bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Post‐occupancy evaluation of postgraduate hostel facilities
Authors: Adewunmi Yewande , Omirin Modupe , Famuyiwa Funlola , Farinloye Oluranti 
Published: February 2011

PurposeThis paper seeks to adopt an investigative approach to post‐occupancy evaluation using major technical and functional criteria of performance on the facilities of a postgraduate hostel at the campus of the University of Lagos, Akoka, Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria.Design/methodology/approachData collection was based on a survey through self‐administered questionnaires in which users of the building were asked to report on their perceptions and experience of the facility. The user satisfaction survey was developed based on the students' feedback on their experience with 29 identified performance criteria obtained from a review of the literature and an interview with a member of the university's hall management committee. Data at the organizational level were collected by personal interviews with the facilities manager and co‐ordinator of hostels of the university.FindingsThe user satisfaction survey identified areas of deficiency, particularly in maintenance, and facilitated the assessment of the overall performance of the building.Originality/valueThis study demonstrates how universities in Nigeria can assess the management of hostel facilities by hostel administrators and facilities managers. Apart from the results of the user satisfaction survey being useful as evidence to access funds for the improvement of student hostel facilities, the feedback will be helpful in the design and management of new hostel facilities.
Healthy workplaces: plantscaping for indoor environmental quality
Authors: Smith Andrew , Pitt Michael 
Published: February 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the indoor environmental quality benefits of plants in offices by undertaking trials using live plants.Design/methodology/approachUsing two offices in the same building, one with plants and one as a control, daily tests were undertaken for relative humidity, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Results were analysed to identify any differences between the office with plants and the one without.FindingsRelative humidity increased following the introduction of plants and more significantly following additional hydroculture plants being installed, taking it to within the recommended range. Carbon dioxide was slightly higher in the planted office for the majority of the trial, although there was an overall reduction in both offices. Carbon monoxide levels reduced with the introduction of plants and again with the additional plants. VOC levels were consistently lower in the non‐planted office.Research limitations/implicationsIt would be useful to extend this research in a greater range of buildings and with more flexible VOC‐monitoring equipment.Practical implicationsThis paper suggests that plants may provide an effective method of regulating the indoor environmental conditions within buildings. This can potentially lead to performance gains for the organisation and a reduction in instances of ill health among the workforce.Originality/valueThe majority of previous studies have relied on laboratory work and experimental chambers. This research aims to apply previous findings to a real working environment to determine whether the air‐purifying abilities of plants have practical relevance in the workplace.
Dynamic stability of an elastic beam with visco‐elastic translational and rotational supports
Authors: Majorana C.E. , Pomaro B. 
Published: February 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to show how to find the regions of dynamic instability of a beam axially loaded and visco‐elastically constrained at its ends by Kelvin‐Voigt translational and rotational units variously arranged according to different configurations, by using the equation of boundary frequencies.Design/methodology/approachWith respect to visco‐elasticity the time variable is present as a parameter so that the above‐mentioned exact approach is exploited to draw three‐dimensional diagrams of the dynamic component of the periodic load and its frequency, varying with time and with the viscosity parameter μ characterizing the restraints.FindingsFor not rigidly constrained configurations a peculiar asymptotic tendency is recognizable in both cases.Research limitations/implicationsThe study allows for identifying the influence of visco‐elastic restraints in the response of a beam under a dynamic axial load. Dynamic excitation occurs in several fields of mechanics: dynamic loads are encountered in structural systems subjected to seismic action, aircraft structures under the load of a turbulent flow and industrial machines whose components transmit time‐dependant forces.Practical implicationsVisco‐elasticity accounts for possible vibration control solutions planned to improve the dynamic response of the rod; they can consist of layers of visco‐elastic material within the body of the modelled element or local viscous instruments affecting the boundary conditions; the latter is the application this paper focuses on.Originality/valueWith this paper a calculation procedure to get an exact solution for particular static configurations of the beam is followed in order to define the influence of visco‐elastic restraints under a dynamic axial load; the responses are given in terms of boundary frequencies domains and are supposed to be useful to learn the behaviour in time and in dependence of the intrinsic viscosity of the restraints.
An algorithm for defining load paths and a load bearing topology in finite element analysis
Authors: Kelly Donald W. , Reidsema Carl A. , Lee Merrill C.W. 
