Friday, April 5, 2019
Literature review: learning on the internet
literary productions round reading on the meshRESTRICTEDCHAPTER TWOLITREATURE REVIEWLITERATURE ON THE adequate to(p)1. earnings is an important tool in the modern day context. All searches pertaining to either kind of search to ar within the finger tips. at that place by it has become a topic for look intoers to enquiry and write the thesis on coering various aspect of the lucre. Sa d take instairss says that a thorough understanding of, and insight into, previous look for that re posthumouss to a redact is essential for the look of the depicted object, this usu tout ensembley being carry withd by means of critically come offing the extant literature12.My literature review of enquiry pull up stakes be based on mankindations such as theater related text books .E books, articles, journals, halticals, confounds proposals and unpromulgated thesis, pamphlets, round outd continues and other available literature reading resources already published by external auth ors on the respective outcome bea. match Timothy and Ellis they state that the literature review should be structured in following horizontal surfaces. So that I run through use this model in assemble to sequence my literature review.2On the attri plainlyes of a critical literature review Saunders, Mark N. K.1 Rojon, Cline21School of Management, Univer stupefyy of Surrey, Guildford, GU2 7XH, United Kingdom2Department of Psychology School of Management, University of Surrey,Guildford, GU2 7XHUnited Kingdom Achieved by means of critically reviewing the extant literature.12A Systems arise to Conduct anEffective Literature Review in Support of In set upion Systems Research Yair Levy and Timothy J. Ellis tweak School of Computer and Information Sciences,Nova S verbotenheastern University, Florida, USAINTRODUCTION TO THE INTERNET3.There argon plenty of definition can be find on what internet and this what the oxford dictionary says A global estimator profits providing a varie ty of data and confabulation facilities, consisting of interconnected engagements using measuring rodized communication protocols. The definition itself pick outs turn out what it exactly does and also it describes under which conditions it should use. According to Linux instruction project on 2005 describes it as a ne bothrk that is composed of a number of smaller electronic computer networks which connects thousands of networks and hundreds of millions of computers throughout the world. It shows that no barriers on using the internet for whatever kind of a user for the benefit of him or for his organization.4.The internet is a unique exhibition of networks, or a network of networks, that was made likely by scientists with vision to implement a harmonious communication standard. These standards allow computers built by a variety of manufacturers zip on different operational systems to exchange data. The internet, thitherfore, is able to facilitate the communion of r esources among participating organizations, which accept government agencies, preceptal asylums, and private corporations.3 report AND EVOLUTION OF INTERNET5.The Internet has revolutionized the computer and communications world similar nonhing before. The invention of the telegraph, teleph wizard, radio, and computer set the stage for this unprecedented integration of capabilities. The Internet is at once a world-wide broadcasting capability, a mechanism for information dissemination, and a medium for collaboration and interaction between individuals and their computers without calculate for geographic location. The Internet represents cardinal of the nearly successful examples of the benefits of sustained investmentand commitment to enquiry and development of information infrastructure. stem with the early research in packet switching, the government, intentness and academia have been partners in evolving and deploying this exciting spic-and-span technology46.The history of the Internet begins with the development of electronic computers in the 1950s. Initial concepts of packet networking originated in several computer learning laboratories in the United demesnes, Great Britain, and France. The US Department of Defense awarded contracts as early as the 1960s for packet network systems, including the development of theARPANET(which would become the start network to use theInternet Protocol.) The first message was sent over the ARPANET from computer science Professor Leonard Kleinrocks laboratory atUniversity of California, Los Angeles(UCLA) to the second network node atStanford Research Institute(SRI)4.7. Access to the ARPANET was expanded in 1981 when theNational Science Foundation(NSF) funded theComputer Science Network (CSNET). In 1982, theInternet protocol suite(TCP/IP) was introduced as the standard networking protocol on the ARPANET. In the early 1980s the NSF funded the establishment for home(a) supercomputing centers at several universit ies, and provided interconnectivity in 1986 with theNSFNETproject, which also created network access to thesupercomputersites in the United States from research and education organizations. CommercialInternet service providers(ISPs) began to emerge in the late 1980s. The ARPANET was decommissioned in 1990. Private connections to the Internet by commercial entities became general quickly, and the NSFNET was decommissioned in 1995, removing the last restrictions on the use of the Internet to carry commercial