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Numerous studies have explored contractors' corporate social responsibility (CSR) at the macro or enterprise levels. Few, however, have considered CSR at the project level or contextualized it in post‐disaster reconstruction (PDR) projects. In the event of a disaster, contractors' CSR in PDR projects (P‐CSR) is beneficial for facilitating affected citizens in returning to normal life and improving their long‐term disaster resilience. Therefore, this study aims to formulate strategies that promote the implementation of contractors' P‐CSR. Employing a mixed‐methods research design within the context of Chinese PDR projects, the study identified 32 influencing factors, 24 measures, and 4 strategies. These strategies focus on (1) acquiring effective and efficient national emergency supports, (2) sharpening contractors' internal capabilities to enhance disaster resilience, (3) valuing contractors' P‐CSR activities and outcomes, and (4) reducing PDR projects' constraints and risks. Together, these measures and strategies form a Y‐shaped framework to facilitate contractors' P‐CSR implementation. The study findings contribute to the literature by bridging the gap between contractors' CSR implementation and their project‐level PDR efforts in the event of natural disasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reliance of contractor selection for specific construction activities on subjective judgments remains a complex decision‐making process with high stakes due to its impact on project success. Existing methods of contractor selection lack a data‐driven decision‐support approach, leading to suboptimal contractor assignments. Here, an advanced node2vec‐based recommendation system is proposed that addresses the shortcomings of conventional contractor selection by incorporating a broad range of quantitative performance indicators. This study utilizes semi‐supervised machine learning to analyze contractor records, creating a network in which nodes represent activities and weighted edges correspond to contractors and their performances, particularly cost and schedule performance indicators. Node2vec is found to display a prediction accuracy of 88.16% and 84.08% when processing cost and schedule performance rating networks, respectively. The novelty of this research lies in its proposed network‐based, multi‐criteria decision‐making method for ranking construction contractors using embedding information obtained from quantitative contractor performance data and processed by the node2vec procedure, along with the measurement of cosine similarity between contractors and the ideal as related to a given activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Engineering Management / Gongcheng Guanli Xuebao is the property of Journal of Engineering Management Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Contractors' low-carbon construction behaviors (CLCB) are pivotal in advancing decarbonization during the construction phase. However, there exists a notable gap in the comprehensive exploration of the multifaceted factors and mechanisms influencing CLCB. Therefore, this study aims to systematically identify the factors influencing CLCB in China, examine the interrelationships among these factors, and pinpoint the key determinants. Based on topic modeling of Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA), influencing factors are identified firstly from the pertinent literature. Subsequently, the causality degree and centrality degree between these factors are assessed by the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL), followed by the establishment of a hierarchical structure using the Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) method, culminating in the identification of pivotal factors. Findings reveal that (1) 21 influential factors influencing CLCB are identified. (2) "Incentive policies for relevant stakeholders" and "Low-carbon regulation and supervision" emerge as key influences. (3) CLCB should be guided by policy and subjective awareness, fortified by market and management support, underpinned by technology, and directly driven by economic considerations. This research furnishes valuable insights for promoting low-carbon development during the construction phase, thereby assisting the construction sector in achieving carbon peak and carbon neutrality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Though much research has been conducted on the potential well-being effects of deployment on armed forces members, a significant gap seems to exist in the literature when it comes to its effect on conflict-zone interpreters. Drawing on the experiences of six former Afghan-Canadian Language and Cultural Advisors (LCAs), this paper aims to contribute to expanding the nascent literature on conflict-zone interpreters by exploring how former LCAs perceive their experiences before, during, and after their deployment and the resulting impacts on their well-being. Interested in an in-depth exploration of the experiences of former LCAs, this study employed an interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) approach. Through the analysis, four superordinate themes emerged in participants' narratives including: (1) the right opportunity, referring to the reasons for becoming an LCA; (2) overcoming challenges, when it comes to the work itself; (3) deserving better, relating to the experience returning to post-service life; and (4) moving forward, speaking to the current reality of participants. The results reveal key insights into the unique experiences and support needs of former Afghan-Canadian LCAs included in the study, offering an in-depth account of their experience before, during and after their service. The findings also offer important considerations regarding the support available not just to interpreters but to all contractors deployed in conflict-zones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Tunel is the property of Ceska Tunelarska Asociace ITA-AITES, z.s and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Filosofija, Sociologija is the property of Lithuanian Academy of Sciences Publishers and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Problem definition: We consider a