The role of design elements as separators between insiders and outsiders in gated communities through two case studies from Istanbul, Turkey

The ‘gated community’ phenomenon became widespread as an emerging trend in the last decades of the 20th century. Gated communities—as a part of the suburbanisation tendency resulting from capitalist economic order and modernisation—have changed the macrostructure of urban design in cities worldwide. Gated communities may be defined as privatised residential areas with controlled entrances to separate insiders from outsiders. Such developments commonly offer a variety of leisure facilities for middle- and upper-income groups formulated to their lifestyles. Despite the vast body of research on social polarisation generated by gated developments, little is known about the relationships between the various design approaches and the role of design elements in the public experience of social groups’ division stemming from the phenomenon. Conceptual and physical boundaries, along with other factors in the planning and architectural decision-making, play essential roles in providing a sense of isolation and separation between residents and non-residents. This research examines the role of the architectural design elements and whether (and how), in contributing to the separation between residents and local communities. Accordingly, it focuses on the elements that define inside-outside and private-public spaces among two gated developments in Istanbul, Turkey. A qualitative research method is used to evaluate the role of design elements as separators in selected gated communities. It investigates the architectural characteristics, historical background, site arrangements, site plans and sections, and social perspectives for two case studies of the gated community designed by the celebrated Turkish architect Mehpare Evrenol. The design elements are analysed using maps, architectural drawings, and photos that were taken specifically for each project. The survey results are then discussed descriptively to provide an overview of nonresidents’ perceptions of the separation and differentiation concepts applied for both case studies. In addition, the study argues that the architect has used historical elements, cultural icons, and design motifs as reference points to present the splendour and wealth of the residents belonging to these gated communities. With the first case study, the Bosphorus City project, the thesis demonstrates that multiple design motives—such as a water path in the centre of the development and the construction of units in imitation of traditional residential villas—connect this gated community to Istanbul’s historical water mansions alongside the Bosphorus Strait. These reference points act as key icons for advertising the project in the market and symbolise the luxury lifestyle associated with this project. Similarly, the landscaping, water, and walking paths intersecting small islands in a private square in the middle of the Koycegiz Residence, the focus of the second case study, have been created by the architect as an oasis of escape far from the city chaos and a centre of communication for residents within this facility. In addition, the survey results, taken from 20 participants in two groups (architect professionals and non-architects), indicated that perceived notions of separation and differentiation are generated by spatial designs and architectural elements in the case studies. The design features and cultural references used as marketing icons attracted participants from both groups who desired to live in these gated communities. The participants mainly discussed the privilege of security, privacy, and luxury lifestyle provided by the architectural features inside the gated projects. Moreover, the public spaces that are inaccessible to non-residents are explicitly and repeatedly mentioned by participants as forming an extraordinary advantage for those living inside the gated communities. The public area within related projects as an urban paradise plays a vital role in promoting close social interactions. In addition, the main concept of offering a new lifestyle and environment inside gated communities has been created through these privatised public spaces. Therefore, as a proposed solution, a controlled communal space that could serve as a meeting point for residents and non-residents alike creates a more permeable urban arrangement, reducing the sense of polarisation and differentiation in global cities

Indoor Occupancy Detection Based on Environmental Data Using CNN-XGboost Model:Experimental Validation in a Residential Building

Indoor occupancy prediction can play a vital role in the energy-efficient operation of building engineering systems and maintaining satisfactory indoor climate conditions at the lowest possible energy use by operating these systems on the basis of occupancy data. Many methods have been proposed to predict occupancy in residential buildings according to different data types, e.g., digital cameras, motion sensors, and indoor climate sensors. Among these proposed methods, those with indoor climate data as input have received significant interest due to their less intrusive and cost-effective approach. This paper proposes a deep learning method called CNN-XGBoost to predict occupancy using indoor climate data and compares the performance of the proposed method with a range of supervised and unsupervised machine learning algorithms plus artificial neural network algorithms. The comparison is performed using mean absolute error, confusion matrix, and F1 score. Indoor climate data used in this work are CO2, relative humidity, and temperature measured by sensors for 13 days in December 2021. We used inexpensive sensors in different rooms of a residential building with a balanced mechanical ventilation system located in northwest Copenhagen, Denmark. The proposed algorithm consists of two parts: a convolutional neural network that learns the features of the input data and a scalable end-to-end tree-boosting classifier. The result indicates that CNN-XGBoost outperforms other algorithms in predicting occupancy levels in all rooms of the test building. In this experiment, we achieved the highest accuracy in occupancy detection using inexpensive indoor climate sensors in a mechanically ventilated residential building with minimum privacy invasion