traffic4.8.Since the mid-1990s, the Internet has had a naked as a jaybird impact on culture and commerce, including the rise of near-instant communication byelectronic mail,instant messaging,voice over Internet Protocol(VoIP) telephone calls,two-way interactive television system calls, and theWorld Wide Webwith its intervention forums,blogs,social networking, andonline shoppingsites. The research and education community continues to develop and use advanced networks such as NS Fsvery high up speed Backbone Network Service (vBNS),Internet2, andNational LambdaRail. Increasing amounts of data argon transmitted at higher(prenominal) and higher___________________________________________exploring the internet by Clive C. Sanford4http//www.internetsociety.org/internet/what-internet/history-internet/brief-history-internetOrigins(accesed on 03 march 2014)speeds over fiber optic networks run at 1-Gbit/s, 10-Gbit/s, or more. The Internets takeover of the global communication landscape was almost instant in historical terms it only communicated 1% of the information flowing through two-waytelecommunicationsnetworks in the year 1993, already 51% by 2000, and more than 97% of the telecommunicated information by 2007.1Today the Internet continues to grow, driven by ever great amounts of online information, commerce, entertainment, andsocial networking4.9.The Internet has revolutionized the computer and communications world like nothing before. The invention of the t elegraph, telephone, radio, and computer set the stage for this unprecedented integration of capabilities. The Internet is at once a world-wide broadcasting capability, a mechanism for information dissemination, and a medium for collaboration and interaction between individuals and their computers without regard for geographic location.310. The graph below shows how the intricacy of internet from 1996 to 2014. Sri Lanka as a developing country 31mpeople out of hundred use intenet accordind to the cences given by the international telecomunucation union.Internet users per 100 inhabitants SourceInternational Telecommunications Union official IMPACT OF THE INTERNET POSITIVE IMPACT OF THE INTERNET11.Educational achievement is perhaps of secondary importance to many an(prenominal) of the children however, it too seems to be a real advantage. From 10 years of age onwards, there is a pres convinced(predicate) from aim to mend the internet and a sense that access to the internet allows the volitioning student to attain a higher reference of extra information relevant to the subjects.412.This research suggest that it also has a role re-engaging near of the educationally dis busy, as they enjoy the control and fun of working with a PC. It can also enable the academically able to find more relevant information and research more effectively. For most though, who are not particularly interested in schoolwork, they remain uninterested whether they have internet access or not.13.Research close the Internet generally has foc utilize on social effects, such as psychological salutary-being for instance, children are more likely to use the internet when they feel lonely. A schooling by Michigan State University has found that the internet has had a positive effect on reading but not maths. matchless(prenominal) explanation is the internet is a text rich environment with fewer opportunities to foster mathematics or science skills however, both(prenominal) the Inter net and children are changing. Students increasingly use visualization, which can relate to mathematics and science as much as creative writing.414.The internet can facilitate a game like learning environment, which is highly motivating and interesting to students. Unlike in traditional severaliserooms, students do not sit across from the teacher, hold a textbook, and take a final exam. Instead, they can explore new information on the internet like a game combining both the learning journey and entertainment. much research is indispensablenessed in this area as additional online games are built circumstantialally for history, mathematics and science. Gaming has the potential to have a different kind of cognitive impact than traditional learning.15.The internets is more exciting and challenging as a research environment than earlier media because it is a complex virtual, social and physical world that school children participate and co-construct, rather than something that is me rely watched TV or PC. It becomes a complex virtual universe behind a small screen on which developmental necks play out in old and new ways, offering new views in to the thoughts, feelings and behaviours of schoolchildrens. This universe result continue to expand as web-connected cell phones and other new internet applications emerge. Thus, existing theoretical models, research programmes and methodological techniques in developmental psychology are both challenged and stimulated by interactions between offspring and the internet.516.According to the research done by three Japan universities regarding Children and the Internet in Japan, they identified that next-to-last high school students enrolled in the school that use the internet had higher skills for practical use of information compared to students in the school that did not use the internet in its crystallizees. This indicates that internet use in school activities helped in increasing the ability of students to use in formation practically. In this research, they proposed that