Published: February 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe a post‐processing procedure for defining load paths and a load bearing topology using the stresses from a finite element analysis.Design/methodology/approachCauchy stress vectors and a Runge‐Kutta algorithm are used to identify the paths being followed by load components aligned with the coordinate axes. An algorithm is then defined which identifies an efficient topology that will carry the loads by straightening the paths.FindingsThe aim of the algorithm is to provide insight into the way a structure is carrying loads by identifying the material most effective in performing the load transfer. The procedure is applied to a number of structures to demonstrate its applicability to structural design.Research limitations/implicationsThe examples demonstrate an insight of structural behavior that is useful at the conceptual stage of the design process. The load paths identify load transfer and warn the designer of the creation of bending moments and the location of features such as holes on the load path. They also demonstrate that the new procedures can provide suggestions for alternate topologies for the load bearing structure.Originality/valueThe load path theory has been published elsewhere. The new work in this paper is the definition of the Runge‐Kutta algorithm to define the paths and the algorithm to identify the topology performing the load transfer.
Corporate culture: its value as a resource for competitive advantage
Authors: Klein Andrew 
Published: February 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this research study is to investigate the application of the resource‐based view to a construct of organizational culture, doing so in the context of the generic models of business strategy.Design/methodology/approachThe original research underlying this paper was an empirical study of 311 organizational sub‐units, comprising over 2,600 individual respondents. The measures consisted of two data collection instruments: a valid and reliable survey instrument (the Organizational Culture Inventory; OCI), and an Executive Manager Interview form designed for this research project.FindingsAlthough the author has all of the research results in terms of statistical results, for the practitioner readership of this journal, the results are restated the results in conceptual, not statistical, terms. The findings included that adaptive, flexible (technically “constructive” cultures) appear to be positively related to desirable outcomes (including quality of the firm's products and services), regardless of the type of strategy deployed.Research limitations/implicationsThe results suggest that to become a high‐performance organization, key members need to understand their business strategy and create an adaptive, flexible, constructive culture that will facilitate the implementation of the business strategy.Originality/valueThis research fills a void in the area of empirical studies testing the linkage between business strategy and organizational culture.
Money for nothing
Authors: Jackson Stuart E. 
Published: February 2011

PurposeMost business organizations put lots of thought and effort into how to sell and deliver to customers a product or service that meets their needs at a particular point in time. But they often neglect to think about what is important to the customer to get the most value from the product or service after the sale is complete. For example, customers may be concerned about product maintenance, ongoing monitoring, protection in the event of breakdowns or the need to fund overhaul or replacement of the product when it wears out. The author discusses case examples of companies that do a good job of anticipating and addressing these needs, which often leads to highly profitable recurring revenue streams for providers. The author proposes six key strategies for companies considering going down this path.Design/methodology/approachIn this article, the author cites a number of case examples of businesses that have built recurring revenues from after‐sales service offerings. Examples industries included in the article include the consumer home services and commercial capital equipment. The author then draws lessons that can be applied broadly by any company considering ways to build recurring service revenues from its customers.FindingsThe author proposes six strategies for building service plan businesses: create awareness of potential losses; lower the barriers to sign up; make it an easy add‐on; incentivize front‐line salespeople; make it self‐renewing; and trade on your company's good name.Originality/valueThis article sheds light on the economics and benefits of well‐designed service plans. When done well, this can often transform a servicing cost center into a highly profitable business line that can help carry product businesses through lean periods of new product sales.
Stock market integration in Africa
Authors: Agyei‐Ampomah Sam 
Published: February 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the nature and extent of linkages between African stock markets and the relationships between these markets and that of regional and global indices.Design/methodology/approachThe monthly returns of S&P/IFC return indices for ten African countries over the period 1998‐2007 were analyzed. The index return volatility was decomposed into three components following Barari and the contributions of regional and global market movements to the local index volatility were estimated.FindingsIt was found that African stock markets are still segmented from global markets in spite of recent structural adjustments and that the local index volatility is largely country‐specific, which can be diversified away by cross‐country diversification.Originality/valueThis paper provides further evidence on stock market integration in emerging markets. The finding suggests that African stock markets, with the exception of South Africa, are still segmented from global markets. Thus, recent structural adjustment and liberalisation policies have not reduced stock market segmentation in Africa. This paper therefore has implications for policy makers and international investors.
