Claire Brown. University of Manchester, UK. Using a Thermal Model to Ascertain Performance of UK Social Housing: A Case Study
Understanding the impact of climate change on social housing in the UK is a vital issue within the construction industry. The ability to design and build climate-resilient homes will be of paramount importance as the impacts of climate change are felt ever more strongly within the UK.
Utilising a northwest case study, this research is focused on understanding the impact that future weather patterns will have on the performance of housing. This case study is focused on the issue of overheating using future weather files. This research uses IES VE Dynamic thermal modelling to create a suitable thermal model using data provided by a Northwest-based contractor, including layout, orientation and building construction details.
The weather files selected for the thermal model will have the biggest impact on the performance. The most suitable and appropriate files will be selected for this study for both 2050 and 2080 scenario weather. Utilising future weather files and reviewing the performance of the modelled home, will then be an opportunity to review potential changes in design for the structure. The case study units are off-site construction and are built within a factory in the northwest of the UK. The results of the modelling exercise are likely to require a design change for future units. This of course will be reliant on planning approvals for design policy within local authority areas. It is considered likely that changes to support climate resilience to 2050 and 2080 will see changes in energy demand and will significantly reduce overheating risk for future climatic changes.
Changes in design will be possible within the thermal model and will be fed back to the case study organisations, to be implemented within the next design of their units. This research sits within the applied thematic of housing and climate change research.

Farisya Abu Bakar. University of Manchester, UK. The State of Immersion Technology Application for Construction Safety Training: A Systematic Literature Review
Despite the fact that the number of construction-related injuries has decreased considerably since the Occupational Safety and Health Act was implemented in the 1970s, more than 700 workers die every year in the United Kingdom. While the construction industry is one of the significant contributors to such a poor performance, it has started to embrace immersion technologies to improve the quality of health and safety training with better engagement and fidelity representations to envision and understand hazard conditions on construction sites. Though universal agreement that immersive technologies, such as virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality, are imperative factors in identifying hazards when performing risky work on site, more studies are needed to cultivate proactive training approaches. The immersive technologies is primarily focused on the aviation industry, with minor application in the construction industry that could related to safe work practices. Subsequently, it was developed for construction workers and professionals to assimilate into virtual training environment to recognise and monitor hazards, risk perception, safety instruction, and sense of presence. To address the research gap, this study evaluated on efficacy implementation of immersive technologies training across health and safety programme in the construction industry. This paper aims to assess the current state of the immersion technologies application that have been actively used in the construction industry by analysing the existing literature. Specifically, guided by PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) method, the review depicts how different types of immersion technology utilised in health and safety training in the construction sector for over the past two decades. The findings of the study could contribute to how immersion technology can be more effectively applied to construction safety training which could be valuable to the industry and regulators considering how to implement the immersive technologies in health and safety training programme as preventive steps. Future research directions will also be discussed.

Pathirahannahelage Gayan Fernando. University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka. Managing Unsolicited Public Private Partnership Proposals in Sri Lanka
Infrastructure development is proportional to the rate of economic development of a country. As a result, every government allocates a significant amount of its budget to infrastructure development. However, the majority of regimes are unable to finance infrastructure development on their own. Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) are becoming a more popular instrument for sharing roles in the provision of public services with the private sector. In practice, PPP initiatives can be launched in two ways: solicited and unsolicited. Since it taps the unique ideas and innovations of the private sector, the adoption of unsolicited PPP proposals has increased significantly in recent years in both developing and developed countries. There is no globally accepted standard for managing Unsolicited Proposals (USPs). Regular procurement, direct negotiation, Swiss challenge approach, bonus system, best and final offer technique have all been used by various countries to embrace unsolicited PPPs. In Sri Lanka, reference 237 (a) of Part II Guideline, which was published in 1998, has been provided a space for USP by converting it to a competitive basis. Later, though the direct negotiation method and the Swiss challenge approach were established to entertain USPs, they were disbanded due to their inherent weaknesses. Thus, this study examines the process of procuring unsolicited proposals for PPPs in Sri Lanka.

Magdalene Awongo Iheme. University of Salford, UK. The Impact of Oil and Gas-Induced Displacement and Involuntary Resettlement: A Case Study of Finima Community in Rivers State, Nigeria
The extraction and supply of oil and gas in any oil-producing nation requires massive infrastructures, which demands substantial acquisition of land from host communities around the project locations. Thus, the citing of plant stations for the National Liquified Natural Gas in Finima community in Rivers State, Nigeria is a clear example. Studies have shown that the displacement and resettlement process of the Finima community focus mainly on compensatory matters and corporate social responsibilities and little emphasis on sustainable resettlement programs. And although these projects have offered some positive benefits, it has also impacted negatively on the socio-economic and environmental aspects of the resettled community.
The existing petroleum policies in Nigeria considers that oil and gas will boost economic activities within the host communities and that revenues accrued from the operating companies will be used to develop and improve infrastructures, create job opportunities, and promote economic growth. Unfortunately, the weakness of institutions has led to many failures as experienced by the host communities and it therefore imperative for policymakers to appraise and carefully integrate these concerns into sustainable resettlement plans.
And as Vanclay et al (2019) explains, resettlement if not managed well can cause severe long-term consequences on the people. And in terms of global best practice and international standards, involuntary resettlements should at best be avoided or at least minimized and if it cannot be avoided, should at least be compensated fully and fairly.This paper seeks to examine the economic and social impacts in terms of sustainable projects, provision of basic amenities, job creation, internal migration and consider the existing petroleum policies and its provision for displaced communities impacted by the extraction activities of the Multi-National Corporations.

Stella Ibifunmilola. Manchester Metropolitan University, UK. Managing Environmental Pollution for Sustainable Development
At present, there is no specialised waste management facility in Nigeria capable of handling the ever-growing e-waste, as such e-waste are discarded alongside other solid waste at dumpsites where scavengers harvest any precious materials while releasing harmful compounds into the immediate environment. Several life-threatening environmental and occupational health cases have received increased awareness however, e-waste and its associated health risks is yet to receive the needed attention especially in developing countries such as Nigeria where its e-waste management is still an issue. Adverse health outcomes associated with short-term and long-term exposure to toxic substance associated with e-waste handling and is dependent on several factors that include type of chemical, dose, timing of exposure. As a result of the crude recycling activities undertaken by these scavengers either at collection sites or in a designated workplace, it present health, safety, and environmental issues that need careful assessment. The aim of the study is to assess health and safety knowledge, awareness and practices among scavengers associated with hazardous e-waste handling and the promotion of workplace health and safety behaviour. Survey participants will be drawn among willing informal waste handlers (scavengers) from Alaba international market and Ikeja computer village, Lagos state Nigeria using purposive sampling method. A structured survey questionnaire will be used for the data collection based on themes that include existing health and safety knowledge; awareness of e- waste hazards exposure precaution; existing personal safety practices applied during handling of e-waste. In addition, demographic that include gender, age, educational level etc will form part of the survey. Findings from the study will be used to advance policy planning recommendations aimed at enhancing safety knowledge, awareness and practice among e-waste scavengers as well as development of sustainable e-waste management that support reduction of workplace exposure to non-communicable diseases (NCD) and communicable diseases (CD) in response to United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and Agenda 2063 of the African Union.

Jajati Mandal. University of Salford, UK. Deriving Arsenic Concentration Guideline Values for Soil and Irrigation Water for Rice Cultivation
Arsenic (As) is a naturally occurring toxic trace element that is of environmental and public health concern. Irrigation water contaminated with As acts as a potent source of contamination to humans through water-soil-crop transfer, especially in areas of India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Taiwan, Vietnam and Thailand. Rice accumulates higher concentration of As in grains than other cereals, such as wheat and barley. Several authors have reported that irrigation water significantly contributes towards the build-up of As in soil and subsequent increases in rice grain concentrations. However, whilst drinking water has a permissible/safe guideline value that has been defined internationally, appropriate guideline values for irrigation water and soil are lacking. Initially through meta-analysis, a generalized linear regression model revealed As in soil to be a stronger predictor of As in rice than As in irrigation water (beta of 16.72 and 0.6, respectively, p < 0.01).  With the help of Decision Tree based machine learning and logistic regression modelling, the relationship between As concentrations in rice grain, soil and irrigation water was evaluated. Soil As (rather than irrigation water As) was a stronger predictor of As in rice grain. Both the Decision Tree and, to a lesser extent, the Logistic Regression models successfully predicted the concentrations of soil above which As in grain would exceed the maximum concentration recommended by the Codex Alimentarius Commission. Given the better performance of the Decision Tree model, this approach was used to derive a proposed guideline value for soil As of 14 mg kg^-1. The seemingly non-significant contribution of irrigation water in predicting grain i-As concentrations below or above the Codex recommendation may be due to the complexity in the relationship between irrigation water As and rice grains which is required to be investigated.

Yaser Omar Kaied. University of Bolton, UK. Air Quality Management Framework With Success Factors For Future Sustainable Cities
Clean air is essential for quality of life and health; reducing air pollution has significant and lasting benefits and positively impacts upon public health, economic development, and population well-being. Several parameters and success factors contribute to achieving a healthy, environmentally sustainable city. These parameters need to be analysed in the estimation process to form a strategic planning framework for implementing efficient and effective strategies for future sustainable cities. Outdoor air pollution kills an estimated 4.2 million people per year worldwide, and is associated with so-called “classical” air pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide (NO), sulfur dioxide (S02), ozone (03), fine dust, and numerous organic and inorganic contaminants. Pollution can originate from fixed, mobile, and local sources, and which can be due to human activity or naturally occurring processes. Cities and metropolitan regions empower economic growth, accounting for around 60% of global GDP. They do, however, contribute to over 70% of global carbon emissions. Air pollution is mentioned explicitly in three SDGs:  3 (health), 11 ( cities), and 12 (sustainable consumption and production). This research examines critical factors that should be prioritised in order to reduce negative environmental impacts from indoor and outdoor air pollution. The aim of the research is to identify successful elements within a framework designed for future sustainable cities.  Data is collected from indoor and outdoor locations that reflect the nature of human settlement and well-being. Data analyses reveal many factors that need to be monitored to achieve SDG 11 targets.  The results show how much air quality affects the health and social living conditions of people living in urbanised areas. Comparisons between pre-and-post Covid 19 indicate the impact of the pandemic on air quality.

