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University lecturers who aspire to provide an improved learning experience for their students continually, and be recognised for high quality teaching should embrace a critically reflective practice. Nonetheless, developing as a reflective lecturer is challenging, although there are pedagogical literatures as general guidelines. This study introduces a new pedagogical model of critically reflective practice to simplify the efforts for lecturers and to shorten their journey to becoming effective teachers. A two-phased action research strategy was adopted for the development and validation of the new model. The first phase operationalised the Brookfield's four-lens framework to create a reflective teaching practice model, which was then validated with a case study in the second phase. The model offers a pragmatic blueprint for lecturers to build a career with sustained quality of teaching, which in turn translates into improved learning experiences for students.

Personalising learning is critical for universities to achieving excellence in education. It entails maintaining an education system that is responsive to the learning needs, aptitudes and interests of individual students. Rather than imposing a 'one-size fits all' model, personalising learning is anticipated to ensure that every learner achieves his/her highest potential. Pedagogical literature suggests that learning-oriented assessments that are engaging, authentic and relevant are an effective mode for personalisation. DigiExplanation is a novel approach that requires students to create short digital media to communicate their ideas to ordinary audiences. It offers an opportunity for research-based authentic learning by harnessing digital media that exist outside of their institution and their digital competencies to create personally relevant and interesting resources. The aim of the research was to investigate the effectiveness of digiExplanation driven assessments for improving personalised learning in construction education. A case study approach was adopted in the research. A first-year subject from the construction management degree was chosen as the case, which had a class of 159 students. A new assignment scheme was introduced for which students were required to develop digiExplanations in groups of five. The assessment criteria comprised: rationale for the study; depth and breadth of the discussions for the topic; appropriateness of media used in the discussions; creativity in the use of media (storyboarding); design of digiExplanation; quality of conclusion; and proper acknowledgement of materials used. After the submission deadline, an online survey was conducted with the students to assess how the new assessment approach facilitated personalised learning. Several findings emerged from the study. The digiExplanation based assignment provided similar learning experiences for students with different characteristics concerning their first language, domestic/international student status, work situation and digital competencies. Moreover, the study found that some considerations are more significant than others in designing assessments that can drive personalised learning, which are: personally relevant/interesting, engagement, harnessing internet resources and progressive feedback. The survey findings further suggest that while the new pedagogical approach achieved its intended aim, few students perceived it a cumbersome method as it required more efforts than traditional assignments.

Quality of learning students experience is heavily dependent on the effectiveness of course design. Assessments are a key component in course design and students determine their level of involvement in a learning activity based on whether it is assessed or not. Assessments are therefore a powerful tool that lecturers can utilise to drive learning. However, designing effective assessments to stimulate learning is challenging in the presence of disciplinary, contextual dimensions. A case study approach is adopted to demonstrate how effective integrated assessment schemes may be developed and implemented for construction education. The scheme in the case study amalgamated case-based learning, online quizzes and adaptive eTests to provide a variety of assessments, aligned with lecture topics and contemporary real-word scenarios. It was found that the presence of both formative and summative tasks in the assessment scheme complemented each other, kept students constantly motivated and engaged in learning, and resulted in a good learning experience for them. The study provide evidence, and valuable insights and tips for lecturers in similar degree programs as to how they could modify pedagogical styles in their courses for better learning experiences for students and improved teaching ratings for themselves. Keywords: Pedagogy, Integrated assessment, Case-based learning, Online quiz, Adaptive eLearning

Insulation systems for the floor, roof, and external walls play a prominent role in providing a thermal barrier for the building envelope. Design decisions made for the insulation material type and thickness can alleviate potential impacts on the embodied energy and improve the building thermal performance. This design problem is often addressed using a building information modelling (BIM)-integrated optimisation approach. However, one major weakness that lies in the current studies is that BIM is merely used as the source for design parameters input. This study proposes a BIM-based envelope insulation optimisation design tool using a common software Revit and its extension Dynamo to find the trade-off between the total embodied energy of the insulation system and the thermal performance of the envelope by considering the material type and thickness. In addition, the tool also permits data visualisation in a BIM environment, and automates subsequent material library mapping and instantiates the optimal insulation designs. The framework is tested on a case study based in Sydney, Australia. By analysing sample designs from the Pareto front, it is found that slight improvement in the thermal performance (1.3399 to 1.2112 GJ/m2) would cause the embodied energy to increase by more than 50 times.

