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In order to understand the application and thermal process of solar energy storage system in building structure design, a research on the application and thermal process analysis of solar energy storage system in building structure design is put forward. This paper will take the outdoor climate conditions of residential buildings in a province as an example to conduct thermal analysis on the heat collection components and heat storage components of urban residential buildings. The building under test is a university teacher's residence located in the university campus of Chengguan District of the city. It is a multi-storey building with a total of five floors, and the building is on the top floor. The experimental results show that the heat storage effect of the thick exterior wall can effectively reduce the temperature fluctuation of the exterior wall. The difference between the maximum and minimum values of the exterior wall surface temperature is 19 °C, and the difference between the maximum and minimum values of the interior surface temperature is 5.4 °C. The difference between the maximum and minimum temperature of the north exterior wall is 4.9 °C, and the difference between the maximum and minimum temperature of the inner surface is 1.6 °C. The work of this paper lays a foundation for the quantitative research on the temperature control of building heat collection and storage components, and provides a theoretical basis for solar heat storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The traditional way of designing the parameters of university buildings is to base designs on the experience of designers after surveying the local environment, but this approach is time consuming and laborious. The research problem addressed by this paper is the quick optimisation of the parameters of university buildings with the goal of energy saving. First, a model of energy consumption and lighting of university buildings was constructed; then, a particle swarm optimisation (PSO) algorithm modified by a genetic algorithm was used to optimise the building parameters; this was compared with the traditional PSO algorithm in a case study. The results were that the PSO algorithm improved by the genetic algorithm converged the building parameter scheme to stability faster, the scheme fitness value at stability was lower than that of the traditional PSO algorithm and the improved PSO algorithm required less computation time in optimising the building parameter scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The process of navigating through an environment to reach a desired destination is known as wayfinding. It involves understanding one's current location, determining the desired destination and choosing a path to get there. Wayfinding design plays a significant role in enabling users to navigate an environment with ease and reach their desired destinations in a timely manner. However, poorly designed wayfinding systems can lead to confusion, stress and insecurity, which negatively impacts the user experience. This research paper explores the concept of wayfinding in educational buildings limited to universities, and its potential to enhance the user experience of students, faculty and visitors. Wayfinding can be a challenging task in large and complex buildings such as educational institutions. The study investigates the different factors that can affect wayfinding in educational buildings, including signage, lighting, spatial layout and technology. The paper presents case studies of two university buildings to investigate how a wayfinding system can improve user experience. The findings show that efficient wayfinding can improve the user experience greatly by reducing confusion, boosting efficiency and increasing overall happiness. The paper concludes with guidelines for educational institutions to improve wayfinding in their buildings with the help of signages and enhance user experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The limitations surrounding the education and teaching of green building courses in higher education institutions are becoming increasingly evident. The roles of instructors, the learning environments of green building-related courses, and the impact of student engagement in these courses are attracting significant academic interest. This study delves into the cross-level mediating roles of the green building learning climate and helping behaviors, exploring the link between instructors' sense of responsibility and student engagement. It employs a multi-layer structural equation model for statistical analysis, utilizing paired survey data from 543 students and 51 instructors of green building courses, based on social cognitive theory. This paper incorporates the educational psychology concepts of "climate" and "mutual aid" with the green building learning climate and mutual aid behaviors. It provides a theoretical analysis of how instructors' sense of responsibility in colleges influences students' learning of green building knowledge and skills. By merging the ideas of "climate" and "mutual aid", this study aims to theoretically examine the impact of instructors' responsibility on student engagement with green building concepts. This approach seeks to offer new theoretical insights for pedagogical studies in green building courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colleges and universities play a crucial role in fostering innovation, making it essential to explore effective strategies for promoting innovation at the institutional policy level. This paper focuses on the establishment of intellectual property model cities as a starting point and conducts an empirical analysis using innovation data from 234 cities and 942 colleges and universities between 2007 and 2017. By constructing a multi-temporal double-difference model, this study reveals that the establishment of intellectual property model cities effectively fosters innovation in colleges and universities. Further analysis demonstrates that this promotional effect is particularly significant in the western