Sudip Sengupta. Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia, India. Assessing the Retention and Release Pattern of Arsenic in Arsenic-humic/Fulvic Acid Complexes from Zinc and Iron Enriched Vermicompost
Arsenic is a toxic heavy metal having serious environmental consequences. In search of management options, inorganic components like zinc and iron, as well as organic vermicompost have been used; while limited attempts have been made for development of zinc and iron enriched vermicompost by amalgamating the inorganic with organic interventions. The present experiment comprised of development of normal vermicompost and six different combinations of zinc and iron enriched vermicompost and assessing their chemical constitution by standard protocol. Organic fractions from these seven different forms of vermicompost and surface soil of West Bengal, India, especially from arsenic contaminated area were extracted and fractionated into their corresponding humic and fulvic acid (HA and FA, respectively) fractions through standard analytical procedure. These HA and FA samples were characterized by pH-potentiometric titrations, viscometric measurements and visible spectrophotometry. The stability constant (logK) of the complexes formed by these natural with As in aqueous phase was evaluated by the ion-exchange method. Results indicate that stability of FA extracted from enriched vermicompost V₄ (prepared by applying Zn and Fe sulphate @ 10% w/w dry weight basis of composting substrates before application of vermiworms) have the highest stability constant (log K) as 10.20 and the corresponding mole ratio (x) value of 1.36. The logK values suggest that the organo-As complexes were quite stable. The release isotherm of As from the HA/ FA complexes extracted from the seven different combinations of vermicompost and enriched vermicompost samples were assayed in the presence of nitrate, phosphate, and sulfate. The results reveal that among the three competitive oxy-anions, the release isotherms followed the trend of sulphate > nitrate > phosphate for both HA and FA in most of the vermicompost samples.

Alex Mbabu. University of Salford, UK. An Exploration of the Current State of the Art BIM Evolving to the Digital Twin
A digital twin is an open, trusted, and reliable digital representation of the elements and dynamics of a physical system or built asset, with feedback loops that allow big data transit and synchronisation between the virtual replication and physical environments, with near-real-time IoT sensors embedded, to relay data flows from physical to virtual and then combining analytics to provide an understanding of the components and dynamics, providing real-time insights, predictive and corrective triggers.
The global market value of the digital twin market in 2020 was USD 5.1 billion, and this growth rate is expected to grow at a CAGR of 42.7 percent from 2021 to 2028. The digital twin concept has gained popularity and is now being used in a wide range of applications. Digital twins are transformative in the sense that they enable firms to optimise or modify their business models and operations. The expansion of the digital twin market is being driven by the rise of IoT, the proliferation of linked devices, and the availability of low-cost IoT sensors.Digital twins are progressively being exploited as an extension of BIM for the built environment. The built environment has yet to catch up with other sectors in terms of digital twin adoption; too far, only 5% of the built environment has begun to deploy digital twins, and fewer than 1% of assets have one. The proposed paper looks to investigate the evolution of BIM to the digital twin, the present status of acceptance, and the potential for digital twin applications in the built environment. The proposed paper will present the value, risks, and hurdles to industry adoption of a digital twin approach and further propose recommendations on how to effectively derive the value of a digital twin to improve the future status of the built environment.

Ozaer Zaed. University of Strathclyde, UK. An Educational Contribution to Applicable Digital Twins through BIM Integrated Curriculum Development in Architecture
With regard to the UK policy paper on National Data Strategy published in 2020 and the National Digital Twin Programme (NDTP) being led by the Centre for Digital Built Britain (CDBB) at the University of Cambridge, this paper aims to present and discuss a new strategic framework that integrates BIM into architectural education in a systematic way in order to establish a digital twin (DT) oriented curriculum, which focuses on professional competence development of architecture students to be prepared for DT related design practice. Contents: This paper consists of three interconnected parts, including a systematic literature review to clarify the needs for a DT oriented architecture curriculum to be underpinned by modules relating to the digital design, construction and operation of buildings; a strategic framework to facilitate BIM pervasive learning in architecture education that can develop the body of knowledge of DT for architecture students; and a structured discussion to reflect essential connections from the described strategic framework to the RIBA core curriculum in continuing professional development (CPD) and current practices on DT in the architectural, engineering, construction, and operation (AECO) sectors towards the Industry 5.0 revolution. Implications: It is expected that this paper can timely inform both academic research and education practice in the subject of architecture for the development and enhancement of an inclusive curriculum for students to be better prepared for professional collabotations in DT driven practices. For academic research into DT for the built environment, this paper establishes a view on the scope and structure of professional knowledge in architecture to support BIM driven DT practices. For education practice in the built environment, this paper puts forward a strategic framework that can enable BIM integrated architecture curriculum development in order to reflect the need for and requirement on professional competence in DT practices.

Adrian August Wildenauer. University of Economics and Business, Prague, Czech Republic. Building-as-a-Service, Smart Applications and the Digital Twin: Contradiction, Challenge or Chance?
The application of information management based on data from Building Information Modelling has long been a way to revolutionise the inertial construction industry. However, this deployment is only a first but crucial step in the digital transformation of the world’s largest industrial sector. Normative and standardised foundations have already been created at national and international level, whose final implementation in the projects requires time and acceptance. Further steps include the development of a digital twin that is in constant exchange with its physical image to enable further data-related tasks. This will necessitate more comprehensive approaches and activities than have already been initiated if this digital twin is to become a reality.
One such advanced task are the smart applications described in the author’s PhD. These are data-supported tools in the operational phase of a building based on the static data in BIM models combined with dynamic data from data generating devices like IoT, Sensors and Beacons. In addition, there is an approach that manifests itself in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, which no longer view buildings purely as an amalgamation of building materials and goods but as a service model. This means the exchange of services instead of “money for assets”. This is accompanied by the necessary, but not yet fully solved, technical provision of data in “real time” in order to also make these applications operational. In particular, this applies to the handling of data at the project planning and engineering level, but also in the management of assets.
The purpose of this paper is to examine this background and provide a status quo. It is intended to show which hurdles have to be overcome in order to be able to use this triumvirate of data tools in projects in the long term.

Ashraf Elhendawi. University of Bolton, UK. Building Information Management Adoption Status, Applications, and Integrations with Updated Knowledge and Recent Technologies Towards Sustainable Cities.

Purpose – The Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry significant contribution to the nations’ economy; however, it’s stuck behind the other industries like information technology. Building Information Management (BIM) helps the AEC industry to find new rooms for continuous improvement. This paper aims to identify BIM adoption status, discover new applications, and investigate the ability of its integration with updated knowledge and recent technologies. Design/methodology/approach – AEC industry professionals respond to the questionnaire and structured interviews. SSPS used to analyze quantitative data and Nvivo for qualitative one. Findings – However, few countries mandate BIM in their mega and strategic projects, several countries still have not adopted BIM. BIM proved its capability to use at 1) Education system, 2) Medical system 3) Economic System, 4) Traffic control, 5) Image Processing and Feature Extraction, 6) Forecasting and predictions, 7) Offsite and Manufacturing, 8) Electrical and electronic systems, 9)social sciences, 10) Health and Safety, 11) Smart Cities 12) Building on other planets. AEC industry reap double of benefits while BIM integrates with one or more of the following 1) lean construction 2) Geography information system (GIS), 3) Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), 4) Virtual reality and augmented reality, 5) Facility Maintenance, 6)Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) 7) Project Management 8) Computer-aided facility management (CAFM), 9) Green Building, 10) Artificial Intelligence and Machine learning, 11) Internet of Things, 12) Big Data Analysis, 13) BlockChain, 14) Cloud Computing, 15) Robotics.  Practical implications – the paper’s results found ways to enhance AEC industry performance to keep up with the other advanced industries. Originality/value – This research makes a significant contribution while identifying new BIM applications. Furthermore, prove the capabilities of BIM to integrate with the up to date knowledge and recent technologies. Future studies can expect future BIM application and integration with future knowledge and technologies. 

Faith Adiorho. University of Bolton, UK. Impact of Nigerian Housing Policy on the Sustainable Development of its Residential Real Estate
The importance of the residential real estate of a country cannot be overestimated, as it encompasses all forms of housing and living arrangements essential for individuals and groups of people. This sector in Nigeria however has several challenges and needs appropriate management and regulation to be sustained.  Housing policies area tool utilised in town planning to provide solutions to housing problems and to achieve sustainable housing. This research therefore investigates the impact of housing policies on the development of the residential real estate in Abuja, the Federal capital territory of Nigeria. It appraises the benefits and challenges of the sector, in the context of policies in the country, and on-going problems. The study aim is to investigate the impact of housing regulation on the residential real estate market, as well as the health, and security of Nigeria. 
A mixed method approach of qualitative and quantitative research methods is adopted.  A systematic literature review was conducted to reduce bias and improve the research objectivity.  Exploratory qualitative work is based on three interviews with participants; one a landlord, one a tenant, and one a real estate developer.   A quantitative questionnaire is used to generate statistical data for analysis; this questionnaire is still in circulation and outcomes will be reported in the paper. Study findings provide an insight to the significance of housing policy as a tool and a directive for the regulation of the residential real estate. However, there are persistent challenges in the sector that this tool has been unable to curb. Focus on housing in the city of Abuja and the impact of the Nigerian housing policy, has provided a notion that these limitations are because of the inability of the policy makers to implement the policies made. Future research is recommended on alternative housing policies for the development of Nigeria’s residential real estate.

