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The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the development of understanding of the social processes involved in business engagement and understanding of the role of knowledge transfer practitioners. It is also to provide the first outlines of a theoretical framework of business engagement between higher education institutions and business, through the lens of complexity theory.

The paper draws on research that explored the actions of a group of actors within a university Business School as they attempted to develop a range of business engagement activities. The data were analysed using a narrative event sequence methodology designed to deal systematically with the relationship between events occurring over time. The events were linked into a progression to create temporal maps which provided the basis for data collection and conceptual analysis.

A space of possibilities was created by participants in the faculty to engage with industry that was adjacent to the teaching and learning space. The adjacent space set out to provide the business development team different expectations they could exploit to generate new interactions beyond the boundaries of the teaching and learning space. It was for the business development team to exploit the generative potential of the adjacent space by creating emergent events which developed halting as a non‐linear progression that juxtaposed extinction and emergent events. In their interactions the business development managers had continually to reconcile the tension between compliance and generative potential through use of individual judgement.

In developing business engagement activity consideration should be given to the contradictory world the business development managers act within and the constraints they experience. Through the examination of the events, lessons can be learned that enhance the generative potential of the business development manager.

The theoretical outline of this paper provides an initial framework within which to examine the role of the business development manager.

Multi-well hydrofracturing is an important technology to create new fractures and expand existing fractures to increase reservoir permeability. The propagation morphology of the fracture network is affected by the disturbance between the fractures initiation sequences and spacings between adjacent wells. However, it remains unclear how well spacing and initiation sequences lead to fracture propagation, deflection and connection.

In this study, the thermal-hydro-mechanical coupling effect in the hydrofracturing process was considered, to establish a finite element-discrete element model of multistage hydrofracturing in a horizontal well. Using typical cases, the unstable propagation of hydraulic fractures in multiple horizontal wells was investigated under varying well spacing and initiation sequences. Combined with the shear stress shadow caused by in situ stress disturbed by fracture tip propagation, the quantitative indexes of fracture propagation such as length, volume, displacement vector, deflection and unstable propagation behavior of the hydrofracturing fracture network were analyzed.

The results show that the shear stress disturbance caused by multiple hydraulic fractures is a significant factor in multi-well hydrofracturing. Reducing the spacing between multiple wells increases the stress shadow area and aggravates the mutual disturbance and deflection between the fractures. The quantitative analysis results show that a decrease of well spacing reduces the total length of hydraulic fractures but increases the total volume of the fracture; compared with sequential and simultaneous fracturing, alternate fracturing can effectively reduce stress shadow area, alleviate fracture disturbance and generate larger fracture propagation length and volume.

The numerical models and results of the unstable propagation and stress evolution of the hydraulic fracture network under thermal-hydro-mechanical coupling obtained in this study can provide useful guidance for the evaluation and design of rock mass fracture networks in deep unconventional oil and gas reservoirs.

Magnetic sensors have recently been proposed for parking occupancy detection. However, there has adjacent interference problem, i.e. the magnetic signal is easy to be interfered by the vehicles which are parking on adjacent spaces. The purpose of this paper is to propose a sensing algorithm to eliminate the adjacent interference.

The magnetic signals are converted to the pattern representation sequences, and the similarity is calculated using the pattern distance. The detection algorithm includes two levels: local decision and data fusion. In the local decision level, the sampled signals can be divided into three classes: vacant, occupied and uncertain. Then a collaborative decision is used to fusion the signals which belong to the uncertain class for the second level.

An experiment system included 60 sensor nodes that were deployed on bay parking spaces. Experiment results show that the proposed algorithm has better detection accuracy than existing algorithms.

This paper proposes a data fusion algorithm to eliminate adjacent interference. To balance the energy consumption and detection accuracy, the algorithm includes two levels: local decision and data fusion. In most of cases, the local decision can obtain the accurate detection result. Only the signals that cannot be correctly detected at the local level need data fusion operation.

This study examines the activities of a specialized service desk and provides guidance on conducting an analysis of the activities. The authors wanted to know what is essential in terms of expertise, staffing, technology, collections and space at a Maps and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Service desk. The purpose of the study was to explore whether the provision of these services require a staffed service desk.

The authors collected data using mixed methods, including observing space use, administering a survey and analyzing desk interactions.

Findings suggest that while this service desk may have relatively little traffic, the interactions are time consuming and require a high degree of subject expertise. The data indicated that this service does not need to be delivered in this specific location; however, retaining the expertise and access to collections is vital. The authors recommend that formal assessment of services and space should be conducted prior to making significant changes in a service model.

This study investigates a specialized service desk which are not well-represented in the literature. Additionally, the variety of approaches used in this study could serve as a model for others for service desk assessment in general.

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the use of historical building performance data to identify potential issues with the build quality and operation of a building, as a means of narrowing the scope of in-depth further review.

