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High Impact-Practices (HIPs) have been found to improve student engagement and retention, increase civic engagement, and enhance learning outcomes. Research on HIPs shows that combining multiple HIPs into a course, also known as hybrid HIPs, are more impactful than individual HIPs, and that community engagement and service-learning pedagogies are especially impactful when combined with other HIPs. The purpose of this study was to assess whether different levels of hybrid HIP combinations produced similar or different outcomes for students, as assessed by reciprocal learning. The courses included in this study were a study abroad course and two comparison courses within one department, which employed different levels of hybrid HIPs, such as collaborative assignments, service-learning, reflections, active learning, and project-based learning. Social Network Analysis (SNA) was used to evaluate three types of social ties (communication, social support, and learning) in these three courses. The results show that careful design and integration of multiple HIPs in the study abroad course produced markedly denser and more integrated communication and social support networks than the other courses. In addition, the study abroad class developed a learning network with high levels of reciprocal learning. This study contributes to the field of higher education in two ways: (a) expands the evidence-base for the robust learning outcomes produced by hybrid HIPs and (b) demonstrates that HIPs have to be planned within courses. Finally, integrating high-level learning objectives and pedagogies, regardless of whether or not the course type is considered as a HIP, will enable the 'gold standard' to be applied to all the different course types.

Traditional learning methods may not sufficiently engage students and many have studied VR and AR's impact on student learning. Many construction management (CM) students have difficulty visualizing a building structure and understanding the materials and methods used to build it. This research investigated the use of a physical hands-on construction exercise integrated with VR and AR as a way to improve student visualization ability and learning of the course material. In this study, students built a physical model of a wood frame structure using K'NEX viewing either 2D drawings, 3D drawings, VR or AR models. Students perceived the VR, AR, and hands-on activity, as beneficial for improving their visualization of building structures. They also noted improvement in their understanding of construction materials and sequencing compared to using 2D drawings. In addition, the use of VR and AR improved student communications skills. This research is significant because it adds information on integrating hands-on and VR or AR approaches, in the same activity, to further improve CM student visualization skills and their learning of the course material. The integrated hands-on and VR/AR activity could be used by other CM programs that are interested in applying an active, learning-by-doing, approach in their curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The principle of learning curves can be applied in construction for the prediction of the time/cycle of future work, work performance levels, and other performance measures. Learning curve principles can be effectively utilized in litigation cases where production is compromised by delays. The objective of this study was to determine if learning curves could be used to accurately predict the production efforts of future units by applying the principles to the prefabrication and driving of prestressed concrete piles. The individual time to cast each of the concrete piles was recorded and used to compute the cumulative average time ([CAT.sub.N]) to fabricate the concrete piles. The data were used to compute the learning rate ([phi]) and the theoretical time to complete the first unit ([K.sub.c]). From this information, predictions were made as to the amount of effort to fabricate future piles. The results showed that the pile fabrication crew improved its learning throughout the pile fabrication effort, but this improvement was quite small. The learning curve theory was found to apply well to large numbers of repeated items, and that the predictions made with learning curves are reasonably accurate. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0000004 CE Database subject headings: Piles; Prefabrication; Empirical equations; Prestressed concrete.