Tayo Ajisope. University of Salford, UK. Exploring Strategies for the Successful Implementation of Policies Towards Sustainable Development
Due to the rising population in urban areas all over the world and an estimated 10 billion people by the year 2050, there is a need for production of food in the cities to supplement the food produced from the rural areas. The prevalence of poverty and hunger is a major concern as food produced from the rural areas is no longer enough to meet the needs of the increasing population. The coronavirus pandemic has put further strain on the global food systems due to the restriction of movement, which has disrupted movement of people and products causing a significant reduction in access to agricultural labour. The practice of Urban Agriculture (UA) has been relatively successful in the Global North (GN), but the situation is different in the Global South (GS) due to limitations such as policy changes, urban planning, and land availability. Generally, UA has a long history in the GS, however, formal UA is still scarce in the GS. This research appraises UA activity in the GN and GS, exploring existing practices and future potential in the UK and Nigeria, particularly about upscaling practice. The research adopts a qualitative research methodology to critically compare approaches to city food growing in both locations. Some clear indications show inadequate enlightenment on new UA methods in the GS, non-inclusion of UA in planning and zoning and absence of favourable policies supporting UA. Collected data from both locations will help to achieve an understanding of the impact of UA on food security and sufficiency.

Philip Kofi Alimo. College of Transportation Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, P. R China. Growth of Informal Transport in two Ghanaian Cities: Implications for Urban Planning and Policymaking
Cities are defined and characterized by several infrastructures including the type of transport systems. Both formal and informal transport tend to exist in both developed and developing countries but mostly occur in the latter. Sustainable transportation in Africa has therefore being campaigned in the direction of ‘subsidy-free’ but affordable pubic transport for all (Munuhwa, 2020). In Ghana, statistics on vehicle registration and use have been on the hike with estimated registration per annum reported at 33.6% as and major cities Accra, Kumasi, Tamale, and Takoradi making up this representation (Bank of Ghana, 2021). Nonetheless, there is a high proliferation of informal transport through the use of non-motorized means such as motorcycle taxis, motorized tricycles and auto-rickshaws. They are often a preferred means of transport but are susceptible to road crashes, air, and noise pollution have been described (Dumba, 2017). Small cities are often described by a population of less than 100,000 (Fazal, 2006). In Ghana, such cities have a smaller number of registered vehicles and where they exist are mostly for private use. The dependence on informal transport is however increasing in these small cities. While in some scenarios, these informal systems can be efficient and effective in meeting daily transportation demands, because they are unregulated and organized they pose a significant threat to humans and the environment. With lacking legal instruments to enforce the operationalization of informal transport, culminating threats to the environment are anticipated.
In this study, we focus on two small cities in Ghana where there has been a significant rise in the informal transportation sector. We analyze the situation by current and projection of the modal splits in the cities using Gompertz Time Series Model, and determine from a policy perspective the potential implications on urban planning and policymaking in line with the sustainable development goals.

Eta Ojiji. University of Salford, UK. Towards Energy Recovery from Waste in Developing Countries: An Analysis of the Prospects and Challenges of Waste Management in Abuja, Nigeria
Waste generation is a natural product of urbanization, economic development, and population growth. Globally, 2.01 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste (MSW) is generated annually and this is expected to increase to 3.40 billion tonnes by 2050, with projections showing that most of the increase will be in the Sub-Saharan Africa region. Nigeria like other developing countries in the region is faced with the problems of open dumping, low waste collection rates and ineffective waste management policies. Growing concerns about the negative consequences on health, the increasing awareness of the need for environmental sustainability, and the need for energy security have triggered the interest of governments in waste-to-energy (WtE) technologies, as an effective means of simultaneously dealing with the problems of waste management and electricity access. However, the selection and introduction of these technologies require knowledge of waste characteristics, comprehensive legal frameworks, and efficient waste management systems. To assess the viability of WtE technologies in Abuja, this research will examine the challenges of the Nigerian waste management system from a socio-demographic point of view. Using both quantitative and qualitative research methods, this research aims to guide waste authorities in the decision- making process for the selection of appropriate technologies. The study methods are carried out in two phases consisting of a public questionnaire survey, a waste composition analysis, focus group meetings with waste workers, and semi-structured interviews with key waste experts. Preliminary findings from the data analysis show that the challenges of open dumping and low waste collection rates occur in all income groups. However, there is a lack of information and communication regarding waste management in mostly low-income areas.

Luke Emeka Okolie. University of Wolverhampton, UK. Public Private Partnership: A Panacea for Inadequate Road Infrastructure Development and Flooding Scheme in South-East Nigeria The construction sector is key in the economic growth of any country. The necessary environment for business to thrive rests on adequate infrastructure, in addition to the various tools of science and technology. Nigeria is faced with the need to provide adequate road infrastructure. Regardless of Nigeria’s enormous human and natural endowments, the road infrastructure within the country is in a poor state especially in South-East Nigeria. Flooding is one of the key indicators that road construction firms abandon road Infrastructure projects. Flooding in Nigeria is mainly human induced due to current poor Urban planning practices. In addition, the absence of national Flood Risk management (FRM) Strategy shows that Nigeria have a long way to catch up with the United Nations Sustainable Goal (2030). This research is aimed at identifying Public Private Partnership (PPP) as a panacea for inadequate road infrastructure development and Flooding scheme in South East Nigeria. An in-depth literature review was carried out to explore the benefits of PPPs in the delivery of road infrastructure in South East Nigeria. Findings from the literature review showed that PPP allows the government to concentrate on policy making while the role of infrastructure maintenance and operation is carried out by the private sector. It also allows the private sector to generate income through user levy or contract sum. The review identifies high cost and complexity as challenges facing PPP implementation. International comparison shows that it has been successful in countries like Sri Lanka, South Africa, United Kingdom and South West Nigeria. The key recommendations of the research are that a transparent procurement process be put in place and that proven PPP models such as Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) and Build-Own-Transfer (BOT) be explored in delivery of roads infrastructure and floods management.

Ockert Pretorius. University of Johannesburg, South Africa. The impact of COVID-19 on Research in Built Environment Education: a Systematic Bibliometric Review
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant effect on built environment education research. Existing research indicates that the pandemic has disrupted teaching and learning activities in education institutions and precipitated a pedagogical shift to e-learning. This has impacted education outcomes, due to challenges faced by educators a nd students alike, including access to required technology, devices, and connectivity, the lack of practical training that is central to the diverse study fields of the built environment, the phycological toll inherent to the online format, as well as pandemic-related socio-economic disruptions. Broad adaptation has been necessary in education in the built environment, and research outcomes constitute a key part in fostering resilience and adaptability. The aim of this study is to investigate the manner in which existing research has guided adaptation in built-environment education during the pandemic. Relevant objectives include determining the effect of the pandemic on research in built-environment education and delineating the pandemic-related research themes incorporated in the related research body. A systematic bibliometric review constitutes the central data collection and analysis instrument, where SCOPUS-indexed publications are analysed through the application of the VOSviewer (v1.6.17) software. This is used to present the findings through network and overlay visualisations. Findings indicate that the focus of built environment education research is increasingly shifting toward wide-ranging themes applicable to the interrelationship between the pandemic and education outcomes. This may be an indication of the impact and effect of the pedagogical shift from in-person teaching methods to e-learning, which has garnered research interest in related themes. Research on online teaching strategies and related development approaches have laid the foundation for more nuanced research, including on learning experiences in this online environment. Past, current, and emerging research outcomes in built environment education are set to inform education roleplayers on strategies in teaching, assessment, and development to foster long-term resilience in built-environment education.

Ambark Bareka. University of Strathclyde, UK. A Text Mining Approach to Performance Enhancement in BIM Pervasive Major Project Delivery
Purpose: With regard to the Royal Society’s report Dynamics of Data Science Skills published in 2019, the UK Government policy paper National Data Strategy issued in 2020, and current research into and practice on building information modelling (BIM) underpinned digital transformation in the construction sector as well as big lessons learned from practices on major construction project delivery, this paper aims to present a new evidence-based learning experiment using text mining technique to inform both research and practice in the process to adapt to uncertainty, error, and the unexpected in BIM pervasive major project delivery.
Contents: This paper consists of three interconnected parts, including a systematic literature review to clarify the need for text analysis to tackle challenges identified from lessons learned on key issues including budget, quality and schedule in BIM pervasive major project delivery; a generic text mining process framework to enable the optimization of data collection and usage towards informed performance enhancement; and a structured discussion using findings from a text mining experiment on key technical elements of this framework to demonstrate its efficacy for problem identification and solving for BIM pervasive major project delivery.
Implications: It is expected that this paper can timely inform both academic research and professional practice in relation to applied text analysis as a technical solution to tackle identified challenges due to uncertainty, error, and the unexpected in BIM pervasive major project delivery. For academic research into text analysis in the subject field of the built environment, this paper initiates a new process framework with experimental studies for theoretical development. For professional practice in BIM pervasive major project delivery, this paper provides a novel technical solution for efficacious performance enhancement supported by evidence-based learning in a new scale of technical depth and breadth.