The role of business analytics capabilities in bolstering firms’ agility and performance

Many companies invest considerable resources in developing Business Analytics (BA) capabilities to improve their performance. BA can affect performance in many different ways. This paper analyses how BA capabilities affect firms’ agility through information quality and innovative capability. Furthermore, it studies the moderating role of environmental turbulence, both technological and in the market. The proposed model was tested using statistical data from 154 firms with two respondents (CEO and CIO) from each firm. The data were analysed using Partial Least Squares (PLS)/Structured Equation Modelling (SEM). Our results indicate that BA capabilities strongly impact a firm’s agility through an increase in information quality and innovative capability. We also discuss that both market and technological turbulence moderate the influence of firms' agility on firms' performance.Many companies invest considerable resources in developing Business Analytics (BA) capabilities to improve their performance. BA can affect performance in many different ways. This paper analyses how BA capabilities affect firms’ agility through information quality and innovative capability. Furthermore, it studies the moderating role of environmental turbulence, both technological and in the market. The proposed model was tested using statistical data from 154 firms with two respondents (CEO and CIO) from each firm. The data were analysed using Partial Least Squares (PLS)/Structured Equation Modelling (SEM). Our results indicate that BA capabilities strongly impact a firm’s agility through an increase in information quality and innovative capability. We also discuss that both market and technological turbulence moderate the influence of firms' agility on firms' performance

Evaluating the cooling capacity of diffuse ceiling ventilation system – Full-scale experimental study

Diffuse ceiling ventilation system is an air distribution system in which part of the suspended ceiling made of perforated panels is used as an air diffuser for the supply of fresh air. This method has been proven to have a higher cooling capacity compared to conventional air distribution systems. The cooling capacity of the system, however, depends on several parameters. This paper presents evaluation results regarding the cooling capacity of the diffuse ceiling ventilation system in connection to two essential parameters, i.e. the distribution of heat sources in the room and the ratio of perforated to non-perforated panels in the ceiling. The evaluation is based on full-scale experiments performed in a laboratory controlled environment and using a design chart which expresses the limits on the supply airflow rate and temperature. The experimental results indicate that the highest cooling capacity is achieved when the heat sources are distributed evenly and the perforated panels cover the entire ceiling. In the case of partial coverage, the cooling capacity is reduced when the heat sources are placed below the perforated panels. The system can have a higher cooling capacity in the partial coverage configuration compared to the full coverage one depending on the supply airflow rate

The impact model of business intelligence on decision support and organizational benefits

Purpose – Decision support (DS), as a traditional management concept, have had a remarkable role in competitiveness or survival of organizations and nowadays, business intelligence (BI), as a brand modern impression, has various contributions in supporting decision-making process. Although, a variety of benefits are expected to arise from BI functions, researches, and models that determining the effect of BI functions on the decisional and organizational benefits are rare. The purpose of this paper is to study the relationship between BI functions, DS benefits, and organizational benefits in context of decision environment. Design/methodology/approach – This research conducts a quantitative survey-based study to represent the relationship between BI capabilities, decision support benefits, and organizational benefits in context of decision environment. On this basis, the partial least squares (PLS) technique employs a sample of 228 firms from different industries located in Middle-East countries. Findings – The findings confirm the existence of meaningful relationship between BI functions, DS benefits, and organizational benefits by supporting 15 out of 16 main hypotheses. Essentially, this research provides an insightful understanding about which capabilities of BI have strongest impact on the outcome benefits. Originality/value – The results can provide effective and useful insights for investors and business owners to utilize more appropriate BI tools and functions to reach more idealistic organizational advantages. Also it enables managers to better understand the application of BI functions in the process of achieving the specified managerial support benefits. Keywords Decision support benefits, Organizational benefits, BI functions, Business intelligence (BI) benefits, Partial least squares (PLS) technique Paper type Research pape

Business Intelligence Systems Adoption Model: An Empirical Investigation

Decision support and business intelligence systems have been increasingly adopted in organizations, while understanding the nature of affecting factors on such adoption decisions need receiving much academic interest. This article attempts to provide an in-depth analysis toward understanding the critical factors which affect the decision to adopt business intelligence (BI) in the context of banking and financial industry. In this regard, it examines a conceptual model that shows the impacts of different technological, organizational, and environmental factors in the decision to adopt BI by a firm. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used for data analysis and test the relevant hypothesis. The results of this article which are derived from theoretical discussion of hypothesizes show that from nine hypothesized relationships—perceived tangible and intangible benefits, firm size, organizational readiness, strategy, industry competition and competitors absorptive capacity—affect BIS adoption in the surveyed cases