skills for practical use of information are composed of six sub skills, namely, skill of collections, the skill of judgment, the skill of expression, the skill of processing, the skill of creation, and the skill of communication. In terms of these skills, students in the school that utilise the internet in its classes had particularly better skills of collection, judgment, expression, processing and communication compared to the students enrolled in the school that did not use the Internet in its classes.517.Students possibly will feel tire if they only study from textbook day by day. That is why internet can be computable alternative media to improve students motivation in studying. By using internet as a learning media, students can see relevant pictures or animations, which are related to lesson. Based on some secure researches, students motivation in studying can increase fast if teachers or lectures use pictures or animations in explaining lesson.5 2-1RESTRICTEDUn honest Act Among Contractors Class F in SelangorUnhonorable Act Among Contractors Class F in Selangor1.0 INTRODUCTIONContractors are the in capable entity that agree to construct certain number or amount of goods, material, equipment mortalnel ,or services that meet the requirement of specifications at a mutually price with a specific timeframe with another independent entity call contractee or project owner (Oxford Times). All af rigiders are rated Class F are Bumiputera. According to Article (160(2)) the concept of a bumiputra ethnic group in Malaysia was coined by militant Tunku Abdul Rahman. It recognized the special position of the Malays provided in the Federal Constitution of Malaysia, in particular Article 153. But, the system does not use the term bumiputra it defines only Malay and aborigine (Article 160(2)).This means that the affirmer is Class F Bumiputera contractors and do not need to apply for Recognition of Bumi putera. According to PKK (Pusat Khidmat Kontractor) until 26th June 2010 there are 4210 registered class F contractors in Selangor.A countrys economic system, irrespective mental synthesis industry plays a role in, face industry plays a substantial role in a countrys national economic system (Zantanidis Tsiotras, 1998). Indeed, this sector is an important employer of a nations workforce as it employs between 2% to 10% of total workforce of most countries (Abdul Rashid Hassan, 2005). Malaysia has gained an impressive economic growth during the last three decades (Abdul Rahman et al, 2005) and this sector has employed an estimated 798,200 workforce nationwide in 2004 (CIDB, 2006). The Malaysian regimen has given a much needed boost to the countrys verbal expression industry under the 9th Malaysian proposal where a total of 880 projects worth RM15billion is to be tendered (The Star, 2006). It should be foregrounded that the issue of poor look in the social organization sector has, nevertheless. been identified as a major invade even as far back as the mid 1980s (The Star, 2006). Generally, it is a rule that wind projects must be completed within the planned cost, scheduled time and required gauge. Quality may sometimes be ignored in this industry to cut the costs or to shorten the project time (Turk, 2006). To wad with the low quality problem faced by the industry, quality management is seen as an approach to achieve the required level of quality of the end product and has been given great attention worldwide over the foregone three decades (Hiyassat, 2000 Berawi and Woodhead, 2005). However, there is a perception that majority of quality related issues are caused by human factor. In response to that perception, a study was performed to look into the relationship between lord virtuouss among participants of construction sector and the quality related issues in Malaysian construction sector. It should be noted that for this project of regard, c ontractors and clients are regarded as commerces and they are required to demonstrate a high degree of master copyism in playacting their task, in response to the Governments effort who has introduced the National Integrity Plan to enhance integrity and morals in the nation. Unethical acts of fraud, waste, abuse, and corrupt go fors are what receive prominent treatment in the media worldwide. Such as contrasted gifts, unauthorized earningss, and fiscal infractions are the wrong act problems most noted.The Conference Board in juvenile York reported that the above issues have widespread agreement on each of these issues as being a serious concern among the leaders of the free world, including those in the United States, Canada, Japan, and Australia. Due to the increase of public ken toward the contractor wrong acts and also decreased of public tolerance for wrong-doing, it is important for contractor to focus specifically on the question of how professional moral philosoph y should be incorporated into awareness of individual to energize sure every projects should be completed as standard.The ethical statement can describe the act was even up(a) or wrong, or act with a redress or wrong which it can provide a line of distinction between good and evil of the act or the tendency of a person or at least it can develop guidelines that can be made with various moral considerations(J.L Mackie, 1971). Ethical act are very important because it use to determine the thoughts, actions and behavior of members of the organization to set up their responsibility and trust as an employee. It