Gethin Manuel. University of Salford, UK. Managing Occupational Impulsive Noise
The aim of this work is to examine the current UK best practice for the assessment of the risks of auditory hazards associated with occupational impulsive noise. A review of the literature on the measurement of near-field impulsive noise; hearing conservation within the context of impulsive noise; and the relevant UK guidance and legislation for selecting hearing protection against impulsive noise is summarised. The current UK best practice for selecting hearing protection against impulsive noise recommends the adapted HML method found within Defence Standard 0027:2015 (MOD), using a C-peak measurement of exposure to compare with the national regulations (CoNaWR). On-site measurements were made at the DNV Spadeadam Testing and Research Site (STaR), which performs full scale high-intensity impulsive noise testing and provides hazard awareness training to industry. Analyses of the field trials data show that the C-peak exposures of personnel resulted in acceptable levels below the CoNaWR 140dBC_pk limit when using the prescribed hearing protection, according to the adapted HML method. However, the low frequency content measured within these exposures was beyond the scope of the adapted HML method, at which the method is said to become unreliable. It is concluded that the adapted HML assessment is unclear how excessive low-frequency content and multiple peaks are accounted for. The implication of this work is that further research is required to improve current UK best practice to quantify the uncertainties introduced by the excessive low-frequency content, and to assess the impact of multiple pressure peaks.

Farouk Suleiman, University of Salford, UK. Image Enhancement of Historical Documents 
Historical documents are treasured sources of information but typically suffer from problems with quality and degradation. Scanned images of historical documents specifically suffer from problems that occur due to paper quality and poor image capture, which in turn produces images with low contrast, smeared ink, bleed-through and uneven illumination. In this report, a novel adaptative histogram matching method to remove these artefacts from scanned images of historical documents is proposed. The adaptive histogram matching is modelled to create an ideal histogram by dividing the histogram using its Otsu level and applying Gaussian windows to each segment with iterative output refinement applied to individual images. Pre-processing techniques contrast stretching, wiener filtering, and bilateral filtering are used before our proposed adaptive histogram matching approach to maximise the dynamic range and reduce noise. The goal is to provide a better representation of document images and therefore improve readability and the source images for Optical Character Recognition (OCR). Unlike other methods that are designed for single artefacts, our proposed method enhances multiple (low-contrast, smeared-ink, bleed-through and uneven illumination). The technique is demonstrated on the Europeana Newspapers Project (ENP) dataset chosen from the Pattern Recognition and Image Analysis research lab (PRImA) dataset collection. It is shown from the results that the proposed method significantly reduces background noise and improves image quality on multiple artefacts as compared to other enhancement methods. To evaluate the efficiency of the proposed method, several performance criteria are utilised. These include Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR), Mean opinion score (MOS), and visual document image quality assessment (VDIQA) metric. The proposed method performs best in all evaluation metrics by a 42.6% increment on the average score of the other methods for MOS, 44.3% increment on the average score of other methods for SNR and 61.11% better in VDIQA compared to other methods.

David Ebiloma. University of Johannesburg, South Africa. A BIM-Enabled Framework for the Scheduled Maintenance of Public University Buildings in Nigeria
Maintenance professionals require access to the building location to handle maintenance work; they use sheets of paper and field notes to handle various types of information including 2D drawings for inspection and maintenance, and this process could be very tiring. The Building Information Modelling (BIM) approach can be applied and developed as 3D information models to improve maintenance works. This study aims to develop a Building maintenance management framework for public university hostels using BIM as a benchmark. The specific objectives were to: assess the maintenance management framework used by the Works department of the selected public university in the study area; and to develop the framework using BIM. A triangular approach of design was used in carrying out the data collection using questionnaire, review of relevant literatures and eventual design and development of the BIM scheduled maintenance. Prof. Peter Olufemi Adeniyi Male Hostel of the Federal University of Technology, Akure-Nigeria was taken as a case study. The study concluded that the major Maintenance Management Framework used in the study area is Routine Maintenance; the BIM Scheduled maintenance framework will reduce downtime of facilities and provide swift response to maintenance request. It was recommended that higher institutions should adopt and invest in the BIM maintenance management framework; government policies on the implementation of BIM Scheduled maintenance framework should be formulated and enforced; personnel in charge of maintenance operation in higher institutions should be trained on the use of BIM Scheduled maintenance. BIM is still at its developing stage in the Nigerian construction industry and it is hoped that the Digital Twin (DT) technology will also be accepted to enhance the use of BIM. Further research should be carried out on building maintenance management relating to DT and early warning systems (EWS).

Tholwana Koaho. Nelson Mandela University, Gqeberha, South Africa. A Governance Framework for Engaging Implementing Agents to Engender Infrastructure Project Success in South Africa
Public project implementation has become an important research area as it a focal point for policy makers to ensure that public projects are carried out effectively and efficiently. Essentially, implementing agents (IAs) are created to support public project delivery and to advise on how public infrastructure projects should be effected. IAs have been established and utilised in many countries globally to implement public projects, however, lack of commitment from IAs, lack of audits from the implementation of projects by IAs, vested interests of IAs in self-perpetuation, and duplication of functions of the parent agency, all compromise capacity building within the client organisation. In South Africa, there is currently no standard infrastructure framework, which outlines the scope to be provided by IAs, the technical skills, or the management and institutional structures that the IA should possess. The absence of these critical functions often leads to delays in the implementation of projects, and poor service delivery.
The objective of the study will be to establish a governance framework which will outline the technical skills, management and institutional structures that IAs should possess to assure infrastructure project delivery success.

Shashwat Shashwat. Northumbria University, Newcastle UK. Analysing the Effect of Building Façade Material on Urban Microclimate under UK Weather Conditions
Rapid urbanization has a significant impact on the rise in urban air temperature which consequently leads to outdoor thermal discomfort for pedestrians. The research on usage of façade materials to improve the outdoor conditions are very limited. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to analyses the impact of building façade materials on urban microclimate by computational simulations using ENVI-MET tool. ENVI-MET offers liberty to model and simulate urban environment with greenery, building materials, roads, pathways, etc. In this study, a cluster of office buildings located on the city campus of Northumbria University at Newcastle were selected which are 2-5 storied in height connected with network of asphalt roads and concrete pathways and greenery in between. The cell size of 2×2 m2 was chosen for modelling. This research focused on the impact on microclimate by variation of building materials under UK weather condition involving summer and winter seasons. The result data are compared for facade materials with variable reflectance, emittance and specific heat capacity for typical summer and winter days. Weather parameters such as temperature, radiation/cloud, precipitation, wind, and relative humidity were forced into each simulation to obtain the accurate results. It has been observed that the urban air temperature in the first cell near façade can be reduced up-to 2°C on a summer day by implementing the high reflective cool paint. Similarly, the temperature shows a rise of up to 0.6°C in winters with the application of phase change material in the facade, hence improving the outer thermal comfort.

David Babatunde. University of Salford, UK. Sustainable Development: A Myth or Reality?
Sustainable development is taken as development that is fundamental and lasting, and it is applied to an array of aspects including nature, regional development, economy, society, and ecological aspects. This paper analyzes the possibility of attaining sustainable development in developing countries. Employing qualitative methods from secondary sources, this article examines country-based sustainable developed strategies, while considering countries like the USA, Canada, Germany, Norway, Great Britain, France, Japan, and South Korea. It was therefore deduced that the ideological pathway to sustainable development lies in the implementation of local projects tailored for the rational use of resources, covering both natural and socio-economic components. The article argues that appropriate education and vocational policies are enforced, illiteracy rates would drop and individuals would be granted additional privy to the state of their environment which will contribute greatly to an increase in social and environmental consciousness. In addition, the prioritization of Green Economy and Green growth will have to be implemented through investments in green energies, health services, and social systems that benefit the environment. This paper concludes that sustainable development is technically achievable, with contributive effort of every nation, developed, developing, and under-developed alike.

Chiara Chinigo. University of Salford, UK. Role of Mitochondrial DNA Polymerase-γ in Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is the most frequent malignancy in women and it represents the driving cause of death from cancer. In this scenario, targeting tumour heterogeneity could have important therapeutic implications. Indeed, neoplastic tissue is characterized by a ‘cell hierarchy’ whereby a sub-population of cells with “stemness” characteristics, termed cancer stem cells (CSCs), has the ability to self-renew and is considered the main driver of drug-resistance and distant metastasis. Therefore, the reprogramming of energy metabolism is an important emerging topic in CSC biology. Recently, mitochondria have been shown to be important key players in cancer metabolism. Many metabolic pathways, such as mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), are somehow dys-regulated during tumorigenesis, highlighting a key role of these organelles in cancer pathogenesis. For example, there is a need for further clarity on how specific nuclear gene(s) affect mitochondrial OXPHOS and CSC activity. The nuclear-encoded enzyme, Polymerase-γ (POLG), is the only DNA-polymerase present in human mitochondria, and could be a potential target for anti-cancer therapy. Polymerase-γ plays a crucial role in mitochondrial DNA (mt-DNA) replication and repair, by regulating mt-DNA copy number in CSCs. To address this issue, we generated MCF7 breast cancer cell lines, with an excess or a lower amount of POLG subunits, and have begun to evaluate how these changes in POLG expression affect the phenotypic behaviour of cancer cells. More specifically, we found that changes in POLG expression can significantly modulate cell metabolism and stemness, as well as cell growth and motility.  In conclusion, our findings on POLG may have important implications for the clinical prevention of metastasis, using a therapeutic approach for targeting mitochondrial metabolism.