region, key cities, and key colleges and universities, as well as in the fields of invention and utility model patents. These conclusions withstand a series of robustness tests, confirming their validity. This study reveals that the national intellectual property pilot city policy has a significant influence on university innovation. It achieves this by encouraging investment in research and development and enhancing collaboration in innovation. The findings of this study provide important policy suggestions for maximizing the innovation potential of the intellectual property model city policy. This, in turn, can contribute to economic transformation, upgrading, and the promotion of innovation development in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: With the global economic slowdown in 2023, most universities in the central and western regions of China may face the problem of shortage of government financial funding, which is directly related to the development of science and technology of the universities. With the support of the local government, most of the ordinary universities have shifted attention to the transfer and transformation of intellectual property based on school-enterprise cooperation, hoping to seek more commercialization income as an extra source of income. Therefore, this paper aimed to study the current situation of university intellectual property, i.e. the reserve and distribution of transferable patents, discipline distribution of patents, and regional cooperation of university patents. Design/methodology/approach: A patent database of 10 key universities in Henan Province of China from 2012 to 2021 was established. The evaluation indicator model by the Entropy method was conducted to reveal the interaction mechanism between quantity indicators, quality indicators, and value indicators. Based on the data analysis, the development direction of the discipline construction and school-enterprise cooperation for local universities was clear. Findings: The findings indicated that the number of patent applications from ten key universities in Henan Province has been increasing rapidly over the years. The trend for authorized invention patents has remained relatively stable. Compared with the patent applications and authorizations, the growth of transferable patents was notably slow. The significance of strategic layout of dominant disciplines and related high-value patents was not appreciated enough by Chinese government and universities. There was a large difference of dominant disciplines between 10 key universities, and the patent level of each university was directly proportional to the number of dominant disciplines. The university patent level heavily relied on the researchers' contributions and the distribution mechanism of scientific research resources within the university. Guangdong Province and the Yangtze River Delta of China, being economically developed regions, exhibited the most active engagement in patent technology cooperation. Conversely, the central and western regions displayed relatively lower participation in high-value patent research and development. Research limitations/implications: This study can provide a unique perspective to understand and solve the financial bottleneck problem of ordinary universities in the central and western regions of China. The discipline construction and school-enterprise cooperation are just one of the existing schemes, but it still cannot solve the financial problems faced by local universities in China towards the government. Practical implications: The findings of this study can serve as a foundation for further investigation into policies aimed at improving the financial problems of ordinary universities in the central and western regions of China. Originality/value: As an important attempt, the study tried to focus the financial problem of universities in the central and western regions of China based on the evaluation of the current situation of university intellectual property. This research findings are of great value in finding optimal layout between university patents, disciplines and school-enterprise cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphs are used to solve many problems in mathematics and computer sciences. Many structures can be displayed with the help of graphs. For example, a directed graph can be used to show how websites are related to each other. Vague graph (VG) is one of the most important graphs in the fuzzy graph (FG)-theory, which can play a significant role in finding the most suitable places in construction and also finding the shortest path in computer networks. Connectivity indices are one of the most widely used topics in graph theory, which are used in other sciences, including computer science and chemistry. One of the most famous indices in the graph is the Wiener index, which belongs to the description of the molecular structure, which is used to design molecules with desirable properties. Therefore, in this paper, we introduce important topological indices such as Wiener index, Wiener absolute index, Randic index, Zegreb index, Harmonic index, and Average Wiener index on VGs and investigate their properties with several examples. Finally, an application of the Wiener index is given to find the most suitable place to build an university. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Occupant behavior, encompassing occupant numbers and actions, significantly contributes to the uncertainty of building energy performance simulation. By characterizing the regularity of occupant behavior, it becomes feasible to evaluate its impact on building energy consumption and mitigate disparities between simulated and measured outcomes. This paper presents a comprehensive model that integrates two key aspects of occupant behavior to predict and simulate energy performance in campus buildings. The model introduces two distinct categories of equipment, namely environment-related equipment (e.g. lighting, air conditioning) and time-related equipment (e.g. water dispenser, printer), to account for the diverse factors that influence occupant behavior. The impact of occupant perception on the environment is considered to enhance simulation accuracy. Furthermore, this study compares the proposed model with models that consider only occupant number or occupant energy use behavior individually to assess its effectiveness in capturing the complexities of occupant behavior in energy performance simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Veterinary Journal of Ankara University has released its third issue for the year 2024, featuring 15 articles including research papers, case reports, and a review article. The journal has been ranked among the Q3 journals in the Journal Impact Factors and Quartile rankings for 2023. The editorial also pays tribute to the late Prof. Dr. Rıfkı Hazıroğlu, former Chief Editor of the journal, and expresses gratitude to stakeholders and readers. The editor hopes that the latest issue will contribute to the world of science. [Extracted from the article]

This paper examines South Korean conglomerates’ strategies used to convey their interests as the interests of all. Their hegemonic strategy was one factor in overcoming the authority crisis triggered by bribery scandals in 2016–2017. They adopted strategies such as social contribution activities and implemented hegemonic strategies, involving (1) social movements and non-governmental organizations, (2) the media and publishing sectors, and (3) academia and the educational community. They funded pro-chaebol social movements and controlled the media through advertising and journalists. Conglomerates also used publishing companies to spread their ideas and developed think tanks. They advocated for owner management rights, tax cuts, deregulation, labour flexibility, and managed academics. They engaged in educating teachers, creating economics textbooks, and building university student networks. Although the strategies have yielded results, the resistance has not vanished. Through this study we can consider the significance of the authority crisis, hegemonic strategies, and capital-civil society relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the study space preferences of college students in their respective university colleges. The study utilized principles of visual ethnography to collect participatory photographic data. Student participants completed three tasks, a demographic survey, participant-supplied photographs, and an exit interview. We recruited from the Colleges of Architecture and Education and Human Development 60 participants who captured their preferred study spaces in their colleges and adjacent areas through photographic evidence. Grounded theory and qualitative coding were applied to analyze and create preliminary code themes from the visual and textual data to further evaluate student study preferences. The authors discovered that there were differences, and sometimes similarities, of space availability between the colleges, patterns of semesterly inhabiting behavior and transient movement, and organic ability for collaboration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recycling the condensate water of the air conditioner could be explored as an alternative water source to contribute to building the green campus. This paper explored the condensate water production through actual measurement based on a split air handling unit (SAHU) in a university building. Then, the statistical analysis was used to analyze the recycling feasibility and the impact factors of the condensate water production in 31 Chinese provincial capital cities to obtain the recycling potential map of the condensate water generated from a SAHU. Results showed that: (1) In the measurement, the amount of condensate water produced by a single split air conditioner was 1.6 kg from 12:40 to 13:40. Therefore, the daily output of condensate water of the air conditioner with the university operation schedule could reach 52.99 kg during the main air-conditioning season. (2) Among the 31 provincial capital cities in China, the largest condensate water outputs could be found in the Hot Summer and Warm Winter zone and the Hot Summer and Cold Winter zone, with an average monthly output of 1600 kg and 1100 kg, respectively. (3) Regression analysis showed that the dry-bulb temperature and dew point temperature of outdoor air had the highest positive and significant influence on condensate water production. The objective of this study is to provide theoretical guidance for the design and energy conservation evaluation of the feasibility of SAHU condensate water recycling in universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The new design concept of being human-centered and emphasizing the organic construction of the ecological environment is progressively gaining popularity because of the growing influence of ecology, green building, and environmental protection theories. By examining the landscape architecture of colleges and universities, this study aims to investigate the principles of ecological and environmental protection and to advance the development of the ecological environment on campus. As a result, this study uses Jilin Communications Polytechnic as an example to discuss the state of the research on campus landscape design in Jilin province and its significance, examines the process of campus landscape design under the concept of ecological and environmental protection after introducing the study object, assessment indexes, and constituent aspects of campus landscape design. The findings indicate that the ecological protection concept-based landscape design mode exhibits the vitality of ecological landscape design, produces significant ecological benefits for university campuses, and significantly enhances the ecological environment of university campuses. This paper reconstructs the gradually disappearing natural landscape system of the university campus, effectively promotes the healthy development of university campus ecology, emphasizes the ecological design with inherent cultural connotation and esthetic significance, and fully demonstrates the vitality of ecological landscape design, thus creating great ecological benefits for a university campus, effectively improving the ecological environment of university campus, and providing reference for further research on campus landscape design of Jilin province under the concept of ecological environmental protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a correction notice for a research paper titled "Relationship between asset ownership and women's empowerment: Evidence from DHS data from 18 developing countries." The correct title of the paper is provided, along with the correct reference for citation. The paper explores the relationship between asset ownership and women's empowerment in developing countries, specifically in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. The correction notice provides the correct information for library patrons conducting research on this topic. [Extracted from the article]

