The adaptive reuse predicament: An investigation into whether building regulation is a key barrier to adaptive reuse of vacant office buildings

The problem of vacant buildings affects cities globally, and office vacancy rates have become a specific political issue in Australian CBDs. Specifically, arguments made in public debate claim that building regulation inhibits the take-up for adaptive reuse of vacant office buildings to mitigate obsolescence. Technical performance standards within Australia’s National Construction Code (NCC) are cited as a key barrier to adaptive reuse in public discourse and by previous studies. This thesis pursued an inductive methodology investigating which aspects of NCC standards are barriers to adaptive reuse. The research focuses on the office building population within Adelaide, South Australia. The mixed-methods research design includes analysis of public debate in news articles, a survey of professionals in Australia experienced in adaptive reuse, semi-structured interviews with stakeholders in Adelaide, and an examination of untenanted and ‘greyspace’ vacancy types in Adelaide’s building population using a novel quantitative method developed in this research, referred to as the Vacancy Visual Analytics Method (VVAM). Contrary to popular belief, this study did not find conclusive evidence that building regulation inhibits adaptive reuse of office buildings. While content analysis of news articles and data from the survey and semi-structured interviews highlighted that building regulation is typically presented as a barrier to adaptive reuse, there is a lack of convincing detail, beyond generalised anecdotes. The examination of vacancy, through VVAM, questions simplistic representations of aggregated vacancy rates, present in the public debate, and the need for adaptive reuse to address the perceived obsolescence. Examination of the sample (n=118) revealed that while 56 buildings had high vacancy (office-use vacancy rate above 50%), around 65.3% of high vacancy (276,644m2) resides within only 24 relatively new primary offices. Findings also revealed that only 4 largescale (GLA(BUILDING)>3000m2) secondary buildings had potential for whole building adaptive reuse; however, the vacancy in these 4 buildings was predominantly greyspace, and contextual factors made whole building adaptive reuse unlikely. On a scale smaller than whole building adaptive reuse, 21 large secondary buildings emerged as potentially suitable for mixed-use-multi-level adaptive reuse. Further examination revealed 17 of these buildings had less than 2 stacked floorplates which were wholly untenanted, reducing the viability of multiple level adaptive reuse. The distribution of vacancy across the population reduced the suitability of whole building and mixed-use-multi-level adaptive reuse as a city-wide strategy to solve perceived vacancy problems. This study concludes that aggregated market vacancy rates are poor predictors of the suitability for adaptive reuse as an urban regeneration strategy to mitigate obsolescence in existing buildings. Therefore, a reduction in building regulation requirements would not necessarily lead to greater adaptive reuse of under-used office buildings as the distribution of vacancy does not lend itself to whole building adaptive reuse. This research provides new critical perspectives on the relationship between adaptive reuse and building regulation. Research findings can help shape policy development in urban planning, and interrogate agendas seeking to reduce NCC regulation of existing buildings. Findings can also inform building owner feasibility decisions for adaptive reuse development and has implications for changing stakeholders’ attitudes towards regulation in architectural practice.Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Architecture & Built Environment, 202

Reported frequency of physical activity in a large epidemiological study: relationship to specific activities and repeatability over time

