An Analysis of Hotel Real Estate Market Dynamics

After providing a conceptual analysis of national hotel cycles, metro level hotel market dynamics are examined using various measures of supply and demand volatility, and historical revenue per available room (REVPAR) performance. Cluster analysis is used to provide a more rigorous classification of hotel markets in relatively homogeneous groups. A clustering algorithm is applied to REVPAR growth across fifty-eight metro areas. Using discriminant analysis, each cluster is then linked to various economic characteristics. Five hotel market clusters are identified with differences in various employment location quotients, employment SIC categories and employment growth largely determining the cluster groupings. This analysis can be used to improve hotel portfolio diversification strategies for both real estate investment trusts and direct-side equity investors.

Fear of Overbuilding in the Office Sector: How Real is the Risk and Can We Predict It?

After a prolonged hiatus following the boom of the 1980s, the pace of office construction has begun to increase, raising the specter of overbuilding in several metropolitan areas (MSAs). Research has shown that commercial property markets are prone to overbuilding, however, there is a dearth of research on construction cycles at the MSA level. This article examines three techniques that can be used to examine the probability of overbuilding within the office sector. Based on quarterly data from 1977-1997, this research concludes that both base employment and the Space Market Index provide the most practical methods for assessing the risk of overbuilding. There is considerable variation across MSAs in terms of the risk of overbuilding. This has important implications for real estate investors from a tactical asset allocation viewpoint.

Powering the superwind in NGC 253

NGC 253 is a prototypical moderate nuclear starburst galaxy. It is a barred SBc spiral galaxy at a distance of approximately 3 Mpc and can be studied on scales down to 15 pc in the optical and near IR. It is a bright IRAS source with a flux of 1000 Jy at 60 microns and a FIR luminosity of 3 x 10(exp 10) solar luminosity. It has a strong Br(gamma) emission line, a signature of ongoing massive star formation and deep CO absorption bands, which are indicative of the dominance of red supergiants in the near IR. It contains a population of compact radio sources, similar to those seen in M82. Optical spectra show that the nucleus is heavily reddened, with a Balmer decrement of approximately 30. NGC 253 possesses a 'superwind,' seen both in x-ray emission and in optical line emission. Nuclear ejection was first suggested to explain the kinematics of the nuclear region. We have obtained J, H, and K images of the entire galaxy at 1.3 arcsec/pixel (18 pc/pixel) using the superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) on the KPNO 1.3 m. We have constructed a mosaic of 180 s exposures which traces the galaxy over much of its optical extent. The data were shifted, rotated, magnified, and calibrated following normal practice

Millimeter wavelength rectenna development

Rectennas were studied with the intent of converting the Earth's (black body) radiation into dc power for satellites in earth orbit. Power densities; metal-oxide-metal diodes; antenna design configurations; fluid patterns; substrate mounted antennas; and directions for future work are outlined. This presentation is represented by viewgraphs only

Forward looking wind shear detection program

Delco Systems' Forward Looking Windshear Detection program is reviewed in viewgraph form. Topics covered include extinction of radiance by absorbing and scattering media, atmospheric absorption in the far infrared region, an inframetrics imaging radiometer, a basic radiance signal equation, and tower and flight test plans

Leadership and management development within the NHS: a phenomenological and critical account

Regarding the failures of Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust between 2005 and 2009, Sir Robert Francis QC commented to the then Secretary of State for Health ‘that above all, it failed to tackle an insidious negative culture involving a tolerance of poor standards and a disengagement of managerial and leadership responsibilities’ (The Francis Report, 2013, p. 9). This was a criticism directly laid at the feet of those NHS leaders and managers who were charged with caring for vulnerable families and friends during that time. Understanding how leaders and managers are developed within the NHS is of a notable concern, especially if we wish not to see the likes of what occurred at Stafford Hospital again. Even after significant investment in NHS management training, Lake (2016) of the NHS Leadership Academy suggests that there are still vague barriers which prevent a culture of effective leadership development from embedding itself within the NHS workforce. This view is supported by others including Ahmed et al. (2015), West et al. (2015) and Tull (2018). It can be reasonably asserted that this unclear picture starts with a need to explore the recent experiences of NHS staff who have been participants on NHS leadership and management development (LMD) trainings. The primary aims of this thesis were 1) to explore how NHS LMD training participants experience their training and 2) to examine potential barriers which impacted upon the LMD participant's learning within their NHS workplace. With a focus on the need to understand the experiences of NHS LMD participants, a qualitative methodology was proposed as a suitable research method (Creswell, 2017). Thus, a retrospective, cohort sample of nine recent (within the past 10 years) NHS LMD participants partook in nine; 40-60-minute individually recorded then transcribed, semi-structured interviews. Recognising Alvesson and Deetz (2000) concept of 'interpretative repertoire’ (2000, p. 166) and Mabey’s (2013) recognition of the neglected organisational and leadership development discourses; an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) (Smith et al. 2009) and a modified Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) (Fairclough, 2003; 2013) were chosen as multi-methods of analysis to be applied to the same nine transcribed interview transcripts. Findings revealed 1) some LMD interventions and participant opinions regarding LMD's role within the NHS workplace are more appreciated and supported in the literature then others 2) NHS LMD as a discourse and social practice is inherently vulnerable to manipulation and the agendas of others due to a range of influences and vested interests involved within the field 3) overall NHS LMD trainings are well liked and appreciated by participants. This thesis concludes with a series of recommendations, which can be summarised as 1) that increased integration, collaboration and closer working relationships between the NHS LMD training providers, the NHS LMD participant and the NHS workplace may enhance the LMD experience for all involved 2) the use of both IPA and CDA in exploring organisational and LMD related issues is a novel and informative approach, which should be encouraged to address a notable deficit of research approaches and practices within this field

Intracontinental deformation in southern Africa during the late Cretaceous

Intracontinental deformation accommodated along major lithospheric scale shear zone systems and within associated extensional basins has been well documented within West, Central and East Africa during the Late Cretaceous. The nature of this deformation has been established by studies of the tectonic architecture of sedimentary basins preserved in this part of Africa. In southern Africa, where the post break-up history has been dominated by major erosion, little evidence for post-break-up tectonics has been preserved in the onshore geology. Here we present the results of 38 new apatite fission track analyses from the Damara region of northern Namibia and integrate these new data with our previous results that were focused on specific regions or sections only to comprehensively document the thermo-tectonic history of this region since continental break-up in the Early Cretaceous. The apatite fission track ages range from 449 ± 20 Ma to 59 ± 3 Ma, with mean confined track lengths between 14.61 ± 0.1 μm (SD 0.95 μm) to 10.83 ± 0.33 μm (SD 2.84 μm). The youngest ages (c. 80-60 Ma) yield the shortest mean track lengths, and combined with their spatial distribution, indicate major cooling during the latest Cretaceous. A simple numerical thermal model is used to demonstrate that this cooling is consistent with the combined effects of heating caused by magmatic underplating, related to the Etendeka continental flood volcanism associated with rifting and the opening of the South Atlantic, and enhanced erosion caused by major reactivation of major lithospheric structures within southern Africa during a key period of plate kinematic change that occurred in the South Atlantic and SW Indian ocean basins between 87-56 Ma. This phase of intraplate tectonism in northern Namibia, focused in discrete structurally defined zones, is coeval with similar phases elsewhere in Africa and suggests some form of trans-continental linkage between these lithospheric zones