is also to create statements and coordination between the contractors as a key institution for national development. Ethical act also important to maintain and improve client confidence in the organization, 84% of FMIs respondents said that theyve seen an unethical act committed in the construction industry in the past year is an alarming statistic. Contractors, can take litt le comfort in the probability that incidence of unethical behavior is just as high in other industries these days. FMI had offer four solution and one of the solutions is to stiffer the penalties for those caught in unethical or illegal acts is the least likely to succeed. Secondly, the FMI had suggest to develop an industry-wide code of moral philosophy which these codes of ethical motive need to be enforced in every country. A less formal but corollary solution would hit closer to home. Companies should place more emphasis on social responsibility in their dealings with other firms. This approach is easier said than done, of course, although a few respondents in the survey say they have walked away from projects or companies and suffered short-term consequences as a result. They did not indicate, however, that they regretted their decisions in the long term.Training in ethical conduct is the fourth solution, and its the one that holds the most promise as long as it is match with commitment to these practices from the top ranks of any construction company. The FMI report states that unethical acts can signal a calamity of management to know how to get the job done the right way.1.2 Problem statementDue to many issues in our country regarding construction industry that lead to the unethical act by the contractors in running the projects such as the issue on the Kuala Lumpur Middle Ring Road 2( MRR2 ), Matrade building and also the issue on the Navy Recruit Center. If this ethical issue still going on in our construction industry, it will affect our construction quality. According to the Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu, more than 18,000 contractors and sub-contractors were either gainful late or have yet to receive payment for completed work totaling RM23.7billion since 2000. This is a very broad sum, about 14% of the allocation for development projects under the 9th Malaysia Plan. The verbalism Industry Development Board (CIDB) had carried out a six-month survey on 330 contractors, in which 273 cases of payment problems involving RM877.8mil were reported. Another example for the issue in Malaysian construction industry is the essence Rakyats project. The government will issue a warning notice to the Plaza Rakyat project contractors to continue the project as early as next week, initially, and if defaults, the tender will be forfeited. Minister of Federal Territory and Welfare Commissioner, Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin said, a notice will be given to contractors in a week or two so that they continue construction work.1.3 admit AND OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH.The aim of this research as far as the unethical act among contractors class F in Selangor is concerned, is to identify the effect in the construction quality. These main objectives are broken down to more specific objectives in order to better understand the topic at hand. To achieve the desired aim of the research, there are some of the objectives had been choose for this research.Objectives for this research areAssess the level of professional ethical standards and its practice in the Selangor construction industry,To identify the problems associated to unethical acts in construction industryDetermine the role of professional ethics in improving quality management in construction industry.1.4 Organization of StudyChapter 1 introduces the research topic. It discussed about the unethical acts, definition of contractor, definition of bumiputera, issue related to unethical acts in construction industry problem statement and the objectives that initiated this study.Chapter 2 involves the extensive review of literature relating to the relevant topic of the subject exit of research including the professional ethic and relationship between ethic and construction.Chapter 3 discussed the methodology used in this study. It includes the developed hypothesis and data collection methods. It also includes a brief explanation on the data analysis methods.Chapter 4 reports data analysis and findings of the survey obtained from the findings.Chapter 5 involves detail finding and discussion on the result of survey base on the analysis.Chapter 6 present conclusions and recommendation based on the findings of the study. Key recommendation and their future(a) prospect have been outlined which may assist in future plans to facilitate experience sharing plan in school.CHAPTER 2LITERATURE REVIEW2.0 IntroductionIn this chapter a great extent of literature of relevant concepts are being reviewed in order to get insight of and identify variables which have impact on the objectives of this research. The researches which are done by different scholars and researches will be reviewed.2.1 Quality In Construction IndustryQuality is a measure of excellence or a state of being free from defects, deficiencies, and significant variations, brought about by the strict and consistent love to measurable and verifiable standards to achieve uniform ity of output that satisfies specific customer or user requirements. ISO 8402-1986 standard