Productivity Metrics and Its Implementations in Construction Projects: A Case Study of Singapore

Although some studies have used or developed different types of metrics to assess construction productivity in the existing literature, few of them investigated those metrics systematically and the differences between assessment results. This study examined the various types of metrics used in the assessment of the productivity of construction projects. First, a literature review was conducted first to identify prevailing productivity metrics at four levels, namely trade, project, company, and industry. Then, the questionnaire was developed and disseminated to 53 Singapore-based construction companies for data collection. Subsequently, non-parametric statistical tests were conducted to analyze the data collected by the questionnaire. Results showed that the top five metrics in terms of usage frequency and relative importance were “constructability score”, “buildable design score”, “square meter of built-up floor area per man-day”, “square meter per dollar”, and “output per worker.” In addition, results showed that differences existed in the assessment results when productivity metrics at different levels were used to conduct the same measurement. This is the first study to explore the most widely used metrics in productivity assessments of construction projects and investigate possible differences in assessment results. This study could help the authorities to review, evaluate, and modify the productivity metrics used in practice. Thus, this study is beneficial to the practice as well.

Distinguishing the Female Protagonist in Douglas Sirk’s All That Heaven Allows, Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s Ali: Fear Eats the Soul and Todd Haynes’ Far From Heaven

When a movie is remade the primary story changes in order to reflect the social norms of a new audience. Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974) and Far From Heaven (2002) are replicas of the original film All That Heaven Allows from 1955. Each film tackles different issues with the female as the protagonist. Social class, race and homosexuality are at the core of these three films. In this paper, I will discuss all three films and interject how the heroine discovers herself and why she needs to evolve. As each heroine finds herself, she strives to break the monotony that society has constructed for her and by breaking free she discovers what she has been looking for on her own terms. Societal structures barricade our protagonist by creating obstacles for her to move through, like class differences, racial bigotry and love. The female’s journey will be looked at through a critical analysis of each film including its production design, score and lighting. Feminist film theory will help us understand how these generations look at female characters on film. In the next decade, this film may be told through a completely different filter based on the societal norms of what that generation is facing.

Evaluating the Efficiency of Transit-Oriented Development Using Network Slacks-Based Data Envelopment Analysis

The purpose of this research is to evaluate transit-oriented development (TOD) efficiency in Seoul using the network slacks-based measure data envelopment analysis (NSBM DEA) model. The smartcard data and socio-economic data are used to evaluate the transit efficiency of 352 subway station areas in Seoul. To measure the TOD efficiency, the two-stage network is designed with the transit design stage and the transit efficiency stage. The overall efficiency score of each station area is estimated through each score of the stage. The results of the efficiency evaluation by station area indicate that the overall efficiency score average is 0.349, with the transit design score and efficiency score estimated to be 0.453 and 0.245, respectively. The results indicate that the balance of each stage is crucial to achieve an efficient station in the concept of transit efficiency. With the efficiency scores of the 352 subway station areas, the TOD efficiency is also evaluated by the administrative units in Seoul. The results of district analysis reveal that the top 10 efficient administrative units are characterized by both residential and commercial land use. The results indicate that efficiency is found to be good in areas having both residential and commercial characteristics.

Applying Semiotic Theories to Graphic Design Education: An Empirical Study on Poster Design Teaching

<p class="apa">The rationales behind design are dissimilar to those behind art. Establishing an adequate theoretical foundation for conducting design education can facilitate scientising design methods. Thus, from the perspectives of the semiotic theories proposed by Saussure and Peirce, we investigated graphic design curricula by performing teaching experiments, verifying the adequacy of applying these theories to poster design. During the teaching experiment, a matched groups design method was used for assigning 30 students to either an experimental group or a control group. The results of the experiment revealed that compared with the control group students, the experimental group students, who applied the semiotic theories to their poster designs, performed more favourably in image creativity, picture aesthetic, typography, and total poster design score. The posters created by the students were submitted to International Triennial of Ecological Posters ‘the 4th Block’, and a total of 4 creations from the experimental group were accepted. The results of the teaching experiment verify that applying semiotic theories to graphic design curricula facilitates improving student ability to observe objects and cultivating their capability to design posters and reinforce the visual tension in the posters.</p>

Lateralized Brain Damage and Differential Psychological Effects: Parsons, et al., Re-Examined

Parsons, et al. stated that left-hemisphere damage was associated with a Block Design score significantly higher than the Vocabulary score while the converse was true when the right hemisphere was damaged. Parsons, et al.'s use of age-corrected scaled scores to compensate for chronological age differences among Ss seriously compromised findings since age-corrected scores, so used, cause the criteria of measurement to vary from S to S. Re-analysis of published data, with averaged standard scaled scores substituted, failed to confirm reported findings. A further analysis, based on 21 right-hemisphere-damaged and 15 left-hemisphere-damaged head-injured veterans selected on the basis of equivalent chronological ages, similarly failed to confirm reported differences.