Browsing by Author "Wamuziri, S"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3

item: Conference-Full-text
Causes of accidents in highway construction projects in Oman
(Ceylon Institute of Builders, 2017-06) Umar, T; Wamuziri, S; Egbu, C.; Sandanayake, YG
Construction workers are three to four times more likely than workers in other sectors to die from accidents at work. Construction is one of the main industries in Oman providing jobs to 18% of the total population and contributing around 10% of the total Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Considering the costs associated with accidents in construction, a model identifying the root causes of accidents is proposed for construction organizations in Oman. The model classifies the accidents in construction mainly arising from main four causes: “Equipment / Materials”, “Workers”, “Environment” and “Management”. The model is applied to a road construction project in Oman to trace the root causes of accidents. It can also be applied to construction projects in other sectors such as building or process plant construction. The results of this investigation reveal that a substantial proportion of accidents (more than 41%) arise from the “Worker”. The Management contribution is 31%, Equipment/Materials contribute 14% to the accidents and the Environment contribution is 12%. These findings are based on accident statistics that occurred on a single road project. Further research is recommended to extend the study to other projects in the construction sector in order to generalize the findings. Knowing the root causes of accidents will help organizations to develop effective strategies to reduce accidents in future projects. Although the frequency distribution of accidents is likely to vary from project to project, understanding the underlying pattern of their causes helps to pinpoint the key areas where resources should be directed in the organizations’ efforts to deliver the goal of zero accidents.
item: Conference-Full-text
Honour codes and their influence on academic integrity in engineering education
(Ceylon Institute of Builders - Sri Lanka, 2023-07-21) Wamuziri, S
The subject of academic dishonesty at colleges and universities is an old one. However, it is now increasingly believed to be an area of discussion and concern world-wide. Academic dishonesty takes many forms. These include plagiarism, cheating in examinations, contract cheating, etc. The causes of academic dishonesty include lack of awareness particularly in relation to plagiarism, student perceptions of peer behaviour, failure to integrity students into the academic community and financial, time or academic pressures, etc. Honour codes have for long been developed and implemented at colleges and universities in the USA. Honour codes include traditional or modified honour codes. Honour codes underline the core values of an institution and enable students to play a much bigger role to influence peer behaviour and to police academic misconduct. Honour codes promote holistic growth and development of students rather than focussing on the punitive nature of academic integrity policies per se. The work reported in this paper is based on a literature review and concludes that tackling academic dishonesty effectively at colleges and universities require a multi-pronged approach including implementation of the academic integrity policies, the honour code, creative pedagogical practices and a supportive approach to learning and development of students’ skills.
item: Conference-Full-text
A Systematic review of the challenges and strategies for addressing plagiarism in engineering education
(Ceylon Institute of Builders - Sri Lanka, 2023-07-21) Wamuziri, S
Plagiarism is a growing issue in higher education institutions world-wide. If left unchallenged, it represents a threat to genuine academic scholarship and integrity. This paper examines the current state of knowledge based on published research with a specific focus on plagiarism in engineering education. The overall aim of the study is to identify major factors that contribute to plagiaristic behaviour and to develop evidence-based tools, resources and interventions to assist students, faculty and higher education institutions to avoid plagiarism. Furthermore, the study seeks to provide policy recommendations that can be implemented at institutional level. It is found that plagiarism occurs at all levels of academic practice in teaching and research. The reasons why students plagiarise include ease of access to materials on the internet, time constraints, pressures to achieve good grades, lack of academic support and failure to integrate students into the university community. Faculty and universities have a role to play in training students to be ethical users of information. Students should be trained to be able to identify their requirements, to source and paraphrase text, cite references properly and attribute all sources of information. Faculty should also develop authentic instruments of assessments. This will motivate students to develop creative solutions. Plagiarism is however a complex aspect of human behaviour and further research is required to understand it better and to find potential solutions.