platform's problem of how to staff its operations given the possibilities of hiring employees and setting up a contractor marketplace. We aim to understand the operational difference between these two work arrangement models. Methodology/results: We consider a model where demand is not only stochastic but also evolving over time, which we capture via a state of the world that determines the demand distribution. In the case of employees, the platform controls the number of employee hours it uses for serving demand, whereas in the case of contractors, it sets the wage paid to them per utilized hour. We show that although the employee problem is equivalent to a standard newsvendor, the contractor one corresponds to an unusual version of the newsvendor model where utilization is the control variable. Managerial implications: This distinction makes the contractor model more flexible, allowing us to prove that it performs significantly better, especially if the order of magnitude of demand is unknown. Meanwhile, hybrid solutions that combine both employees and contractors have complex optimal solutions and offer relatively limited benefits relative to a contractor marketplace. History: This paper has been accepted in the Manufacturing & Service Operations Management Frontiers in Operations Initiative. Funding: This research was partially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grant 71821002]. Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/msom.2023.0029. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inter-regional market entry poses a complex challenge for contractors, particularly in the construction industry with its unique characteristics. Existing research predominantly focuses on an international scale and target markets, often overlooking the influence of the organizational environment, especially the home market. This study aims to fill this gap by analyzing how the construction organizational environment affects contractors' inter-regional market practices. Grounded in theories of organizational management, we developed a theoretical model with seven hypotheses examining the impact of organizational environment. We tested hypotheses with Bayesian logistic regression model based on data from 426 construction organizations in China. Our findings reveal that a contractor's size significantly impacts the practice compared to other attributes like ownership and experience. Additionally, a thriving local economy strongly supports contractors in exploring other geographical markets. Interestingly, while local competition intensity and protectionism create barriers for external firms, they do not significantly affect the diversification activities of local contractors. These insights contribute to understanding the dynamics of inter-regional market entry in the construction industry and can guide practitioners in strategizing for sustainable growth. Future research could explore more detailed strategies such as market selection and entry mode, enhancing the depth of understanding in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The phenomenon of delayed payment to contractors, particularly in the construction industry, is a vital one and has implications for the health of economies of both developing and developed countries. However, the knowledge of this phenomenon seems patchy and scattered. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the knowledge on the subject matter with directions for future research. Design/methodology/approach: A systematic literature review coupled with a scientometric analysis was used to identify the main strands of delayed payment to contractor research as a basis for qualitative analysis and directions for future investigations. Findings: Current trends of delayed payment to contractor research are categorised into five broad themes, namely: causes, effects, mitigation measures, ethical and law and regulatory issues. On the basis of these themes, directions for future research are proffered. Originality/value: To the best of the authors knowledge, this is the first attempt at providing a comprehensive and an integrated knowledge on delayed payment to contractor research with pointers for further investigation and policy directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aviation sector received an underperforming D+ score, indicating its deteriorating qualities in comparison with the overall US infrastructure. In response, US governmental bodies issued investment bills that target the improvement of the nation's airport system. Airport projects are still being implemented through design-bid-build (DBB), which is notorious for its ineffective risk shift, low contractor input, and poor cost and schedule performance. Studies show that design-build (DB) possesses prospective cost and schedule benefits. Despite this, there is still reluctance toward DB's usage in airport projects. Moreover, current studies lack in offering frameworks that assist airport practitioners in guiding stakeholders toward improved project delivery decision-making. Accordingly, this research's goal is to establish a holistic risk-based approach to assess the effect of utilizing DB versus DBB in US airport projects based on cost and schedule performance criteria. A four-step methodology is adopted where (1) risk factors were determined and grouped into eight risk categories, where they were quantified against their criticality to cost and schedule performance metrics; (2) the weights of the risk factors and their respective categories were realized to compute their importance; (3) the distribution of the data was statistically fitted; and (4) a benchmarking evaluation framework was developed and analyzed. The findings revealed that DBB is associated with 6% more perceived cost growth in comparison to DB delivery in airport projects. DBB is also linked to 7% more perceived schedule growth relative to DB airport implementation. It was also found that cost-related aspects influenced cost and schedule performance the most. Conversely, external aspects influenced performance the least. Ultimately, this study presents a novel approach for holistically assessing cost and schedule savings and growth in DB implementation in US airport projects, thus offering industry