Facilities最新文献

Purpose

This study aims to design a facility network for the weavers to do direct business in the Indian handloom industry by using tourists as potential customers.

Design/methodology/approach

Data from 4,001 weavers of the handloom industry and 82 tourist locations of Varanasi city were collected. This data was analysed using the k-mean and elbow methods to determine the locations and the optimal number of collection centres, selling stores and warehouses to provide opportunities for the weavers to do direct business.

Findings

The study's findings showed that a greater opportunity could be provided with four optimal collection centres and selling stores, along with two warehouses in the handloom industry of Varanasi city. These results provide valuable guidance for policymakers to plan the Varanasi handloom network of facilities efficiently and effectively to improve the conditions of weavers.

Originality/value

Determining the optimal locations is crucial for designing a facility network. The proposed network will aid the government and policymakers in comprehending and pinpointing potential sites to establish new facilities in the handloom industry in Varanasi, a city with tourism potential.

Purpose

This study aims to explore how users’ movement is influenced by different hospital ward layouts, by using space syntax theory. This study also compared four circulation patterns to find the best one for the study goal.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors used both qualitative and quantitative methods to study how users’ wayfinding in hospitals depends on various indicators and factors. The study used Depth Map software to do case studies and then analyzed the indicators from theoretical foundations and used the Pearson Test to check the correlation between indicators. This study also looked at Iran’s Ministry of Health standards for ward layouts. Finally, the results obtained from the research data were compared to achieve a suitable model based on the research objectives.

Findings

The linear-patterned plan was the best for easy wayfinding and accessibility among four patterns. The optimal hospital circulation patterns can improve wayfinding and reduce wayfinding problems and user movement.

Originality/value

By pioneering space syntax in hospital research, this study unveils the novel interaction between path architecture and user movement. It gives new insights into current trends, helping architects, administrators and policymakers improve health-care design, efficiency and patient experience.

Purpose

Using the social model of disability and social cognitive theory, this study aims to examine Students With Disabilities (SWDs) and facilities accessibility to dismantle exclusion in achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4.

Design/methodology/approach

Three sets of data were collected for the study, first, detailed inventory and actual measurements of basic accessibility to infrastructure (ramp, staircases, handrails, drop-kerb and toilets), estimating barriers and breakers and checking conformity with The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG) standards. Second, perceptual data was collected from SWDs through questionnaire administration on 56 SWDs based on consent and willingness to partake in the survey, and finally, 5 key informants were selected for interview. Data collected were analyzed using mean index, cross-tabulation and content analysis.

Findings

The study revealed that accessibility to buildings and facilities is a major problem faced by SWDs within the campus, and this is attributed to insufficient provision of facilities such as ramps, drop kerbs, tactile, traffic/auditory signals, crossing aids in the campus physical environment. Also, no building on campus is disability friendly, with barriers such as step and stair landings, circulations and narrow corridors within the campus buildings and no provision for disabled priority seating, toilets and elevators among others. These accessibility limitations contribute greatly to the disadvantage and marginalization faced by SWDs, leading to deprivation and exclusion.

Practical implications

Creating an inclusive environment, especially for SWDs, requires access to adequate and standard barrier-free facilities within university campuses. These barriers create accessibility limitations and contribute greatly to the disadvantage and marginalization faced by SWDs, leading to deprivation and exclusion, in the form of fatigue, restriction from educational opportunities, frustrations and hinder the right to freedom of movement, unequal participation and lack of access to various facilities such as health. Hence, disabled-friendly design components play a vital role in creating inclusion within the campus environment.

Originality/value

The study focuses on the minority and less privileged students whose voices and fundamental human rights have been trampled upon indirectly through exclusion in policy formulation. This has to a large extent hampered their access to public buildings such as classrooms and libraries, which may transcend to affecting their academic excellence. A study of this nature aimed at breaking exclusion for proper accessibility to school infrastructure, which will aid the achievement of SDG4.

Purpose

This study investigates the extent to which support facilities are available, accessible and satisfactory and the relationship between support facilities and academic adjustment among first-year university undergraduates.

