Associate Professor Thayaparan Gajendran

Purpose: Conventional lecture-based educational approaches alone might not be able to portray the complexity of disaster risk management practice and its real-life dynamics. One work-integrated learning practice that can give students practical work-related experiences is simulation-based learning. However, there is a limited discourse on simulation-based learning in disaster risk management education at the tertiary level. As tertiary education plays a crucial role in developing capabilities within the workforce, simulation-based learning can evoke or replicate substantial aspects of the real world in a fully interactive fashion. This paper aims to present outcomes of simulation-based learning sessions the authors designed and delivered in a disaster risk management course. Design/methodology/approach: The authors developed a framework to illustrate simulation-based learning in a disaster risk management programme. It was then used as a guide to design and execute simulation-based learning sessions. An autoethnographic methodology was then applied to reflectively narrate the experiences and feelings during the design and execution of the simulations. Findings: The evaluation of the simulation sessions showed that participants were able to apply their knowledge and demonstrate the skills required to make critical decisions in disaster risk reduction. The conclusion from the simulation-based learning sessions is that making simulation-based learning a part of the pedagogy of disaster risk management education enables students to gain practical experience, deliberate ethical tensions and practical dilemmas and develop the ability to work with multiple perspectives. Originality/value: The simulated workplace experience allowed students to experience decision-making as disaster risk management professionals, allowing them to integrate theory with practice.

Purpose: Megaprojects are seen as vehicles for delivering significant social value. However, megaproject decision-making, which is deeply embedded in networks comprising formal and informal practices involving the exercise of power, can facilitate or hinder social value delivery. Moreover, these decision-making practices are often intentionally designed and executed to remain hidden and so are not easily identifiable but have implications for maximising social value. This paper aims to identify the hidden barriers to social value delivery on megaprojects resulting from the decision-making environment. Design/methodology/approach: Governmentality theory was used to deconstruct the megaproject decision-making environment. The critical realism philosophy was merged with a narrative inquiry approach to analyse the everyday, taken-for-granted practices that resulted in the decision-making outcomes. Data were collected through 22 in-depth semi-structured interviews to uncover stories highlighting the nature of power relations underpinning the decision-making environment of one megaproject in the Asia Pacific region. Findings: Governmentality theory as a lens showed that emergent, informal governing practices blend with formal governance mechanisms, creating a complex mix of overt and covert power dynamics. The findings suggest that the exercise of covert power by project team members through deviant tactics hinders social value delivery. Therefore, understanding the power dynamics that influence the decision-making of project team members is key for maximising social value delivery. Originality/value: Originality stems from the use of governmentality theory and critical realism to deconstruct and explain the megaproject decision-making environment, enabling observation of otherwise challenging-to-understand, complex and hidden barriers to the delivery of social value. This paper offers a novel way of explaining social value delivery through megaproject decision-making.

Building resilience through flooding risk adaptation, a long-term and anticipatory measure, has become a crucial disaster risk reduction strategy against the backdrop of the changing climate. Policymakers and practitioners thus need to develop a robust understanding of factors that influence people's intentions to adopt protective measures. This study investigated the factors influencing flood risk adaptation intentions using a survey of 392 households in Glefe, Accra. The survey used a Likert-scale based questionnaire to collect data. We then conducted structural equation modeling analysis to test hypothesized relationships. The results revealed that flood experience, coping experience, flood risk vulnerability and severity perceptions, and perceived adaptation capacity have a statistically significant relationship with adaptation intentions. The residents' perception of their adaptive capacity, represented by self-efficacy and response efficacy, determined the strength of the intention to adapt to flooding risks. The findings make significant contributions to knowledge by (a) defining and validating ¿Coping Experience¿ and ¿Flood Risk Adaptation Intention¿ as measurable latent constructs and (b) providing a path for developing protective measures to enable adaptation. The findings also hold practical value to policymakers and practitioners, encouraging flood risk adaptation measures as a choice of long-term and anticipatory disaster risk reduction strategy.

