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The sociologies of quantification, university rankings, and infrastructure are a loosely connected set of scholarly endeavors. Research in these areas typically examines production of certain types of quantification, their effects, and institutionalization. Despite these commonalities, scholars have noted a lack of conceptual coherence, debates on how to study quantification, a need to examine their socio-epistemological prerequisites, and research that crosses organization and national boundaries. In this paper, I argue that institutional ethnography—an alternative sociology for people—provides a unifying ontology for the sociology of quantification and studies of rankings and metrics in higher education. Institutional ethnography examines socio-epistemological prerequisites of quantification and facilitates a collaborative transnational project due to its focus on the extra local coordination of action. I also share results of the first transnational institutional ethnography of university rankings and related metrics, demonstrating coordinated action across several junctures of what has been called a global university ranking surveillance assemblage.

Monitoring a work of infrastructure allows one to know the state of this and the efficiency of the workers. The follow-up is a work carried out by the auditor, which sails to correspond with the design in planes. It takes fulfillment in the budgeted one and complies with the established times. This work uses classical topography elements, which demand time and money and the implications on the safety issue of non-construction personnel. To avoid this, this project implements a methodology capable of carrying out the task of monitoring civil work. An unmanned aerial vehicle or drone is used, which are small remotely controlled flying devices that in recent years have become an extremely useful tool in activities that human beings cannot perform or that threaten their integrity. For the realization of this work, a drone Quadcopter Phantom 3 Standard is used, responsible for taking photographs; these are loaded in the software Agisoft Metashape Professional that by photogrammetry techniques allows digital processing of images, generating a 3D vision, cloud of dots, digital surface model and distance measurement. By obtaining this information, it is possible to make a match with the work schedule and detect delays or advances in a precise way.

Infrastructure implementation and renovation in cities require work on public roads that impact the daily lives of road users and local population and commerce. Although the study of the impacts of infrastructure works in the researched literature has received various approaches, there is still a shortage of studies that identify the impacts of the implementation of infrastructure on public roads and the importance of each one. This study collaborates with this theme by researching the main impacts caused by infrastructure works on public roads based on extensive and detailed bibliographic research and based on a survey carried out toward residents of the areas impacted by these works, road users, and Brazilian professionals with experience in the concerned field. The results showed that fourteen impacts identified in the literature were considered important by survey respondents, of which seven were considered the most important.

Infrastructure plays a key role in fostering growth and productivity and has been linked to improved earnings, health, and education levels for the poor. Yet Latin America and the Caribbean are currently faced with a dangerous combination of relatively low public and private infrastructure investment. Those investment levels must increase, and it can be done. If Latin American and Caribbean governments are to increase infrastructure investment in politically feasible ways, it is critical that they learn from experience and have an accurate idea of future impacts. This book contributes to this aim by producing what is arguably the most comprehensive privatization impact analysis in the region to date, drawing on an extremely comprehensive dataset.

Over the past several decades, explicit gender biases have given way to more subtle, systemic barriers that continue to hinder true equity. 1 , 2 This study offers a closer examination of how physical workspaces, specifically surgical locker room conditions, can serve as an indirect but impactful form of gender bias in surgery. Despite progress in gender representation, many of these environments have remained largely unchanged, potentially limiting the success and inclusion of women in surgery. 16 , 17 Lim et al. identified poor work environments and a male-dominated culture, including inadequate facilities, as key challenges faced by female surgeons. 2 Similarly, Ferrari et al. cite inadequate infrastructure as a reflection of broader institutional neglect. 1 Both studies warn that inadequate conditions may foster exclusion, reduce job satisfaction, hinder advancement, and increase attrition. [...]a 2022 study at a California academic medical center found that, despite women making up 55% of the OR workforce, they had disproportionately fewer lockers, hygiene facilities, and locker room space than men. [...]this study highlights how physical workspaces, such as locker rooms, can serve as subtle yet impactful barriers to gender equity in surgery.

This study aims to investigate the impact of Internet of Things (IoT) adoption on tourist satisfaction in the Saudi Arabian hotel sector, focusing on the mediating role of Human Resource Management (HRM) capabilities. It examines how internal HR enablers translate technological investments into improved service outcomes. Grounded in the Resource-Based View (RBV), the research utilizes a quantitative approach through a structured questionnaire distributed to hotel staff and guests across major Saudi cities. Structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was employed to test hypothesized relationships among IoT adoption, HRM capabilities, and tourist satisfaction. The findings reveal that IoT adoption significantly enhances tourist satisfaction. HRM capabilities mediate this relationship, although not all direct effects were statistically significant. Key enablers such as Just-in-Time (JIT) training, performance trends, and smart workplace infrastructure contribute meaningfully to developing HRM capabilities, which in turn influence customer satisfaction. Research limitations/implications – The study’s cross-sectional design and use of convenience sampling limit the generalizability of findings. Additionally, relying on selfreported data introduces the possibility of response bias. Future research should consider longitudinal designs and alternative mediating variables. The results emphasize that technological investment alone is insufficient to enhance service quality. Hotel managers must align HR strategies with digital transformation by investing in staff training, adaptability, and digital readiness to unlock the full potential of IoT innovations. This study integrates HRM theory and IoT innovation within the RBV framework, offering a comprehensive model that clarifies the mediating role of human capital in digital transformation. It contributes to the literature by bridging the gap between technological adoption and organizational capabilities in service-intensive industries.