Design/methodology/approach

This research adopted a survey research design. A simple random sampling technique was used to select six faculties at the Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Nigeria. Six hundred first-year students took part in the study. The Support Facilities and Academic Adjustment Questionnaire (SSAAQ) was adapted and used for data collection. Descriptive statistics, Pearson product-moment correlation and the t-test were used to analyse the data.

Findings

The study revealed that the extent of the availability of support facilities is low, accessibility is moderate while the extent of satisfaction is high in the study context. Significant positive relationship exist between support facilities and academic adjustment, in favour of female first-year undergraduates. The challenges faced by first-year undergraduates were highlighted.

Originality/value

Nigerian students are confronted with accessing important components of support facilities at tertiary institutions. These student face additional hurdles in accessing support facilities at universities because of their socioeconomic status but were not explicit in identifying the exact nature of the challenges they experience. There is dearth of literature regarding the extent of availability, accessibility, as well as the challenges encountered by first-year students and their satisfaction in accessing the university’s support facilities, vis-à-vis its relationship to their academic adjustment in the university amidst gender differences. This current study fills this gap in the literature.

Purpose

This study aims to examine the challenges in the implementation of energy management systems in residential buildings to lower the running cost and achieve a better energy-efficient building.

Design/methodology/approach

This study adopted a mixed research method. Quantitative data was gathered by issuing a research questionnaire to 20 Delphi experts, while qualitative data was acquired through a Systematic Literature Review. Data received was analyzed using the descriptive analysis method.

Findings

The findings revealed that the main barriers to incorporating energy management systems (EMSs) in residential buildings consist of a lack of awareness of energy management systems, lack of management commitment to energy management, lack of knowledge about energy management systems, lack of funds for energy management systems, resistance to energy management technology by the property owners and property managers, distrust and resistance to energy management technology by the property owners, high initial cost of energy management technologies, shortage of technicians for energy management technologies, the nonexistence of local manufacturers of energy management equipment, lack of incentives for efficient energy management and high repair costs of energy management technologies.

Research limitations/implications

The specific focus on residential buildings may limit the applicability of findings to commercial or industrial sectors. Further research is warranted to accommodate other energy-consuming sectors.

Practical implications

People’s perceptions, either wrong or correct, affect their ability to make an informed decision to adopt energy management systems, denying them the opportunity to reap the associated benefits. Therefore, there is an urgent need for the residential industry stakeholders and the government to increase educational opportunities for property owners, managers and property tenants on the importance of energy management systems.

Originality/value

This research presents the potential obstacles and problematic areas that residents may encounter while using these energy management systems. Consequently, they will be able to make a well-informed choice when installing energy management systems. Moreover, the research elucidates the identification of novel perspectives and also unexamined obstacles that impede the widespread use of energy management systems in residential buildings.

Purpose

The aim of this study is to understand health-care facilities’ practice of deferring maintenance and to identify the relationship between deferred maintenance and hospital profitability.

Design/methodology/approach

Financial statements from hospitals in Washington State were analyzed. Differences in building and equipment values were compared to the capital renewal investment benchmark. Then, linear regression analysis was conducted to identify correlations between deferring or sustaining maintenance and a hospital’s profitability.

Findings

The majority of hospitals in Washington State practice deferred maintenance, investing less in annual facility capital renewal than benchmark amounts. Hospitals in deferred and sustained maintenance states do not significantly differ in terms of facility size and plant operating expenses but there is a statistically significant difference in profit margins. Furthermore, a linear relationship exists between the level of investment in facility renewal and overall hospital expenses, revenue and profit.

Practical implications

The findings of this research can be used to support fiscal policies related to maintaining aging health-care facility infrastructure. The findings can also be used to overcome barriers to securing capital budgets that are sufficient to optimize the safety and performance of the built environment.

Originality/value

Hospitals in a state of deferred maintenance return higher profits than do hospitals in a state of sustained maintenance. Nevertheless, hospital spending on deferred maintenance backlog reduction generates a positive return on investment. While hospitals may achieve higher returns, in the short term, by spending less on facility capital renewal and focusing instead on higher-revenue-generating opportunities, additional research in necessary to understand the long-term costs of deferring facility infrastructure repairs and replacement.

Purpose

This paper aims to assess user awareness of electricity consumption at a public university in Ghana based on the norm activation model (NAM).