This is a correction to:Omar Garcia-Tejera, Axel Ritter, Carlos M Regalado, The combined effect of diffuse radiation and leaf wetness on functional traits and transpiration efficiency on a cloud forest species, Tree Physiology, Volume 44, Issue 6, June 2024, tpae050, https://doi.org/10.1093/treephys/tpae050In the originally published version of this paper Figures 4 and 5 were inadvertently transposed and associated with the wrong captions. This error has been corrected. [Extracted from the article]

The article represents a case study of the realization of changing engineering education in two new contemporary educational buildings of the University of Pécs, the impact of these buildings on educational methods, and the impact of community-based education on these buildings. As part of the university development program launched in 2016, the University of Pécs, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology's campus has been expanded with new architectural education buildings. The task of the new buildings was to adapt to the directions of the new engineering education and the representation of education of its faculty. The engineering education influences the object of architecture and determines its operation and its layout. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Campus buildings often face issues with high energy consumption, low efficiency, and significant carbon emissions, making the creation of a green, low-carbon campus urgent. Utilizing solar photovoltaics on rooftops can provide an effective power solution to address high energy consumption. This study focuses on a university campus, employing the DeST energy consumption simulation software to model the HVAC systems, electrical devices, and hot water loads of five typical buildings. It combines this with calculations of available rooftop areas to assess the potential for rooftop solar photovoltaics. The results confirm varying annual electricity consumption among the different buildings, which directly correlates with building size and operational schedules. Among the five building types, sports facilities and academic buildings have relatively high rooftop photovoltaic self-sufficiency rates, exceeding 60%, while the library has the lowest, under 20%. The entire university campus has an annual rooftop photovoltaic self-sufficiency rate of 35%, significantly addressing the issue of high energy consumption in university campuses. This research provides a theoretical basis for implementing rooftop photovoltaic systems to achieve campus energy savings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The accumulation of years imbues historical buildings within universities with a profound sense of heritage, evident not only in the temporal imprints within their internal spaces but also in the evolution of their external surroundings. This cultural legacy subtly enriches students' spatial awareness of history and fosters a collective memory of campus context. Current scholarly inquiry into university historical buildings primarily revolves around comprehensive considerations encompassing the preservation of these edifices, the overarching planning of academic institutions, and the safeguarding of the distinctive features inherent to historical structures. However, the predominant focus lies on qualitative analyses, leaving a pressing need for quantitative assessments and the establishment of an evaluation framework to gauge the efficacy of historical building preservation in academia. Addressing this gap, this study employs the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation (FCE) to formulate the University Historical Building Protection Evaluation Framework (UHBPEF). Drawing from the examination and categorization of the primary instructional edifices within the Yujiatou campus of Wuhan University of Technology through the Research Classification Method (RCM), along with the consolidation of insights from experts and academic stakeholders, this study underscores the imperative of enhancing the scientific precision and pertinence of the university's strategy for preserving historical buildings. By employing both qualitative and quantitative methodologies, this study offers innovative insights into the challenges facing historical building preservation in university settings, therefore propounding effective preservation strategies and offering a roadmap for future endeavors in this domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar PV technologies have been expanding rapidly, and the installed power has increased, especially in the last decade. Their inclusion in university buildings arises as a key factor for sustainable transition in cities, since they have an important potential as case studies for urban experimentation positive effects on students and other stakeholders. This paper proposes a method to determine the availability for installing solar PV in universities' rooftops, considering simulation and cartography data, together with a final experimental validation stage. Unavailable areas for each rooftop are determined, including obstacles, the inner use of the rooftop and shadowed areas. Finally, the method verifies the technical suitability for all the proposed scenarios and applies an economic-environmental multicriteria evaluation to select the most suitable one. The methodology is validated in the Universitat Politècnica de València Vera-Campus. In total, 88913 m2 of the rooftops are suitable for solar PV incorporation, representing 48 % of the total surface. 52 % of the solar PV installable capacity takes place in surfaces which can incorporate more than 100 kW, 20.6 % between 50 and 100 kW and 27.4 % less than 50 kW. Finally, the multicriteria evaluation proved that the scenario with all the possible installations is the most suitable one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Quarterly Journal of Economics has published a list of referees who reviewed four or more papers in 2023. The list includes a diverse group of individuals who contributed to the journal's publication process. The journal acknowledges and appreciates the assistance provided by these referees. [Extracted from the article]