defines quality as the totality of features and characteristics of a product or service that bears its ability to satisfy express or implied needsSince tribal chiefs, kings, and pharaohs ruled the issues of quality have already existed (Gitlow, 2005). In a project scenario, quality can be defined as meeting the legal, aesthetic (Arditi Gunaydin, 1997) and functional requirements of a project (Berawi, 2006). Customers nowadays place more emphasis on the quality of products rather than the price which was the major concern in the past. Hence, a rapid expansion of international competition in quality has occurred (Tsiotras Gotzamani, 1996 Abdul Rahman Berawi, 2002). In America, the professional societies have prepared codes of ethics since before early twentieth century. These have been incorporated to a great or lesser degree into the regulatory laws of various countries. Such as The Insti tution of Civil Engineers (ICE) in the UK, they have a code of ethics incorporated into its standards of conduct and as for Canadian societies of professional engineers too have such codes of conduct as well (Bowen, P., R. Pearl and A. Akintoye. 2007). Mainly for practical and professional use, codes of ethics are developed for supplementing the building codes and other acts of law. These ethical aspects were considered based on mans natural morals (Darabarek Symotink, 1999).In terms of quality in construction industry, Turk (2006), citing Arditi Gunaydin (1999), mentioned that high quality building project includes factors like the function being easily understandable and applicable, conformity of excogitate with specifications, economics of construction, ease of operation, ease of maintenance and heftiness efficiency. According to S. Fryer, Buro Happold, UK (2007), no matter how clever or elaborate the design of a structure is, any construction project will ultimately be jud ged on the quality of the finished product. Zantanidis Tsiotras (1998) and Abdul Rahman Berawi (2002) mentioned the expectations for quality construction projects will continue to grow rapidly as the number of affluent, educated and quality conscious customers are increasing.With the globalization of economy, construction firms worldwide are actively engaged to achieve internationally accepted quality levels to ensure their position in the emerging international market especially in those developing economies. Thus, the need to have a proper system that ensures quality is critical, coupled with high level of attention paid to quality management in construction industry (Abdul Rahman, Berawi, et al, 2006). Scholars indicate that quality management has been adopted by many countries in their construction industry including Hong Kong (Leung et al, 1999 Au Yu, 1999 and Tang Kam, 1999), Singapore (Low Omar, 1999 and Low Yeo, 1997), Greece (Tsiotras Gotzamani, 1996 and Zantanidis Tsiotras, 1998), Turkey (Turk, 2006), Jordan (Hiyassat, 2000), Saudi Arabia (Bubshait Al Atiq, 1999), Sweeden (Landin, 2000), United States (Chini Valdez, 2003), southernmost Africa (Rwelamilla, 1995) and Malaysia (Chew Chai, 1996). As for Malaysia,we have the code of ethics for contractor which need to be followed by the contractors. In that code of ethic it emphasizes more about the level of professionalism, productivity, and quality. Excellence in the construction industry is very much dictated by the level of efficiency, productivity, quality and professionalism in the saving services. The delivery of construction services is connected directly or closely related integrity of the construction contractors in the performance responsibilities. This aspect has been dealt with when Construction Industry Master Plan (CIMP) 2006-2015 enacted. CIMP has given special emphasis on increasing productivity, image and professionalism in the construction industry as the strategic thrust s of this industry to greater high. For this object CIMP also has proposed legislation Code of ethics to further strengthen the practice of values and moral ethics among contractors in the country in implementation of construction works. Many developers were also fined for not conform to the lodgment Development Act, including not preparing reports on schedule, especially work progress reports every six months (NST, 2010). This quality in our construction industry can be improved if everybody doing their part. For every developer, starting a new hold project is a new business. So, if they understand their responsibility as a developer and follow the agreement, they must complete the projects according to the dates set. According to Michael S. Poles, the quality of the construction can be control by competence supervision. It is the province of the contractor to complete the work covered by his or her contract, in accordance with the authorize plans and specifications. The cont ractor must carefully study the approved plans and specifications and should plan their schedule of operations well ahead of time. If at any time it is discovered that the work which is being done is not in accordance with the approved plans and specifications, the contractor should immediately correct the work. In order to assure that the work being done is in accordance with the approved plans and specifications, the contractor must always supervise, and coordinate of all of the work that need to be completed.2.2 Professional Ethic in Construction IndustryProfession is an occupation that requires both advanced study and