practitioners valuable insights into critical risk factors for enhanced decision-making and risk management practices that have national and global implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Construction projects in Iraq suffer from many complex problems. Therefore, the aim of this study is to identify the most critical factors affecting the performance of Iraqi construction projects, delving into their identification, analysis, and understanding. A comprehensive list of 32 influential factors was compiled through site surveys, interviews with engineers and experts, and a review of previous research. These factors were categorized into eight groups: planning and management, design and engineering, procurement and supply chain, workforce and labor, technology and innovation, environmental and regulatory aspects, site conditions and infrastructure, and external factors. One hundred and ten questionnaires were distributed to project stakeholders, including owners, consultants, and contractors. The results found that the five most important factors affecting performance ranked using the relative importance Index are poor planning, failure to allocate resources properly, unavailability of skilled labor, poor labor productivity, and volatile economic conditions. Based on these results, for solutions to be effective, they must be adapted to the local environment. Project participants must be interested in planning as it is essential to address the same. The skills of project workers must be developed through training programs. Communication with project stakeholders must be coordinated to contribute to the decision-making process.

The authority of the administration in the selection of the contracting party is not absolute, but is subject to certain rules and constraints established by the public procurement law. These rules aim to prevent the arbitrary exercise of authority by the administration, while ensuring fair competition between competing candidates for public contracts. These rules are manifested in the prescribed procedures for public procurement and the key criteria used in the selection process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Anbar University for Law & Political Sciences is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This research paper addresses a central problem: how coaching assists university students in launching startups and transitioning into entrepreneurs. This study aims to analyze to what extent coaching contributes to helping university students start their own projects at the level of the faculty of Economics, Commerce, and Management. The study's findings highlight several key points, the most important of which is that coaching has become a path to follow, especially since it led students to adopt an entrepreneurial orientation, which also allowed them to dissipate their fear and talk about their ideas for their project. Moreover, coaching made it possible to realize the talents enabling the student to innovate in a project/create a start-up. However, the study also identifies certain shortcomings, the most important of which is that the training did not help some students to prepare their first model, and it is, therefore, advisable to subsequently train a specialized coach for each student and that he starts with him from the beginning until his idea came to fruition on the ground. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aims to determine the influence of the quality of human resource management on the performance of contractor companies in North Sumatra. The hypothesis proposed is that there is a positive relationship between the quality of human resources and the performance of contractor companies. A total of 24 respondents from 6 contractor companies were selected as samples using the probability sampling method. The research results show that there is an influence between the quality of human resources on company performance. This is proven by the results of the hypothesis test which shows the calculated t value of 10.785, exceeding the t table value of 2.074. Therefore, the null hypothesis is rejected, indicating that there is a significant influence between the quality of human resource management and the performance of contractor companies in North Sumatra. From the research results, it can be concluded that the quality of human resource management has a significant influence on the performance of contractor companies in North Sumatra 84.1%; the remaining 15.9% is influenced by other factors. Therefore, it is recommended to improve the quality of human resource management to improve the performance of contractor companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contractors play an integral role in construction projects, and their qualifications directly impact various aspects of a project's success. The unbiased selection of contractors is a challenge in the construction industry worldwide, particularly in public projects where impartiality in the final selection is essential. Numerous factors must be considered when evaluating contractors, making the selection process challenging for the human brain. This paper introduces and compares two methods for assessing contractor prequalification by applying the fuzzy theory. The idea is to facilitate using human judgments in a mathematical system for decision-making with regard to selecting contractors. The method is based on identifying a fuzzy weight for the selection criteria using the Buckley method. Fuzzy TOPSIS and Fuzzy SAW methods are then used for the qualification ranking of the contractors. The proposed models are assessed using a case study. A sensitivity analysis was also conducted to compare the two models. The introduced method is expected to improve the quality of the qualification-based selection of contractors and prevent possible losses from hiring unsuitable contractors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Commercial construction projects (CCPs) in New Zealand contribute more to the economy than other project types. However, many face cost and time increases due to inadequate planning. Procurement pathways that involve contractors during design development provide more time to plan, collaboratively. Nevertheless, most