Work-integrated learning (WIL) provides an opportunity for integrating Indigenous and Western learning pedagogies and facilitate a meaningful pathway for authentic learning through developing partnerships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous stakeholders. However, research in developing WIL with Indigenous communities and appropriate learning pedagogies is limited. This paper discusses how WIL can inculcate Indigenous and non-Indigenous learning pedagogies to facilitate authentic, culturally enhanced learning. The proposed theoretical framework was constructed using the concepts relating to ¿8 Ways of Knowing Indigenous Learning¿ framework, Studio Based Learning, Co-design, and WIL. The research method draws on autoethnographic approaches to reflect and critically analyze academic observations and reflections across two case studies. The findings propose a WIL pedagogical approach integrating Indigenous and non-Indigenous learning pedagogies to enable authentic learning by co-generating emergent knowledge in complex socio-cultural contexts. Moreover, this approach enables training architecture students to represent cultures and values of the Indigenous communities in the mainstream Anglo Australian architecture.

Land use planning (LUP) provides a mechanism to reduce risk and increase resilience to natural hazards. We sought to understand the extent that key stakeholders in LUP consider natural hazard risk in determination of rezoning applications. The aim was to identify why land uses are permitted within areas exposed to risk of natural hazards like bushfires. Presenting the case of New South Wales, a state ravaged by devastating bushfires, we explore decision-making practices within the regulatory planning environment. We utilised a qualitative exploratory research design involving a multi-criteria decision-making framework as a lens to explore how key stakeholders make decisions to consider bushfire risk within the policy environment. Our findings identify the lack of a consistent process employed in LUP decision-making and priority given to decision-making criteria that emphasises achieving targets for employment and housing and results in low priority given to bushfire risk. We suggest that placing higher priority on bushfire risk in decision-making, within and between organisations, is necessary to consider bushfire risk within regulatory LUP activities to support disaster risk reduction and create resilient communities.

Big data applications consist of (a) data collection using big data sources, (b) storing and processing data and (c) analysing data to gain insights for creating organisational benefit. The influx of digital technologies and digitisation in the construction process includes big data as one newly emerging digital technology adopted in the construction industry. Big data application is in a nascent stage in construction, and there is a need to understand the tangible benefit(s) that big data can offer the construction industry. This study explores the benefits of big data in the construction industry. Using a qualitative case study design, construction professionals in an Australian construction firm were interviewed. The research highlights that the benefits of big data include reduction of litigation among project stakeholders, enablement of near-to-real-time communication and facilitation of effective subcontractor selection. By implication, on a broader scale, these benefits can improve contract management, procurement and management of construction projects. This study contributes to an ongoing discourse on big data application and, more generally, digitisation in the construction industry.

In response to the growing interdisciplinarity of disaster research, this paper explores the philosophical underpinnings of disaster research to a) elucidate the methodological choices that disaster researchers make b) reflect on how these different choices and philosophical approaches consider disaster risk, and c) provide arguments in favor of the application of social constructivism for improving the results of disaster research. It investigates the epistemological and ontological underpinnings of social constructivism and objectivism and reflects on how they are applied in disaster research through a review of the literature. For ease and to avoid repetitive duplication of the references, the endnote reference manager was used in this study, with all references employed in this study managed using the endnote library. APA 6th reference style is followed to manage and harmonized the bibliographic section. Its findings indicate that the objectivist approaches that dominated the field until the 1980s emphasized the role of science and technology in reducing disaster risk focused on the physical and natural elements of different disasters, and therefore lack certain applicability. As a counter, this paper argues that a discursive, social constructivist approach that considers disasters as socially framed, rooted, and constructed may provide more fruitful applications of disaster research.