Sonia Morlando. University of Salford. MET kinase inhibitors showed heterogenous effects on SHH medulloblastoma cells

Medulloblastoma (MB), a cerebellar tumour primarily diagnosed in children younger than 16 years old, is the most common malignant brain tumour consisting of four molecular subgroups: Wingless (WNT), Sonic Hedgehog (SHH), Group 3 and Group 4. Despite the 70- 75% cure rates for MB patients, the risk of morbidities linked with the current therapy (surgery, chemo and radiotherapy) remains unacceptably high. Moreover, once medulloblastoma have recurred and/or relapsed with metastasis, the chance of regaining control of the tumour and survive this disease is poor. Thus, identifying new clinical strategies to overcome medulloblastoma progression and dissemination is crucial in the eradication of the disease. Over the last few years, various tyrosine kinase signalling pathways have been identified to play important roles in medulloblastoma tumorigenesis. Active MET kinase has been detected as a marker of SHH-driven MB and several inhibitors provided pre-clinical evidence for an effective therapy for SHH-MB patients. The present study investigated the efficacy of multiple MET inhibitors against several SHH MB cell lines and identified that theMET inhibitor tivantinib impairs MET activation and outperforms other MET inhibitors, such as foretinib and crizotinib, in haltering cell proliferation by inducing apoptotic response. By combining time-lapse microscopy with MET inhibitors treatments, we observed a complex and diverse pharmacological response to MET inhibitors. On one hand, tivantinib caused cell death in mitosis whilst foretinib and crizotinib induced mitotic slippage. Interestingly, when challenged with tivantinib, only p53 mutant SHH cells displayed mitotic cell death and high sensitivity to combination with spindle assembly inhibitors. By contrast, p53 wild-type SHH cells, although sensitive to tivantinib, showed a striking level of interline variation in sensitivity to the drug, ranging from prolonged mitosis to slippage, death in mitosis or interphase. Taken together our results substantiate the rational use of MET inhibitor for SHH- driven MB but the pharmacological heterogeneity in response to MET inhibitors should be highly considered when designing novel effective combination therapies.

Ummasalma A. Saulawa. University of Liverpool, UK. Using experimental evolution in artificial sputum to understand the emergence of antibiotic resistance during infection

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a major opportunistic pathogen that can cause chronic infection and display high levels of resistance. Treatment of chronic lung infections in people with CF is often empirical and dual therapy is common, however, infections are rarely cleared once established. The basis on which antibiotics are chosen is unclear and the long term impact on collateral resistance has not been well studied.
In this project, experimental evolution was performed in artificial sputum to mimic sub-lethal antibiotic treatment and recovery post-treatment using tobramycin and ceftazidime in single, dual, and cyclic therapy. Using the laboratory reference strain PAO1, antibiotic pressure was exerted for 16 days (transfer every 4 days) and recovery (removal of antibiotics) for 16 days. Isolates at the end of treatment and the end of recovery were analysed for changes in antibiotic resistance, phenotypic characteristics and whole-genome sequencing.
Treatment with Tobramycin led to an increase in isolates resistant to Meropenem. During single therapy, the resistant isolates decreased during the recovery period whereas resistance persisted in isolates treated with dual therapy. Some isolates displayed a threefold fold increase in resistance to meropenem and cross-resistance with other carbapenems was observed. These changes in resistance were not observed during single therapy treatment with ceftazidime. Mechanisms of resistance revealed no significant increases in beta-lactamase activity and changes in efflux pump activity were only detected in most of the isolates. Whole-genome sequencing revealed the presence of SNPs and indels including mutations in the multidrug-resistant efflux pump gene mexF and genes associated with the cell membrane.Experimental evolution under relevant conditions could aid our understanding of the impact of different antibiotic combinations in the context of P. aeruginosa chronic lung infections.

Fanni Toth. University of Salford, UK. Investigating senescence and senescence-escape in cancer

Cellular senescence has been described as the essentially irreversible arrest of cell proliferation in response to a wide range of cellular stress and as a consequence of aging. Despite the general concept that therapy-induced senescence has a tumour-suppressive role, the presence of senescent tumour cells and the ability of cancer cells to escape from senescence is potentially detrimental, leading to therapy resistance and tumour recurrence. While a wide range of chemotherapeutic drugs are known to induce senescence in cancer cells, the effect of senescence in tumour progression is still not completely understood. Thus, a better understanding of therapy-induced senescence and senescence-escape could provide a potential diagnostic and therapeutic approach to improve the outcome of conventional cancer therapies.  The research project is primally focused on the development of in vitro senescence and senescence-escape models, along with the investigation of the cell surface protein dipeptidyl-peptidase 4 (DPP4/CD26) as a new marker of senescence in cancer, and the establishment of a treatment strategy exploiting drug-induced senescence. Three different drugs were used to induce senescence in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell lines, and the expression of various senescence markers were investigated. To identify the senescence-escaped cells and to evaluate the senescence-escaping ability of the cells, a new method was established by using proliferation markers and crystal-violet staining. Based on our results, the expression of different senescent markers and the senescence-escaping ability of the cells were depending on the drug that was used for senescence-induction and the cell type as well. The expression of DPP4/CD24 was significantly increased in senescent MCF-7 and MDA-MB231 cells. Investigating the function of DPP4/CD26 in senescent cancer cells indicated that it might have a role in the regulation of senescence-escape. Moreover, targeting senescent cancer cells with a senolytic drug and a DPP4 inhibitor demonstrated a synergistic effect to decrease the viability of drug-induced senescence cells and reduce the number of senescence-escaped cells.

Isimemen Judith Ejohwomu. University of Wolverhampton, UK. Behavioral Based Safety in Urban Developments: A Tale of Two Sectors
There is significant increase in the number of fatal incidents that occur during and after completion of construction projects globally and developing countries like Nigeria. This rise in accidents was observed in a country where self-regulation of health and safety (H&S) is rife. Previous studies have tried to understand the realities of the trade-off between the functions of H&S standards and self-regulation have concentrated research efforts on exploring the perception of firms and their respective supply chain more. This study examines the impact of the said trade-off on fatal accidents from the perspective of regulatory bodies and their processes. The study adopts a multiple case study approach using social and economic costs (unit of analysis) from triangulated data sources of print and social media data, semi-structured interviews, and documentary analysis. Findings review regulators currently do not have a structured and fit for purpose process for accessing the evidence required to effectively monitor and control the behavior of firms and their supply chain. While self-regulation is weak and disruptive in the construction and building services sector, it is strong and effective in the oil and gas sector with evidence of its positive influence being limited to the first tier of the oil and gas supply chain. To maintain acceptable behaviours in low resource countries, H& S inspector’s unannounced visits should be guided by project life cycle. Policy makers should see the proliferation of self-regulation by multinationals as value addition and not a threat to H & S Laws in Nigeria.

Wajdi Alsalim. University of Bolton, UK. An AI Image Analysis Methodology for Evaluating CO2 Reduction Practices for Smart and Sustainable Cities
Governments and private companies aim to improve environmental sustainability and sustainable development goal performance by collecting vast amounts of environmental data and performing artificial intelligence analysis processes to generate reliable reports and key performance indicators. AI has faced many challenges related to the behaviour of AI algorithms to data being processed and fed to the AI algorithms. If data has limitations or is corrupted, then AI will fail to produce desired outcomes. Another challenge facing AI is its limitation to do one specific task, and this task has to be related to the dataset being processed to serve the learning process. Using Deep Learning image analysis for sustainable buildings and cities has become increasingly prominent in recent years as a means of evaluating and generating data and providing insights for decision makers. The ongoing research in this domain has leveraged multiple types of image analysis. However, although existing approaches enable researchers to acquire retrospective data, they do not enable real-time evaluation. In addition, they are not readily scalable and necessitate the analysis of significant amounts of real time and live images to facilitate more in-depth evaluation. The study outlined in this paper is designed to address these shortcomings by presenting a methodology that facilitates a real-time evaluation of building images; that is, live captured images. The developed solution encompasses a sophisticated character convolutional neural network (CNN) image classifier that is implemented and tested using a dataset consisting of 120,000 building images.  As one branch of AI, neural networks are widely used in data classification, segmentation, and decision making. Using this method improves quality of outcomes and ensures robust data processing. It is an essential tool to be used by researchers, and has the ability to predict data features or systems behaviour.

Motunrayo Gabriel. University of Wolverhampton, UK. A Bibliometric Analysis of Smart Building and Cost Management
Investigations on existing literature regarding ‘Smart Building’ reveals dominant research focus on the technology to support the smartness of a building however, limited research has been done as regards managing smart building projects especially in the aspect of cost management. This paper discusses the relationship that exists between smart building and cost management using a bibliometric approach to detect trends and accentuate the connection of smart buildings and cost management. 417 journal articles on smart buildings from the year 2000 to 2021 and 238 journal articles on Cost management from the year 2000 to 2021 were collected from the web of Science database. The collected papers were then analysed using bibliometric coupling, co-citation, keywords co-occurrence and co-authors. The VOSviewer software was used to conduct this analysis. The keyword co-occurrence analysis showed five main keyword clusters, which are: (i) energy efficiency; (ii) optimisation (iii) performance (iv) internet of things (v) sensors. This Bibliometric analysis showed that researchers pay more attention to “technology” and “energy efficiency”, aspects of smart building and weak links between smart building and (i) cost estimating (ii) cost efficiency (iii) cost performance (iv) cost framework. This suggests a need for further research around cost management in smart buildings to provide the necessary data needed to guide project managers and quantity surveyors towards successful cost-effective design, management, and delivery.