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopted a survey design, using closed-ended questionnaires as the main data collection instruments. Data was collected from 300 respondents (staff and students) of the university and analysed descriptively using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences.

Findings

The study found that the level of user awareness (as defined by NAM) of electricity consumption among staff and students is moderate. Therefore, the more energy campaigns users are exposed to the higher their level of user awareness (awareness of consequence, ascription of responsibility and personal norm).

Practical implications

The findings of this study can assist university management boards and other organisations in recognising the potential for reducing electricity use by increasing user knowledge. Ultimately, this can result in added value.

Originality/value

The study makes a significant contribution to the literature on the NAM by exclusively focusing on the variables of NAM to assess the level of user awareness of electricity consumption in a university setting.

Purpose

To analyze the challenges and intricacies involved in managing the physical and administrative aspects of central mosques, with a specific focus on the Kumasi Central Mosque in Ghana. Through this case study, the paper aims to provide insights into the unique estate management practices and design a conceptual framework that incorporates efficient estate management practices for Ghana’s central mosques.

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopted a mixed-methods approach. Structured questionnaires were used to gather the data administered to the head of the development office, maintenance workers and mosque users. The data were analyzed using descriptive methods.

Findings

The overall findings of the study indicate that the estate management practices of the mosque are having difficulties financing maintenance. Other difficulties include the type of maintenance regime, the period of planned maintenance, the lack of an asset register, the absence of insurance policies and the causes of emergency maintenance.

Practical implications

The research provides valuable insights into the management of central mosques in Ghana and offers scalable practical recommendations such as adopting a planned maintenance regime, insuring mosque facilities and implementing comprehensive recording-keeping guidelines guided by policies.

Originality/value

The paper will assist stakeholders in comprehending the most practical approach to mosque estate management practices.

Purpose

This paper (Part 2 of 2) aims to expand the previously developed performance assessment model (PAM) into a decision support system (DSS) to produce optimized decisions on rehabilitation of facilities.

Design/methodology/approach

The research includes a comprehensive PAM that integrates analytical hierarchy process-multi attribute utility theory methods for the physical, operational, and environmental aspects of the mosque, as described in Part 1 of the study. An optimized intervention tool is added to the PAM to complete the DSS development. The tool determines the optimum maintenance decisions that are in line with the budget and condition criticality. The deterioration measures are created using a deterministic straight-line extrapolation technique, and the intervention actions used in the optimization are specified through literature review and in-depth interviews with 11 experts. The optimization model was simplified into a user-friendly visual basic application and applied to an existing facility case study depicting its useful functionality.

Findings

The optimization model recommendation of interventions recovered the overall condition rating index (CRI) of the facility while maintaining budget constraints. The CRI in the first approach (minimum budget to achieve acceptable overall performance) was improved from 6.5 to 7.76, costing 275,850 SAR. While the second approach (Maximum recovery with a selected budget constraint, 300,000 SAR in this case) CRI was improved from 6.5 to 8.3, costing 299,850 SAR.

Originality/value

The presented DSS in this paper offers a tool that enables the rehabilitation and overall management of any facility by its managers. The DSS can also be further customized to fit the facility manager’s specific strategies and achieve desired objectives.

Purpose

The Listen to Learn for Life (L³) Assessment Framework is a framework that outlines how to systematically assess the links between the classroom environment, listening, learning and well-being. The purpose of this paper is to review the published literature to understand what is known about the characterisation of activity component of the L³ Assessment Framework and determine what is not known and needs to be investigated in future research.

Design/methodology/approach

Literature reviews (Web searches for systematic, scoping or general reviews; scoping reviews following the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses extension for scoping reviews protocol; and extended Web searches) were conducted to characterise lecture, group work and independent work activities in terms of the perceptual setting, source degradation and transmission degradation.

Findings

Most research that has been conducted is for classrooms in general and does not specify results specifically for lecture, group work and independent work, which is important for understanding how the learning environment changes with the different activities. What is known about the lecture, group work and independent work activities are discussed; however, it is noted that this often comes from only a few studies. Future research areas to contribute to this literature as well as fill current research gaps are proposed.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first review paper to synthesize previous research characterising the classroom environment for different activities using the L³ Assessment Framework. It provides an analysis of the limitations of existing literature and proposes future research to help fill in these gaps.