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21 – 30 of over 28000
Article
Publication date: 27 October 2023

Murat Gunduz, Khalid Naji and Omar Maki

This paper aims to present the development of a holistic campus facility management (CFM) performance assessment framework that incorporates a fuzzy logic approach and integrates…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to present the development of a holistic campus facility management (CFM) performance assessment framework that incorporates a fuzzy logic approach and integrates a comprehensive set of key factors for successful management of campus facilities. The devised framework aims to cater to the needs of campus facilities management firms and departments for the purpose of gauging and assessing their performance across different management domains. Through this approach, facility management organizations can detect potential areas of enhancement and adopt preemptive steps to evade issues, foster progress and ensure success.

Design/methodology/approach

After a comprehensive analysis of the literature, conducting in-depth interviews with industry experts and employing the Delphi technique in two rounds, a total of 45 indicators critical to CFM success were identified and subsequently sorted into seven distinct groups. Through an online questionnaire, 402 subject-matter experts proficiently assessed the significance of the critical success indicators and their groups. A fuzzy logic framework was developed to evaluate and quantify a firm's compliance with the critical success indicators and groups of indicators. The framework was subsequently weighted using computations of the relative importance index (RII) based on the responses received from the questionnaire participants. The initial section of the framework involved a comprehensive analysis of the firm's performance vis-à-vis the indicators, while the latter part sought to evaluate the impact of the indicators groups on the overall firm's performance.

Findings

The utilization of fuzzy logic has uncovered the significant effects each effective CFM key indicator on indicators groups, as well as the distinct effects of each CFM indicators group on the overall performance of CFM. The results reveal that financial management, communications management, sustainability and environment management and workforce management are the most impactful indicators groups on the CFM performance. This suggests that it is imperative for management to allocate increased attention to these specific areas.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the advancement of current knowledge by revealing vital indicators of effective CFM and utilizing them to construct a thorough fuzzy logic framework that can assist in evaluating the effectiveness of CFM firms worldwide. This has the potential to provide crucial assistance to facility management organizations, facility managers and policymakers in their quest for informed decision-making.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 September 2008

Paul Conway

Digital content is a common denominator that underlies all discussions on scholarly communication, digital preservation, and asset management. This past decade has seen a…

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Abstract

Purpose

Digital content is a common denominator that underlies all discussions on scholarly communication, digital preservation, and asset management. This past decade has seen a distinctive evolution in thinking among stakeholders on how to assemble, care for, deliver, and ultimately preserve digital resources in a college and university environment. At first, institutional repositories promised both a technical infrastructure and a policy framework for the active management of scholarly publications. Now other approaches that take a broader view of digital content hold sway, the result being confusion rather than clarity about where digital content originates, who the stakeholders are, and how to establish and adjust asset management priorities. This article seeks to present a model for plotting the range of digital content that might be amenable to management as digital assets in higher education.

Design/methodology/approach

The article reviews differing perspectives on digital content, outlines a generalized model, and suggests how the model could be used for examining the distribution of campus digital assets and fostering dialog on management priorities across stakeholder communities.

Findings

A multivariate model of digital content provides a rich framework for analyzing asset management priorities in a university setting. The model should be applied and tested in a variety of university settings.

Practical implications

The model is a tool for establishing asset management priorities across campus units that produce digital content.

Originality/value

The paper offers an original model for evaluating the asset values of digital content produced or acquired in a university context.

Details

Library Hi Tech, vol. 26 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0737-8831

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 January 2017

Luís Cruz, Eduardo Barata, João-Pedro Ferreira and Fausto Freire

This paper aims to explore the potential contribution of integrated traffic and parking management strategies to ensure more rational use of available parking spaces and to reduce…

1817

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the potential contribution of integrated traffic and parking management strategies to ensure more rational use of available parking spaces and to reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by commuters traveling to the University of Coimbra (UC) main campus.

Design/methodology/approach

An integrated modelling approach is used, including the characterization of supply and demand for parking and public transport, the creation and implementation of a survey to campus users and a life-cycle approach to assess six transportation and parking strategy scenarios.

Findings

This comprehensive analysis demonstrates the importance of integrated management measures to greening commuters’ transportation and parking within a University campus, identifying and quantifying opportunities for successfully making the transitions toward a more sustainable future, namely, increasing well-being and reducing environmental impact.

Practical implications

Results demonstrate that effective control of illegal parking and different forms of modal shift toward public transportation may contribute to important reductions in environmental impacts.

Social implications

Local population reveals willingness to participate in collective efforts to tackle traffic and parking problems, challenging authorities to take action and empowering ever more people to engage in such cathartic changes.

