Post-disaster resettlement programmes are being conducted by governments and other relevant organisations to relocate displaced people to provided safe places; considering the original land standards to subsequently improve the standard of living. Although resettlement programmes have been broadly implemented within several communities who were exposed to hazards, it appears that numerous intricate problems were identified throughout their implementation. These results illustrate unsuccessful resettlement programmes which require a more effective solution. According to previous works, vulnerable hazard areas have been rarely studied in terms of displaced persons’ activities correlated between spatial and socio-economic aspects. With respect to the interaction between human and locations, humans perform their activities based upon their locations; likewise, displaced people also perform their activities based on the resettlement areas. Effective applications integrated with the theoretical knowledge-base in Geoinformatics help mitigate the problems associated with the interaction between human and locations. Specifically, the spatial analysis techniques employing several scenes of high-resolution images that are carefully applied in this research in order to present an effective method to minimise the spatial and non-spatial problems in resettlement programme. A case study of Ban Nam Ko sub-district is used to gain knowledge from the resettlement activities associated with displacement locations. The explored results of this research present appropriate functions and specific conditions for displacement locations used in resettlement activities. The explored results propose potential solutions of achieving a successful resettlement programme response to debris-flow disasters. With consideration of physical, socio-economic, and administrative factors of residents and surrounding environment, this study is beneficial to governments and relevant organisations to establish displacement locations associated with activities in each resettlement phase and to setup the spatial and non-spatial database in resettlement plan for other vulnerable debris-flow hazard areas.

Despite the progress that has been made with regard to construction cost management, many drawbacks including the unpredictability of construction costs continue to raise concerns. This research study aimed to contribute to improving construction cost management by identifying the key issues which contribute to such drawbacks, and developing conceptual solutions to mitigate them. The design science approach has been selected as the overall research method. Design science approach has been augmented through an analysis to the root cause of each identified key issue, an inference of countermeasure to the each root cause (conceptual solution), and synthesis of the (practical) solutions. This research has identified failure to forecast, failure to support improvement opportunities, costs being considered as resulting from action, neglect of value consideration, poor support for inter-organizational cost management, negative influence on behaviour, and constraints created by budgeting, as key issues contributing to the current drawback of construction cost management. This study proposes the recognition of waste through flow theory, integrating costs to design, value generation theory, seeing construction as production, incentives aligned to improvement, separating the different functions of budgeting and the dynamic approach to managing costs as solutions to the identified drawbacks. The outcomes of this study contribute to developing practical solutions for constriction cost management, and also represent conceptual gains in the field.

Supervision of construction workers on a site is crucial to ensure construction worker safety, to maintain the quality of work performed and to maintain acceptable levels of productivity. The act of supervision itself requires the site superintendent to physically monitor workers in an environment that is constantly changing throughout the various phases of construction. This can be a complicated task on a medium to large building site with several trades working simultaneously on multiple floors or areas. There exists a need for construction superintendents to know the location of construction workers within a site. Academicians and industry professionals have demonstrated the use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Tags in construction applications in the past few years. RFID tags have successfully been used to track construction materials, equipment and tools. Studies indicate that the use of RFID tags in construction improves the overall process of construction. Building information modeling (BIM) technology is emerging as the industry standard in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) sector. BIM is being used as a comprehensive design, management, visualization, communication and facility maintenance and management tool. This research presents the creation of a decision support framework for site supervision based on monitoring construction workers by combining RFID technology with BIM. A conceptual decision support framework to monitor site safety was developed by interviewing site superintendents. Conducting a web-based questionnaire of construction industry professionals validated the framework. A proof-of-concept virtual prototype was created to track the movement of construction workers using RFID and BIM. The procedures undertaken to create the conceptual framework and the virtual prototype are described in the thesis.

