Search results

This paper aims to provide an integrated BIM-based approach for quantity take-off for progress payments in the context of high-rise buildings in Vietnam. It tries to find answers for the following questions: (1) When to start the QTO processes to facilitate the contract progress payments? (2) What information is required to measure the quantity of works to estimate contract progress payment (3) What are the challenges to manage (i.e. create, store, update and exploit)? What are the required information for this BIM use? and (4) How to process the information to deliver BIM-based QTO to facilitate contract progress payment?

The paper applied a deductive approach and expert consensus through a Delphi procedure to adapt to current innovation around BIM-based QTO. Starting with a literature review, it then discusses current practices in BIM-based QTO in general and high-rise building projects in particular. Challenges were compiled from the previous studies for references for BIM-based QTO to facilitate contract progress payment for high-rise building projects in Vietnam. A framework was developed considering a standard information management process throughout the construction lifecycle, when the BIM use of this study is delivered. The framework was validated with Delphi technique.

Four major challenges for BIM-based QTO discovered: new types of information required for the BIM model, changes and updates as projects progress, low interoperability between BIM model and estimation software, potentiality of low productivity and accuracy in data entry. Required information for QTO to facilitate progress payments in high-rise building projects include Object Geometric/Appearance Information, Structural Components' Definition and Contextual Information. Trade-offs between “Speed – Level of Detail–Applicable Breadth” and “Quality – Productivity” are proposed to consider the information amount to input at a time when creating/updating BIM objects. Interoperability check needed for creating, authoring/updating processing the BIM model's objects.

This paper is not flawless. The first limitation lies in that the theoretical framework was established only based on desk research and small number of expert judgment. Further primary data collection would be needed to determine exactly how the framework underlies widespread practices. Secondly, this study only discussed the quantity take-off specifically for contract progress payment, but not for other purposes or broader BIM uses. Further research in this field would be of great help in developing a standard protocol for automatic quantity surveying system in Vietnam.

A new theoretical framework for BIM-based QTO validated with Delphi technique to facilitate progress payments for high-rise building projects, considering all information management stages and the phases of information development in the project lifecycle. The framework identified four types of information required for this QTO, detailed considerations for strategies (Library Objects Development, BIM Objects Information Declaration, BIM-based QTO) for better managing the information for this BIM use. Two trade-offs of “Speed – LOD–Applicable Breadth” and “Quality – Productivity” have been proposed for facilitating the strategies and also for enhancing the total efficiency and effectiveness of the QTO process.

The purpose of this study is to develop a building information modelling (BIM)-based mixed reality (MR) application to enhance and facilitate the process of managing bridge inspection and maintenance works remotely from office. It aims to address the ineffective decision-making process on maintenance tasks from the conventional method which relies on documents and 2D drawings on visual inspection. This study targets two key issues: creating a BIM-based model for bridge inspection and maintenance; and developing this model in a MR platform based on Microsoft Hololens.

Literature review is conducted to determine the limitation of MR technology in the construction industry and identify the gaps of integration of BIM and MR for bridge inspection works. A new framework for a greater adoption of integrated BIM and Hololens is proposed. It consists of a bridge information model for inspection and a newly-developed Hololens application named “HoloBridge”. This application contains the functional modules that allow users to check and update the progress of inspection and maintenance. The application has been implemented for an existing bridge in South Korea as the case study.

The results from pilot implementation show that the inspection information management can be enhanced because the inspection database can be systematically captured, stored and managed through BIM-based models. The inspection information in MR environment has been improved in interpretation, visualization and visual interpretation of 3D models because of intuitively interactive in real-time simulation.

The proposed framework through “HoloBridge” application explores the potential of integrating BIM and MR technology by using Hololens. It provides new possibilities for remote inspection of bridge conditions.

This paper aims to Test the capabilities/accuracies of four deep learning pre trained convolutional neural network (CNN) models to detect and classify types of highway cracks, as well as developing a new CNN model to maximize the accuracy at different learning rates.

A sample of 4,663 images of highway cracks were collected and classified into three categories of cracks, namely, “vertical cracks,” “horizontal and vertical cracks” and “diagonal cracks,” subsequently, using “Matlab” to classify the sample to training (70%) and testing (30%) to apply the four deep learning CNN models and compute their accuracies. After that, developing a new deep learning CNN model to maximize the accuracy of detecting and classifying highway cracks and testing the accuracy using three optimization algorithms at different learning rates.