Purpose The purpose of this paper describes the set-up and results of the “futures forum” study. Through different methodological approaches, the future of work and its implications for the future (physical) workplace are explored. What will our office workplace look like in 2025 and how best to support future work, in alignment with the different organisational support services [human resources, information technology (IT), facility management and real estate]? Design/methodology/approach Different stakeholders were involved through different methods. First, a global literature study summed up some of the contemporary views on future directions and future studies. Second, focus groups were held with office end-users and employees of 11 participating organisations. Third, a Delphi study was applied to a multidisciplinary expert group. And finally, results were further developed in a “pre-design” workshop. The “forum” refers to the consortium of private and public partners that supported the study. The research involved large (>1,000 employees) knowledge-based and administrative organisations. Findings The fast-developing digitalisation will have substantial repercussions for work processes and environments. New types of work and work processes are appearing and need to be accommodated. Work will be organised in a more dynamic manner to adapt to the rapid changes in the market. Automation will lead to a continuous decrease of administrative processes which leaves more complex, knowledge-intensive work in organisations. Digitalisation and technology will lead to new ways of working and other necessary capabilities in the organisation with great emphasis on IT and technology-based activities. This dynamic environment brings the demand for an agile response of the support services in the organisation and a work environment that can accommodate changes easily. The main findings centre around eight themes for the future workplace that were considered to be the main, joint priorities of support services. These themes are changes in work, move towards digitalisation, adaptive potential of organisations, liberation of old structures, attract and retain employees, self-employment and self-marketing and future employee needs. Because of the dimensions of the research topic, a broad thematic perspective was applied so a further in-depth exploration might be valuable. The stakeholders that were involved in the data collection were mostly contacted through research partners, which might narrow research findings. Originality/value Many “future studies” have been taken place in the past, and they all apply a different research scope. This study aimed specifically at large office organisations in The Netherlands and on the implications for the future workplace that are to be addressed in a communal way by the organisations’ support services.

Public works spending was an integral component of John F. Kennedy’s fiscal policy. Drawing on a wide range of archival evidence from the Kennedy Presidential Library, we show how the administration worked to pass a $2.5 billion infrastructure bill that would give the presidency unilateral authority in determining where and when those funds would be spent. Contrary to recent accounts that emphasize Kennedy’s role in promoting massive tax cuts in 1963–64, the 1962 Public Works Acceleration Act was a key fiscal instrument that Kennedy advocated prior to the administration’s push for tax reform. Moreover, the public works policy was strictly Keynesian—designed as a proactive countercyclical “stabilizer” that would generate budget deficits in order to make up for slack in a recession. Kennedy’s plan faced stiff resistance in Congress and the history of the law offers important lessons for why infrastructure programs are often disregarded as countercyclical instruments.

This paper summarizes the arguments and counterarguments within the scientific discussion on the issue of misconduct. The purpose of the research is to explore the need for organizational ethics management to promote good governance in the South African Department of Public Works and Infrastructure. Systematization of the literary sources and approaches for solving the problem of misconduct indicates that despite the legislative and institutional frameworks that are implemented, various forms of misconduct persist in the department, the cause of which could be institutional and explored and described in the study. The relevance of this scientific problem decision is that this study intends to promote good governance in one chosen department in South Africa, and the findings may also apply to other government departments. Investigation in the paper is conducted in the following logical sequence: conceptual frameworks of organisational ethics management and good governance are explained, followed by an explanation as to how organisational ethics management can promote good governance; after that, a contextual framework is discussed, exploring various cases of misconduct that impede good governance in the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure. The methodological tools of the research methods were conceptual and document analysis and synthesis. The paper presents the qualitative study results which show few institutional factors, such as lack of audit action plans, absence of funding models, ineffective internal control systems, and lack of compliance. These may be considered factors impeding good governance in the Department. The results show that organisational ethics management needs to incorporate various aspects of ethics into the Department, such as ethics training, code of conduct, establishing an ethics committee, promoting ethical behaviour, and disciplinary measures to combat misconduct and promote good governance. The results of the research could be helpful for other South African government departments to combat misconduct and promote good governance.

During the last decade, Latin American countries have brought about important reforms in infrastructure services based both on private sector participation for enhancing internal efficiency and competition for increasing consumer welfare. Infrastructure services have evolved from monopoly and public ownership setting lacking specific regulations, toward scenarios where private participation prevails, with competition and regulation playing complementary roles. However, even though competition is a pivotal feature in all public service reform processes, a high degree of vertical and horizontal concentration pervades the industrial structure of many countries in the region. Furthermore, mergers and acquisitions taking place in the context of an increasingly global economy, without the appropriate legislation geared at promoting competition and restraining market control, have often led to reduced levels of competition. Competition Policy in Regulated Industries identifies competition problems in infrastructure sectors, discusses legal and structural solutions to them, and provides conceptual and practical approaches for emerging economies. During the last decade, Latin American countries have brought about important reforms in infrastructure services based on both private sector participation for enhancing internal efficiency and competition for increasing consumer welfare. Infrastructure services have evolved from monopoly and public ownership settings lacking specific regulations, toward scenarios where private participation prevails, with competition and regulation playing complementary roles. However, even though competition is a pivotal feature in all public service reform processes, a high degree of vertical and horizontal concentration pervades the industrial structure of many countries in the region. Furthermore, mergers and acquisitions taking place in the context of an increasingly global economy, without the appropriate legislation geared at promoting competition and restraining market control, have often led to reduced levels of competition. Competition Policy in Regulated Industries identifies competition problems in infrastructure sectors, discusses legal and structural solutions to them, and provides conceptual and practical approaches for emerging economies.