Geeth Jayathilaka. Northumbria University, Newcastle, UK. Technological solutions for Embodied Carbon (EC) estimation in the UK Building Sector: A Systematic Literature review

The construction industry (CI) is well known to be less technological enthusiastic. This is due to the long-due fragmentations and the lack of policies to enforce technology adaptation in CI. EC is a growing concern in the UK building sector and has been frequently discussed in line with the UK government’s 2050 Net-zero Carbon target. Unlike Operational Carbon (OC), the accurate estimation of EC needs more data inputs, policies, and standards from the extended supply-chain actors across the globe. Although various EC estimation tools are available for the building sector such as EC database and calculators, the back-end data used for the estimation are merely secondary data received from current users and Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs). The critics believe that the accuracy of such estimations is in doubt, and this can be rectified if CI focuses more on the adoption of emerging technologies. Accordingly, scholars have started to speculate on the potential of emerging technologies to enhance the data security, transparency, traceability, and accountability of EC estimation in extended construction supply chains. Hence, the purpose of this study is to investigate the state-of-art in the current literature of technology applications in EC estimation of the UK CI. Accordingly, a systematic literature review fuelled by the PRISMA method was adopted to extract relevant literature including Government Reports, Journal Articles and Conference Publication during the last decade. Thereby, this study critically evaluates the UK building sector’s and government contribution towards achieving the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal 13: ‘Climate Action’.

Raviteja Machanuru. Division of Environment Science, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, NewDelhi, India. Fractionation and adsorption studies of Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles in an inceptisol

Titanium is the second most abundant transition metal considered as beneficial element for plant growth. Commercial fertilizers containing Ti have been used as biostimulants for improving crop production. TiO2 NP is considered as the most significant engineered nanoparticle in terms of exposure, based on the estimated releases and applications. The aim of this study is to investigate fractionation and adsorption of titanium (Ti) applied through TiO2 nanoparticles and bulk TiO2. In the present study, it was observed that Freundlich isotherm fitted well for various adsorption parameters. The highest adsorption of titanium was noticed in TiO2 nanoparticles treated soil as compared to bulk TiO2. The desorption of titanium is more for soil treated with bulk TiO2 with all desorbing agents compared to the soil treated with TiO2 nanoparticles indicating that bulk TiO2 is less tightly bound to the soil than TiO2 nanoparticles. On the other hand, the percent distribution of chemical fractions of titanium in soil obtained was in the following order: Residual > organic matter bound > Fe-Mn oxide > Carbonate bound > water soluble and exchangeable both in bulk and nano-TiO2 treatments. It was estimated that more than 75 % of Ti from both the sources were distributed in recalcitrant pools and major portion of the recalcitrant pools remained in residual fraction. Distribution of titanium among various chemical fractions shows their availability to plants. This helps to identify the nano-TiO2 fate, transport, bioavailability and toxicity in the soil environment.

Rakiya Abubakar. University of Salford. Perception of Building Professionals on the Implementation of Living walls in Nigeria.

The negative impact of climate change have led to extreme weather conditions as well as global warming with consequential effect. These impact are experienced in different forms across all of the globe with most devastating effects ravaging the developing countries. Thus various mitigation strategies are being developed as part of global efforts to lessen the impacts of climate change.Living walls are part of the sustainable strategies and concepts employed to improve buildings performance by adding significant amount of green spaces in the urban environment, bringing about numerous benefits ranging from environmental to economic and social. Living walls therefore have the capacity to be used as climate mitigation tool to modify negative environmental issues.  However its implementation is low or non-existent in Nigeria. With the aid of semi-structured interviews, this study aims to uncover the reasons for the low pace of implementation from the point of view of building professionals. This will provide ideas on how to improve and encourage their implementation in Nigeria. The data obtained was thematically analyzed. The findings revealed that Lack of standardization, Building regulations, policies and awareness of sustainable solutions were significant factors minimizing the development and spread of living walls in Nigeria.

Tom Bolton. University of Salford, UK. Detecting Component Degradation Using Deep Active Learning – A Literature Review
In any industrial system, ensuring that the engineered components therein are in working order is essential for the safety of workers and for efficient and cost-effective running. However, due to factors such as stress, deformation, and corrosion, individual components degrade over time, eventually leading to failure. Maintenance programs for repairing or replacing degraded components schedule servicing and repair at set intervals or after a component has failed, by which time safety may have been compromised.
The energy sector and its offshore oil and gas installations are safety-critical environments where a single faulty or degraded component can have consequences that are lethal for the environment and humans alike. For example, in 1998 an explosion on an offshore oil platform killed 167 workers as the result of a blind flange – temporarily and incorrectly installed in place of a safety valve – which allowed gas condensate to leak and subsequently ignite.
Vision-based predictive maintenance could improve safety by assessing the potential for failure of a component in real-time. This involves using artificial intelligence to analyse video of components in the field to recognise and detect degradation in components. Cutting edge use of computer vision research in domains such as medical imaging uses deep learning to analyse and classify images, and active learning to reduce the need for costly manual labelling of data. By combining the two – deep active learning – research shows that labelling cost is reduced as models become more accurate with fewer training data when compared with deep learning alone.Here we present the results of a literature review carried out to identify and critically assess recent publications on active learning, deep learning, and deep active learning for image analysis. This will enable assessment of the state-of-the-art and inform future research into the most promising combinations of techniques that could have practical applications.

Usman Makarfi. University of Salford. Beyond developing framework(s) within the construction and built environment: using UX/UI design concepts to develop and validate a digital prototype application.

Globally, Building Information Modelling (BIM) has solidified its position in bringing efficiency to the construction and built environment. However, the shift to its adoption and implementation has brought distortion to both the business processes and the environment of Small and Medium Firms (SMFs) within the construction and built environment. This is due to their limited understanding of the BIM adoption process and their limited resources to absorb the costs associated with such a shift. Therefore, to understand the BIM adoption process and the key influencing factors, a BIM related framework was developed. Nonetheless, these conceptual and/or theoretical frameworks are often complex to understand, particularly to the end-users. Thus, this paper seeks to leverage the concept of user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) to further develop the framework into a digital prototype application, which has both mobile and web-based versions. The design of the prototype app was achieved through a three-step approach including (i) research and planning, (ii) wireframe design and coding, and (iii) prototype publishing and testing. Additionally, to the primary benefit of the prototype app which is to simplify the complex nature of the framework into a more understandable version, the prototype has also enabled the validation of the framework. The validation process was achieved through a small-scale interview with experts based on criteria such as comprehensiveness, usefulness, feasibility, and generality. Fundamentally, the contributions of this study to the existing body of knowledge are: (i) the theoretical contribution which demonstrates the step-by-step process of using UI/UX methodology to validate a framework. (ii)  the practical contribution which presented a developed prototype application (both mobile and web-based version) of the framework that facilitated the understanding of complex concepts to the end-users.

Abdulmalik Badamasi Abubakar. University of Salford, UK. Integrating Digital Twin to UK AEC Industry towards Optimising Decision Making

Digital twins are proposed as a new technology-driven innovation to assist the design, building, and operation of constructed assets. The developing definitions of digital twins all refer to them as digital or cyber environments that are bidirectionally connected to their physical or real-world counterparts to enable simulation and data-driven decision-making. The United Kingdom (UK) architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry is always looking for the most up-to-date technology for possible solutions because there is a growing demand for high levels of design assurance and confidence in solutions. The aim of this research is to explore how the digital twin may be used in innovative ways to improve decision-making in UK AEC industry. The research utilised Google Forms to develop a structured questionnaire that is used to assess UK construction professionals through convince sample approach. The research used an online survey methodology. It creates a structured questionnaire with Google Forms and utilises a convenient sample approach to assess UK construction professionals. To analyse the questionnaire, the researcher employs descriptive and inferential techniques for data analysis and presentation using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The findings of the research indicated that construction professionals in the UK AEC sector are working with digital twins and are fully aware of the benefits and limitations. They see the usefulness of digital twins in general. Construction professionals and other stakeholders in the UK AEC industry may benefit from the application DT. Given DT’s status as a developing stage, this might potentially be applied to developing countries. This research helps construction professionals and stakeholders develop strategies to improve the use of DT. This research’s key contribution is to aggregate and categorise diverse DT applications in AEC into simply understood categories. The categories might be used as standards in similar research in developing nations.

Nady Dadmehr. École de technologie supérieure, Université du Québec à Montréal. Investigating Digital Transformation Policy to enhance the Canadian Built Environment

The creation and operation of the built environment is central to the environmental and societal issues of today. Digital transformation has been identified in the built environment domain and its benefits have been recognized. To maximize the benefits of digital transformation a structured approach is necessary managing the complexity and challenges of this transformation. A policy framework will enable appropriate approaches to be adopted. Without a roadmap that enables the mechanism of digital transformation, its success is not assured.
The research contributes to the existing knowledge by providing a path towards achieving digital transformation policy in terms of theory. The digital transformation policy has an impact on the economy growth by providing a clear and concise path and focus on a co-evolving transformation and market environment which will be benefits to all stakeholders in the built environment. The research as well can be considered as an example of digital transformation policy globally.
The aim of the research is to redress the issue and provide a framework for digital transformation policy for the Canadian built environment. The objectives of the research enable a critical path to collect and analysis the required information and documentation and structure the policy framework. Following extensive literature review the design science research methodology has been chosen to develop a framework which provides an assisted transition from theory to practice. Through empirical research the approach aims to enhance and define the effectiveness of digital transformation policy implementation in the Canadian built environment.

