Irrespective of the groundswell of interest in construction industry conflict during the last two decades, there has been comparatively little research conducted that attempts to investigate the association between social conflict and ineffective construction industry inter-organizational relationships. This is despite the growing recognition that conditions conducive to effective social relationships between interdependent organizations contribute towards improved industrial productivity. This doctoral thesis contributes to the existing literature and empirical database on construction industry conflict by reporting the findings of a research project designed to explore the comparative organizational properties that encourage interdependence and the emergence of inter-organizational conflict during the construction process. The investigation builds upon and moderates an earlier comparative analysis of inter- organizational conflict by Molnar and Rogers (1979) in order to formulate a novel structural equation model. It includes as its database six case studies of medium- to large-scale new-build construction projects, selected from the north-eastern region of England, from which the networks of social relationships within the collectivities of construction-related organizations were examined from the perspective of the exogenous and endogenous comparative organizational properties. Primary data were collected during semi-structured interviews with twenty-three boundary role representatives of the twelve construction-related organizations responsible for the design and construction of the observed projects. The resultant structural equation model provides insight into the occurrence of inter-organizational conflict within the UK construction industry, in addition to explaining the key factors that influence the occurrence of ineffective construction industry inter-organizational relationships. In essence, this doctoral investigation has demonstrated the potential ability to predict the likelihood that social conflict will arise between interdependent construction- related organizations. Furthermore, it has paved the way for additional studies to be conducted to further understand the complex and intriguing aspects of construction industry inter-organizational relationships by presenting an accurately specified theoretical framework and an appropriately grounded methodological approach.

In the ICT industry, since de-regulation business objectives have been closely linked to the lowering of prices and improvement in quality of service. Unfortunately, the industry has arguably failed to deliver the majority of its projects. This research examines this described failure and considers the reasons why it occurs. As a starting point, the research suggests that the ICT industry might be better off by comparing its progress against that already made by the construction industry, an industry involved in projects with similar characteristics such as complex relationships, detailed information and long delivery periods over many phases. A framework demonstrating similarities and differences in project characteristics between construction and ICT was developed from available literature. The framework was examined and refined by carrying out in-depth interviews. It was then tested using data from a survey of professionals involved in Construction and ICT projects. The results of the analysis indicate that there are no fundamental differences either in the definition of projects or the application of project management systems, principles and methodologies between the two industries. Therefore this is not the reason for the failure of project delivery within ICT. The real problem appears to be in the method of project performance measurement, which is based on an approach to project success that is separate from progress measurement criteria.

This research compares knowledge integration in competitive and collaborative construction projects in the UK. It begins with the assumption that the most valuable commodity transferred along project supply chains is knowledge. It has been suggested that collaborative working methods (such as partnering) may represent a significant improvement in the way project knowledge can be captured and integrated. However, most academic work on knowledge management has concentrated on its integration within rather than between organizations: the topic is more difficult to address in multi-firm, project-based, and economically fragmented industries (such as construction). The present study focuses upon collaborative working as a vehicle for knowledge integration along the project supply chain. A review of the literature examines how recent approaches to construction organisation have sought to improve performance: these approaches all draw attention to such critical attributes as trust, commitment and relationships, all of which are difficult to measure. In this research, a social network analysis approach has been adopted to do this. This is the first time the technique has been put fully to this use in the context of construction projects. Software has been used to help visualize and compare knowledge networks in five projects (representing competitive and collaborative working) and this has provided data for comparison of different working patterns under different procurement systems. The working patterns and knowledge transactions in the two different procurement systems were shown to be different, and there were clear associations between the degree of collaborative working and the nature of social networks encountered. The technique has overcome previous difficulties in measuring certain attributes of collaborative working; has provided a way of benchmarking the differences in the way that competitive and collaborative working facilitate project knowledge integration; and represents a useful and novel way of analysing organizational behaviour in projects. It has explained why and how partnering and collaborative working can bring certain advantages.

