Benefits of Community involvement in Construction Literature review

Benefits of Community involvement in Construction - Literature review Example Findings from past studies on community participation have sometimes been applied in a wide range of service sections and types of settlement. It is, therefore, important obtain clarity in such findings. The following sections will look into an overview of community involvement and the findings from previous studies in relation to the effects of community involvement on construction projects and similar developments. Community Participation: An Overview A community’s conceptualization differs between projects, sectors, and regions (Memon, 2004). Typically, a community can be classified in terms of their administrative, social, and resource attributes. For example, legal communities refer to those that have been recognized by the local government, distinguishing a chain of command and arranging laws and codes in terms of political structures. The community members themselves are referred to as the social communities that signify the differentiation between the population based on social, cultural, and economic norms, such as farmers, traders, or local administrators. Finally, geographical communities can be defined by their planning terms as well as natural features and resources, recognizing communal interests (Kumar, 2005). Types of participation with which community members are actively involved in a particular activity can be classified into a number of forms. Passive participation refers to the type of involvement where in individuals who live within the project area participate by being told of future plans or current developments; other than this, they will not have any other contribution. Participation for material incentive is a type of involvement wherein individuals participate because they are paid by food or cash in exchange for their labor in a pre-determined project (Joshi and Moore, 2004). These individuals can also participate by offering a resource, including money or labor, to the set project, thus participation by resource contribution . Next, participation with consultation involves community members being consulted with their ideas and options regarding the decisions that have to be made for the project. Consequently, their views may either be accepted or rejected. People who are involved in interactive participation join external professionals to analyze the given situation; they also help develop action plans and decide for common projects. Finally, spontaneous mobilization enables community members to take their own initiatives that are not influenced by external professionals in order to contribute to the situation. As a result, self-help projects and requests for assistance to other relevant institutions may be carried out. Much of the empirical evidence with regards to the outcomes of projects in which community members are involved in have been based on the research on rural water projects (Prokopy, 2005) as well as from other public service sectors with which participation has been conceptualized as a ty pe of co-production. With this, citizens contribute their input to services which are typically and exclusively generated by public agencies. Support for community involvement has been evident in different sectors and one perceived reason for such is that social change, including the development of new habits and skills, or realizations of the service’

(Annotated Bibliography) Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

(Annotated Bibliography) - Research Paper Example The design is done regularly and it needs step by step process. The design defines the specifications, plans, parameters, activities, processes and how and what to do within legal, social, environmental, safety and economic constraints in achieving an objective. An example is Wright brother’s aircraft, it did not fly well for the first time and they started again and they solved the significant problems of controlling the airplane rising motion. According to the author, the solution of a problem does not appear suddenly from nowhere (Khandani 2005). To get a comprehensive solution to a design, a methodology is required. The article informs the process of design by explaining five steps that are usually applied in design. These are defining the problem, collecting required information, generating multiple solutions, analyzing the selected solutions and testing and implementation of the solution. Bad designs sometimes occur, but until the machine is build and tested so as to kno w the problem and difficulties that might be faced. The article is unique from others because it argues that to get a solution, you must first try and a process needs to be followed in order to arrive at a solution. In comparison to other sources, the source provides information about mechanical engineering required design for the machines in order to be efficient. In contrast it explains that solving a design problem is normally an iterative process: As the solution to a design problem evolves, an engineer will end up continually refining the design. Rolf Faste. The Human Challenge in Engineering Design. TEMPUS Publications. Engng Ed. Vol. 17, Nos. 4 and 5, pp. 327- 331, 2001 Changes in the design technology over a period of time have transformed the nature of the products (Faste, 2001). The changes in design have enabled the globalization of free enterprise economics. The design of products and manufacturing has become international activities lately. Overtime, the products in the manufacturing industries have changed due to new design and manufacturing strategies. The design has changed the consumer products in US, for example automobiles, household appliances, TVs and telephones have changed tremendously. Currently, the design and manufacturing should contend with the utility that is complex and unfolds with time (Faste, 2001). This has solved the current problems because in the recent time, designers are designing behaviors and experiences for people, this shows that the work of the engineers has entangled in the recent times. The application of computer aided programs in design have compressed the development cycle to a situation where concurrent interdisciplinary design must be used (Faste, 2001). Design technology is evolving very fast such that traditional techniques are not in a position of anticipating what need to be done next. The involvement of computer aided programs has made the work of the architects and designers since there are software†™s that have been developed to make design easy. The total result of these changes is that engineering should be involved in the entire process of product design to its full extend. The article is unique from others because it explains three things that must be present for a product to be designed successfully; these are utility, usability, and meaning. The author argues that the change in the technology has significantly transformed the nature of the products. In contrast to other sources, the article provides information that manufacturing and