In recent years, the concept of sustainable regeneration has been recognised as being a major social and economic concern which has been a focal point of government policy for some time in the UK. The appreciation of such concerns has led to the development of various evaluation frameworks to guide practitioners to deliver higher and improved sustainability standards for their sustainable regeneration projects. Although these evaluation frameworks have been applied on sustainability projects in general, their focuses have remained limited to the evaluation of the environmental benefits, seemingly, relegating the social and economic benefits to the background. It has been argued that achieving successful delivery of socio-economic regeneration has proved to be elusive and difficult to deliver due to lack of understanding and over concentration on the environmental aspect of sustainability. While there have been some studies on sustainability evaluation of regeneration projects in general in the UK, it is contended that, there remain a paucity of a well-defined empirical research that is able to deal with the issues relating to the evaluation of the socio-economic sustainability benefits of sustainable regeneration projects. Hence the study aims to develop a framework that can be used to evaluate the social and economic sustainability benefits of sustainable regeneration projects. The study adopts a mixed method approach: qualitative and quantitative research methodologies to explore the research questions to meet the aim and objectives set out for the study. A qualitative data is collected through semi-structured interviews from 21 practitioners from three selected construction organisations involved in the delivery of sustainable regeneration projects in the UK. This is complemented by a quantitative data collected through a questionnaire survey from 193 practitioners involved in the delivery of sustainable regeneration projects in the UK. The study identifies a number of barriers and drivers that determine the adoption and implementation of the social and economic sustainability factors in the delivery of successful sustainable regeneration projects in the UK. Notable among the barriers identified include, lack of funding/financial support, the contracts’ requirements and lack of clients’ willingness to adopt sustainability. Similarly, enhancement of reputation, competitive advantage and clients’ requirements are some of the drivers identified to be determining the adoption and implementation of the social and economic sustainability factors in the delivery of the regeneration projects. The findings also reveal that health and safety, education and skill training opportunities and affordable housing are the most considered social sustainability factors being promoted by practitioners on their regeneration projects. The economic sustainability factors which are currently being promoted by practitioners include, value for money, profitability for investors/developer (Return on investment) and jobs and employment opportunities. It is observed that a significant number of practitioners are still not genuinely committed to adopt and implement the socio-economic sustainability principles on their regeneration projects. The study also identifies the lack of understanding and knowledge of the sustainability composition of sustainable regeneration projects. An evaluation framework is developed to guide practitioners to evaluate the social and economic sustainability benefits of their sustainable regeneration projects. It recommends for guidelines or checklist of the key sustainability composition of sustainable regeneration projects to guide practitioners.

The principle of transparency is rarely evident on construction sites. Current practice shows that instability in the execution phase is common, where activities, assumed to be feasible, have be rescheduled initiating a chain of further readjustments and uncertainties. In responding to these uncertainties, the lack of transparency in the construction process leads to communication issues and inefficient decision-making. There is little transparency of activities in the execution phase, making it difficult to foresee and communicate problems and plan to resolve them. The LCM model is a Visual Management Model based on the Lean concepts, designed to improve transparency in production planning and control in construction. LCM is an acronym for Lean Construction Management. The aim of this research work is the development of this Visual Management Model, by clarifying its contribution to theory and practice. To address this aim, the Design Science method is adopted in this investigation. Design Science is applied to develop artefacts for solving problems with practical relevance and potential for theoretical contributions. Outputs of the work include i) the LCM model itself ii) instantiations of the LCM model to refurbishment and power plant construction (demonstrating that the solution works) iii) an evaluation of the utility and applicability of the model and iv) an explanation of its theoretical significance. The research focuses on three case studies which were important for devising, further improving and evaluating the model. This research provides a new model and associated method for applying Visual Management for production planning and control in construction. The model demonstrates how visual tools are systematically applied to manage information flow, support communication and to shed light on the deficiencies of traditional project management. In addition, it demonstrates how visual tools can be used to improve communication barriers and transparency when applying other systems of planning and control in construction such as the Last Planner System.

