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The purpose of this paper is to investigate a set of risk-related factors influencing the earned value management (EVM) concept as an assessment technique in evaluating the progress of modern sustainable infrastructure construction projects.

A qualitative research approach has been adopted for identifying risk-related factors influencing EVM concept from a literature review and through interviewing industry personnel, followed by an inductive process to form sets of key factors and their measuring items.

EVM is a common method for assessing project performance. A weakness of this approach is that EVM assessment in its current form does not measure the impact of a number of project performance factors that result from the complexity of modern infrastructure construction projects, and thus does not accurately assess their impact in this performance. This paper discusses and explains a range of potential risk factors to evaluating project performance such as sustainability, stakeholder requirements, communication, procurement strategy, weather, experience of staff, site condition, design issues, financial risk, subcontractor, government requirements and material. In addition, their measuring items were identified.

This research assists projects managers to improve the evaluation process of infrastructure construction performance by incorporating a range of factors likely to impact on that performance and which are not included in current EVM calculations.

This research addresses the need to include in the EVM calculation a range of risk factors affecting the performance of infrastructure projects in Australia and therefore makes this calculation a more reliable tool for assessing project performance.

Freeways in Australia play a significant role in connecting distant communities, shifting freight and strengthening the country’s economy. To meet the growing needs of present and future generations, delivering a socially sustainable road infrastructure that creates generational benefits is essential. However, the existing literature reveals the lack of comprehensive indicators to assess the social sustainability performance of freeway projects. Therefore, this paper aims to identify a critical set of system-specific indicators to evaluate the life cycle social footprint of Australian freeways.

This study conducted 31 interview questionnaire surveys with actively engaged stakeholders involved in various freeway projects around Australia. The data collected was analysed using fuzzy set theory and other statistical approaches.

The study identified 42 critical indicators for assessing the social sustainability performance throughout the life cycle of freeways in the Australian context. For example, stakeholder involvement, reduction of casualty rate due to road accidents, fair remuneration to project workforce and improved accessibility to required services.

The context-specific opinions extracted from the industry experts and the comprehensive set of critical indicators identified would ensure that all the vital aspects of social sustainability are considered throughout the life cycle of Australian freeways in the future, assisting the decision-makers in enhancing the project’s social sustainability performance.

The linguistic explanations associated with the ratings given by the industry experts provide greater insight into the context of the life cycle social sustainability assessment of Australian freeways exclusively.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the state of management practices of existing multi-purpose cyclone shelters (MPCS) facilities across the 16 coastal districts in the country, in the context of an identified need for 5,500 new MPCS facilities in Bangladesh.

A “multi-capitals” framework – a conceptual model for appraising the state of MPCS facilities based on seven forms of capital resources – is adopted.

MPCS facilities are not equitably distributed across the 16 coastal districts to cater to the needs of the highly vulnerable population. Nearly 9 per cent of the existing shelters are unusable in the event of cyclones. Once built, MPCS facilities have no maintenance funding and only around 19 per cent of shelters have a governance mechanism that enables community participation. A strong correlation (r = 0.65) was detected between the availability of maintenance funds and provision for community participation.

The potential of a multi-capitals framework to assess the management practices of existing MPCS facilities in a holistic way was limited by the secondary nature of data on the four forms of capital: built, cultural, financial and political. The significance of the other three forms of capital: human, natural and social and their implications in the context of MPCS facilities are discussed.

If the existing and new MPCS facilities are to become a vital component of disaster management strategies, MPCS governance mechanisms are likely to be enhanced by embracing the principles of community-based facilities management.

The paper introduces the utility of a multi-capitals framework to assess the existing management issues surrounding MPCS facilities and offers potential solutions in the context of developing countries. The value of the framework is in understanding the utility of an MPCS as more than just a facility.

The purpose of this paper is to explore and compare the asset management policies and practices of six Australian states – New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania – to improve understanding of the policy context to best shape policy focus and guidelines. Australian state-wide asset management policies and guidelines are an emergent policy domain, generating a substantial body of knowledge. However, these documents are spread across the layers of government and are therefore largely fragmented and lack coherency.

