Review of constraints and critical success factors of developing urban underground space

The development of urban underground space(UUS)is of great significance for sustainable urban development because it has potential to solve many urban problems.However,the development of UUS is limited because there are still a lot of constraints and challenges.To better understand the constraining factors of developing UUS and improve the development and utilization of UUS,this study conducts a comprehensive survey of existing literature retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection database.Five main constraining factors,including the limited geological conditions,high cost,lack of natural light and ventilation,high incidence,and difficulty in collecting data and information on UUS,have been discussed to better understand how they affect the development of UUS.Based on the survey,the critical success factors of developing UUS,such as the effective governance structure,planning system for integrating UUS into urban development,coordination of the design of ground and underground,delineation of land property rights of UUS,and application of information techniques in the use of UUS,have been identified and discussed.In addition,knowledge gaps in the studies on development of UUS have been identified.Finally,the research trends and future directions have been proposed for better understanding and practice of UUS development.

Comparative assessment of agricultural technology generating practices in universities and research institutes in north central zone of Nigeria

To understand the technology generating practices among universities and research institutes in north central zone of Nigeria,this study examined sources of funds for technology generating activities,compared agro-technology generating practices and identified constraining factors hindering technology generating practices.One hundred and fifty-two academic staff were randomly selected from universities and one hundred and thirty-six respondents were drawn from research institutes.Validated questionnaires with reliability coefficient of r=0.92 were used to elicit data.Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics,Likert-scale,T-test and Factor analysis.Majority(93.4%)of universities’respondents used their personal funds to generate new technology compared to their counterparts in research institutes.The most widely employed mechanism for generating agricultural technologies was joint radio programmes(mean=3.38)while the least was biotechnology(mean=2.57).Major areas of differences in technology generation between the two institutions were the physical distance(t=13.54;P<0.05),farmers participation in field research trials(t=8.50;P<0.05),farmers co-finance of adaptive research trials(t=3.77;P<0.05)and adequate research facilities and incentives to workers(t=2.05;P<0.05).Factors constraining technology generation for universities were poor access to knowledge and information on new innovation(r=0.815)while for research institutes it was limited physical resources(ICT,Telephone)(r=0.801).It was recommended therefore that respondents should look into options of writing alternate fund proposals and submitting to a wider range of funding bodies.Governance of innovation could be strengthened through the formation of a formal technological linkage advisory council.