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Construction workers are exposed to a range of stressors that lead to mental ill-health. In a multicultural construction workplace, the interactions between workers with different cultural backgrounds may aggravate mental health issues. Existing studies on coping typically focus on a reactive approach to managing stressors in the absence of cultural-related factors. This approach is inadequate in addressing mental health issues in a culturally diverse construction workplace. This paper presents a critical review that synthesizes and analyses theories and models of stress and coping, proactive coping, occupational stress, acculturative stress, and intercultural competence to develop a conceptual model for managing mental health in a multicultural construction workforce. The proposed model relies upon a positive coping mechanism, i.e., intercultural coping, to manage stressful events during the entire coping process in a multicultural workplace, towards achieving sustained good mental health. The proposed conceptual model contributes to the development of coping theories and positive psychology approaches and provides effective coping strategies to enhance psychological well-being in a multicultural context.

During the pandemic, our needs and expectations of our housing stock rapidly expanded to cope with demands of lockdowns, working from home and restricted access to other neighbourhoods. Empirical studies over the last few years indicate how concepts such as multifunctionality, responsiveness, social connectivity and localisation became critical. In many cases, the pandemic deepened existing housing-related inequities. Households already struggling with lower incomes found themselves contending with even more challenges: constrained spaces, inadequate heating and the noise of neighbours. Given the strong link between housing and health, there is an urgent need to understand the ability of our current housing stock to meet the demands of such 'shocks'. Of particular importance is the concept of resilience in housing systems. Resilience has become ubiquitous in policy discourse but is underdeveloped and undertheorised. We thus use actor-network theory (ANT) concepts to develop a multi-level conceptualisation of resilience, arguing that 'housing resilience' unfolds on five levels: resilience within an individual dwelling, within housing supply, within the housing supply chain, between dwellings and communities and between dwellings and the natural environment. We then demonstrated the robustness of this conceptualisation by mobilising it as a lens for an analysis, starting with 11 state-level housing policies in Australia. We selected the 'best practice' housing policy with the most extensive reference to resilience. We then evidenced how our multi-level conceptualisation allows us to identify critical gaps even in this 'exemplar' housing policy, interrogate its structure and prioritise future action plans.

Traditionally, construction and demolition waste (CDW) materials have been considered to be unwanted, surplus, or wastage materials or materials with zero value. Such a conceptualisation only embraces a negative aspect, which underpins the disposal of reusable and recyclable CDW materials in landfills, thus damaging the circular economy and the environment. The scope of this research was to conceptualise the circular economy potential of non-hazardous construction and demolition waste, which can be used as a resource for advancing the circular economy and sustainability in the built environment. Thus, the abbreviation ‘CEPCDR’ is used for this purpose. The study employs an integrative literature review to understand in depth whether the rationale in the existing CDW definitions advocates for the circular economy. Instead, the literature showed that the current definitions mainly support quantitative, economic, or classification needs, respectively. That is because they lack consideration of the dynamic nature of CDW materials, which embraces the spatial and temporal dimensions. The former involves the geographic context in which the CDW phenomenon eventuates, while the latter concerns the lifecycle of materials. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by conceptualising the CEPCDR using a holistic approach that includes five dimensions: the social, economic, environmental, spatial, and temporal perspectives. Furthermore, the study seeks to drive future research in measuring the CEPCDR.

Studies show that BIM has compelling benefits for work health and safety performance. Its capabilities for visualisation, information management, collaboration and simulation make it a powerful enabler for enhancing training, hazard identification, risk management and site monitoring. However, BIM adoption is inconsistent, even in advanced countries such as the United Kingdom, Finland and Singapore. While significant work has been conducted on technical, organisational and cultural features of BIM solutions, there is a lack of literature on conceptual and empirical studies on government policy that could strengthen BIM adoption. Our study investigated the Australian policy landscape to encourage widespread BIM adoption for improved work health and safety performance. This study had two research questions: (1) To what extent does the Australian policy landscape support the adoption of BIM for work health and safety? (2) What changes can be made to the policy landscape to better support the adoption of BIM for work health and safety? This study employed interpretivism and in-depth qualitative methods. We addressed the first research question with an explanatory model comprising 19 interrelated barriers, and the second with another explanatory model showing diverse strategies across six interrelated types of policy instruments, leading to outcomes that strengthen BIM adoption.

The paper presents an analysis of collaborative processes in delivering mixed-use housing developments, with a focus on the adoption and roles of digital collaboration to address complex challenges. Extending the collaborative practice (CP) model, the research utilises a qualitative approach and an instrumental case study involving nine semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders from an award-winning mixed-use housing development in Australia. The study identifies key collaboration elements, such as early project establishment, a well-defined brief, and an adaptive integrated digital plan relevant to the interdisciplinary team. The scarcity of successful “extreme” mixed-use cases globally highlights the need for a core conceptual model for collaboration in complex housing developments, focused on digital collaboration, to support future projects in the sector. The research emphasises social innovation in mixed-use housing developments and highlights the importance of effective digital collaboration for addressing environmental, economic, and social sustainability needs. Contributions to the field extend both theoretical and empirical aspects of the CP model, critically exploring the potential of digital collaboration in mixed-use housing projects. The findings reveal critical elements for establishing a digital collaboration plan, leveraging technology to enhance stakeholder experiences and project delivery. The research is especially relevant in the post-COVID era, where digital collaboration gains significance for the industry.

