Residents’ satisfaction on the use of green infrastructure at Osogbo, Osun State, Southwestern Nigeria

Uncontrolled urbanization particularly in developing cities has exerted enormous pressure on green infrastructure which has led to their conscious and unconscious conversion to other land uses. This study investigates the residents’ satisfaction and awareness on the use of green infrastructure (GI) with a view to creating a functional environment. Primary data were obtained from field observations where 166 pretested questionnaires were administered in a stratified random sampling manner on the respondents while secondary data were obtained from conventional sources. Data analysis made use of computations of the Residents’ Satisfaction Index (RSI) and principal component analysis. Results revealed that RSI was highest at 2.60; lowest at 1.93 and average at 2.29 while the deviations from the mean of the highest and the lowest RSI were +0.31 and -0.04. The factor analysis generated four (4) underlying dimensions of the respondents’ view on GI, which made good conceptual sense and explained a total variable of 72.24% of the observed variance. The factors on GI were named as; awareness (27.8%), management (19.98%), provision (13.34%) and type (11.12%). The planning implication is that efforts should be made to increase residents’ satisfaction on variables with low RSI on GI to promote recreation, environmental awareness, beauty, flood reduction and the fight against climate change to uphold an environment that is in harmony with nature.

Assessment of barriers to Risk Management (RM) implementation in small construction projects in Nigeria

Managing project risk in construction is becoming increasingly critical for ensuring that project objectives are met effectively. Due to the innate characteristics of small construction projects, they are prone to more risks as they face more challenges than the large ones. However, previous studies indicated that the Small and Medium Companies (SMCs) mainly contracting small projects did not attach adequate importance to Risk Management (RM) in small projects. This study investigates the implementation of RM in small construction projects in Nigeria in terms of barriers to its implementation and measures for overcoming them. A structured questionnaire was developed and used to collect data from construction managers. The data were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings revealed that lack of knowledge and experience, tight schedules and cost of project are the major barriers to RM in Nigeria. It was seen that contractors bid for projects without RM implementation which in turn affects their profit margin. More so, the attitude of construction participants is another problem to risk management. Increases in understanding of the concept of RM by managers is viewed as the most effective measure for overcoming lack of implementation of RM in small projects in Nigeria.

Macroeconomic fluctuations and event centres’ return dynamics in Akure commercial property market, Nigeria

This study explores the influence of selected macroeconomic variables on the event centres' return as an investment property in Akure between the period of 2005 and 2014. As at the time of this research, there are twenty-four (24) event centres situated at various locations in Akure. Twenty-four (24) wellstructured questionnaires were administered on the managers of event centres in Akure, out of which eighteen (18) were appropriately filled and returned, and analyzed using econometric analysis (Multiple Regression models). The result of the coefficient of determination (R2) establishes that the considered macroeconomic variables account for 97.5% of the variation in event centres‟ return. However, the regression coefficient reveals that inflation rate and exchange rate have significant effects on event centres returns with p-values of 0.019 and 0.043 respectively. A unit change in these variables will result in 69.5% and 21% changes in the event centre‟s return respectively. While there is an inverse relationship between event centre returns and rate, it shows a direct relationship with the exchange rate. This study concludes that the Nigerian macro-economy influences the return of her specialized real estate investment with trading potentials as shown through the findings of this research. It is therefore recommended that Government should ensure that the macroeconomic variables are monitored so as to ensure stability in property construction, sales and rental price, as these can influence the performance of property market as well as the nation's economy.

An assessment of multi-skilling in addressing skills shortage in Nigerian construction firms

The construction industry in Nigeria is largely driven by activities of skilled labour or craftsmen as most of the construction activities are carried out manually. However, the Nigerian building construction firms are challenged by shortage of skilled manpower. This study assessed multi-skilling practice in building construction with a view to bridge skills shortage in the building construction firms. This study identified specific skills shortage and responsible factors, assessed the practice of multi-skilling, identified the impact of multi-skilling, identified impediments and ways of enhancing multiskilling in the building construction firms. The study utilized a population of 170 building construction firms registered in Abuja with updated remittance to the Industrial Training Fund (ITF). Simple random sampling was used in selecting 140 sampled firms. Two sets of questionnaires were administered to the most senior professional and craftsman in each of the 140 firms sampled. Data obtained was analysed with statistical tools: Means, Percentages, and standard deviation and results were presented in charts and tables. The major findings in this study revealed that respondents (professionals and craftsmen) admitted shortage of Masonry, Plumbing, and Painting skills. “Poor Apprenticeship Schemes” was unanimously agreed by respondents to be the most important factor responsible for skills shortage with mean of 3.94 and 3.74 as ranked by professionals and craftsmen respectively. The study also revealed that multi-skilling is only slightly (48%) practiced among professionals while some of the craftsmen possess and practice skills other than their traditional area of competence. The study showed that professionals and craftsmen admitted that “Work Force Saving” (Mean = 3.83 and Mean = 4.13 respectively) is the most important impact of multi-skilling. Findings on impediments to multi-skilling revealed that “high cost of training” (Mean = 3.78) and “complexity of management” (Mean = 3.51) are the major impediments. “Training and Retraining of workers” (Mean = 4.14) and management's decision to multi-skill” (Mean = 3.90) were ranked highest as ways of enhancing the practice of multi-skilling. The research therefore concludes that “Workforce Saving” attribute of the concept of multi-skilling is an antidote to skills shortage in the building construction industry in Nigeria. Therefore, study recommends that construction firms should adopt multiskilling with sustainable implementation strategies in order to bridge skills shortage.

Prevalence of leadership and management features amongst construction project managers in the UAE

Leaders and managers are different, and their traits are also different. Construction project managers (CPMs), as leaders, often provide vision and direction on how projects should be executed. CPMs, as managers, also plan and control the delivery of projects. CPMs are, therefore, expected to have both leadership and management abilities. Little attention has, however, been paid to the relative prevalence of the management and leadership attributes among CPMs. This research, thus, aimed at investigating the relative prevalence of the leadership and management traits of CPMs. The research was undertaken in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where selected CPMs were asked to evaluate themselves in terms of 13 comparative „leadership versus management‟ features. Analysis of the data collected by means of descriptive and inferential statistics generally showed an overwhelming dominance of the leadership traits over their management counterparts. The respondents in this regard, felt that they possessed leadership qualities such as being creative, inspiring, trusting and passionate. This suggests that more of the CPMs who were surveyed have prevalent leadership traits. The study, which has identified current CPMs who are potential leaders, contributes to knowledge on how contractors and other organisations can systematically identify potential leaders of their entities.