Purpose: This study aims to address the research gap about value in the holistic discourse of creative placemaking. It identifies and synthesises the often discounted social and environmental values of creative placemaking along with typically emphasised economic values. Design/methodology/approach: This paper builds upon two research phases; first, a review and extraction of creative placemaking value indicators from relevant current urban, cultural and planning literature; and second, the identification of relevant, practice-based, value indicators through interviews with 23 placemaking experts including practitioners, urban planners, developers and place managers from the two largest cities of NSW, Australia; Sydney and Newcastle. Findings: This study identifies three broad thematics for valuing creative placemaking along with several sub-categories of qualitative and quantitative indicators. These indicators reveal the holistic value of creative placemaking for its key stakeholders, including expert placemakers, designers, building developers, government and community groups. A key conclusion of the research is the need for tools that grasp the interconnected, and at times conflicting, nature of placemaking¿s social, economic and environmental outcomes. Originality/value: While a variety of value indicators exist to understand the need for ongoing resourcing of creative placemaking, stakeholders identified the limitations of current approaches to determine, represent and appraise the value of creative placemaking. The indicators of value proposed in this research consolidate and extend current discourse about the value of creative placemaking specifically. The indicators themselves have profound practical implications for how creative placemaking is conceived, executed and evaluated. Theoretically, the study builds on the deep relationships between values and practice in creative placemaking, as well as critiquing narrow forms of evaluation that entrench economic benefits over other outcomes.

Informal settlements, where mostly the urban poor reside, tend to be located in hotspots of natural hazards such as floods, fire, earthquakes and tsunamis. The devastating impacts of these natural hazards on such settlements can be attributed to the higher levels of physical, economic, social and environmental vulnerability in conjunction with inadequate and poor level of disaster preparedness. Conceptualizing a detailed risk profile, in the context of informal settlement characteristics presents a starting point to which the impacts posed by environmental hazards can be addressed effectively. This paper develops a theoretical framework through literature review coupling the concepts of "disaster hazards", "vulnerability" and "informal settlements". The findings suggest that the policy environment (environmental/land use planning and communication) impacting the informal settlement characteristics (demographic, financial, social/poetical and locational/environmental) is key to managing disaster risk profile in informal settlements. The paper concludes by identifying five theoretical propositions that can assist in disaster preparedness.

The potential of risk communication as tool for reducing the devastating impacts posited by disaster hazards on human lives and property has been discussed extensively in literature. Most risk communication studies and strategies focus on awareness creation and education on disaster hazards. However, awareness creation and education on disaster hazards do not necessary translate into preparatory attitude and behaviour towards disaster hazards. Frantic efforts are required to persuade and motivate people at risk to convert hazard awareness and education into preparation towards disaster hazards. Against this backdrop, this paper develops a conceptual model through literature review to facilitate and enhance disaster preparedness through risk communication.

This paper reports on a project that explores the opportunities and challenges for compliance with safe building codes for disaster resilience, focusing on two countries-Bangladesh and Nepal. Recent disasters in both countries highlight a significant problem of non-compliance with building codes. However, these disasters have brought institutional and community awareness of the importance of safe building codes, presenting a germane opportunity to explore the issues associated with compliance. Building codes do exist in the two countries, but due to socio-economic, political and cultural conditions compliance is generally lacking or limited, particularly in the large informal building sector. There is thus a need for understanding how these codes might be more widely adopted to enable disaster resilience. Collaboration between partner universities in these countries with experience in this field address: sharing the understanding that evidence-based knowledge is a critical component in the commitment to local action; improving institutional and community awareness of the importance of compliance with/barriers to enforcement of codes; fostering communities of collaborative practice; and developing local and international dissemination networks. A log-frame approach indicates the rationale, assumptions and expected outcomes of the project. The project is at a preliminary stage and this paper discusses the framework associated with the exploration of barriers and enablers to building codes compliance.

The case study on the re-building program of the Victoria bushfire disaster of 7th Feb 2009 provides insights on the relationship between governance structures in post-disaster re-development and the goal of building sustainable and resilient communities. The paper links ¿governance¿ to ¿resilience¿ using Stage VI of Turner's 1976 model as a theoretical lens. A qualitative research strategy was utilized to elicit descriptive qualitative responses from which research goals were addressed. The findings show that the design of governance structures for re-building after a disaster impacts the ability to secure resilience. Also, several resilience aspects seem to be impacted by governance issues relating to: the balance between urgency vs. need of space; the role of formal and informal stakeholders; the social-psychological dimension in information sharing as well as entrepreneurial opportunities in rebuilding, and economic sustainability.