The valuation of any property follows a process which if followed results in a reasonably consistent determination of value. While the valuation of properties usually traded in the market is reasonably rampant and within the everyday pre-occupation of the professional valuer, the valuation of contaminated land occurs occasionally and poses serious challenges to the valuer in the absence of any framework. The issue of contamination by oil pollution has been very rampant in the Niger Delta wetlands of Nigeria and valuers called upon to assess damages resulting there from have had to adopt valuation processes prescribed for marketable real properties and neglecting to value the ecosystem goods and services that exist in the wetlands, due to the absence of any framework for such valuations. The valuation methods used in valuing properties compulsorily acquired by Government being adopted in valuing contaminated properties including wetlands is contrasted with that used for assessing the compensable value of damages due to contamination and the existing valuation framework examined to confirm its applicability to valuing contaminated wetlands. This research aims to develop a framework for the assessment of the compensable value of damages due to contamination to wetlands by oil pollution in the Niger Delta wetlands. The research adopts an interpretivist philosophy, an abductive logic with a mixed method approach and a case study strategy to examine the valuation practice when faced with the challenge of valuing an oil contaminated wetland in the Niger Delta. The case study strategy afforded the opportunity to apply several data collection techniques and analysis. It is argued the behaviour of valuers is a subjective phenomenon that should be interpretatively studied to understand valuers’ behaviour. Literature and documents were deductively analysed while a questionnaire survey was conducted among the valuation firms and triangulated with data from semi-structured expert interviews of some purposively selected firms. The thesis suggests the definition of value of contaminated wetlands should be a special and not a market value, as the assumption of willing sellers and buyers does not apply in contamination situations. It is suggested that the physical composition of wetlands be recognised and an appropriate framework incorporating both the upland and wetlands components be adopted for its valuations. Finding that valuers anchor their practice and frequently adopt the pre-determined compensation method of valuation to assess the value of contaminated wetlands, it concludes that the resultant paltry compensation is partly responsible for the Niger Delta conflicts and does not comply with international best-practices, and also engenders discontent among the stakeholders of a contaminated wetland valuation. The thesis contends that this practice originates from the inadequate valuation curricular and absence of a Standard of Practice, and recommends the inclusion of wetland economics in a revised valuation curricular. This thesis concludes by proposing a framework that will aid valuers to be consistent in assessing the compensable value of damages due to contamination.

Sustainable management of social (public) housing estates after their provision is becoming necessary in recent years due to the main purpose of meeting cheap, decent and safe housing needs of the citizens, and on the premise that housing is an indispensable human need. Notwithstanding of these, there is evidence that Sustainable Social (Public) Housing Estates Management (SSPHEM) are not being appropriately and successfully practiced. The body of knowledge reveals that the numbers of housing estates were paramount and emphasised by the relevant scholars, rather than, the effective post-construction management of these estates, for improvement of the social (public) housing estates deplorable conditions and to achieve the benefits of sustainability. The overall aim of this research is to develop a framework for Sustainable Social (Public) Housing Estates Management (SSPHEM) in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. This research aim was attained through a critical literature review and investigation of themes relevant to the objectives: identification of the estate management principles and approaches currently used in the management of social (public) housing estates; identification of the maintenance management types and practices in the total housing estate management; identification of the underpinning concepts in stakeholder’s management and the relevance/ importance of their inclusion in the management; and to conceptualise sustainability in the context of social (public) housing estate management and identify those beneficial sustainability factors for social (public) housing estates. The research has drawn on works in relevant research methodologies, and has taken an interpretative pragmatic stance with an embedded multiple case study, being adopted to perform exploratory and explanatory case studies into the social (public) housing estate post-construction management. Qualitative and quantitative data was collected using 16 Nr) semi-structured interviews, 100 (Nr) questionnaires, documentation and direct observation. The primary data was analysed using NviVo 10 and SPSS 20 packages and interpretive thematic content analysis techniques. An operational SSPHEM framework was developed for the social (public) housing estates that involved the integration of the appropriate: estate management approach; building maintenance approach; relevant stakeholders’ involvement; and the beneficial sustainability factors. Using unsustainable management approaches was the main issue to the current social (public) housing estates incessant deplorable conditions and deficits. The study found that in-house estate management and unplanned maintenance management approaches; non-involvement/inclusion of the relevant stakeholders; and the meagre awareness, consideration, interlocking and integration of the essential and beneficial sustainability factors, were the main features of unsustainable management. The study established fourteen main factors hindering the sustainable housing estate management and maintenance approaches effectiveness. The study established six reasons for non-stakeholders involvement and seven essential and beneficial sustainability factors for the benefits of sustainability in the social (public) housing estate. The study found that effective and sufficient awareness, understanding, identification and assessment of the appropriate drivers within each theme, and a requirement for stronger correlation amongst the drivers is vital and assisted in the implementation of the operational SSPHEM framework. Operationalising the developed SSPHEM framework suggested strategies, that in itself should ensure improvements in the current social (public) housing estates qualities and conditions and would reduce shortages, with significant benefits appreciation. The framework enhances: monitoring; evaluation; and reporting; on social (public) housing estate performances and sustainability, providing information on areas needing enhancement. The SSPHEM framework is an effective instrument for the end-users of the framework for the social (public) housing estates post-construction management, and can be adopted in other regions of Nigeria, and developing and developed countries in the world over. The research endorsed that sustainable social (public) housing estate post-construction management should be achieved by users of the framework, being willing to make a sustainable change to the legal, cultural, financial/economic, social and political regulations to the practices of the current management approaches. Studying the relevant sustainability assessment toolkits and testing the developed SSPHEM framework, strengthens the sustainability of the framework purpose achievement. Federal and State Governments Housing Authorities staff capacity, training and research and development should encourage innovative and proactive practices for the effective performance and improvement in social (public) housing estates post-construction management.