projects are procured through traditional tender where contractors are only involved after detailed design. Through two-stage early contractor involvement (2S-ECI), contractors can provide design buildability advice for complex projects, contribute value management, carry out exploratory works, and order materials. The role of subcontractors in 2S-ECI can be significant. Six semi-structured interviews were conducted with clients, consultants, main contractors, and a subcontractor involved in large complex commercial construction projects. The findings build on the emerging body of knowledge about 2S-ECI by providing insight into subcontractor early involvement. Project complexity and market conditions were the main reasons for early subcontractor involvement. Common challenges include a lack of information sharing among the parties, non-competitive selection, and a lack of standard contract documentation. Opportunities for improvement include clarifying client expectations, educating stakeholders, and providing more equitable compensation for pre-construction services. Key drivers for subcontractor involvement include project complexity, market conditions, ordering long-lead-time systems, and performance specifications. Specialist early sub-trades include electrical, mechanical, structural steel, and façades. Subcontractors should typically be engaged as early as possible, often concurrently via main contractors to share performance risk. Pre-construction services provided by subcontractors include planning and sequencing; design buildability analysis; risk mitigation; value management; budget advice; systems procurement; design solutions; and document control systems. Advantages include obtaining specialist project knowledge and improving completion certainty. Producing a pre-construction services agreement (PCSA) for subcontractors may address challenges, as has been carried out for main contractors, but there is still a gap in the contractual framework for 2S-ECI for subcontractors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluating and selecting appropriate contractors is critical to the success of specific construction projects in the building industry. Existing approaches for addressing this problem are unsatisfactory due to the ignorance of the multi-dimensional nature of the evaluation process and inappropriate consideration of existent risks. This study presents a DEA game cross-efficiency model with loss aversion for evaluating and selecting specific contractors. The competitiveness of the evaluation process is modeled using game theory with respect to the adoption of the cross-efficiency model. The attitude of the decision maker toward risks is tackled with the use of loss aversion, which is a phenomenon formalized in prospect theory. As a result, the proposed approach can adequately screen available contractors through prequalification and adequately consider the attitude of the decision maker toward risks, leading to effective decisions being made. An example is presented to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed model in evaluating and selecting appropriate contractors for specific construction projects. The results show that the proposed model is effective and efficient in producing a unique solution for contractor selection through appropriate modeling of the multi-dimensional contractor selection process and adequate consideration of the competition between the contractors and the attitude of the decision maker toward risks in practical situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agencies do not always write their own rules. Contractors assist agencies in nearly all tasks relating to rulemaking, including reviewing public comments, conducting specialized research, and writing regulatory text. Despite perceptions that contractors' roles are entirely ministerial, the reality is that contractors fulfill many more functions in the rulemaking process than is commonly understood, including everything right "up to pushing the big red policymaking button," as one agency employee put it. The use of contractors in rulemaking fits within a broader pattern of increased government reliance on service contractors. Scholars have documented a bevy of governance concerns relating to ethics, capacity, and more, stemming from the fact that contractors are in privity with the government, not the public. This scholarship does not take up the implications of service contracting for rulemaking, the primary mode of executive branch lawmaking, nor does it delineate between types of contracting arrangements, which vary dramatically. This Article takes variation in rulemaking contracting arrangements seriously. We define three types: ministerial contractors, who perform administrative work; expertise contractors, who provide discrete scientific and technical inputs; and regulatory body shops, which are embedded into agencies and function like staff. We argue that while the former two arrangements pose minimal risks to an agency, regulatory body shops are a different story. Not only do they open the door to conflicts of interest that are not adequately addressed under current law, they also threaten the quality of agency reasoning and have the potential to hollow out an agency's rulemaking apparatus over the long run. Reliance on regulatory body shops has the potential to put an agency's rules in legal jeopardy by violating the Administrative Procedure Act and diminishing an agency's claim to Chevron deference. These various risks, which pose challenges for the quality of public decision-making, sit in tension with the reality that some agencies lack adequate resources to staff their rulemakings and turn to regulatory body shops as a pragmatic matter. The Article concludes with reforms to help agencies responsibly manage the risks posed by regulatory body shops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Historia Contemporanea is the property of Historia Contemporania and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Research Summary: This article examines a firm's investment in the general skills of contract workers in flexible work arrangements. It theorizes that this investment may prolong a productive firm‐worker collaboration even when workers' mobility