Innovation is key for productivity improvement and advancements in different sectors of the economy, including the construction sector. The criticism of the slow pace of innovation in construction industry may be unwarranted, considering the structure of the industry and nature of the construction business. The loosely coupled nature of firms, mostly Small and Medium Enterprises (SME¿s), delivering ¿projects¿ through partial engagement, together with the distinction between the project innovation and firm innovation makes it difficult to extract innovations in a meaningful way. The problem also lies in conceptualising, defining, articulating and assessing innovation in construction. The literature is replete with research into construction innovation, however, there is limited research into understanding how innovation is perceived and narrated in practice. The paper aims to explore how innovation is assessed and narrated in construction, specifically analysing theory and practice perspectives. A theoretical model was constructed from a structured literature review illustrating existing discourse and narratives of construction innovation assessment. A qualitative analysis of ¿Professional Excellence in Building¿ submission documents to the Australian Institute of Building was performed to identify the practice perspective of innovation. The findings suggest that internal organizational and process innovation account for the majority of improvements identified. Importantly a taxonomy of narrative is developed that articulates how the construction industry in Australia views industry innovation.

The traditional procurement approach is ever-present within the construction industry. With fundamental design principles founded on definitive risk allocation, this transactional based approach fails to acknowledge or foster the cooperative relationships considered to be vital to the success of any project. Contractual design encourages stakeholders to defend their own individual interest to the likely detriment of project objectives. These failings are not disputed, however, given that trust is a fundamental requirement for human interaction the influence of trust is potentially important in terms of stakeholder relationships and ultimate project success. Trust is therefore examined within this context. A conceptual framework of trust is presented and subsequently used to code and analyse detailed, semi-structured interviews with multiple stakeholders from different projects. Using a phenomenological investigation of trust via the lived experiences of multiple practitioners, issues pertaining to the formation and maintenance of trust within traditionally procured construction projects are examined. Trust was found to be integral to the lived experiences of practitioners, with both good and bad relationships evident within the constructs of traditional procurement mechanisms. In this regard, individual personalities were considered significant, along with appropriate risk identification and management. Communication, particularly of an informal nature, was also highlighted. A greater emphasis on project team selection during the initial stages of a project would therefore be beneficial, as would careful consideration of the allocation of risk. Contract design would also be enhanced through prescriptive protocols for developing and maintaining trust, along with mandated mechanisms for informal communication, particularly when responding to negative events. A greater understanding regarding the consequences of lost trust and the intricacies of trust repair would also be of value.

Purpose-There has been a significant increase in the use of relationship contracting in the global construction industry, with strategies such as Partnering, Alliancing and Public-Private Partnerships all used. These approaches were introduced to the Australian construction industry in the 1990s in an attempt to overcome the adversarial nature of traditional contracting methods. The purpose of this paper is to investigate factors that influence the successful implementation of Project Alliancing by means of a case study approach focusing on the procurement of a large water treatment plant. The research findings identify critical success factors (CSFs) both from literature and the case study project.

A better understanding of innovation processes might lead to productivity improvements. By focusing on a specific, economically relevant sector (construction) and on a specific type of firm (small to medium-sized enterprises, SMEs), the dynamic capabilities framework is extended by clarifying the roles of cognitive and organizational routines in organizational innovation processes. Insights generated from an in-depth case study of a medium-sized construction firm reveal that dynamic capabilities might diminish the relevance of an explicit innovation focus, because such capabilities have the potential to trigger emergent, incremental innovations. Accordingly, for construction SMEs, a development, rather than research, mode of innovation appears relatively more critical, as manifested in conscious cognitive routines and functional/integrative organizational routines. © 2013 Taylor & Francis.