The importance of emergency response systems have grown tremendously in the recent times due to the many manmade and natural disasters in recent years such as September 2001, July 2005 London bombings and the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami disaster. Disasters cost huge human, social and financial losses. For example, in Typhoon Haiyan, as of November 2013, the official death toll from Philippines‟s devastating storm has passed 10,000 people. In addition, based on early estimates, the reconstruction costs could come to as much as $20bn (£12.3bn). Conventional methods for disaster management have shown little prospects of realizing the true potential of current and emerging technologies. This PhD research aims to propose and evaluate a disaster management system based on the emerging ICT technologies with a focus on transportation in urban environments. This work is presented on an Intelligent Disaster Management System based on Vehicular Ad hoc Networks (VANETs) and Cloud Computing. Our research objective is to increase the safety and system efficiency, to reduce the accidents, congestion, and manage the emergencies and disasters. The effectiveness of the intelligent system has been demonstrated through modelling the impact of disaster on real city transport environments and compares it with the case where the intelligent proposed system was in place, and ability of generalizing the concept was increased through applying the proposed system on different cities. By applying our system, substantial benefits have been achieved in terms of improved and balanced traffic flow and smooth evacuation rates. Furthermore, a micro-simulation software model has been developed which employs the vehicular disaster management system in order to investigate the transportation evacuation strategies potential in reducing the human and economic losses. The particular contribution of my thesis is in the modelling and simulation of the traffic for disaster and evacuation scenarios. To this end, this project uses a range and mix of modelling and simulation technologies including macroscopic and microscopic simulation models; OmniTRANS and S-Paramics transport planning software. xix During the course of this PhD, disaster scenarios of varying scales involving 2-3 different cities of various sizes and characteristics have been modelled and analysed, thereby presenting a system which deliver advanced services in managing disasters which results in lower losses. Also, the Average Vehicle Occupancy impact on the evacuation process time has been investigated. Literally, it represents the higher number of car occupancy which means less number of trips required to the evacuation process. The results have shown that AVO contributes effectively in evacuation plans that are in place. Additionally, two different evacuation strategies have been applied and evaluated simultaneously and isolated. Subsequently, either continues the processes or perhaps there is a need to change the strategy where applicable and appropriate. In other words, after propagating the evacuation strategy, the traffic situation has been assessed and observed the effectiveness of the disaster management system on the network by comparing the performance of the proposed system against the traditional system. To sum up, the comparison between both scenarios shows the ability to secure more of vehicles, up to double the number, and hence improve the network performance in terms of safety. Moreover, there is an improvement in flow rate of many critical links. Many blocked links are turned into some reds and blues which means an improvement seemed to occur to the whole network.