The study uses four AC technologies to assess the energy performance—this is a case study of an educational building in Barranquilla, Colombia. The building currently has split AC technology high-energy consumers. Therefore, it was necessary to assess a replacement with more efficient technology. Because of the non-seasonal climate in the building location, one month of monitoring of energy consumption was the reference for developing an energy model for the building using EnergyPlus and DesignBuilder software. The model was applied to forecast the building energy performance of our more efficient AC technologies available in the Colombian market, and valuable according to building specifications (Split, VRF, VAV, and Chiller). Results show a reduction in energy consumption of approximately 30% with the technology change and 15% savings in life cycle costs (LCCs), even though the building is already considered to have a low energy consumption according to national regulations. The findings of this study underscore the potential for widespread applicability across all types of buildings, regardless of their energy consumption profile, be it low, medium, or high. This extensive applicability not only highlights the adaptability and versatility of the technology but also underscores its significance in achieving substantial energy savings and cost reductions across the entire building industry, contributing to a more sustainable and economically efficient future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Featured Application: Indoor AR guide for smartphones suitable for museums, libraries, university buildings, shopping malls, etc. This study presents a novel framework for improving indoor augmented reality (AR) navigation with modern smartphone technology, which is achieved by addressing two major challenges: managing large absolute coordinate spaces and reducing error accumulation in camera-based spatial tracking. Our contribution is significant in two ways. First, we integrate geofencing with indoor navigation by considering spatial tracking errors, timing for audio guidance, and dynamic 3D arrow visualization for effective local-to-global spatial coordinate transformation. This method achieves precise local positioning and seamlessly integrates with larger spatial contexts, overcoming the limitations of current AR systems. Second, we introduce a periodic image-based calibration approach to minimize the inherent error accumulation in camera-based tracking, enhancing accuracy over longer distances. Unlike prior studies focusing on individual technologies, our work explores the software architecture of indoor AR navigation by providing a comprehensive framework for its design and practical use. The practicality of our approach is validated through the implementation of a smartphone application at the Mineral Industry Museum of Akita University, highlighting the limitations of component technologies and demonstrating our framework's effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of sustainable cities, densely populated higher education institutions increasingly emphasize the sustainability of campuses and their impact on the environment. However, there is a lack of means to quantify emission reduction measures. This study aims to propose an evaluation framework that can quantify energy conservation and emission reduction measures and incentive policies. To this end, this study adopts a mixed methods approach, using questionnaires to assess the effectiveness of management and communication interventions and the impact of incentives on residents' willingness to participate in emission reduction efforts. The survey results show that although the support for the intervention measures is slightly higher than the average, specific measures such as adjusting dormitory lights-out time and providing sports equipment show superior emission reduction potential. Universities could reduce carbon emissions by about 560 tons per year without incentives and just using interventions. However, when incentives and interventions are combined, the university's annual emissions reductions are expected to increase to 800 to 1045 tons. Research also highlights the importance of understanding the relationship between occupant behavior, energy consumption, and building carbon emissions. By quantifying the impact of carbon reduction measures and incentives on the daily behaviors of residents, universities can more effectively implement sustainable campus strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Nigerian Journal of Technology has seen a significant increase in submissions since being accepted for indexing in Scopus. However, the journal is unable to process most of the submissions due to authors not adhering to the author's guide. About 95% of all articles received are rejected at the desk due to issues such as high similarity index, poor quality of presentation, violation of page limits, and off-scope submissions. The journal urges authors to carefully follow the guidelines to increase their chances of acceptance. [Extracted from the article]