Construction firms in regional areas face considerable challenges to their competitiveness. Logistics, availability of suitable personnel, unfamiliarity with trading partners, and the tyranny of distance conspire to obstruct profitable engagement beyond their local area. Electronic information and communication technology (ICT) such as web-based project management applications and other forms of collaborative data sharing have the potential to mitigate many of these obstacles, but have yet to gain widespread acceptance, particularly by smaller regional firms who question their cost effectiveness. The attitudes of decision-makers and the impact of their decisions on intra- and inter-firm culture lie at the heart of ICT-mediated innovation. This paper presents a case study of a specialist subcontractor located in regional New South Wales and its involvement in a New Zealand project, whose competitiveness arose from using ICT to integrate its own supply chain. It also provided additional value by triggering collaboration and integration in the broader project team. The case reveals that these outcomes were symptomatic of the organisational culture of the subcontractor, and were achieved through a combination of leadership, collaboration, flexibility and pragmatism, redolent of dynamic capabilities.

Purpose: Public-private partnerships (PPPs) and other innovative procurement mechanisms are frequently used to deliver both an asset and a public service over a protracted period. The value streams to the parties involved can be complex, but generally arise from the satisfactory provision of infrastructure that is fit for purpose throughout its life. This research aims to investigate the effectiveness of the facility management (FM) function in delivering long-term value to both the client and consortium. Design/methodology/approach: This paper describes a case study of a PPP in Australia that delivered social infrastructure in multiple locations to a state government. Drawing upon multiple perspectives from within the consortium, it utilises inductive principles to identify the influences on value generation through innovation by the FM function. Findings: The ability of an Australian FM contractor to provide value within a PPP context has been shown to reflect some of the attributes described in literature. However, the extent of innovation, especially in the design and construction phases, has been limited by organisational history and capability, and relational and contextual issues. Originality/value: This research highlights a flaw in the rhetoric relating to PPP delivery, namely the disconnection between the asset delivery and service delivery phases, which stifles the consortium's capacity to innovate and maximise value. It reveals a set of influences that both resonate with the literature and plausibly explain the suboptimal performance of the FM function within an Australian PPP. By using highly iterative analysis leading to within-case generalisability, it provides a robust basis for wider investigation of the problem. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

There has been an increasing interest in the concept of relational contracting (RC) in the construction industry. The performance of RC approaches in construction projects, especially in highly complex and/or time-constrained infrastructure construction projects, is not very satisfying, although there have been sporadic improvements. Hence, this paper aims to map the practices of three main RC contractual arrangements (i.e. project partnering, alliance contracting, and integrated project delivery) to Relational Contract Theory (RCT). The comparative analysis of these three RC contractual arrangements is undertaken to illustrate how different arrangements are weighted in different key elements derived from RCT. Following this study researchers can proceed to investigate situational variables that will make a particular RC approach most suitable. Industrial practitioners can use the findings as a description of the concept and a starting point to facilitate the RC practices at the procurement phase of a RC project.

The construction sector has an important role to play in the future creation of a more resilient built environment. The restoration of and design of new community infrastructure in the wake of major disasters can provide opportunities to reduce future threats and hazards in the built environment. However, there are often competing interests involved and these sociopolitical factors may result in a lack of transparency and fairness around decision-making processes. It has been previously documented that reconstruction efforts can be unduly impacted by misguided political and economic pressures to get communities 'back on their feet' quickly. Large scale disasters, particularly where there has been significant loss of life, tend to trigger intense media scrutiny and public expectation for rapid response and recovery. Particularly where there has been a large public fund-raising effort, both victims and donors often feel a stronger sense of attachment to the immediate recovery efforts in effected communities. The resulting media scrutiny and public pressure, real or perceived, on politicians to make quick decisions in relation to the reconstruction of community built infrastructure can lead to knee-jerk announcements regarding reconstruction plans that do not consider the longer-term sustainability and resilience of a community. In non-urban, or regional, communities the impact of poor political decisions can become even more pronounced. This paper will present analysis from semi-structured interviews conducted with stakeholders involved in the reconstruction after the 'Black Saturday' fires that occurred in regional Victoria, Australia, in early 2009.