For the past two decades, researchers and policy makers have known very little about conditions within Australia’s housing stock due to a lack of systematic and reliable data. In 2022, a collaboration of Australian universities and researchers commissioned a large survey of 22,550 private rental, social rental and homeowner households to build a data infrastructure on the household and demographic characteristics, housing quality and conditions in the Australian housing stock. This is the third and largest instalment in a national series of housing conditions data infrastructures.

Increasing demands for quality and cost improvements as well as the revolution in global logistics has brought research on construction supply chain management to the forefront. With international contributors providing interdisciplinary perspectives, this volume provides a comprehensive review of CSCM methodologies and presents leading examples of best practices. Keeping pace with advances in the field, the book addresses major areas of concern, including management of production operations, organizational arrangements and contracts, and the use of information technology.

While Off-site construction has emerged recently, its benefits have long been proved worldwide. Many hold that Off-site construction is re-structuring the industry, its supply chain and setting supplementary standards. Although stakeholder theory is prevailing in project management research, there is still a lack of in-depth research upon patterns of interrelationship and communication among Off-site construction stakeholders. Given that in Off-site construction project-based organisations are multi-level structures, stakeholders interact with each other not only within-level but also cross-level. To facilitate the adoption and diffusion of Off-site construction, there is a need to address patterns and find out the optimal mechanism for promoting inter-collaboration. Social Network Analysis is presented as a holistic approach to meet that need in a more quantitative and unambiguous way. Based on a critique of Off-site construction literature and Social Network Analysis theory, a conceptual framework is also proposed for Off-site construction stakeholder research themes and corresponding methodology. The aim of this paper is to contribute to a sound theoretical foundation for the development of a social network model and the understanding of the complex of connection and relationship among Off-site construction stakeholders.

Alcohol consumption is a major public health problem. Its socially engrained nature adds complexity to designing successful reduction approaches. Rather than implementing another intervention, we will undertake a natural experiment on the \"sober curious\" movement, which gained momentum through social media influencers promoting the idea of reducing alcohol consumption for wellness. We focus on ways to reduce alcohol consumption, through sober curiosity, with 4 heavy-drinking population groups: male construction workers; lesbian, gay, or bisexual women; hospitality workers; and tertiary education students. Aim 1 analyzes the sober curious movement from the \"supply side\" using qualitative interviews with sober curious stakeholders and a citizen science study of social media content with the 4 case study groups. We will also undertake citizen science and social media studies with a representative sample of the population. Aim 2 examines the sober curious movement from the \"demand side\" using qualitative interviews with the 4 case study groups to investigate their knowledge and attitudes toward sober curiosity. We will also undertake a representative national survey and ethnography with a representative sample of the population. For aim 3, we will develop evidence-based interventions leveraging sober curiosity and using citizens' juries, industry symposia, and policy symposia to develop feasible public health measures and options tailored to the needs of the 4 case study groups. The project involves 3 stages. Stage 1 will examine the supply side of alcohol-free products. A social media analysis of marketing by alcohol-free producers and distributors will generate an understanding of their techniques and population groups they target. In-depth interviews with producers will create evidence on the intentions behind making alcohol-free products available, their target market, and if and how they balance providing nonalcoholic products alongside alcohol. Stage 2 will be a qualitative study with 4 case study groups with high alcohol consumption: male construction workers; lesbian, gay, or bisexual women; hospitality workers; and tertiary education students. This stage will provide a deep understanding of the reasons for alcohol consumption, potential for alcohol-free product use, and possible interventions to sustainably reduce consumption. Stage 3 will involve deliberative symposia with non-alcoholic beverage producers and distributors, representatives from our case study groups, public health professionals, and policy makers to develop co-designed interventions for alcohol reduction. This 3-year research protocol was funded by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council via their Ideas Grants funding scheme (grant ID GNT2038211). The study will commence in July 2025. Human Research Ethics Committee approval has been granted. Our study will provide a template for interventions designed to enable reduced drinking within heavy-drinking social worlds with huge potential for scalability of knowledge, expanding the economic, environmental, social, and cultural benefits within and across Australia and internationally. PRR1-10.2196/72631.

Stress is a recognised feature of the project managers' life. Projects are becoming more complex with the uncertainty in the system contributing to the lack of control and added stress. This study explores a microcosm of 25 project managers in the South Australian construction industry, their perceived level of uncertainty and stress. The project managers interviewed provide their views on what their key stressors were and the mechanisms they use to manage effectively their stress. The results showed that structural, technical and directional complexity of projects was high, but this did not always convert into more stress for the project managers. The results indicate that stressors like the lack of resources; lack of control and increasing accountability were project managers' primary concerns. Coping strategies included optimism, applying emotional intelligence and active planning strategies. In addition, they reduced their stress by working with good teams, using theirs and their team's experience, implementing sound systems and processes and effectively researching and gathering information.