An Examination of the Structure of Sustainable Facilities Planning Scale for User Satisfaction in Nigerian Universities

Universities are under increasing pressure to demonstrate that continuous performance improvement is being delivered for user satisfaction, but the importance of facilities planning as a student-staff focused tool needs to be emphasised. This research sought answers to questions relating to the underlying structure of sustainable facilities planning and user satisfaction, and the number of factors that make up the facilities planning scale. Three universities from the south-western part of Nigeria were selected randomly using ownership structure to define the cases: University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso and Joseph Ayo Babalola University, Ikeji Arakeji, each representing the Federal, State, and Private ownership. A questionnaire survey was used on a random sample of 651 staff and students from the three universities. Six hundred questionnaires were retrieved (response rate of 92.2%). An exploratory factor analysis was used to understand the responses and the interrelationships. The results showed a two-factor solution of ‘locational advantages and user needs’ and ‘adequacy of facilities/functional connection and four core determinants for acceptance. It is concluded that universities should factor student-staff focus points into their facilities planning schemes to optimise their service deliveries. The study contributes to the discussion on factor structure of sustainable facilities planning scale with a focus on students and staff of universities. Keywords: Facilities planning, universities, data structure, factors, Nigeria

Identification of Important Factors for Office Space Decision by Tenants in Kuala Lumpur city centre, Malaysia -Experts' View

Abstract While the central business district (CBD) in most cities is referred to as the heart of the city, the development strategy within the Kuala Lumpur city centre area is to have a moderate commercial growth. This is to curb the oversupply of commercial space and attracting quality development with the aim of enhancing Kuala Lumpur's role as an international and financial centre. As the Kuala Lumpur city centre has the most concentration of office space in Malaysia, it would be useful to identify the factors which would attract and retain tenants for the existing office buildings in the area. It has been noted from various studies on office occupation in the central business district (CBD), different factors influence the decision. In the preliminary part of a study to identify the factors influencing tenants' decision in office occupation, the view of experts' were sought. This paper highlights the findings of a survey among property consultants/agents and property/leasing managers in which the main important factors are identified. This result will then be used into the study for the determination of the relative importance of the factors and sub-factors across the different categories of office buildings' tenants in Kuala Lumpur city centre

A multi-criteria framework for office tenants' preferences at office buildings

In order to mitigate the anticipated oversupply of office space, it is necessary to gauge the preference of office occupiers, namely tenants of purpose built office buildings, since these tenants form the indicator of demand for space. In this study, a multi-criteria decision making method (MCDM) – the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) procedure was employed to analyse the relative importance of the main factors chosen by the main sectors of tenants at top grade office buildings in Kuala Lumpur city centre. This study had identified the elicitation of experts’ opinion and tenants’ selection comprises twenty-six important factors for office occupation in Kuala Lumpur city centre, grouped under four main categories: Location, Lease, Building and Financial/Cost. This study then employed AHP to assess the relative importance placed on each category, revealing the varying patterns of preferences when tested on tenants from three main business sectors occupying top grade office buildings. The findings showed that, between the three sectors (Finance/Banking, ICT & Media and Oil & Gas), differences in preference were only slight for most factors but were significant for a few. The findings from this study are insightful in informing decisions on future office provision, particularly in the context of working towards satisfying office tenants’ requirements

3-(3-Meth­oxy­benzo­yl)-1,1-diphenyl­thio­urea

The thiono and carbonyl groups in the title compound, C21H18N2O2S, adopt an anti disposition with respect to the central C—N bond. The diphenyl­amine rings are twisted relative to each other by a dihedral angle of 82.55 (10)°. The 3-meth­oxy­benzoyl fragment is twisted relative to one of the diphenyl­amine rings, forming a dihedral angle of 74.04 (9)°. In the crystal, pairs of inter­molecular N—H⋯S hydrogen bonds link the mol­ecules into centrosymmetric dimers, forming columns parallel to the a axis

1,1-Dibenzyl-3-(4-fluoro­benzo­yl)thio­urea

In the title compound, C22H19FN2OS, the 2-fluoro­benzoyl group adopts a trans conformation with respect to the thiono S atom across the N—C bond. In the crystal, inter­molecular N—H⋯S, C—H⋯S and C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the mol­ecules, forming a two-dimensional network parallel to (101)