The accuracies result of the four deep learning pre-trained models are above the averages between top-1 and top-5 and the accuracy of classifying and detecting the samples exceeded the top-5 accuracy for the pre-trained AlexNet model around 3% and by 0.2% for the GoogleNet model. The accurate model here is the GoogleNet model as the accuracy is 89.08% and it is higher than AlexNet by 1.26%. While the computed accuracy for the new created deep learning CNN model exceeded all pre-trained models by achieving 97.62% at a learning rate of 0.001 using Adam’s optimization algorithm.

The created deep learning CNN model will enable users (e.g. highway agencies) to scan a long highway and detect types of cracks accurately in a very short time compared to traditional approaches.

A new deep learning CNN-based highway cracks detection was developed based on testing four pre-trained CNN models and analyze the capabilities of each model to maximize the accuracy of the proposed CNN.

Most of 823,000 ethnic Chinese people are living in Southern Vietnam among distinct dialectical groups. Each maintains its own pantheon of gods; the majority worships standardized Thien Hau. The Hakka in Buu Long are the only group that worships the craft-master gods. This difference creates a challenging gap between the subgroups and reveals the unorthodox nature of the Hakka’s traditions. The purpose of this paper is investigate the continuous efforts to achieve “evolving standardization” and solidarity through the charismatic efforts of the local Hakka elites in Buu Long by their liturgical transformation.

The study further discusses the multilateral interaction and hidden discourses by applying Watson’s (1985) theory of standardization and orthodoxy as well as Weller’s (1987) concept of context-based interpretation.

Truthfully, when facing pressures, the Hakka in Southern Vietnam decided to transform their non-standard worship of the craft masters into a more integrative model, the Thien Hau cult, by superimposing the new cult on the original platform without significant changes in either belief or liturgical practice. The performance shows to be the so-called “the caterpillar’s spirit under a butterfly’s might” case.

The transformation reveals that the Hakka are currently in their endless struggles for identity and integration, even getting engaged in a pseudo-standardization.

This Hakka’s bottom-up evolutionary standardization deserves to be responded academically and practically.

The paper begins with a setting of academic discussions by western writers in this area and then moves on to what makes the practical transformation, how does it happen, and what discourses are hidden underneath.

The purpose of this paper is to concern the community festival of a Jing minority village in the China–Vietnam border area. Since it was designated as a national-level Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2006, the festival has undergone many changes. The festival has steadily expanded and evolved, assuming characteristics of globalization. How is the globalized character of the Wanwei festival manifested? What are the forces behind the elevation of this local festival onto the register of national events and how did it turn into an event organized by the township?

The paper is based on the results of the author’s research on the culture of Kinh people in Wanwei from 2000 to the present. From the anthropological approach, the author mainly uses method of participant observation and in-depth interviews. The author has observed the Wanwei communal festival from 2000 to the present, interviewing about 40 villagers in Wanwei in depth, they can be leaders, intellectuals, civil servants, officials or working people.

The paper is a case study of the new aspect of globalization of a village festival. The author argues that globalization can lead to a spread of global flows but in this process of globalization, villagers also want to define the local identity, they reinvent the tradition, rewrite history, create new nuances for the gods with many different purposes. Practicing the current Wanwei village festival is a vivid example of globalization from below and the politics of tradition.

The paper adds a theoretical dimension to current globalization research. The paper also points out the political, economic and social dynamics that govern the transformation of a village festival in particular and the village culture in general in the border areas. The paper is a testament to the dynamism and flexibility of villagers when participating in the current globalization process.

This study aims to uncover apple preference and consumption in Indonesia, to disclose the risk of non-halal contamination of apples and the importance of maintaining the halal integrity of apples along the supply chain and to uncover the impacts of food miles of apples along supply chain segmentation.

This study adopted mixed research methods under a fully mixed sequential dominant status design (QUAN → qual). Data were collected through a survey in some Indonesian provinces (N = 396 respondents). Samples were collected randomly from individual consumers. The qualitative data were collected through interviews with 15 apple traders in Indonesia. Data were analysed using crosstab, chi-square and descriptive analysis.

First, Muslim consumers believe in the risk of chemical treatment of apples because it can affect the halal status of apples. Second, Indonesian consumers consider the importance of halal certification of chemical-treated apples and the additives for apple treatments. Third, the insignificance of domestic apple preference contributes to longer food miles at the first- and middle-mile stages (preference for imported apples). Fourth, apple consumption and shopping distance contribute to the longer food miles problem at the last-mile stage. Fifth, longer food miles have negative impacts, such as emissions and pollution, food loss and waste, food insecurity, financial loss, slow development of the local economy and food unsafety.

This research has implications for the governments, farmers, consumers (society) and business sectors.

This study proposes a framework of food miles under a halal supply chain (halal food miles) to reduce the risk of food miles and improve halal integrity. The findings from this research have theoretical implications for the development of the food mile theory, halal food supply chain and green supply chain.