Construction industry within Jordan (whilst it is sensitive to changes in economic activity; demographic factors and social development) it is progressively becoming more successful, as Jordan itself modernizes. As a result of this, there is agrowing need for specialized Information Technology (IT) software. The SMEs in the Jordanian construction industry are facing many challenges including competition from regional and international contractors. SMEs needs to change and modernize, especially in terms of using advanced IT as it can enable them to perform better and increase their ability to reach a high standard and have more credibility in the eyes of clients. The findings showed that SME contractors in Jordan are behind in the use of advanced IT such as Building Information Modelling (BIM) and that AutoCAD dominated the production of engineering drawings and Microsoft application packages, e-mails and web browsers were among the top software utilized by the industry. The use of such technology is still lacking and this is mainly attributed to a number of social, cultural, financial, technological and legal factors. Therefore this research embarked on a journey to develop a framework for the Uptake of Advanced IT with Specific Emphasis on BIM by SMEs in the Jordanian Construction Industry. Using a mixed method research, interviews and questionnaires were conducted to find out why BIM adoption in Jordan is so slow and why the status quo, which is no adoption of BIM among SMEs at all. The research found that there were several barriers hindering the adoption of BIM among SMEs. The number of barriers spanned from product issues (i.e. the technology itself), process issues, to people or cultural issues. Some of these barriers are: Lack of Awareness of BIM, cost and time of investment, low level of education, lack of knowledge and skill, culture, training, etcetera. Therefore, using these findings and also with the help of literature, the research developed and tailored this framework to the context of construction SMEs in Jordan. The framework is structured in such a way to allow construction SMEs to adopt BIM properly. The framework was validated using Member Checking technique and the participants approved of the usefulness and the applicability of the framework. The hope is that the framework will serve as a stepping-stone to the future adoption of BIM among construction SMEs in Jordan and even the large construction companies may find it useful. Lastly, it was resolved that in order to resolve the issues of adoption, Project Owners; Public sector (government) and Private sector clients; Construction Associations; and Large construction companies would have to join hands to create awareness through training, seminars, courses, other programmes, practical adoption of BIM on projects and documentation of results.

This study aims to identify and assess the viability of the adoption and implementation of the Activity-Based Costing (ABC) system in the Libyan cement industry (LCI). The main expected contribution to knowledge is represented in the development of an analytical framework on the adoption factors of the ABC system in the LCI. The originality in the current study lies in bridging the gap in the knowledge and understanding of ABC system practices in the Libyan context. This study is the first to be conducted in a Libyan context as no previous empirical research has been undertaken on the subject of the ABC system in the Libyan environment. From this research it is expected that a deep understanding of the key factors that would encourage other Libyan organizations to adopt the ABC system can be gained which, in turn, would help them to become more efficient and more effective (by providing these organizations with a clear picture of where resources are being spent and whether money is being made or lost). The research started by gathering the adoption factors (eight factors) of the Activity-Based Costing system through addressing and analysing the literature published since 1987. Ascertaining these adoption factors helped the researcher in the framing of the interview questions; these factors were used as a guide to collect and assess the relevant data for this study in order to obtain valid results. The interpretivism philosophy was selected for this research. The research method used was the qualitative research method and the research strategy was multiple embedded case studies. The main data was gathered via face-to-face semi-structured interviews and documentation and direct observation were also used as other sources of evidence to enhance the research validity and reliability. The semi-structured interviews were conducted with employees from the top, middle and shop floor levels of the Ahlia Cement Company and the Libyan Cement Company. The various data were collected and analysed systematically by using thematic analysis. The results of the study show that ABC can be adopted in the Libyan cement industry due to the existence of most of the necessary factors required for the adoption of the ABC system in the Libyan cement environment. Key words: Activity-Based Costing, traditional cost accounting, the Libyan cement industry.