The construction, commissioning and hand-over of pharmaceutical manufacturing buildings have become increasingly controlled by the requirements of regulatory agencies. Legislation requires that the process of validation is undertaken to establish that the facility is constructed in-line with the principles of pharmaceutical Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP). The validation process acts to ensure that the construction and building services systems are designed, installed and operate as intended and do not affect the quality of the manufactured product. A central objective of this thesis is to examine the sequential validation process and influencing factors that contribute to the facility attaining agency approval. A comprehensive review of the available literature indicates that projects regularly fail to meet their regulatory objectives due to the building provider and client's differing understanding and views of the validation process and of GMP. From this literature a validation model is derived and proposes that the design, installation and operation stages of the validation activity are time-series dependant sub-processes controlled through sensing, feedback and comparison. The research was largely qualitative, case-study based and used an interpretivist approach to analysis, which relied on participant observation and grounded theory techniques. Additional, external validation of the model was sought by collecting and analysing empirical data from an industry questionnaire The results of the study demonstrate that significant deviations between the model and the data exist and measures to construct compliant pharmaceutical buildings are often underdeveloped and result in unsuccessful project outcomes. The criteria by which the success of any construction project is judged are normally time, cost and quality. Time and cost are readily measurable, but the meaning of quality, in relation to the validation activity, can be more elusive and this is at the root of the problem of successful validation of pharmaceutical buildings.

Because of changing patterns of demand and advances in supporting technologies, distance education is a growing market in the higher education sector. Assuring and maintaining its quality is an important issue for those who deliver it. This requires the development of pedagogical design. The knowledge of how student learn is the basis to develop the theories of teaching. However, distance students' learning activities are invisible to the instructors and researchers, particularly those based in a comprehensive learning environment, such as a University. This has caused difficulties in improving pedagogy in distance education. This study aims to contribute new knowledge to deal with this dilemma: it is limited in scope to postgraduate level and the selected educational field is Built Environment studies. To do this requires a deep understanding of what distance education is, what main theories of pedagogy have been developed and applied, and how students learn within a distance learning environment in the selected field. By answering these questions, the key issues of understanding the distance learning experience can be identified, explored and tested. To achieve these objectives, a mixed methods strategy has been designed. The key elements of the distance learning experience are considered, starting with an instrumental case study and continuing with a questionnaire survey. The case study provided in-depth knowledge on how students learn in the distance learning environment. Based on the case study, it was proposed that metacognition is the key to distance learning success, and an understanding of how students use learning strategy is the way to obtain the required knowledge for pedagogical development in this particular educational field. The outcomes of the case study produced a model of the distance learning experience and further research focused on the issue of learning strategies. A questionnaire survey produced 151 valid responses. The findings include both qualitative and quantitative data in regard to what and how learning strategies were developed by the participants. Through cluster analysis of learning strategies, evaluation of the correlations of relevant learning experience, comparing the means of the main factors, and comprehensive analysis, the outcomes of this thesis provide new knowledge of learning strategies for distance education. In addition, based on the discussions around the purpose and effectiveness of learning strategy, student demands for relevant knowledge and the influences of multiple factors, this thesis argues that developed metacognitive capability can, in fact, be a positive advantage of distance learners over their conventional counterparts, provoking a change in perspective on distance learning and recommendations for pedagogical change.

Standing column wells (SCWs) have the potential to deliver much higher rates of heat transfer to geothermal heating and cooling systems in buildings via heat pumps than conventional vertical borehole heat exchange arrays. Its open-end column design with porous casing along the borehole (depending on the formation) encourages the flow of groundwater from the rock’s porous matrix into the well or the opposite way according to the hydraulic gradients. This approach induces a further heat transfer mechanism in addition to the conduction: it is advection. Advection induced by the groundwater movement due to the hydraulic gradient and the action of the well pump causes warmer water (in winter) and cooler (in summer) to be drawn into the well thus increasing heat transfer capacity. This is beneficial for SCWs to offer much higher heat transfer performance than other conventional approaches. The development of a numerical model for clusters of standing column wells is described in this thesis. The model is three-dimensional, dynamic and solves the governing equations using a finite volume discretisation scheme with a fully implicit algorithm. The slower acting field equations are solved using a wider time interval than that used for the faster acting well equations and the two sets of equations are coupled through the field equation source terms. A groundwater bleed feature is incorporated. The model has been validated thermally and hydraulically using existing field data. Two test cases have been applied to reveal the advantages of using SCWs in UK conditions, competing with the conventional closed-loop system of vertical borehole heat exchangers. The results of the applications suggest that SCWs can deliver substantially higher rates of heat transfer than conventional closed-loop borehole heat exchanger arrays, typically up to 250Wm-1, especially when groundwater bleed is operational. The results also confirm that a bleeding operation can offer up to 2.2K improvement (reduction) in the outlet well water temperature in summer and (increase) in the well water temperature in winter. Investigation results on borehole diameter confirm that a larger well borehole diameter would offer improved heat transfer performance in some cases, according to the relative change of the heat transfer coefficient. Analysis of borehole to borehole spacing seems to suggest that 5m is the most effective spacing of the three different spacing choices for this type of application. The results also show that SCW installation in London Clay performs less well than Magnesian Limestone and Old Red Sandstone; the latter two seem to be appropriate formation types to work with this type of application. The advantage of adopting multiple well arrangements (SCW clusters) over the use of single wells has also been confirmed. The important practical consequence of this is that far less geotechnical drilling is needed as the required borehole depth reduces substantially under multiple well arrangements. The results gathered from three different buildings also reveal that the balance between heating and cooling demands appears to have less impact on the mean formation temperature change than the large cooling application, which is beneficial to maintain a steady system performance over a long period of time. The results also suggest that the impact on the rock formation was very dominant in the first few years but it declined towards the end of the 5 year analysis period used in this work. The results from the CO2 emission analysis demonstrate that an annual carbon emission reduction of up to 46% can be achieved by using the geothermal system with SCWs instead of the conventional system consisting of a gas-fired condensing boiler and a conventional aircooled chiller. They also confirm that the balance between heating and cooling demands has a substantial impact on the carbon saving delivered by this technology.