Sepideh Hajisoltani. Northumbria University, UK. Future of UK City Centres (The Case of Newcastle upon Tyne)
21st century cities operate in new patterns that are radically different from urban models of the 20th century. In the broad context of urban studies, there is a growing focus on future cities and assertion of what new technologies can offer. At the cusp of this change, there is an increasing interest in the study of city centres where these transitions are being played out. The complex interconnections of current social, environmental, political and economic transitions could be at the core of the future of UK city centres. The perceived ability of city centre to traverse disciplinary edges makes it an important subject for many established disciplines and creates the possibility for cross-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary research. This paper aims to critically review the environmental, social, economic and political perspectives of the city centre in Newcastle upon Tyne in the UK in order to provide insights on its future transitions. An improved understanding of these perspectives is critical for developing scenarios for the future of the city centre. While the main data collection continues, there are some indicative aspects of Newcastle Upon Tyne that have been ascertained through pilot data.

Vidya Amarapala. University of Bolton, UK. Opportunities and Challenges in the Development of Off-shore Windfarms: Towards Sustainable Development in Sri Lanka
This paper presents a developed method in selecting offshore wind farm sites considering opportunities and challenges. Data management knowledge is from Sri Lanka. The article is to highlight some of the strengths and weaknesses in the present context and how to win over the weakness while capitalising on strengths. The method examines three main issues, available wind speeds, political constraints, and geographical restrictions. A framework model has been introduced to cover a sequential procedure for the process. It has been estimated that the total offshore wind potential is approximately 92GW, mainly available in the northwest and the southeast offshores of the island. The existing electricity demand of Sri Lanka and what options can be adopted in evacuating a vast quantum of wind energy over the existing electrical grid in the island nation. One of the key subjects discussed in the paper is Green Hydrogen as the most versatile methods of wind energy storage and its commercial value in the energy world. Further, the overall contribution to achieve Net Zero for Sri Lanka and to support the rest of the world to comply with COP26 emission targets. The other logical solution discussed in the paper is the grid connectivity with India and the formation of South Asia Regional Corporation (SARC) grid establishment, which enables free trading of clean energy and to eradicate energy poverty from the less fortunate people from over 20% of the world population. The paper will also present the advantage of the choice of foundation methodology for the wind turbines. The other interesting area would be to appraise the wind speed data analysis, obtained from multiple locations at various heights from 81.5mts down to 20mts. It will cover the importance of maritime movements and naval security operational requirements and measures to achieve an equilibrium in energy, economic activities, and security aspects in the said areas.

Ann Wolter. University of Bolton. Economic and Financial Perspective Feasibility for Future Floating Wind Farms Serving the Sustainable Development Goals

In recent years wind technology has been developing sharply through innovative platforms. Offshore wind technology started to surpass the onshore contenders as they had several advantages in logistical, ecological, capacity, and economic aspects. Many pieces of evidence showed that the floating wind farm technology is increasingly gaining interest with investors and governments and is believed to be the dominant face of future wind energy. Financial and economic aspects are still under development. Socio-economic aspects are a key factor when determining the sustainable feasibility of such technology deployment. This paper analyses the economic impact of a floating wind farm for three different regions, isolated from tourists, non-isolated regions, and industrial areas. Analysis of the value chain combined with the national economy is estimated and compared with industrial regions and with fixed foundation technology. It has been found that the value chain is the lead capability for these technologies and could vary according to the selected site wind data availability for high power generation. Assessment of the economic feasibility was performed considering the internal rate return (IRR), net present value (NPV), and Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE). The analysis covers geographical, economic, and restrictions phases. The results showed that the feasibility is dependent on the windfarm geographical location and the number and size of deployed wind turbines. Cost-effectiveness seems to be directly affected by these factors. Finally, this paper highlighted important aspects such as the feasibility being  high for the offshore floating wind farms which make them an important future technology to be a prime resource for clean energy and supports all efforts to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Eve Blezard. University of Salford, UK. Change, Loss, and Community: Residents’ Narratives of Life on a Social Housing Estate
‘Community’ has continuing relevance in academic inquiry and application within social policy. It is frequently portrayed as a lost idyll that can be retrieved to counteract social decline; thus, it is an important means of examining social change.   Furthermore, community is an interpretative concept; consequently, objective policy constructions of community should be challenged and explored. It is argued that social policy directed towards social housing communities has become detached from the resident experience. Therefore, this study provides a counter-narrative that contributes to a growing body of research that prioritises the resident voice and challenges ineffective social policy.
Fourteen semi-structured interviews have been undertaken with a purposive sample of ten residents on a social housing estate in the North of England. The interviews were transcribed and analysed through a thematic, narrative approach.
The research found that community was constructed through social and community places. These places were valued as a means of facilitating supportive social networks and being central to resident autonomy and ownership. The loss of community spaces contributed to a rise in anti-social behaviour and a decline in social interaction. Subsequently, residents became unable to construct belonging to where they live, affecting their well-being and ability to feel at ‘home’.The findings highlight the exclusion of residents from dialogues about their own homes as a consequence of entrenched meta-narratives about social housing and community. This study provides a counter-narrative that contributes to a growing body of research that prioritises the resident voice and challenges ineffective social policy.

Andréa De Paiva. Fundação Armando Álvares Penteado, São Paulo, Brazil. Learning Landscapes: Using Cognitive Science Insights on Episodic Memorization in the Design of University Spaces
This presentation will describe the proposed interdisciplinary research project which aims to apply findings in cognitive science to investigate the role of universities’ learning landscapes (learning commons). The goal of this project is to investigate if and to what extent these spaces have an impact on episodic memory and to develop approaches to support the application of evidence-based design to learning environments. Questions that inform the project are: To what extent could episodic memory be affected by learning landscapes? Are our memories affected or dependent on where we were when we made an experience? In the current context in which distance-learning options are increasing considerably, this issue becomes even more critical to encourage students to go to campus and have a richer and more immersive experience. To examine such questions, university buildings will be the locus for this investigation that seeks to determine how different environments affect memory about the experiences or ‘episodes’ made in such spaces.
Since the physical environment offers complex multisensory stimuli, the main quality to be explored is contextual variation of visual scenes provided by architecture. Aspects such as visual integration or sectorization of spaces and homogeneity or diversity will be analysed using space-syntax methodology and combined with experiments conducted in real university buildings. In such experiments, not only participants will engage in learning activities and memory tests to measure the effects of different spatial experiences, but also, during the encoding phase, sensors will be used to measure physiological reactions which allows for a subsequent correlation between the environmental settings, the physiological responses, and results on memory tests. This research aims to create a set of approaches to support architects and universities to apply methods and theories from cognitive science into future projects and make science-informed decisions.

Huriye Armağan Doğan. Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania. Aesthetic Perception of Architectural Language: A Case Study of the Modern Movement in Architecture
Aesthetic preferences and the aesthetics of the environment are crucial topics closely related to environmental psychology and the perception of the built environment. According to the Cambridge dictionary, aesthetics is the formal study of the principles of art and beauty. While the definition emphasises the work of art, the perception of aesthetics can be an essential feature for everyday objects, as well as architecture. Even though people might not consciously focus on the aesthetic qualities of the objects in their daily lives, studies suggest that it has an impact on people’s well-being and psychological health (Ulrich, 1984; Kaplan, 1989; Zinsmeister, 2015). Therefore, the liking or disliking that aesthetic can provoke might positively or negatively affect people’s moods. The experience achieved by aesthetics more often involves the individual’s feeling towards the object, and different objects and forms can trigger various sensations for people. When people have a positive feeling attached to a place, it can help them love the place and appreciate its value. When the Modern Movement started to be seen in the architectural sapphires, its focal point was increasing the living standards for the people, which did not necessarily focus on aesthetic qualities or preferences in the first place. Furthermore, it created a new architectural language and aesthetic expression. With the famous quote of Louis Sullivan, “form follows function”, a new era began where aesthetics was not the priority but the consequences of the design. However, aesthetics can provoke the perception of architectural objects, which can be regarded as one of the main issues concerning the modernist heritage. This research aims to assess the impact of aesthetic qualities on the evaluation of the façades of the buildings by performing a social experiment. In this experiment, the aesthetic appreciation and the relationship between complexity and aesthetic preferences were measured.

Mohamed Abdelrahman. Benha University, Egypt. Themes of Wellbeing Associated with Daylighting Practice and Shading Systems in Working Environments
Daylighting conditions throughout an internal space directly impact building occupant health and wellbeing. Various physiological and psychological benefits have been attributed to the presence of daylight in buildings. Data from several field studies have linked access to daylight and the lack of it to improve productivity, mood and wellbeing, lower occurrence of headaches and Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD. Natural light play very important role for improve occupant’s wellbeing by stimulating their circadian physiological functions. In addition, daylight contributes to a psychological need to interact with the outside environment through building façade. Shading system in considered being one of the most preferred strategies to enhance building facade performance. Shading advantages not only limited to protect a building facade from direct sunlight issues, but also to control the amount of natural light in a space. Recommended practices in daylighting design are primarily focused on improving energy efficiency and building occupant comfort rather than on optimising its’ role in enhancing the health and well-being of users. While some of the biological influences associated with the amount of daylight received by building occupants and its’ impact on their stress, level of productivity and sleep quality are well documented, there is a general ambiguity about the concept of wellbeing in the literature and the themes associated with daylighting design along with shading systems in working environment. This review presents a thematic literature review on the impact of daylighting conditions and shading systems on occupant comfort and wellbeing.