BACKGROUND How overall physical activity relates to specific activities and how reported activity changes over time may influence interpretation of observed associations between physical activity and health. We examine the relationships between various physical activities self-reported at different times in a large cohort study of middle-aged UK women. METHODS At recruitment, Million Women Study participants completed a baseline questionnaire including questions on frequency of strenuous and of any physical activity. About 3 years later 589,896 women also completed a follow-up questionnaire reporting the hours they spent on a range of specific activities. Time spent on each activity was used to estimate the associated excess metabolic equivalent hours (MET-hours) and this value was compared across categories of physical activity reported at recruitment. Additionally, 18,655 women completed the baseline questionnaire twice, at intervals of up to 4 years; repeatability over time was assessed using the weighted kappa coefficient (κweighted) and absolute percentage agreement. RESULTS The average number of hours per week women reported doing specific activities was 14.0 for housework, 4.5 for walking, 3.0 for gardening, 0.2 for cycling, and 1.4 for all strenuous activity. Time spent and the estimated excess MET-hours associated with each activity increased with increasing frequency of any or strenuous physical activity reported at baseline (tests for trend, P < 0.003), although the associations for housework were by far the weakest (Spearman correlations, 0.01 and -0.03 respectively for housework, and 0.11-0.37 for all other activities). Repeatability of responses to physical activity questions on the baseline questionnaire declined significantly over time. For strenuous activity, absolute agreement was 64% (κweighted = 0.71) for questionnaires administered less than 6 months apart, and 52% (κweighted = 0.51) for questionnaires more than 2 years apart. Corresponding values for any physical activity were 57% (κweighted = 0.67) and 47% (κweighted = 0.58). CONCLUSIONS In this cohort, responses to simple questions on the frequency of any physical activity and of strenuous activity asked at baseline were associated with hours spent on specific activities and the associated estimated excess MET-hours expended, reported 3 years later. The weakest associations were with housework. Agreement for identical questions asked on two occasions about the frequency of physical activity decreased over time.This work was supported by public funds from Cancer Research UK and the UK Medical Research Council

The Role of Action Research in the Study of Small Business Marketing and Retailer Loyalty Card Data

The small business is challenged on a daily basis to compete in an ever demanding and ever expanding marketplace. As a result of new technologies such as market intelligence databases, small business owner-managers are playing catch–up with larger and more resource based firms in maintaining current insight into the market. Larger firms have typically been better positioned to afford and analyse the latest market intelligence data for internal marketing purposes. This study provides insight into three action research case studies through a participatory action research, investigating the ways in which traditionally informal small business owner-managers addressed marketing challenges through the utilisation of free access of formalised retailer loyalty card data for the first time in their daily business marketing activities

Marketing planning and digital customer loyalty data in small business

Purpose – Retailer loyalty card marketing intelligence presents actual customer purchasing preferences, competitor activities and performance. Typically, extant literature implies that larger firms with formal marketing planning approaches will be more able to leverage it, structured as it is within a formalized statistical format. Small business literature on the other hand emphasizes their more informal approach to marketing planning. The purpose of this paper is to consider, for the first time, the potential relationship between retailer loyalty card marketing intelligence and small business market orientation. Design/methodology/approach – A conceptual model is developed which diagrammatically interprets how retailer loyalty card marketing intelligence can relate to small business market orientation. Propositions provide a basis for further discussion with applied and research implications. Findings – A pertinent aspect of the conceptualization is the role of small business owner-manager insight and intuition within an experiential learning context. A complementary relationship is posited in the leveraging of retailer loyalty card marketing intelligence to enhance small business market orientation, which with higher levels of entrepreneurship orientation can lead to positive organizational outcomes, such as facilitating more successful and informed engagement with larger suppliers. Originality/value – The paper addresses the increasing pressure small businesses face in dealing with retailer loyalty card marketing intelligence. Generally, literature has yet to adequately address marketing planning implications for firms. The informal/formal tension when considering small businesses presents a particularly interesting area of conceptual development, integrating market orientation literature and also recent developments which point to interaction between market and entrepreneurship orientations. This paper therefore provides a basis for a new small business research agenda in an area which is highly topical and important, with a synthesis of the extant literature in developing a conceptualization and propositions. The conceptualization and propositions can facilitate the development of new research and thinking in this potentially fruitful area of future enquiry

Linear law for the logarithms of the Riemann periods at simple critical zeta zeros

Each simple zero 1/2 + iγn of the Riemann zeta function on the critical line with γn > 0 is a center for the flow s˙ = ξ(s) of the Riemann xi function with an associated period Tn. It is shown that, as γn →∞, log Tn ≥ π/4 γn + O(log γn). Numerical evaluation leads to the conjecture that this inequality can be replaced by an equality. Assuming the Riemann Hypothesis and a zeta zero separation conjecture γn+1 − γn≥ γn-θ for some exponent θ > 0, we obtain the upper bound log Tn ≤ γn2 + θ Assuming a weakened form of a conjecture of Gonek, giving a bound for the reciprocal of the derivative of zeta at each zero, we obtain the expected upper bound for the periods so, conditionally, log Tn = π/ 4 γn +O(log γn). Indeed, this linear relationship is equivalent to the given weakened conjecture, which implies the zero separation conjecture, provided the exponent is sufficiently large. The frequencies corresponding to the periods relate to natural eigenvalues for the Hilbert–Polya conjecture. They may provide a goal for those seeking a self-adjoint operator related to the Riemann hypothesis