1,1-Dibenzyl-3-(3-chloro­benzo­yl)thio­urea

In the title compound, C22H19ClN2OS, the thiono and carbonyl groups are trans positioned with respect to a partially double C—N bond. The amide group is twisted relative to the thio­urea fragment, forming a dihedral angle of 46.75 (11)°. In the crystal, inter­molecular N—H⋯S and C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the mol­ecules into a one-dimensional polymeric structure parallel to the c axis

Strategic development of property auctions market in Malaysia

Despite its existence in the property market scene for over a century, little is known about the property auction market in Malaysia. We analyze the types, size, occurrence, and performance of property auctions in Malaysia. In comparison to mature markets such as Australia and New Zealand, the auction market in Malaysia is relatively small (0.03% of total property sales) and dominated by distress or foreclosure sales. Outdated laws coupled with an unregulated auction environment have generated myriad challenges among which are the presence of syndicates (dummy bidders) and negative stigma associated with auctions. We highlight initiatives that could be taken by policymakers to revitalize the property auction market in Malaysia

2-Bromo-N-(dibenzyl­carbamothioyl)benzamide

The 2-bromo­benzoyl group in the title compound, C22H19BrN2OS, adopts an E conformation with respect to the thiono S atom across the N—C bond. In the crystal structure, the mol­ecule is stablized by N—H⋯O inter­molecular hydrogen bonds, forming a one-dimensional chain along the b axis

Case Study of Engineering Ethics toward Natural Gas Pipeline Leaking: An Analysis through Solving Technique

This paper focuses on the case study of engineering ethics for Gas Pipeline Explosion at Ghislenghien, Belgium. The tragedy happened on 30th of July, 2004 and investigation was conducted to find the root cause. However, the question is remains unsolved. Investigators and experts listed few reasons that may affecting the gas pipeline including safety regulations not being observed due to deadline given is too short, soil erosion and used of mechanical diggers within one meter of the gas pipe. Rescue operation was initiated immediate after the gas explosion. This tragedy causes 24 dead including 5 fire fighters and indicated an amount of 100 million euros lost and lead to multiple reformation. Therefore, a case study of engineering ethics has been done and the analysis has been made in terms of ethical framework and ethical theories respectively. The recommendation of this study is hoped to help the engineers in order to reduce the numbers of accidentin their work place

A whole genome analyses of genetic variants in two Kelantan Malay individuals

The sequencing of two members of the Royal Kelantan Malay family genomes will provide insights on the Kelantan Malay whole genome sequences. The two Kelantan Malay genomes were analyzed for the SNP markers associated with thalassemia and Helicobacter pylori infection. Helicobacter pylori infection was reported to be low prevalence in the north-east as compared to the west coast of the Peninsular Malaysia and beta-thalassemia was known to be one of the most common inherited and genetic disorder in Malaysia.By combining SNP information from literatures, GWAS study and NCBI ClinVar, 18 unique SNPs were selected for further analysis. From these 18 SNPs, 10 SNPs came from previous study of Helicobacter pylori infection among Malay patients, 6 SNPs were from NCBI ClinVar and 2 SNPs from GWAS studies. The analysis reveals that both Royal Kelantan Malay genomes shared all the 10 SNPs identified by Maran (Single Nucleotide Polymorphims (SNPs) genotypic profiling of Malay patients with and without Helicobacter pylori infection in Kelantan, 2011) and one SNP from GWAS study. In addition, the analysis also reveals that both Royal Kelantan Malay genomes shared 3 SNP markers; HBG1 (rs1061234), HBB (rs1609812) and BCL11A (rs766432) where all three markers were associated with beta-thalassemia.Our findings suggest that the Royal Kelantan Malays carry the SNPs which are associated with protection to Helicobacter pylori infection. In addition they also carry SNPs which are associated with beta-thalassemia. These findings are in line with the findings by other researchers who conducted studies on thalassemia and Helicobacter pylori infection in the non-royal Malay population.Wan Khairunnisa Wan Juhari, Nur Aida Md Tamrin, Mohd Hanif Ridzuan Mat Daud, Hatin Wan Isa, Nurfazreen Mohd Nasir, Sathiya Maran, Nur Shafawati Abdul Rajab, Khairul Bariah Ahmad Amin Noordin, Nik Norliza Nik Hassan, Rick Tearle, Rozaimi Razali, Amir Feisal Merican and Bin Alwi Zilfali