2017. Fifty-two term neonates with non-hemolytic hyperbilirubinemia [total serum bilirubin >18 mg/dl (308 pmol /L) and <25 mg/dl (428 pmol /L)] were randomly divided into 2 equal groups; (non-supplemented group) received breast milk and or formula, and (supplemented group) given intravenous fluid besides breast milk or formula. Both groups exposed to intensive phototherapy. The rate of bilirubin decrement, duration of phototherapy, and rate of exchange transfusion were compared Results: Rate of bilirubin decrement at 4 hours, 8 hours, 24 hours of study were significantly higher in supplemented group as compared to non-supplemented group (p- value <0.001). Duration of phototherapy required in non-supplemented and supplemented groups was 56.54 vs. 41.54 hours respectively (p-value =0.0001). No statistically significant effect of intravenous extra fluid supplementation on exchange transfusion rate between these two groups. Conclusions: Intravenous extra fluid supplementation in non-hemolytic jaundiced term neonates can accelerate decrement of serum bilirubin levels and decreases the duration of phototherapy [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]