The comparative study is based on the thematic mapping technique using the Leximancer software.

Asset management policies and guidelines of New South Wales and Victoria have more interconnected themes as compared to other states in Australia. Moreover, based on the findings, New South Wales has covered most of the key concepts in relation to asset management; the remaining five states are yet to develop a comprehensive and integrated approach to asset management policies and guidelines.

This review and its findings have provided a number of directions on which government policies can now be better constructed and assessed. In doing so, the paper contributes to a coherent way forward to satisfy national emergent and ongoing asset management challenges. This paper outlines a rigorous analytical methodology to inform specific policy changes.

This paper provides a basis for further research focused on analyzing the context and processes of asset management guidelines and policies.

The rapidly changing role of capital city airports has placed demands on surrounding infrastructure. The need for infrastructure management and coordination is increasing as airports and cities grow and share common infrastructure frameworks. The purpose of this paper is to document the changing context in Australia, where the privatisation of airports has stimulated considerable land development with resulting pressures on surrounding infrastructure provision. It aims to describe a tool that is being developed to support decision‐making between various stakeholders in the airport region. The use of planning support systems improves both communication and data transfer between stakeholders and provides a foundation for complex decisions on infrastructure.

The research uses a case study approach and focuses on Brisbane International Airport and Brisbane City Council. The research is primarily descriptive and provides an empirical assessment of the challenges of developing and implementing planning support systems as a tool for governance and decision‐making.

The research assesses the challenges in implementing a common data platform for stakeholders. Agency data platforms and models, traditional roles in infrastructure planning, and integrating similar data platforms all provide barriers to sharing a common language. The use of a decision support system has to be shared by all stakeholders with a common platform that can be versatile enough to support scenarios and changing conditions. The use of iPads^® for scenario modelling provides stakeholders the opportunity to interact, compare scenarios and views, and react with the modellers to explore other options.

The research confirms that planning support systems have to be accessible and interactive by their users. The Airport City concept is a new and evolving focus for airport development and will place continuing pressure on infrastructure servicing. A coordinated and efficient approach to infrastructure decision‐making is critical, and an interactive planning support system that can model infrastructure scenarios provides a sound tool for governance.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the key attributes that drive Muslim consumer purchase behavior in the context of imported Western food in Pakistan.

In-depth, semi-structured interviews were used as a data collection tool. In this research, the in-depth interview data were analysed by using the manual content analysis (MCA) technique. Moreover, Leximancer software was used to reanalyse the data to enhance the trustworthiness of the MCA results. A total sample of 43 Muslim consumers from three metropolitan cities in Pakistan participated in the research. The sample comprises professionals, housewives and both college and university students.

Muslim consumers in Pakistan look at both the intrinsic and extrinsic attributes when purchasing imported Western food. The ruling factors explored were product taste, ingredients, freshness, hygiene, brand name and overall product quality. However, product packaging and labeling also play a significant role. Participants were of the view that imported Western food provides a better, unique consumption experience and an opportunity to choose from a wide variety of food options. Interestingly, interview findings reveal that Western food product attributes surpass the Islamic concept of moderate spending, thus convincing Muslim consumers to engage in the consumption of imported Western food.

The presence of imported Western food may improve quality of life by having more opportunities and healthier options for the nation. If the Western food products are stamped Halal or made with Halal ingredients the product has a fair chance of adoption and penetration in the society. Further, it may result in overall health improvements within the society, which is already a major concern in the Pakistani consumer market. Also, food products coming from the Western world induces mindfulness; people are more aware about innovative and useful ingredients that can satisfy their taste buds.

This paper found that Pakistani Muslim consumers are not really concerned about the Islamic concept of moderate spending, and thus, established that Pakistani Muslim consumers are more concerned about product value rather than their Islamic teaching of moderate spending. From a population, with 97 per cent Muslim majority, product packaging and labeling were found to be a dominant and deciding factor, which, in itself, is an interesting finding. Further, established Western brand names help Muslim consumers to recognize products and plays a vital role in their purchase decisions. However, within product labeling, the element of halal ingredients was found to be a deciding factor, but not a leading factor, in purchase decisions.