barriers are low. It also proposes that achieving such benefits requires that the firm frames the relational benefits of the investments both to managers and workers. Such a "relational framing" mitigates worker concerns about subsequent productivity demands and manager concerns about worker mobility. Experimental and non‐experimental studies conducted in a multinational cosmetics direct sales company support the theory. Investments in the general skills of workers—even those in flexible work arrangements—can benefit both firms and workers by deepening the firm‐worker relationship while increasing value creation. Managerial Summary: Should companies train workers in general skills if the workers can easily leave and transfer productivity gains to competing firms? A common answer to this question is "no," especially when targeting workers hired under flexible arrangements, such as gig workers and direct sales representatives. This article offers a different perspective. It predicts that these investments signal a company's commitment to nurture workers' development. In turn, workers reciprocate by prolonging a more productive collaboration. Training thus benefits workers and companies. Using relational terms to frame training programs enables the promotion by managers of training opportunities, and uptake by workers. This framing overcomes managerial concerns about worker exit and worker concerns about subsequent productivity demands. Studies conducted in a multinational cosmetics direct sales company support these arguments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As competition over grant funding increases, nonprofit organizations (NPOs) are increasingly likely to enter into contracts with government agencies to ensure funding stability and accomplish organizational goals. Public agencies seek to reduce the possibility of contractor performance problems. Unlike profit-seeking firms that may need constant monitoring, NPOs could be more likely to serve as stewards of public resources, delivering services consistent with shared goals. However, few empirical studies have assessed the comparative performance of private and nonprofit contractors to determine whether there are meaningful differences in practice. This study analyzes nearly 25,000 U.S. federal definitive contracts that concluded between 2005 and 2015. Using predictive statistical analyses, findings indicate that nonprofits deliver more complex work than their for-profit counterparts, are less likely to be terminated early, do not require additional contract modifications, and are treated similarly to other vendors. Taken together, the results suggest that there are mutual benefits when governments and nonprofits engage in contracts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United States government is currently pursuing various methods of artificial intelligence technology to improve efficiency and integrity within the federal procurement process. Of the areas where the government is seeking to leverage this technology, past performance analysis provides many opportunities for improvement. The government's systems contain a great deal of data on a contractor's past performance but no workable avenue by which to assess this data efficiently while conducting responsibility determinations. Further compounding this overwhelming amount of data is the inability of disappointed offerors to challenge affirmative responsibility determinations, creating circumstances where Contracting Officers are conducting insufficient responsibility determinations and contractors cannot hold them accountable. Emerging technology may be able to solve aspects of this issue, but it must be used both responsibly and consistently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is focused on the problem of contractor selection for the implementation of a solar power plant project to produce electricity from sustainable sources for the needs of the company Voćar. The goal of this research is to select a construction contractor to install a solar power plant using sustainability criteria. With this power plant, the company Voćar can reduce its electricity costs and contribute to the production of sustainable energy. A total of three main sustainability criteria were used, in which six auxiliary criteria were symmetrically distributed. With these criteria, six suppliers were analyzed, and expert decision making was carried out with the application of the fuzzy–rough approach. To define the weights of the criteria, the SWARA method was utilized in this study. Based on the findings of this method, the most important criteria are the ecological criteria. Using the CRADIS method, the contractors were ranked, and the results show that contractor C6 has the best results and is the first choice for implementing this project. Choosing the best supplier increases the sustainability of project implementation and the realization of the expected effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Component tests Oberesslingen – part 2 – concept creation by the contractor The tender process for the test project for repairing locks during operation using the example of the Oberesslingen Neckar lock was special both in terms of content and the awarding process chosen by the client. The concept for repairing during operation as part of the offer had to take into account a large number of specified boundary conditions, requirements and scope of services. The offer processing was carried out by a bidding consortium consisting of consultants and construction companies to capture the diverse performance requirements in terms of planning and execution. The entire award process spanned a period of over two years with an intensive period of approximately one year of offer processing and concept updates. The concept content and thus the depth of detail grew steadily. The developed technical concept was weighted at 80 % in the offer evaluation. The early involvement of the construction companies offered optimal conditions in terms of ensuring later feasibility. The approach and concepts for drainage, removal and reprofiling as well as preliminary measures are described in more detail below. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study illustrates that the performance results of the contractor affect the satisfaction of the owner and the good name of the company involved. After all instruments are considered valid, then an analysis is carried out with the Research GAP Method to show the most dominant factors in owner satisfaction, then conduct an analysis with the IPA Method (Importance Performance Analysis) to show what important performance factors must be shown to meet owner satisfaction, after that conduct an analysis with the CSI (Customer Satisfaction Index) Method to determine owner satisfaction. The results of identification and analysis stated that 5 (five) performance factor variables affect owner satisfaction, namely reliability variables, responsiveness variables, empathy variables, assurance variables and physical evidence variables (tangibles). According to the CSI value is 65.92%, the value is included in the range of 60%-CSI-80% value, which is included in the satisfied category. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Overage construction workers have received widespread attention due to the higher safety risk. The balance of interests among the contractor, supervisor, and regulator forms a game, whose dynamics are tightly linked to the contractor's risk perception. This study aims to construct a tripartite evolutionary game model with risk perception integrated, thus proposing tailored supervisory strategies for supervisors and regulators. Unlike the traditional scale-based approach, a behavior-based method is developed to measure the contractor's risk perception, which improves the interpretability of results and avoids complex questionnaire surveys. The simulation results reveal a clear correlation between the contractor's risk perception and behavior. It is recommended that supervisors increase penalties and the initial possibility of Rigorous Inspection properly, and regulators may consider enhancing credit-based future returns and losses. Notably, certain measures may not be applicable to all contractors. Hence, supervisors and regulators should identify their risk perception before adopting supervisory strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, scholars have explored the pivotal role Jewish merchants played in feeding and arming European armies from 1500 to 1800. Yet they have ignored the problems these merchants faced when they cast outside national borders to urban centres far from the battlefield, a multi-national mobilisation of resources known as the 'fiscal-military system'. This article uses a case-study of one Jewish merchant, Jacob Levi, from the port of Genoa to explore the essential brokerage role of ethnic-religious minorities in the early modern fiscal-military system. With knowhow built through his private businesses as well as a network of his co-religious, Levi became one of the most important suppliers of grain for the Bourbon army of northern Italy from 1702 to 1706. But foodstuffs did not transit alone; as Levi's records show, other war matériel accompanied grain, none more volatile than the at-least 17,000 barrels of gunpowder that Levi transited through the port in these years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A country's economic conditions and the success of its construction industry are strongly interrelated. The construction sector is vital to any country's societal and financial development. Prices are known to fluctuate during the implementation phase of construction projects. Construction Material Prices (CMP) represent a large percentage exceeding 60% of the total project cost in Egypt. CMP fluctuate and these fluctuations can be significant enough to threaten the financial conditions of the construction project parties, especially owners, contractors, and suppliers. This research is concerned with identifying the main indicators affecting the CMP and evaluating them in terms of their importance and impact from the perspective of construction experts. The most critical indicators affecting the CMP were identified as thirty-seven indicators. Thirty-three indicators were identified from a literature review, and the remaining ones were identified through interviews with construction experts and brainstorming sessions. These indicators were then categorized into five categories: macroeconomic, economic, market, government, and energy. The questionnaire survey was conducted to rank the indicators according to the calculated relative importance weight. The collected data was analyzed using the SPSS statistical package. The results indicate that the inflation rate, the exchange rate, the interest rate, the local taxes, and transportation costs are critical factors with a mean value of more than 4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While prior research has long identified the centrality of critical supply acquisition to the government's response to a crisis, there is less understanding of how to secure critical supplies that depend on global supply chains. The acquisition of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the immediate aftermath of the coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak (COVID-19) proved challenging not only due to threats of contractor deception but also due to disruptions in contractor supply chains. This research analyzes primary interview data with contracting officials involved in purchasing PPE in the early stages of the COVID-19 crisis. The results indicate the ways that contractor relationships were perceived useful in anticipating risks surrounding a contractor's behavior (behavioral uncertainties), but insufficient in anticipating disruptions that can result from a contractor's supply chains (environmental uncertainties). Contractor relations were perceived to help in predicting industry disruptions, but such relations were likely to be formed alongside transactional and short-term contract designs—and likely to require comparison with other data sources. The results indicate that improving the reliability of critical supply acquisition for future crises is likely to depend on developing expertise in supply chain analysis, especially as the U.S. government increasingly relies on global supply chains in critical supply acquisition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]