In the aftermath of disasters attention naturally focuses on the impacts humans experience during rescue, recovery and rebuilding. Resilient outcomes are desirable but by no means guaranteed, and the consequences are usually attributed to the actions of humans. In a novel deployment this research uses an Actor Network Theory (ANT) lens to reanalyse case study data from three disaster theatres. It reveals the impact of nonhuman actants upon human actants, and their consequences for recovery efforts and resilience outcomes. In particular it exposes the potential economic retardation that food aid can inflict on fragile societies; the value of coherent policies and processes for resilient reconstruction in highly structured societies, and; the mixed blessings arising from the presence of TV cameras in disaster theatres. It concludes that using an ANT lens sensitises researchers to the influences that nonhuman actants can exert in dynamic post-disaster contexts, but that the use of purist ANT approach to solving problems within disaster theatres is not a practical proposition.

Trust is a key element in the project manager's toolkit, and fostering trust in a project team is often critical to the project's outcome. Literature suggests that relational procurement mechanisms underpinned by "pain-share/gain-share" principles ought to increase levels of trust between project participants as compared to traditionally procured projects, yet little related research exists. Using "trust as a phenomenon" as the philosophical point of departure the intricacies of trust formation and maintenance are explored in these contexts. A framework of trust-related personal attributes, attitudes and behaviours is used to analyse a series of 15 detailed interviews with multiple representatives from construction and client organisations. Preliminary findings identify: participants' desire for trust in projects; widespread absence of strategies for trust building, maintenance and repair; adversarial dispute resolution as the default; poor project team member selection. Widely valued traits in trading partners include open and honest communication; technical competence; fairness; integrity; honesty, and; benevolence. Where disputation has occurred trust repair skills appear to be rare. Positive pre-existing relationships are reported as the antidote for many project ills. Differences in the perception of trust variables associated with procurement context are identified: superficially surprising and counter-intuitive, they reveal pan-procurement principles for trust-based project success.

With the introduction of ecologically sustainable development (ESD) and subsequent legislative regulations throughout Australia, effective environmental management across the construction sector should occur. In reality, construction operations continue to have detrimental environmental impacts. Within New South Wales the primary legislation governing development control, for the purpose of ESD, has produced a complex legislative system that its ability to achieve the objectives of environmental protection remains questionable. Large scale development projects may evoke need for associated environmental regulatory controls; however, such rules are generally not applicable to small and medium scale developments. Yet, these types of projects make up a significant amount of the development market and collectively a major contribution to detrimental environmental impacts. Given each construction project is unique, the application of complex regulatory controls may result in notably different levels of environmental protection between developments. Inconsistency may be seen with regulatory interpretation, implementation, monitoring and associated processes of enforcement. Using a systemic lens this research linked the efficacy of regulation, monitoring, and information flow to explain variability in the outcomes of onsite environmental management operations. The paper reports preliminary findings of a two stage qualitative study involving semi-structured interviews with key project stakeholders (e.g. government regulatory officers, construction managers) and case study examination of four medium scale development projects. Using a phenomenological coding approach, preliminary analysis identified a number of themes that impact effective onsite environmental management including: environmental interpretation and assessment, compliance and enforcement, external influences, collaboration and engagement.

The emergence of Public-Private Sector Partnerships (PPPs) provides a means for developing infrastructure without directly impacting upon the budgetary constraints of Government. Social infrastructure projects (schools, hospitals, prisons et al) are characterised as generally being smaller in scale than economic infrastructure projects (motorways, bridges, tunnels et al). However, by their very nature, social infrastructure projects also tend to be complex, particularly in terms of on-going involvement with the community. Thus, private sector bidders for social infrastructure PPPs are often presented with a situation where operational complexity, including government policy toward the sharing of revenue, is one of the key differences in whether PPPs are as attractive for social infrastructure compared with economic infrastructure. This research centres on how consortiums manage the many risk factors involved and the results are presented from a case study of a hospital PPP project. This paper presents the preliminary findings of the case study research and in particular focuses on the process for selecting the PPP consortium and the research methodology.