mastery of a specialized body of knowledge and underinterpreted to promote, ensure or safeguard some matter that significantly affects others well being (Vee Skitmore, 2003). Almost every profession has its codes of ethics to provide a fabric for arriving at good ethical choices. Therefore, professional ethics is a system of norms to deal with both the piety and behavior of professionals in their day to day practice, and ascribes moral responsibility not to an individual, but to all professionals practicing in a particular profession. For the building and designing professions, the incalculable value of human life demands nothing less than the highest moral considerations from those who might risk it otherwise (Mason, 1998, cited in Vee Skitmore,2003).Professional ethics concerns the moral issues that arise because of the specialiser knowledge that professionals attain, and how the use of this knowledge should be governed when providing a service to the public (Ruth Chadwick, 1998). The construction industry is a perfect environment for ethical dilemmas, with its low price mentality, fierce competition, and paper thin margin (FMI, 2006). Jordan (2005) tell that unethical behavior is taking a growing toll on the reputation of the industry. From a survey conducted by FMI, 63% of the respondents whom are the construction players feel that c onstruction sector is tainted by unethical conducts (FMI, 2006). Surveys conducted by researchers in Australia (Vee Skitmore, 2003) and South Africa (Pearl et al, 2005) identified several unethical conducts and ethical dilemmas in the construction industry such as corruption, negligence, bribery, conflict of interest, bid cutting, under bidding, collusive tendering, cover pricing, frontloading, bid shopping, withdrawal of tender, and payment game. It is evident thatthere exist significant areas of concern pertaining to the ethical conducts practiced by the construction professionals.There are many other efforts taken to increase the ethical standards and integrity among the professionals in construction sectors worldwide. According to Pearl et al (2005), the regulatory professional Acts relating to the built environment professional sector in South Africa were totally overhauled in the late 1990s and a new suite of professional Acts were promulgated in 2000 to enhance the professio nalism. Meanwhile, in America, the Construction Management Association of America (CMAA) has updated its code of ethics to include a wider range of professional services as well as professional services among construction players (CMAA, 2006). A Standard of Professional Conduct to govern the ethical practices in the American civil engineering profession was published by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE, 2007). On the otherhand, Australia has their own codes of tendering to enhance candour and transparency (Ray, 1997).In Malaysia, the government is very serious about improving ethics in both public and private sector. For instance, the construction industry has introduced codes of ethics for contractors to encourage self regulation among the contractor in this sector (The Star, 2006). Stakeholders of construction projects were asked to enforce the existing code of ethics to safeguard the engineers good name (The Star, 2006). The Construction Industry Development Board ( CIDB) of Malaysia also host integrity courses for contractors to promote the importance of integrity and plans to make the course as a pre9requisite for contractors when renewing their registration (The Star, 2006). Finally, the launching of the Construction Industry Master Plan (CIMP) by CIDB in 2004 also had in the master plan an objective to enhance professional ethics in the local construction industry (Construction Industry Master Plan 2006 2015). According to Housing and local anaesthetic Government Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha, 1,345 developers and more than 5,000 directors of such companies involved in problematic projects have been blacklisted because they abandoned trapping projects and also those that were not completed on schedule. They are not only been blacklisted, they also fined for not conforming to the Housing Development Act, including not preparing reports on schedule, especially work progress reports every six months(NST 2010).2.3 kindred between Professi onal Ethic and Quality Related IssuesBesterfield et al (2003) mentioned quality is dependent on ethical behavior, whereby quality and ethics have a common care premise which is to do right things right and it is a proven way to reduce costs, improve competitiveness, and create customer satisfaction. It is evident that lowethical standards among construction professional will lead to quality problem. These issues were highlighted in the media and received great concern of public (Fleddermann, 2004 NST, 2004 and RTM, 2006).As an example, the ethical related case in the construction industry was the leave of the Hyatt Regency Kansas City walkways (Fleddermann, 2004). It is a hotel project in 1970s with walkways suspended over the large atrium. With the intention to save the cost, the subcontractor for the fabrication and hard-on of atrium steel suggested changes in the structure and it was approved by the consulting structural engineer. During the construction, part of the atrium co llapsed and the engineer came out with the report saying that the design was safe and ready to be opened for business in 