Sunshine trading in an African stock market
Authors: Dia Magueye , Pouget Sébastien 
Published: February 2011

PurposeHow is liquidity formed in emerging financial markets? Do traders preannounce their orders to attract outside liquidity providers (a practice referred to as sunshine trading)? The purpose of this paper is to study liquidity formation of infrequently traded stocks. It also investigates the role of preopening periods in the formation of liquidity.Design/methodology/approachThe paper focuses on the eight largest stocks traded on the West African Bourse in 2000. The dataset includes all the orders submitted to the market from January 3 to December 13, including their time of placement, limit price, and proposed quantity, and the identity of the broker‐dealers who submitted them. The paper analyzes order placement strategies as well as preopening price efficiency and broker‐dealers' profits.FindingsThe evidence is consistent with broker‐dealers engaging in sunshine trading. First, large orders are placed early during the preopening period and are not cancelled. Second, for most of the stocks in our sample, preopening prices reveal information long before trading actually occurs. Third, large volumes are traded without significant price movements. Fourth, the most active brokers' profits are lower than less significant intermediaries' ones, indicating that the former do not manipulate the market.Practical implicationsThe analysis suggests that the actual liquidity on the West African Bourse is higher than what is indicated by the average state of the order book. This might increase the attractiveness of African stock markets for global portfolio managers.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this paper is the first to empirically study sunshine trading as theoretically analyzed by Admati and Pfleiderer.
The stock market reaction to stock dividends in Nigeria and their information content
Authors: Campbell Kevin , Ohuocha Chijioke 
Published: February 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine whether stock dividend announcements create value for companies traded on the Nigerian stock market and to ascertain the nature of the information such announcements convey.Design/methodology/approachA standard event study methodology, employing the market model, is applied to determine the abnormal returns both on and surrounding the stock dividend announcement date. A sample is broken down based on the timing of announcements and on the frequency with which the announcing companies' shares are traded. The authors also examine the information content of stock dividends by applying the χ2 technique to test the level of association between earnings, cash dividends and stock dividends.FindingsThe findings suggest that companies that choose their own announcement date outside the Nigerian stock exchange announcement window experience positive abnormal returns if their stock is more frequently traded and negative abnormal returns if their stock is less frequently traded. In addition, support is found for both the cash substitution hypothesis and the signalling hypothesis as explanations for the information stock dividends convey to shareholders.Research limitations/implicationsThe small number of companies in the “early announcement” group may not permit a definitive view to be established about the stock market reaction to early stock dividend announcements for this group of companies.Practical implicationsThe findings are of practical relevance to researchers, practitioners and investors interested in companies listed on the Nigerian stock market as they reveal the extent to which the shares reflect fundamental information from corporate announcements.Originality/valueThis paper adds to the very limited academic research on the stock market reaction to stock dividend announcements in Nigeria.
On the influence of the pole and teeth shapes on the performance of linear switched reluctance actuator
Authors: Espírito‐Santo A.E. , Calado M.R.A. , Cabrita C.M.P. 
Published: February 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is the evaluation of the influence of pole and teeth shapes on the behaviour of a linear switched reluctance actuator (LSRA). The study was carried out through the application of a finite element static analysis and the application of a new method for dynamic analysis. Those studies are thereafter evaluated with experimentations.Design/methodology/approachThe paper characterizes the performance of an LSRA for different polar geometries. A finite element tool is used at an early research stage. Results are then used to build a dynamic numerical model. Obtained data allow the construction of a laboratory prototype.FindingsPolar shape has great influence in actuator behaviour. Different geometrical polar configurations are evaluated and their influence is observed. The obtained data allow attraction force minimization with minimal penalty in the thrust force. A numerical dynamic model is used to evaluate actuator movement with different polar shapes, without taking into consideration the influence of magnetic losses.Practical implicationsThis paper allows the knowledge of each pole shape configuration to be adopted according to the actuator application and desired performance.Originality/valueThis paper presents the effect of the different pole shapes on the behaviour of static and dynamic characteristics of the LSRA. It is shown that the use of non‐traditionally pole shapes, round or wedge, leads to a small penalty in thrust force and a considerable attraction force minimization. The benefit in actuator effects concerning mechanical structure and performance is evident.
SVM‐based method for high‐impedance faults detection in distribution networks
Authors: Sarlak M. , Shahrtash S.M. 