High Impact-Practices (HIPs) have been found to improve student engagement and retention, increase civic engagement, and enhance learning outcomes. Research on HIPs shows that combining multiple HIPs into a course, also known as hybrid HIPs, are more impactful than individual HIPs, and that community engagement and service-learning pedagogies are especially impactful when combined with other HIPs. The purpose of this study was to assess whether different levels of hybrid HIP combinations produced similar or different outcomes for students, as assessed by reciprocal learning. The courses included in this study were a study abroad course and two comparison courses within one department, which employed different levels of hybrid HIPs, such as collaborative assignments, service-learning, reflections, active learning, and project-based learning. Social Network Analysis (SNA) was used to evaluate three types of social ties (communication, social support, and learning) in these three courses. The results show that careful design and integration of multiple HIPs in the study abroad course produced markedly denser and more integrated communication and social support networks than the other courses. In addition, the study abroad class developed a learning network with high levels of reciprocal learning. This study contributes to the field of higher education in two ways: (a) expands the evidence-base for the robust learning outcomes produced by hybrid HIPs and (b) demonstrates that HIPs have to be planned within courses. Finally, integrating high-level learning objectives and pedagogies, regardless of whether or not the course type is considered as a HIP, will enable the 'gold standard' to be applied to all the different course types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Repeated modifications of multiple design parameters are required to optimize daylighting system design. However, a large number of optional design parameters increase the computation time. This research developed a simulation-based model to evaluate daylighting system design based on system daylighting and thermal performance. The model utilized the prediction methods to speed up computation. The methods that predict the daylight levels and energy usage were developed based on sample simulation results using Radiance and EnergyPlus software. A prominent multiobjective optimization technique, strength Pareto evolutionary approach II, was applied to optimize four main design parameters (window dimensions and position, glazing transmittance, and blind reflectance). A patch division scheme was proposed to limit the maximum number of daylighting simulations if there was a larger number of window dimensions and positions. A case study was conducted to illustrate the application of the model and to validate the accuracy of the prediction methods. The percentage errors between the predicted and simulation results for both energy and daylighting performances were less than 5%. The research contribution is the development of a new faster approach for predicting building energy consumption and daylight levels as well as the development of an integrated simulation environment for the daylighting system design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction industry has incurred the most fatalities of any United States industry in the private sector in recent years. Whereas many factors may contribute to this statistic, one likely cause is due to designers who often lack design for construction safety knowledge, which results in many safety hazards being built into project designs. Therefore, there is a compelling need for tools that can put the safety-in-design concept into practice. To improve the current situation, a prevention through design (PTD) tool based on computer software was developed. Construction safety best practices were compiled into computable rules so that the PTD tool can automatically conduct compliance checking. Particular emphasis was placed on fall accidents since falls are the most frequently occurring cause of fatalities on construction sites. This tool efficiently makes PTD suggestions available to designers and constructors. With this PTD tool, it is possible for project participants to work together to optimize building designs for construction worker safety, which provides valuable downstream benefits. By using the results of the safety check by this PTD tool, constructors have the opportunity to plan for preliminary safety measures to address construction site hazards from the beginning of the project. Preplanning facilitates reduction of potential hazards on construction sites by allowing for consideration of construction worker safety during the design and preconstruction phases of a project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of building information modeling (BIM) has provided a means of increasing total project quality, providing accurate quantity take-offs, and improving scheduling, consequently diminishing total project contingencies and costs. Although BIM is a recent development, a lot of research has been conducted in order to further enhance the capabilities of BIM in design and construction. However, there has been very little research done so far on the effect that BIM has on sustainable construction practices. Hence, the goal of this research is to investigate the perceptions of the use of BIM for sustainable design and construction among designers and constructors. A survey was developed and administered through the Internet to determine the existing trends of BIM application in general as well as its use as a tool in sustainable design and construction. The survey results indicated that although the majority of the respondents believed that sustainable design and construction practices were of importance within their company, most still believed that sustainability was not a primary application of BIM and that project coordination and visualization were instead more important. Although BIM is perceived as a multidisciplinary tool, problems with interoperability continue to persist among the various BIM applications in the industry. In terms of project delivery methods, the majority of the survey respondents believed that design/build and integrated project delivery (IPD) are the optimal project delivery methods to integrate BIM as a sustainability tool. Although BIM is still a recent development, as more design and construction professionals understand the potential benefits offered through its use, BIM will become a vital tool for sustainable design and construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the findings of the study which examines the safety practices of roofing contractors in Florida and the safety efforts these contractors are making to protect Hispanic construction workers from injury. Findings show that safety training offered in Spanish to Hispanic construction workers can provide safety benefits. It shows the importance of improving safety programs and safety performance of roofing contractors to provide Hispanic workers with a safe work environment.