The response of a room to the difference between internal and external temperatures is used to demonstrate patterns in thermal response across monitored rooms in a single building, to clearly show where rooms are under-performing in terms of their ability to retain heat during unconditioned hours. This procedure is applied to three buildings of different types, identifying the scope and limitation of this method and indicating areas of building performance deficiency.

The response of a single space to changing internal and external temperatures can be used to determine whether it responds differently to other monitored buildings. Spaces where thermal bridging and changes in use from design were encountered exhibit noticeably different responses.

Application of this methodology is limited to buildings where temperature monitoring is undertaken both internally for a variety of spaces, and externally, and where knowledge of the uses of monitored spaces is available. Naturally ventilated buildings would be more suitable for analysis using this method.

This paper contributes to the understanding of building energy performance from a data-driven perspective, to the knowledge on the disparity between building design intent and reality, and to the use of basic commonly recorded performance metrics for analysis of potentially detrimental building performance issues.

Academic libraries have long been central to the campus ecosystem. From one-room collections housed in multi-functional buildings of the colonial college campus to the modern-day cathedrals where collections, patrons, and technologies collide, academic libraries have been a steadfast, yet flexible pillar of the higher education system. Employing a case study approach, this chapter reveals how one institution, the Ohio University Libraries (OUL), has reimagined the use of library space in response to twenty-first-century demands.

A visioning process undertaken by OUL culminated in a master plan intended to serve as a guide to space utilization and renovation strategies for nearly every floor of the seven-story facility. Beyond the master planning process, external demand for space within the library emerged organically. Given these two realities, OUL’s actions over the last decade have been guided by two main approaches to the use and redesign of space: (1) repurposing space for library-oriented initiatives and (2) co-locating complementary student support services within the library. Collectively, the examples highlighted in this chapter reveal how OUL has redesigned library space and continues to be an innovative environment in response to changing demands.

Taking the streets of an old residential area in Chengdu, China, as an example, this study aims to analyse street as a transitional space that combines adjacent heterogeneous spaces.

The study framework of this paper consists of two parts. The first part focusses on the methods of landscape pattern analysis. The street spatial attributes are analysed, including the geometric and data characteristics of the city space. The second part involves a study of the stated preferences. The social attributes of space and the preferences of respondents regarding landscape properties are studied.

The study reports that the streets in the old residential area have characteristics of a fringe zone. The mechanisms of their edge effect improve the comprehensive quality of the urban space, stimulate a value-added effect and promote the overall development of the district economy.

The use of the spatial synergy of the edge effect can help us identify problems more accurately, enable streets to become suitable as public spaces, safeguard the rights of local residents to develop and eliminate the factors of instability.

Ageing populations induce needs to adapt existing housing. With ageing, the number of frail old people, who require assistance in daily life, is also increased. Converting existing housing into assisted living enables them to remain in their community while receiving necessary support and care. The purpose is to investigate whether post-war mass housing is spatially appropriate for adaptation into group homes for older people.

The research material is attained from Finland. Spatial requirements for group homes are drawn from 130 units built or renovated during 2000–2015. Spatial characteristics of mass housing are mapped from 105 apartment buildings built in the 1970s. The latter are matched with the former by comparing the connectivity of layouts, sizes of units and the numbers and sizes of individual spaces.

Group homes typically utilize a linear layout, which can easily be created in apartment buildings. Individual spaces of a group home fit apartment buildings effortlessly. Whole group home units mostly prove to be spatially feasible but result in looser dimensioning than is typical in existing units. The mass housing stock can be considered a spatial reserve for adaptation into group homes.

This is the first study to employ a large-scale, multi-case spatial mapping approach to analyse the adaptability properties of mass housing into assisted living. The findings pertain primarily to the Finnish context, but a methodology is presented which can be applied to other countries and also to other spatial functions.

Reducing energy consumption of a building may have a significant effect on the energy and environmental costs. Nowadays, energy simulations have come to the aid of engineers in the design and implementation of buildings with a perspective on energy consumption.

In the current study, the suggested volume of a residential building in the Savadkuh City, Iran, is modeled using Ecotect® software, and the amount of radiation on the sides during various months of the year is studied. Then, using EnergyPlus™ software, climate analyses are performed on the suggested design, and finally, the amount of heating and cooling loads of the building are examined under two difference scenarios of mediator space.

Results indicated that nearly at all times of the year, both the heating and cooling loads were reduced in the scenario where mediator space had two functions, i.e. as greenhouse and as a space for higher ventilation, compared to the scenario where mediator space did not have a climate role and merely served as an entrance and passageway with rigid dividers.

Nowadays, energy simulations have come to the aid of engineers in the design and implementation of buildings with a perspective on energy consumption. Therefore, in the current study, the suggested volume of a residential building in the Savadkuh City, Iran, is modeled using Ecotect® software, and the amount of radiation on the sides during various months of the year is studied. Then, using EnergyPlus™ software, climate analyses are performed on the suggested design, and finally, the amount of heating and cooling loads of the building are examined under two difference scenarios of mediator space.