2D and 3D photonic crystal materials for photocatalysis and electrochemical energy storage and conversion

This perspective reviews recent advances in inverse opal structures, how they have been developed, studied and applied as catalysts, catalyst support materials, as electrode materials for batteries, water splitting applications, solar-to-fuel conversion and electrochromics, and finally as photonic photocatalysts and photoelectrocatalysts. Throughout, we detail some of the salient optical characteristics that underpin recent results and form the basis for light-matter interactions that span electrochemical energy conversion systems as well as photocatalytic systems. Strategies for using 2D as well as 3D structures, ordered macroporous materials such as inverse opals are summarized and recent work on plasmonic–photonic coupling in metal nanoparticle-infiltrated wide band gap inverse opals for enhanced photoelectrochemistry are provided

A potency of life

A potency of lif

Breathless and awaiting diagnosis in UK lockdown for COVID-19…We’re stuck

During the COVID-19 pandemic, semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 20 adults awaiting a diagnosis for their chronic breathlessness. Three key themes were identified using thematic analysis: (1) de-prioritisation of diagnosis, (2) following UK ‘lockdown’ guidance for the general population but patients fearful they were more at risk, and (3) the impact of lockdown on coping strategies for managing breathlessness. The existing unpredictable pathway to diagnosis for those with chronic breathlessness has been further interrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic

Executive function skills of 6–8 year olds: Brain and behavioral evidence and implications for school achievement

Academic and social success in school has been linked to children’s self-regulation. This study investigated the assessment of the executive function (EF) component of self-regulation using a low-cost, easily administered measure to determine whether scores obtained from the behavioral task would agree with those obtained using a laboratory-based neuropsychological measure of EF skills. The sample included 74 children (37 females; M = 86.2 months) who participated in two assessments of working memory and inhibitory control: Knock–Tap (NEPSY: Korkman, Kirk, & Kemp, 1998), and participated in event-related potential (ERP) testing that included the directional stroop test (DST: Davidson, Cruess, Diamond, O’Craven, and Savoy (1999)). Three main findings emerged. First, children grouped as high vs. low performing on the NEPSY Knock–Tap Task were found to perform differently on the more difficult conditions of the DST (the Incongruent and Mixed Conditions), suggesting that the Knock–Tap Task as a low-cost and easy to administer assessment of EF skills may be one way for teachers to identify students with poor inhibitory control skills. Second, children’s performance on the DST was strongly related to their ERP responses, adding to evidence that differences in behavioral performance on the DST as a measure of EF skills reflect corresponding differences in brain processing. Finally, differences in brain processing on the DST task also were found when the children were grouped based on Knock–Tap performance. Simple screening procedures can enable teachers to identify children whose distractibility, inattentiveness, or poor attention spans may interfere with classroom learning

Incest in the 1990s: reading Anais Nin's 'Father Story'

In the summer of 1933, diarist, author and critic Anaïs Nin joined her father for a short vacation in France. Nin wrote about the trip in her diary afterwards, referring to it as the ‘Father Story.’ In the story, she details how, aged 30, she embarked upon an affair with her father which would last for several months. Rather than displaying the signs of trauma that we have come to expect from the incest narrative such as dissociation, blame and recrimination, the ‘Father Story’ is more ambiguous in its tone. Part-tribute to the father, part-seduction narrative, part-confession, this is a story that resists categorisation – a resistance that has ethical, critical and formal ramifications for our reading of incest narratives. Upon its publication in the early 1990s, critics responded to the ‘Father Story’ as fantastical, excessive and vulgar. These responses form part of a wider American father story during this period; a story about memory, therapy culture, family values and the concealed rules of testimony. This article reads Anaïs Nin’s narrative as a text which raises fundamental questions about why certain father (and daughter) stories are culturally acceptable and others are not