1980. The tragedy happened one year after the completion of the project during a dancing party in the atrium lobby. Some of the walkways on which people were dancing collapsed onto the crowded atrium floor, leaving more than a hundred people died and almosttwo hundred injuries. Investigation was then conducted by the Missouri Board of Architects, Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors reported that the buffer design was only marginally acceptable to the Kansas City building code where the walkways would only have had somewhat 60% of the capacity required by the code. The situation was even worse in the new design proposed by the steel subcontractor and approved by the engineer. The consultant was found negligence in its investigation of the atrium collapse and places too much reliance on the subcontractor. Therefore, the engineer has been charged for negligen ce, incompetence, and misconduct. Both the engineer and the consultant firm lose license of practicing. This case strongly indicates that unethical behaviour will lead to quality problems and structural failures.In Malaysia, as an example, a newly opened specialist hospital in Johor Bahru was closed delinquent to fungi attack on the equipments and walls (RTM 2006). It was found that many of the hospitals equipments such as oxygen piping and sewerage system are not according to the specifications. This clearly shows the poor ethics of the contractor who failed to do right things right. The contractor was given three months to rectify problems including leaking pipes, broken ceilings and faulty air conditioning ducts (NST, 2004). Another lacking(p) quality of construction project in Malaysia is the RM238 million Middle Ring Road Two (MRR2) fly-by which was closed to traffic after cracks were found in 31 pillars and structural movements were detected (The Sun, 2004). The Government engaged an independent consultant from the United Kingdom to investigate the defects. The independent consultant identified that design deficiencies and wrong(p) anchoring of the columns to the crossbeam were the main cause of the cracks (NST, 2004). Design deficiency is found to be a negligence on the design team and the repair works was then carried out at an estimated cost of RM20 million. Contractors confront dozens of issues, many of which have substantial impact on their own self or organization, as well as others involved in the project. Many decisions have a straight forward answer determined by contract language or budget. Some, however, require entering an indistinct gray zone where the contractor must use best judgment to devise a course of action. Ethical questions raised include what happens when professional codes and regulations lag behind technological innovations what precautions must engineers take when trying to balance the benefits, new technologies bring agai nst risks to public safety, often associated with engineering innovation and what are engineering and corporate responsibilities to the public for failed innovation and should he hold then payments for the benefit of his organization. Often these challenges are managed with little or no preparation or formal guidelines and sometimes with negative results. Engineering ethics is attracting interest in colleges of engineering throughout the world. Therefore, the new technology must address the human being as its central subject and has to be introduced by ethics (Cywinski, Z. 2001). The construction of the new national palace at Jalan Duta, Kuala Lumpur has doubled in a period of four years from RM400 million to RM 811 million. Contracts for the construction were awarded to three companies through direct negotiations instead of open tenders ( NST 2003). Government will focus on overcoming the problem leakage of tenders in the Ninth Malaysia Plan (RMK-9) are exploring the chess opening of tightening conditions of the application to the contractor class F. Entrepreneur and Cooperative Development Minister Datuk Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the conditions were examine for class F contractors license applicant is to ensure that applicants undergo interview, examination, has offices and operations background of the net. The number of contractors has increased dramatically recently that 46.983 of the contractors registered with the Contractor Service Centre (PKK) in the country. Of the total, 35,544 are Class F contractors. The contractors will face intense competition in seeking jobs or contracts, and more disturbing is the number of contractors that own more than the number of contracts offered, especially from the government.CHAPTER 3RESEARCH METHODOLOGY3.0 IntroductionThis section describes the methodology used in conducting this research. It starts by describing the sample selection, research design, variables and hypothesis and continues with the description of t he methods of data collection and data analysis. Finally, some of the limitations and key assumption of the findings are described.Primary source were used to collect data from the sample to prise the perception of respondents toward knowledge management and knowledge sharing, the school culture and work environment, individual barriers and organization barriers toward knowledge sharing. The selected data was time- tried and conclusions were drawn. There are 6 procedures used in completing this study.First, a review of literature was conducted. The review was focused on the emergence of knowledge economy