This work deals with a "passive flow monitoring" technique which can be used to help determine the energy used by a building's heating system. The thesis first highlights the background and importance of energy monitoring in buildings. This work points out that energy monitoring is an important feature in the running of buildings today. In the past, the energy crisis in the 1970's made people aware of how important it was to have knowledge of how buildings consume energy. More recently, environmental issues have reinforced the importance of gaining good quality information on energy use in buildings. This thesis investigates the use of combined port flow characteristics/control signal relationships for three port control valves to predict system water flow rate in heating systems. A laboratory test rig was built and a range of three port valves were tested. A series of combined port flow characteristics/control signal relationships were developed from measurements from the test rig. Curve fit models were then applied to these relationships in the form of polynomial equations. Where practical relationships could not be measured for a valve, a theoretical valve model was derived. In order to validate the polynomial regression model and the mathematical model, the test rig was modified to take into account practical heating system characteristics. A series of flow characteristic results were produced from the modified test rig so that the performance of the two models (empirical and mathematical) could be evaluated. It was found that the empirical model performed well in predicting combined port flow ratios with RMS errors ranging between 2.73% and 6.54%. The mathematical model gave overall prediction errors between -2.63% and +9.25% which compare favourably with the performance of some flow meters. The work then goes on to present an energy use algorithm which incorporates the valve model (empirical or theoretical) for use in BEMS.

Whilst offering a number of desirable features, classical planners have yet to achieve widespread application to 'industrial' applications. Model-Based Planners, in contrast, have been successfully applied to a number of "industrial" problems. This thesis examines both technologies to justify, design, and evaluate an integrated architecture that exploits their relative strengths.

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The traditional form of the Arab house was dictated by both its climate and the culture of its inhabitants. Islamic values, as well as socio-economic factors, have played critical roles in ordering and forming the built environment. However, the mid-1950s marked the beginning of Saudi Arabia's first rapid economic growth as a result of the discovery of oil, which dramatically increased the wealth and prosperity of the population, resulting in a new lifestyle. This period witnessed the introduction of the grid layout street pattern and the detached villa house type constructed in reinforced concrete, with large windows and balconies. This is still the prevalent style in Saudi Arabia and the central province in particular. While the traditional courtyard house created its own privacy and microclimate, this contemporary type is a solid building with a narrow open space between it and the next house. The initial investigation for this research revealed that the villa style creates fundamental problems for Saudi families, especially in terms of lack of privacy; and the air-conditioning has negative implications for the climate. The theoretical framework investigates the principles of cultures that are associated with the home, in order to clarify its concept and fundamental principles; illustrate the influence of culture on house form; and finally, demonstrate the nature of both the courtyard and villa house types. The methodology uses a survey strategy with questionnaires, interviews and building analysis. This study aims to highlight the need for a specific contemporary home style where both the treatment of place and the house design meet all the needs of Saudi households. The output of this research will be some guidance for house design that could satisfy 21st century aspirations, yet still respect Islamic culture and traditional values.