Content validation of the user attitudinal component and factors in green building

The green building performance gap has been well acknowledged in building industry and one of the contributors to these issues is the behaviour of users in the building. One of the element that influences the behaviour of users is the attitude of the user towards the building environment. The consideration of the human aspects especially the user attitudinal component and factor is essential as an approach in improving the building performance. This paper aims to identify the user attitudinal component and factor from the literature and to validate the research instrument by using the content validation method. The procedure of content validity include the conceptualization and development of instrument throughout an extensive literature review and to validate the relevance of the user attitudinal component and factors to be considered in green buildings. Three user attitudinal components and seventeen factors were developed from the extensive review of the literature. Ten experts were chosen to appraise the instrument of research by using a quantitative content validation. Fifteen items were accepted as relevant to the study within the accepted range and two items were eliminated from the research instrument. The study’s output allows the building industry a new insight on what user attitudinal aspect to be considered and integrated when dealing in the development of green building. The output of this study greatly benefits the building designers and managers when designing, constructing and managing green buildings

Interrelationships between public open space, common pool resources, publicness levels and commons dilemmas: a different perspective in urban planning

Public open space (POS) is central to the environment, and oftentimes spatial and architectural designs are emphasised in urban planning as part of creating quality POS. However, such initial design and planning of POS may not adequately encapsulate the sustainability dimensions of the complex social-ecological behavioural patterns of POS consumption and management, hence resulting in space mismanagement, underinvestment, and quality degradation. This phenomenon is particularly true and relevant in the context of government/state-owned POS. Therefore, an objective of this perspective paper, coupled with the concepts of the publicness levels, is to provide a different understanding of exclusivity and subtractibility natures of POS, primarily using the theory of common pool resources (CPRs), which subsequently helps explain and rationalise the perennial, adversarial POS management, quality and sustainability status quo. This paper reveals that, instead of being considered as pure public goods, scarce POS owns two inherent attributes of CPR, namely non-excludable and subtractive (rivalrous) that are ultimately susceptible to social/commons dilemmas, covering the Tragedy of the commons (overexploitation), management shirking, free-riding, underuse, disuse, and moral hazard, which lead to degraded, unsustainable POS. The commons or CPR theory can indeed offer a new paradigm shift, making urban planners and landscape managers to embrace that the unexclusive natures of CPR-based POS are truly finite and depletable and thus vulnerable to POS dilemmas. Hence, to achieve quality, sustainable POS commons, effective governance in terms of consumption and consistent management is vital. For future research, urban design as a necessary societal role is suggested, which has established the need for effective allocation of POS management via an adaptive institutional property rights design

Student perception on student housing facilities in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia through post occupancy evaluation

Malaysia higher education has gone through a tremendous change in mass education. Student enrolments have grown rapidly in Malaysia universities and this change has brought to the demands on improving in student housing facilities, learning spaces, recreational and other supporting facilities. Development of higher education has grown rapidly has encourage government to strengthen universities so they are more competitive. Student housing facilities in universities are design to fulfil students? needs. This is very important to provide a better learning opportunity for student and also play an important role in attracting and retaining students in the competitive demand. Therefore, student housing in universities need to be equipped with a good facilities and services to enhance the performance of the higher education institutions. Addressing the above issues, the objective of this research is to determine the perception of students on the facilities in their hostel in UTM. This was tested by twelve performance criteria and twenty six performance parameters which were identified from the literature. Then, the second objective is to determine the importance index of the performance criteria of student housing in UTM. This research is using frequency analysis and importance index calculation. The finding of this research shows that the functionality (technology) and security (security system) need to be focused and improve by the facility manager. The findings of this research can greatly benefit to the facility manager in UTM to improve student housing facilities and services and fulfil student needs and requirements