Purpose: – The purpose of this study is to explore environmental attitudes and how such attitudes, when combined with a specific cost, can affect environmental behavior. Environmental attitudes are important to study due to the rising belief by building occupants that they are owed safe, healthy, environmentally responsible, and comfortable living environments. Universities around the world are responding to such demands as the majority of prospective college students and their parents claim that the environmental record is a determining factor in their selection of a university. Therefore, this study examines the environmental responsibility levels of a sample student population and to explore how these scores, along with gender, impact their willingness to pay for studying and living in green buildings.Design/methodology/approach: – An online survey consisting of three parts was administered to undergraduate university students to measure environmental responsibility, willingness to pay and demographic variables. Statistical analyses including ANOVA,t-tests and correlation were conducted to explore relationships among variables.Findings: – Results of statistical analyses show a direct correlation between environmental responsibility and willingness to pay for green buildings, as defined by a leading green building assessment system. Results also show that female students are more environmentally responsible than males.Practical implications: – Successful generalizations of the findings of this research may lead to better marketing of green buildings to the general public.Originality/value: – Findings present a unique opportunity for university administrations to develop more focused messages when communicating their environmental record with current and potential students.

The emergence of construction 5.0 marks a shift toward a human-centric approach to digitization within the construction industry. Along with diverse digital innovations related to this shift, blockchain technology offers vast opportunities for the construction industry, including streamlining project management processes, enhancing transparency in payment processes, and improving contract administration. This paper systematically reviews 109 articles using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol to examine the applications of blockchain in construction, identifying twenty-three topics across eight thematic areas. These areas were further mapped using VOSviewer Online version 1.2.3 to identify interrelationships among the themes and highlight their broad impact. Key features like immutability, security, transparency, and traceability show promise in contract administration, supply chain logistics, facilities management, and sustainability. However, the study also describes the challenges of adopting blockchain in construction, emphasizing the need for enhanced stakeholder education, improved regulatory frameworks, and the creation of industry-specific blockchain platforms to support its acceptance in the construction industry. Emphasizing emerging blockchain applications and the adoption challenges equips researchers and practitioners with the knowledge of these applications and their significance to construction practices.

The COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted many industries on a global scale. Expectedly, the construction industry was not left out as non-essential construction was halted, strict health and safety protocols were introduced, and businesses were disrupted. New York City was the epicenter of the pandemic at its onset in the United States, and the pandemic had different impacts on workers based on their work location and role. This study utilized a survey including twenty-five statements to explore the initial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the construction industry in New York State, analyzing its effects on sixty-one construction industry professionals, their projects, and firms, also considering their work location and role in the construction process. The most severe impacts were on construction schedules and in-person meetings. Those who worked in New York City had more difficulty complying with the increased health and safety regulations than those who worked outside the city. Those categorized as builders indicated significantly more contract performance issues. Furthermore, a set of recommendations were highlighted to strengthen the industry’s response to future similar disruptions. This study is significant in helping researchers and businesses build more resilient operations to address current and future pandemic-related challenges facing the construction industry.

Universities around the world are focusing more on sustainability, not only in their academic education but also in the overall administration of their campuses. Sustainability is becoming more important for both students and the employers hiring them upon graduation. Specifically in programs such as architecture, engineering, and construction management (CM), the focus on environmental responsibility is increasing faster due to increased regulations, codes of ethics, and increasing opportunities for practicing green building knowledge upon graduation. While the efforts both at the curriculum level and at the whole campus level to promote sustainability have been increasing, it is not yet fully determined how effective these approaches are in advancing the environmental responsibility of students. This study presents the results of a survey to measure the environmental responsibility of subjects from three different groups of students studying CM at two different universities with different records of sustainability initiatives. The results of this study reveal that CM programs can significantly strengthen students’ environmental responsibility by adding sustainability course(s) into higher education curricula. This study was unable to identify a positive and linear relationship between a university’s sustainability record and its students’ environmental responsibility.

The rise of digital twin (DT) technology is transforming the way businesses operate, with its applications and use cases expanding across various industries. This article focuses on the agriculture industry and explores how DT can enable intelligent automation. Through a comprehensive review of DT's concept, evolution, and development, as well as a discussion of its key enabling technologies, trends, and challenges, the authors identify potential use cases for DT in agriculture. By presenting this analysis, this article aims to provide insights into how DT can streamline operations and enhance productivity in the agriculture industry.