ARCOM

Search or browse again.

Click on the titles below to expand the information about each abstract.
Viewing 35 results ...

Adams, F K (2004) The management of risks in international infrastructural projects, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Department of Business Studies, University of Edinburgh.

Ahiaga-Dagbui, D D (2014) Rethinking construction cost overruns: an artificial neural network approach to construction cost estimation, Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh.

Al-Remal, A M (2013) Risk-based design of structures for fire, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Edinburgh.

Alsedairy, F S (2019) Dynamics of mega infrastructure decision-making in Saudi Arabia, Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh.

Baker, A J (2019) ‘Suitable and sufficient’? UK regulation of post-construction fire safety, Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Social & Political Science, University of Edinburgh.

Baker, H (2021) A multimethod approach to learning from text-based construction failure data, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Edinburgh.

Bartlett, A I (2018) Auto-extinction of engineered timber, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Edinburgh.

Campbell, J M (2008) Safety hazard and risk identification and management in infrastructure management, Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh.

Dunlop, P G (2005) Investigation, modelling and planning of stochastic concrete placing operations, Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh.

Eid, M E M (2004) Rethinking relationships in the construction industry: integrating sustainable development into project management processes, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Department of Architecture, University of Edinburgh.

French, T R (2012) Evolutionary optimisation of network flow plans for emergency movement in the built environment, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Edinburgh.

Furber, A (2013) The social and cultural context of rural water and sanitation projects: case studies from Ghana, Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh.

• Type: Thesis
• Keywords: community development; developing countries; health and safety; participation; safety; failure; motivation; poverty; case study; interview; Ghana
• ISBN/ISSN:
• URL: http://hdl.handle.net/1842/6692
• Abstract:
  
  The research underpinning this work took place in the context of two rural water and sanitation projects carried out in the Eastern Region of Ghana. The focus of study was on the way engineers can make water and sanitation projects more sustainable. In particular, emphasis was placed on the broad range of non-technical factors engineers need to incorporate into the design of water and sanitation systems and the processes they need to follow in order to achieve this, looking specifically the implications of community participation for design process, project management and health and safety management.  The current high failure rate of rural water and sanitation projects provided the impetus for carrying out this work. There is an urgent need to improve engineering ability to provide vital life-saving infrastructure in developing countries as this infrastructure is a pre-requisite for poverty reduction.  A critical realist perspective framed the research to allow socially constructed realities to be combined with scientific and technical facts, and to allow inquiry in a ’real world’ scenario where variables cannot be controlled individually. The research questions were explored through the author’s involvement in two community development projects involving water and sanitation system implementation. The key methods employed were interview, both informal and group, observation and reflection.  The contribution to knowledge made by this investigation is an increased understanding of the relevance of social and cultural context for engineers engaged in rural water and sanitation infrastructure provision through exploration of these issues in a particular context. Also examined are health and safety aspects of rural water and sanitation projects where the community participate in construction.  Whilst health and safety had been explored in a developing country context there is a lack of previous work looking at these issues in a community self-construction context.  It was found that a broad range of factors need to be considered in the engineering design of water and sanitation systems if projects are to have a chance of being sustainable in the long term. In order to understand and design appropriately for the context of rural projects with direct community involvement it is necessary to adapt the engineering process to incorporate community participation fully into the design and construction of water and sanitation facilities. Where communities are involved in construction particular issues arise with regards to health and safety management; many of the issues originate in the socio-cultural context and motivations for community members to engage in hazardous construction activities need to be understood and considered to properly manage the construction process.  To truly incorporate the ideas of local communities into engineering design, engineers need a greater awareness of the assumptions they hold arising from their scientific outlook.  Further research is required in different contexts in order to more clearly define the boundaries of the findings of this study and begin to overcome the limitations of the case study method. However, this research contributes to understanding how engineers can improve their designs of water and sanitation infrastructure and the processes they use to create more sustainable projects by looking at these issues in one particular context. This contribution adds to understanding of how a lack of access to water and sanitation infrastructure in rural regions of developing countries can be overcome, which is ultimately necessary to meet the Millennium Development Goals and as a pre-requisite to reducing poverty in the developing world. 

Glendinning, M (1991) 'Give the people homes!': Britain's multi-storey housing drive, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Edinburgh College of Art, University of Edinburgh.

Graham, D (2005) Stochastic modelling and analysis of construction processes, Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh.

Hashim, R (2018) Green innovation adoption in the construction sector : the role of absorptive capacity and the effect of environmental requirements, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Business School, University of Edinburgh.

Hellowell, M S (2012) Fair return for risk? An examination of structure, competition and profitability in the market for private finance in the National Health Service, Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh.

Hsiao, C C (2000) Constructing a sustainable impact assessment methodology : an evaluation of Taiwanese EIA of high-rise building, Unpublished PhD Thesis, College of Art, University of Edinburgh.

Jackson, D J (2020) Addressing the challenges of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the construction industry: a multi-perspective approach, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Business School, University of Edinburgh.

Jiménez-Moreno, P (2020) Mass customisation for zero energy housing: the potential of Japanese manufacturing practices in the context of sustainable housebuilding in the United Kingdom, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Edinburgh.

Kanellopoulos, G (2022) External fire spread from timber lined compartments, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Edinburgh.

Kim, S (1998) Sustainable building practices: minimising the life-cycle environmental impact of high-rise apartments in Korea, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Department of Architecture, University of Edinburgh.

Knebel, V (2006) Preserve and rebuild: the built environment, status transformations and identity construction in eastern Germany after reunification, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Department of Sociology, University of Edinburgh.

Koutsomarkos, V (2023) Developing a fire robustness index for the built environment, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Edinburgh.

Marquardt, G (2017) Economic analysis of contract choice, feelings of entitlement and contract enforcement in relationships governed by incomplete contracts, Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Economics, University of Edinburgh.

McArthur, J (2023) Enrolment, technical mediation, and the obligatory passage point: a socio-technical examination of the Canada Green Building Council, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Edinburgh.

McMeel, D (2009) The artistry of construction: an investigation into construction as a creative process and the influence of mobile phones within domestic scale construction projects, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Department of Architecture, University of Edinburgh.

Oliver, A K (2020) Perceptions of sustainability and their influence in the design and delivery of Scottish housing, Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh.

Oswald, D (2016) Investigating unsafe acts on a large multinational construction project, Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh.

Raman, P G (1977) Information and architectural design: A study of certain theoretical aspects, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Edinburgh.

Rodger, R G (1976) Scottish urban housebuilding, 1870-1914, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Edinburgh.

Ronzani, M (2019) Designing for complexity: Data visualizations in megaproject management, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Edinburgh.

Saoud, E A B (1996) Expert systems for management training in the construction industry, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Edinburgh.

Sidwell, N C (1957) A critical examination of new constructional techniques and their influence on productivity in the building industry with special reference to housing in south-east Scotland, Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh.

Smith, S D (1994) Production estimation of earthmoving operations using a discrete-event simulation model, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Civil Engineering, University of Edinburgh.

Yang, S-A (1995) Kics: Representation of regulatory information and the use of case-based reasoning to support the relaxation process, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Edinburgh.