and knowledge management. Then the roles of knowledge sharing were discussed. A further potential barrier toward knowledge sharing was reviewed. Variable which has affected on knowledge sharing was also discussed. The review of literature served as a frame work for the study, and offered incompatible opinions of the authors.Second, a rough draft of the survey instrument and possi ble methods of testing and assessment of variables was done. A questionnaire was tested and validated before implementation reviewed for preventing any bias and avoiding errors. Questionnaire survey is the main research methodology used to achieve the research objectives. Five hundred (500) sets of questionnaires were distributed to oriented respondents in Selangor state by post ,via the internet , by hand. Targeted respondents ranging from consultant firms and contractor personnel within Selangor area .To ensure the reliability of the questionnaire survey, the sample size taken was then compared to match with the sample size recommended by Krejcie and Morgan (Sekaran, 2000 295).Third, a survey was implemented. Questionnaire was sent to the list of all class F contractors which registered under PKK within Selangor area.Fourth, the result of the survey was assessed using Statistical Package for affable Science (SPSS) 15.0 software. The result were tested and presented with illustra tion. Scores were converted into percentage rating and presented in graphical format using excel 2003.Fifth, the conclusion was driven from data analysis and findings. Important points were highlighted and recommendations were given.Research DesignThe research was designed to explore the unethical acts among contractors regarding the issue on the construction quality in Selangor.The data produced from the research was then analyzed so that the following objective could be achieved.The stated hypothesis could be tested and further recommendations could be made with regard to specific focus of this research.To identify areas for further, and more specific areas of researchQuantitative method utilizing survey method is used for gathering information.VariablesVariables are classified into three groups including dependent variables, moderate variables and independent variables.Dependent VariableUnethical act is considered as dependent variable item-by-item VariableContractors and constru ction quality are considered as independent variables.Data CollectionA door-to-door literature review and self administered questionnaire were used to provide an insight to the study. These instruments provide informative ideas on the possible issued experienced by factors affecting perception of respondents about unethical acts will effected the construction qualityThe survey aimed is to target contractor class F in Selangor. The aimed was chosen because of two reasons. Firstly, there are too many contractors class F in Selangor. Secondly, the issues that involved contractor class F are more major in our construction industry and this give the author the possibility to sent the questionnaires to some contractor firm on one to one basis. The author would have preferred a larger sample of respondents to participate in the research, but due to limitation of time, this was not possible.The survey was aimed at the contractors class F in Selangor area. Data were collected from 500 cont ractors selected randomly from different firm and background. Questionnaire was send through mail and respondents were given three weeks to respond before they were send back to the author.3. 4 Research AssumptionsWhen conducting this study a number of assumptions have been made with regards to the literature reviewed and the respondent sample selected. These assumptions are identified as below.The secondary data collected from various resources have been assumed to be valid and based on the research done by authors.The secondary data has been assumed to present public interest as a whole and without any biases.The respondents have responded to the questionnaire without any biasness and to the best of their abilities.Instrumental BiasesIn administrating the questionnaire, there has been a significant degree of biasness that was exercised by researcher. The questionnaire was developed based on the respondents. This minimizes the respondent biasness to a certain level. several(a) sca ling methods were utilized where appropriate to minimize biasness.Sample sizeApproximately 500 contractors were randomly selected from the target population of different firms. The simple random sampling method was utilized in this situation. This was to deter any sample biasness that could have distorted the result. The respondents samples of contractors were surveyed in the Selangor area. The contractors who responded came from various hierarchy levels of different firms.Scaling of QuestionnaireIn order in measure the operationally defined and elements of a variable, the rating scale has been used to elicit responses with regard to the person studied. A number of rating scales techniques and measurements were utilized when administrating questionnaire involving Category scale and Likert scale. ExampleCategory weighing machineWhat is your highest educational qualification?PHD degree Bs degreeMs degree Diploma/STPMKnowledge sharing is fully supported by school administrator.Extreme ly disagree/ Strongly disagree/ Disagree / mark /Strongly Agree/Extremely A
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