Quality learning outcomes are correlated with students’ motivation to learn. Lecturers need to design courses that enthuse, inspire and motivate their students. But, this is a fundamental challenge facing many lecturers. A new motivation-driven learning and teaching model was developed to help lecturers in this regard. Its operationalisation, implementation and evaluation were conducted in a first year course in Construction Management degree through action research. Study findings suggest that the new model can help lecturers to improve overall teaching quality and student learning experience as it facilitates effective course delivery, stimulation of student motivation to learn and improved learning support.

Purpose Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are responsible for one-third of global deaths. Work stress is a major risk factor for CVDs in the workforce. Construction professionals endure excessive work stress, yet their vulnerability to CVDs remains underexplored. The study investigated the prevalence of CVDs among construction professionals and its relationships to job stressors, stress coping methods and socio-demographics.Design/methodology/approach An online survey was conducted among construction professionals in Australia wherein data related to job stressor experiences, stress management methods adopted, and incidents of CVDs were collected. Structural path analysis was conducted to discover associations.Findings Junior level professionals reported higher incidents of angina and heart muscle weakening than others. Statistically significant positive associations were discovered between the reported CVDs, and job stressors such as excessive workload, unpredictable work hours, lack of support, discrimination and work–life conflict and negative stress coping methods such as consuming alcohol and/or drugs, emotional eating and aggression. However, no evidence was found to support the claim that demographic factors such as age and gender were also risk factors for CVDs.Originality/value The workers' compensation system provides financial protection to injured employees. It extends similar protection for work-related illnesses; however, it is more difficult to prove work-related causes for illnesses. The study provides scientific evidence to support the recognition of CVDs among construction professionals as work-related diseases, mediated by work stress.

While the causes of accidents in the construction industry have been extensively studied, severity remains an understudied area. In order to provide more evidence for the currently limited number of empirical investigations on severity, this study analysed 24,764 construction accidents reported during 2002-11 in South Australia. A conceptual model developed through literature uses personal characteristics such as age, experience, gender and language. It also employs work-related factors such as size of organization, project size and location, mechanism of accident and body location of the injury. These were shown to discriminate why some accidents result in only a minor severity while others are fatal. Factors such as time of accident, day of the week and season were not strongly associated with accident severity. When the factors affecting severity of an accident are well understood, preventive measures could be developed specifically to those factors that are at high risk.

Windows account for a significant proportion of the total energy lost in buildings. The interaction of window type, Window-to-Wall Ratio (WWR) scheduled and window placement height influence natural lighting and heat transfer through windows. This is a pressing issue for nontropical regions considering their high emissions and distinct climatic characteristics. A limitation exists in the adoption of common simulation-based optimisation approaches in the literature, which are hardly accessible to practitioners. This article develops a numerical-based window design optimisation model using a common Building Information Modelling (BIM) platform adopted throughout the industry, focusing on nontropical regions of Australia. Three objective functions are proposed; the first objective is to maximise the available daylight, and the other two emphasize undesirable heat transfer through windows in summer and winter. The developed model is tested on a case study located in Sydney, Australia, and a set of Pareto-optimum solutions is obtained. Through the use of the proposed model, energy savings of up to 8.57% are achieved.

PurposeThe construction industry has a poor reputation for an unhealthy lifestyle and a high prevalence of health problems such as obesity, stress and hypertension among construction workers. The review examines the factors influencing the design and delivery of health promotion programs implemented by construction organisations to educate workers and promote a healthy lifestyle. It also identifies gaps in research and practices and proposes directions for future research.Design/methodology/approachA systematic review of 51 relevant journal articles published during 2010–2019 was undertaken to achieve the aim of the study.FindingsThe review reveals 46 different factors grouped into four major themes related to individuals, organisations, industry and the program, influencing the successful implementation of health promotion programs. The top ten most cited factors are cost, time, facilities and resources, transient workforce, delivery method, influence from managers, long working hours, masculine culture, production pressure and interest. The review also found a noticeable lack of studies on implementing health promotion programs in the context of developing countries, small and medium-sized construction organisations, residential sector workers, and construction professionals and female workers.Research limitations/implicationsThe review's scope is limited to research on health promotion programs, and it did not investigate the factors affecting the health of construction workers in construction projects.Practical implicationsA better understanding of various influencing factors present at different decision levels will inform the future implementation of targeted workforce health promotion strategies to foster construction workers' health and well-being.Originality/valueThe review reveals bottlenecks that need to be addressed to successfully implement health promotion programs in the construction industry. It provides new insights that can improve existing health and workplace policies and health promotion programs in the construction industry. Finally, it identifies new research directions in a neglected but crucial area of workers' health and safety management.