Situating itself within recent debates on the possibilities of developing a "resistance economy" within a neoliberal and settler colonial context, this paper examines how one border-lying university – the Arab American University of Palestine (AAUP) – and the informal city which has developed around it, has leveraged private capital investments to not only address the educational and employment needs of Palestinians living on both sides of the border, but to become an alternative frontier of economic and urban development for Palestinians. Arguing that AAUP's unique economic model of private investment in and through education reflects a highly innovative and flexible form of anti-colonial praxis as well as a unique model of a resistance economy in practice, it nonetheless argues that the capacity of independent start-ups in the surrounding area to adapt to, and withstand, economic shocks and border closures has been more limited. Demonstrating the more uneven and complicated role of private capital in not just kickstarting but sustaining economic, urban and national development in a frontier region under ongoing conditions of occupation, its findings suggest that the long-term developmental potential of this border-city university depends on the continued agility of the university and on increased levels of coordination, cooperation and consultation between it, local businesses and communities which now depend upon it for their survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (https://www.elsevier.com/about/policies/article-withdrawal). This article has been retracted at the request of the authors. The strains T. atroviride T11 and T. asperellum T25 are property of the University of Salamanca. Post publication, the authors informed the editor that the material transfer agreement (MTA) between the project sponsor (iQBiotech LLC.) and the owner (University of Salamanca) of the Trichoderma strains tested in this study had been terminated. The authors did not have permission to publish work done with these strains and have therefore requested the retraction of this paper. The authors wish to the apologize to the University of Salamanca and to the readers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior research identifies trust as critical to increase vaccine acceptance and uptake. However, few intervention studies have sought to develop or test strategies for bolstering vaccine-related trust. To address this gap, this exploratory study identifies features of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy interventions that can promote or undermine trust across three interconnected domains: institutional, interpersonal, and product (the vaccine itself). We draw on focus groups (N = 27 participants) with community and university partners involved with hosting COVID-19 testing and vaccine events in underserved Oklahoma communities. Focus groups explored participants' experiences serving community health needs and elicited feedback on proposed vaccine hesitancy interventions. Proposed interventions included two technology-based strategies (text message reminders and tablet-based testimonials and education) and one dialogue-based strategy (anti-body test interpretation). We find that community partners perceived local universities as trustworthy institutions because of their association with popular sports programs, academic credentials, and proximity, creating opportunities to address vaccine-related distrust through community-university partnerships. The most promising intervention strategies for building interpersonal trust included engaging in one-on-one dialogue and using autonomy enhancing approaches. Finally, interventions that successfully encouraged vaccine trust did so by incorporating personalized health information about individuals' potential level of protection and susceptibility to the COVID-19 virus. These findings can inform future public health efforts to create trustworthy vaccine hesitancy interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated students' knowledge of the fire safety measures of a college building in Nigeria, in order to identify areas for improvement, towards contributing to ways of enhancing effective fire safety management through users' involvement in educational environments. The research is a case study that adopted quantitative research approach. Data was gathered from 153 students with the use of a closed-end structured questionnaire that was analysed with SPSS software. The findings were presented descriptively with the aid of tables. The results indicated that most of the students' lacked knowledge of some basic fire prevention and protection measures which limits their knowledge of the fire safety measures and protocols of the college building. Likewise, most of the participants are either not certain of their views or not aware of the locations of the fire safety signs, and fire exits of the building. The study emphasised the need for regular fire drills and trainings on fire safety management procedures for regular users of academic environments in conformity with best practice. The study underscored the need for users of public environments, especially educational settings, to be knowledgeable in basic fire safety protocols in order to be able to rightly align with laid down precautions for saving lives and properties in the event of a fire outbreak. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Facility maintenance management (FMM) is essential for ensuring long-term values and to sustain project goals throughout the life cycle delivery process. However, in underdeveloped nations such as Ethiopia, facility maintenance management is an immature and underutilised process that requires a holistic intervention for practical improvement. The main aim of this study was to identify and prioritise critical factors that affect the effectiveness of FMM, with a focus on public universities in Ethiopia. Initially, a total of thirty-three (33) crucial variables were identified with a systematic literature review and desk study. To collect primary data, a survey research design approach was utilised using questionnaires and informant interviews. A total of seventy-five (75) data sets were obtained from 180 online surveys for conducting exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The outcome of the study revealed thirteen (13) critical attributes grouped into four factors that affect the effectiveness of facility maintenance management practises. The final four-factor model includes F1, internal processes and organisation; F2, community culture, learning, and growth; F3, impacts of design and construction quality; and F4, facility maintenance approach and management. This study indicated that facility maintenance management practises in public universities in Ethiopia are immature and require extensive enhancement. The identified influencing factors highlight the need for a comprehensive intervention to promote improved facility maintenance management practises and applications in Ethiopia. Further research is needed to analyse a wider range of attributes and data using confirmatory factor analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The daylighting environment in university gymnasiums affects daily teaching and sports training. However, direct sunlight, glare, and indoor overheating in summer are common problems. Semi-transparent photovoltaic glass can solve these issues by replacing shading facilities, blocking solar radiation, and generating electricity. This study examines the influence of different types of CdTe semi-transparent film photovoltaic glass on the daylighting environment of six typical university gymnasium skylights. The optimal types of CdTe semi-transparent film photovoltaic glass are determined by dynamic daylighting performance metrics DA, DAcon, DAmax, and UDI. The results show that, for instance, centralized rectangular skylights benefit from the 50–60% transmittance type, while centralized X-shaped skylights require the 70–80% transmittance type to enhance indoor daylighting. The research results offer specific recommendations based on skylight shapes and photovoltaic glass types and can provide a reference for the daylighting design of university gymnasium buildings with different forms of photovoltaic skylights in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sustainability of buildings during their life cycle could be increased by optimizing their facility management. In this sense, data-driven approaches could support the improvement of building operation and maintenance (O&M), because they can exploit collected data to provide useful correlations to assess the sustainability performance depending on the surrounding constraints. Universities are among the most relevant and largest organizations, generally hosted in multistory buildings, that could take advantage of such data to improve the sustainable goals of class occupancy and timetable. A high level of classroom occupancy is the main goal for class timetabling, and its effect on other O&M performance generally is overlooked. In the literature, class timetabling effects on university O&M, and especially on elevator maintenance tasks, have not yet been addressed in depth. Therefore this work adopted a data-driven approach to jointly optimize class scheduling and corrective maintenance actions required for elevators in university buildings. Elevator use is influenced greatly by schedule-dependent occupant movement, and thus is one of the main components of the total maintenance costs, and significantly affects safety performance. A 15-month experimental campaign on a university campus hosting as many as 7,000 occupants daily was performed to correlate occupant presence and movement with the number of corrective actions on elevators. The data-driven correlation was integrated with open-source timetabling software to assess the impact of alternative timetables (affecting occupant movement and occupancy levels) on expected maintenance needs. According to the results, the optimized timetable can reduce current elevator maintenance needs by 65%, whereas the classroom occupancy performance is reduced by only 7%, thus still leading to sustainable building use. The proposed optimization approach allows facility managers to implement a university class timetabling that achieves higher maintenance cost savings, thus moving toward more-sustainable management of building scheduling and maintenance performance in a joint manner. Sustainable management of university buildings should take into account the optimization of maintenance tasks, due to their impacts on time, costs, workforce, and business continuity needs. Such maintenance needs are related strongly to class occupancy and timetable, which imply user flows and activities, especially in complex and multistory buildings. Elevators are strongly influenced by scheduling-dependent occupants movement, and thus are one of the main components of the total maintenance costs, and significantly affect safety performance. Data-driven approaches can reduce uncertainties regarding unpredictable faults depending on scheduling. Data collected by computer maintenance management systems regarding end-user requests can be used to provide correlations between occupancy and maintenance needs, in terms of their implementation in building automation and performance systems. Such correlations can (1) support facility managers in predicting critical conditions implying corrective actions; (2) inform decision-makers about how to better define facility management contracts, because they can estimate additional efforts based on building use; and (3) improve the maintenance sustainability by allowing decision-makers to adopt optimized class occupancy (when correlations are implemented, for example, in simulation tools). The proposed approach to timetable optimization could be extended to other scheduling-based activities (e.g., offices, meeting and cultural centers, large medical offices, recreation buildings, other administrative buildings open to the public, mixed-use buildings, and ideally, large and long-term construction sites), and systems or components with which users can interact deeply depending on scheduled tasks (e.g., lighting systems, ductless air conditioning devices, safety handles, and paving). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]