Due to a rapid increase in urbanisation, accurate wind microclimate assessment is of crucial importance. Evaluating wind flows around buildings is part of the planning application process in the design of new developments. In this study, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations are carried out for a case study, representing the East Village in the London Olympic Park. Following a validation test against experimental data for a simpler urban configuration, the key input parameters, including appropriate boundary conditions, mesh setting and type of turbulence model, are selected for the Olympic Park model. All the simulations are conducted using the commercial code STARCCM+ under steady-state conditions with the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) method. The turbulence is modelled using different common variants of eddy-viscosity models (EVMs) including standard k- ε , realizable k- ε and standard and shear stress transport (SST) k- ω. The results demonstrate that standard and realisable k- ε models correlate very well with the experimental data, while some discrepancies are found with standard and SST k- ω. Following the determination of areas of high velocity, appropriate tree planting is proposed to overcome the effect of corner and downwash acceleration. With the optimised arrangement of trees and using specific types of tree (e.g., birch), wind speeds at the pedestrian level are reduced by 3.5, 25 and 66% in three main regions of interest. Moreover, we investigate the effects of tree heights. The obtained results illustrate that the wind velocity reduces when the crowns of the trees are located closer to the buildings and the ground. Our high-resolution CFD simulation and results offer a quantitative tool for wind microclimate assessment and optimised design and arrangement of trees around buildings to improve pedestrian comfort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) during operation typically requires modeled content to accurately match the built spaces, which necessitates effective field verification techniques to ensure that BIM content matches the actual built conditions. Some contractors leverage laser scanning and other reality-capture technologies to verify modeled content prior to turnover, but these approaches can be time- and resource-intensive. Augmented reality (AR) enables users to view BIM content overlaid on their field of view of the built space. Research suggests potential for using AR for tasks related to field verification, but a study that systematically explores the specific types of deviations that can be detected with this technology is missing from the current literature. This paper tasks participants with using immersive AR to identify deviations from BIM in a ceiling plenum space that includes installed Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing (MEP) components, which would typically be included in a coordinated BIM. The results suggest that AR can enable users to effectively identify large deviations and missing building elements. However, the results do not indicate that AR effectively enables users to identify small deviations and can potentially lead to identifying false positive observations, where accurately constructed elements are perceived as deviating from BIM. These results suggest that immersive AR can effectively be used to check whether recently built elements conform to the intended BIM in instances where speed of verification is more important than adhering to strict tolerances. For instances where accuracy (less than two inches) is critical, the results of this work suggest that AR can be used to help determine where in the building more accurate, but more resource-intensive, reality-capture technologies should be used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Falls account for about one-third of all construction fatalities with most fatalities in the roofing trade. Even though a personal fall arrest system (PFAS) is required for fall protection, proper placement of PFAS anchor points is an issue evidenced by the high number of fatalities caused by incorrect anchor positioning. The research goal was to proof the concept of optimizing the location of the PFAS anchor points on steep-sloped roofs. This goal was achieved by: (1) Developing an algorithm for converting the required local jurisdiction construction regulations and standards for PFAS anchor positioning into machine-readable rules; and (2) Developing and validating an algorithm for optimizing the location of PFAS anchor points. The K-Nearest Neighbor Search (KNNS) optimization algorithm was selected in this research and was implemented into a standalone computer tool using Python programming language. The tool calculates the potential anchor locations that satisfy the fall clearance and swing hazard requirements and then displays the anchor locations both graphically and numerically. The optimization algorithm was validated using the K-fold Cross-Validation method, which proved the algorithm was adequately accurate and consistent. The research contribution is the proof of the concept that the development of an optimization algorithm and automated field-level tool for optimal selection of PFAS anchor points is possible, further research and refinement could help steep-sloped roofing companies improve their safety practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]