Editorial 


Assoc. Pro f. Peter Stewarl 
Head, Deparlment of Building 
and Construction Economics 
RMIT University 

Welcome to the first issue of The Australian Journal of Construction 
Economics and Building for 2003. It's encouraging to see the quality of 
papers submitted . I believe this is testimonial to the willingness and 
enthusiasm of our members to undertake and share research that makes 
value contributions to the development and enhancement of the industry. 

This edition holds a series of papers on topics ranging from procurement 
methods to education. The first paper sees Jackson examining the need 
to apply cost control techniques for capital works projects , finding that 
budget performance relies on the implementation of formal cost control 
processes. Griffith , Knight and King then examine the benefits of 
novating design and build projects. This approach has grown in 
popularity, however, they find the process can be disadvantageous for 
construction contractors. Rameezdeen and Gunarathna then explore the 
development and nature of organisational culture in design and 
construction groups, raising a number of interesting issues and finding 
significant cultural differences between the two groups. In the following 
paper, Haupt examines differences in student experience and proposes 
a number of approaches that can improve this experience . While the 
data is drawn from experiences in South Africa , he provides a discussion 
on work-based learning that will be of particular interest to construction 
professionals in Australia. The final paper, presented by Lam , Chan and 
Chan , discusses the advantages of the design and build procurement 
system when used in the Hong Kong public sector. 

Our thanks go to all members of the Editorial Board who provided their 
valuable time and expertise in reviewing the submissions and to our 
contributors. I'd also like to personally thank the production staff 
from RMIT. 

I hope that you find this edition interesting and are encouraged to share 
your research and knowledge in future editions of the journal. 

~ 
Assoc. Prof. Peter Stewart 
July 2003 

The Australian Jou rnal of Construction Economics and Building I Vol 3 , No 1I 



The Australian Journal of Construction Economics and Building I Vol 3 , No 1 I