Published: February 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present a new pattern recognition‐based algorithm to detect high‐impedance faults (HIFs), including only with broken conductor and arcs, in distribution networks.Design/methodology/approachIn the proposed method, using discrete wavelet transform, the time‐frequency‐based features of the current waveform are calculated. Then, to extract the best feature set of the generated time‐frequency features, principle components analysis (PCA) is applied and finally support vector machines (SVM) is used as a classifier to distinguish between the HIFs, including only with broken conductor and arcs, and other similar phenomena such as capacitor banks switching, no load transformer switching, load switching, insulator leakage current and harmonic loads.FindingsThe experimental results have shown that using SVM with PCA as the feature extraction method and radial basis function (RBF) as the kernel function has acceptable security and dependability performances in distinguishing HIFs, including only with broken conductor and arcs, from other similar phenomena and is superior to the Bayes and multi‐layer perceptron neural network classifiers.Originality/valueUsing new combination of time‐frequency‐based features with SVM provides a new algorithm to detect HIFs, including only with broken conductor and arcs, that has acceptable security and dependability.
A new family of multi‐output DC‐DC converter topologies to supply an asymmetrical four‐level diode‐clamped inverter
Authors: Abbasalizadeh Boora Arash , Zare Firuz , Ghosh Arindam 
Published: February 2011

PurposeMulti‐level diode‐clamped inverters have the challenge of capacitor voltage balancing when the number of DC‐link capacitors is three or more. On the other hand, asymmetrical DC‐link voltage sources have been applied to increase the number of voltage levels without increasing the number of switches. The purpose of this paper is to show that an appropriate multi‐output DC‐DC converter can resolve the problem of capacitor voltage balancing and utilize the asymmetrical DC‐link voltages advantages.Design/methodology/approachA family of multi‐output DC‐DC converters is presented in this paper. The application of these converters is to convert the output voltage of a photovoltaic (PV) panel to regulate DC‐link voltages of an asymmetrical four‐level diode‐clamped inverter utilized for domestic applications. To verify the versatility of the presented topology, simulations have been directed for different situations and results are presented. Some related experiments have been developed to examine the capabilities of the proposed converters.FindingsThe three‐output voltage‐sharing converters presented in this paper have been mathematically analysed and proven to be appropriate to improve the quality of the residential application of PV by means of four‐level asymmetrical diode‐clamped inverter supplying highly resistive loads.Originality/valueThis paper shows that an appropriate multi‐output DC‐DC converter can resolve the problem of capacitor voltage balancing and utilize the asymmetrical DC‐link voltages advantages and that there is a possibility of operation at high‐modulation index despite reference voltage magnitude and power factor variations.
Heat generation and transport in nanoscale semiconductor devices via Monte Carlo and hydrodynamic simulations
Authors: Muscato Orazio , Di Stefano Vincenza 
Published: February 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to set up a consistent off‐equilibrium thermodynamic theory to deal with the self‐heating of electronic nano‐devices.Design/methodology/approachFrom the Bloch‐Boltzmann‐Peierls kinetic equations for the coupled system formed by electrons and phonons, an extended hydrodynamic model (HM) has been obtained on the basis of the maximum entropy principle. An electrothermal Monte Carlo (ETMC) simulator has been developed to check the above thermodynamic model.FindingsA 1D n+−n−n+ silicon diode has been simulated by using the extended HM and the ETMC simulator, confirming the general behaviour.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper's analysis is limited to the 1D case. Future researches will also consider 2D realistic devices.Originality/valueThe non‐equilibrium character of electrons and phonons has been taken into account. In previous works, this methodology was used only for equilibrium phonons.
Identification of the 2D vector Preisach hysteresis model
Authors: Kuczmann Miklós 
Published: February 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present a Preisach model to simulate the vector hysteresis properties of ferromagnetic materials.Design/methodology/approachThe vector behavior has been studied at low frequency applying a single‐sheet tester with a round‐shaped specimen, and the locus of the magnetic flux density vector has been controlled by a digital measurement system. An inverse vector Preisach hysteresis model has been developed and identified by using the measured data.FindingsFinally, the inverse model has been inserted into a finite element procedure through the combination of the fixed point technique and the reduced magnetic scalar potential formulation. The developed single‐sheet tester measurement system has been simulated. The applicability of the realized measurement system as well as the developed model has been proven by comparing measured and simulated results.Originality/valueThe identification technique is original, based on a previous work of the author.