Ibrahim Aliyu. University of Salford. Stakeholder Perceptions of Public Participation in Environmental Impact Assessment in the Nigerian Road Construction Sector
Public participation is a vital component of the environmental decision-making process, it plays a significant role in attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) goals. The SDG agenda supports actions to develop sustainable, inclusive, and resilient infrastructure, achieve economic sustainability, and improve environmental protection. The implementation of responsive, inclusive, and effective partnerships in the environmental decision-making process are universal factors that facilitate the achievement of SDG goals in both the Global South and Global North countries. Previous studies have shown, significant progress has been made worldwide in achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) after fifteen years. However, Nigeria and many sub-Saharan countries failed to achieve the MGD goals due to ineffective public and civil society partnership, and poor quality of public participation in the environmental decision-making process. Motivated by this concern, this study explores stakeholder perceptions of public participation in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in three large road infrastructure projects in Nigeria and analyses the extent to which public engagement practices meet the expectations of sustainability frameworks. Using a qualitative case study approach (review of literature and semi-structured interviews), the study undertakes to benchmark public engagement against two conceptualisations: (1) Normative, based on how the EIA goals and policies are achieved (social and individual norms), the extent of influence, and democratic capacity in the decision-making process. (2) Substantive, the extent to which participatory process mitigates negative environmental effects of road projects, in attaining the wider public participation policy objectives, such as environmental sustainability, mitigation of impacts, and economically and socially acceptable proposals. The research finding will be linked to the SDG framework, drawing insights into the effective implementation of sustainable development strategies in sub-Saharan countries.

Tamara Mohammed Almawla. University of Bolton, UK. The Impact of Social Media on Policymakers to Ensure the Development Towards Sustainable Cities, Aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 11
The United Nation Sustainable Development Goals (NSDG) are seventeen that sheds the light on multiple issues such as peace, poverty, energy, sustainable cities, gender equality, water and sanitation, and climate change. Number eleven of the seventeen SDGs is to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. Hence, sustainable cities for human settlements must have sustainable social media that uses Artificial Intelligent (AI) and responds to the society’s main needs. Individuals nowadays continually use social media and many of them are addicted to it. Businesses and policymakers are very eager to take advantage of individual’s engagement on social media such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Snapchat. The growing number of companies is integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) in social media to better connect with individuals, as it performs a lot of great benefits and advantages for the modern days. Theory and development of computer systems able to perform tasks normally requiring human intelligence, such as visual perception, the paper features social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter and Facebook to explore the public discourse about cities in the context of SDG 11. A descriptive quantitative and qualitative analysis is applied in order to analyze the posts and hashtags that include terms referring to the SDG 11.  The results show that there exists a clear impact from environmental crisis and pandemics such as COVID 19 on reflections on social media in regards to the development of sustainable life aspects for humans and consequently affecting the progress in the achievements of the targets of SDG 11. There is a need for a framework for a management system to empower the progress towards the achievement of the United Nations sustainable development goals.

Mwamba Kazadi. University of Bolton, UK. Remote Learning as a Tool to Promote Education in the Drive for Sustainable Communities
The world today is facing a climate change challenge. A considerable amount of carbon dioxide emission worldwide is from people movements. A sustainable community needs to improve key performance indicators contributing to league table positions around the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Remote learning can be supplementary to in-person teaching and can reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by reducing the number of journeys.
The world pandemic Covid-19 gives added impetus to develop high-quality remote learning. Many students face challenges such as integrating family responsibilities and other commitments with rigid teaching timetables. Saving travel time facilitates flexible learning for people with disabilities and permits parents and carers in a busy environment to spend more time with young children, the vulnerable and the elderly. The study aims to investigate the quality of educational videos for remote learning in the built environment. Authoritative definitions suggest teaching should include an appropriate ‘blend’ or balance of face-to-face and online learning. 
The methodology used in this paper is based on the appraisal of existing literature, followed by the concurrent embedded strategy of the triangulation method. It used Interviews with staff and students to determine the potential for better student achievement through remote learning approaches. The paper will appraise the potential for increased application of distance learning. Twenty built environment videos were randomly chosen from the public domain; they typically included those from UK Universities and professional bodies. The quality of videos was scored against twenty-eight criteria from literature. On a 0 to 100 percentage type scale, with 100 being extremely high quality, the mean score for the videos was 37.75%. This result indicates a need to make substantive improvements, though acknowledging much of the video material was produced in the crisis brought on by Covid-19. The conclusions of the research are in development.

Alaeddin Etakali. University of Strathclyde, UK. An ontological risk management model for adopting the Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) through agile lean construction

Purpose: With regard to the Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) report published by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) in 2018, the MMC Definition Framework developed by the Joint Industry Working Group on MMC at the UK Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) in 2019, as well as progresses and challenges recently learned from MMC driven practices, this paper aims to present a new generic ontological model for risk management in adopting the MMC via a methodological interation of agile project management (AMP) and lean construction (LC) in housing projects. Contents: This paper consists of three interconnected parts, including a systematic literature review to clarify the need for agile lean construction (ALC) and risk management (RM) in prctices driven by the MMC; an ontological model for RM in adopting the MMC under ALC oriented controls on people, product and process in housing projects; and a structured discussion on technical essentials of this ALC oriented risk management ontology for practical enhancement in adopting the MMC.
Implications: It is expected that this paper can timely inform both academic research and professional practice in relation to adopting and developing the MMC in housing project delivery across key workstages, which cover design, construction and operation. For academic research into the MMC, this paper initiates the use of ontological approach to RM by integrating ALC controls. For professional practice in housing development, this paper puts forward a ontological RM model that can not only enable ALC integrated project delivery that adopts the MMC but also reflect the need for and requirement on professional competence enhancement in construction risk management and lean construction.

Neil Pickavance. Liverpool John Moores University, UK. Critical reflections on 25 years of using prefabrication and modularisation in UK construction

Over a 25-year period the author undertook, in their role as construction planner at five Tier 1 UK contractors, planning and programme management on new-build construction projects between £0.5M and £100.0M, with many containing elements of offsite manufacturing, prefabrication, and modularisation. Drawing on empirical evidence as a site-based practitioner, this paper reports on the industry’s uncoordinated approach to modern methods of construction between 1995 and 2019, and one that continues to the present day. With a clear aim to provide a reflective account of P&M efficacy in UK construction programme delivery over two-and-a half decades, the study draws authentic experience into a research environment to present an informed contribution to the conversation around offsite manufacturing, prefabrication, and modularisation. Questioning its reputation as a panacea for construction’s productivity challenge due to the application methods in UK construction, the study critically reviews 35 examples of offsite construction programmed and monitored by the author, including precast frames, structural timber frames, prefabricated steel roof trusses, pre-assembled brickwork panels, prefabricated mechanical and electrical service modules (corridors and risers), hotel bathroom pods, fully modular offices, unitised glazed facades, package pumping stations, and attenuation tanks. A lack of expertise is apparent within Government, associated bodies, and professional institutes, when it comes to applying knowledge and learning to the productivity problem via offsite construction in particular.  Offsite manufacturing, prefabrication, and modularisation are used with some degree of success in the construction industry, however inefficiencies are common due to a prevalence of haphazard allocation by UK contractors and, importantly, a common tendency to utilise offsite elements on sections of construction work that possess programme float. The presumption that offsite, prefabrication, and modular is always good all of the time is flawed, creates a false sense of project success, and denies the chance to honestly appraise and maximise its potential.

Mohamed A.tweijeer. University of Strathclyde, UK. Developing the Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) oriented lean construction body of knowledge

Purpose: With regard to the Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) Definition Framework developed by the Joint Industry Working Group on MMC at the UK Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) in 2019, and lessons learned from practices on both lean construction and the MMC, this paper aims to present a new congnative frmework to establish the lean construction body of knowledge (LCBoK) that can enhance professional competence for adopting the MMC in housing projects.
Contents: This paper consists of three interconnected parts, including a systematic literature review to clarify the need for the LCBoK in prctice driven by the MMC; a congnative frmework for establishing the LCBoK that can support knowledge pervasive practice on the MMC in housing project delivery; and a structured discussion on key technical elements of this lean construction oriented congnative frmework to promote evidence based practice (EBP) driven by the LCBoK in housing development.
Implications: It is expected that this paper can timely inform both academic research and professional practice in relation to adopting and developing the MMC in housing project delivery across design and construction. For academic research into the MMC, this paper initiates a new methodology aiming at the EBP underpinned by the LCBoK in housing project delivery. For professional practice in housing development, this paper puts forward a cognitive framework that can not only enable knowledge informed project delivery when the MMC is adopted but also reflect the need for professional competence enhancement in lean construction.

Sara Soliman. University of Salford, UK. Analysing different automation methodologies deployment for enhanced BIMprocess and Lean construction

The design and construction field suffers some problems, construction delays, cash flow problems, coordination issues, quality control, validation, and verification of data. The rise of Building Information Modelling (BIM) became a must to get a better complete project lifecycle and support a culture of continuous improvement. The essential need for additional cost-saving, improved quality, and time-saving drove for BIM and Lean construction integration to enhance the BIM process from the managerial perspective and improve its outcomes. The integration between BIM and Lean developed the construction management by getting all the problems to the surface, analysing activities including value-added and non-added value, and workflow issues. Automation engagement supports the integration between BIM and Lean construction, eliminating all the repetitive work, auto-check for project data to measure its alignment with standards, and providing a critical way of thinking in taking decisions to guarantee the process success. Each enterprise has its manuals and guidelines that align with the global BIM standards as the UK BIM framework. Although auditing the adoption of the standards within the project requires a lot of time and effort, if automation is deployed to auto-check the project and automate the repetitive work, the project outcomes will have additional time-saving, cost-saving, and quality improvement. The paper shall discuss different automation methodologies usage and analyse its effect on BIM and Lean construction results.