Originality/value

This comprehensive approach is highly valuable for the management of parking and traffic within the UC campus, providing innovative lessons on the social and environmental impacts that would result from this policy approach to urban areas (e.g. historical centers) facing the typical problems of a carbon society, such as traffic congestion, non-regulated parking and intensive car use.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 18 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 May 2023

Dan-Cristian Dabija, Veronica Campian, Liana Stanca and Adriana Tiron-Tudor

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought tremendous changes in society. Universities were among the few organisations with some previous knowledge of online education, being able to…

Abstract

Purpose

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought tremendous changes in society. Universities were among the few organisations with some previous knowledge of online education, being able to rapidly adapt by transferring already known best practices to the new context. As teaching moved to online, students encountered less sustainable implementation by their universities. This allowed the development of previously planned sustainable strategies so that when face-to-face teaching resumed, universities could be even more sustainable. This paper aims to explore loyalty to the sustainable university during the later COVID-19 pandemic based on the university’s efforts to manage a green campus.

Design/methodology/approach

To investigate loyalty towards the sustainable university during the later COVID-19 pandemic, a conceptual model is proposed. This research is grounded in an empirical investigation using a quantitative online survey implemented with online interviews, the relations between all latent constructs being analysed with SmartPLS.

Findings

The results show that university sustainability reflects student loyalty, outlining the image developed under the influence of green campus management. The results show that universities must intensify their efforts to support the sustainable agenda and create a sustainable academic brand, inducing student loyalty. The findings may attract the attention of other universities wishing to gain knowledge about the factors that students consider important in generating their loyalty.

Research limitations/implications

As this research was carried out in the later COVID-19 pandemic context from 2021, the students already had experience of online teaching, so their assessment of the sustainability strategies implemented could be quite different from their perceptions in the first months of the pandemic. This research provides a comprehensive insight into the overall strategy that a sustainable university might apply in a crisis context.

Social implications

Research has shown that green campus management has a positive impact on the sustainability of a university’s image, on how students perceive the university at which they study and on the university’s efforts to ensure efficient campus management. These factors contribute to the development of a strong and sustainable image of the university within the community.

Originality/value

The originality of this paper lies in the research questions designed to conceptualise and operationalise the generation of students' loyalty towards their university by encouraging and implementing sustainable strategies on campus. This paper highlights a structural model that combines strategic practices to determine students' loyalty towards a sustainable university during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 24 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 14 June 2021

Chen Chen and Frank Vanclay

This paper aims to discuss how transnational universities create negative and positive social impacts on their host communities and what this means for campus sustainability and…

5470

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to discuss how transnational universities create negative and positive social impacts on their host communities and what this means for campus sustainability and the expectation that universities contribute to sustainable development and to their local communities.

Design/methodology/approach

Using mixed methods, a multiple case study approach and qualitative meta-analysis, this study considers six transnational university campuses in China in terms of their relationship with local communities.

Findings

Because of the good reputation of universities generally, local residents tended to accord a social licence to operate (i.e. approval) to new university campuses. However, universities generally do not manage their social impacts, as well as many other industries and generally fail to consider the corporate social responsibility issues and the environmental, social and governance aspects of their activities. To improve their social licence to operate and grow and to meet expectations around “university social responsibility”, campus developments should observe key international principles and human rights standards: full disclosure of information; effective community engagement; appropriate resettlement and livelihood restoration; effective harm reduction procedures; provision of local benefits (benefit sharing); monitoring and adaptive management and implement a grievance redress mechanism.

Originality/value

This paper encourages broader thinking about sustainability in a higher education context and about what university social responsibility entails. Specifically, this study argues that the relationship between universities and their host communities also needs to be considered, especially during campus construction.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 22 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 August 2017

Shiva Shankar Y. and Rachit Khandelwal

The concept of sustainability has been gaining importance globally due to the growing environmental concerns and rising support from the nations to conserve the planet…

1876

Abstract

Purpose

The concept of sustainability has been gaining importance globally due to the growing environmental concerns and rising support from the nations to conserve the planet. Particularly for a country like India, this approach is highly relevant for combating the increasing stress on different sectors of the society due to the growing population. Solid waste management is an important sector that requires an immediate attention in the current context. Implementation of integrated sustainable waste management approach minimizes the waste and provides economic benefits, through best suitable method for managing the waste. In the present scenario, it is difficult for local bodies to apply this approach throughout the country due to diverse conditions and financial constraints. However this approach can be implemented through decentralization of solid waste management by the local bodies at a small scale. Technical institutes have a greater role to play in the society by nurturing the young minds about the need and ways to develop a sustainable society. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

The study area discussed in this paper is Jaypee University of Engineering and Technology situated on Agra-Mumbai national highway, Guna district, Madhya Pradesh, India. It covers an area of 125 acres and houses a population more than 3,000. The present work discusses about the development of strategic plan for sustainable waste management on the campus through the characterization and analysis of waste samples collected from academic buildings, hostels, mess, shopping complex and residential areas for beneficial utilization.

Findings

The study revealed that potential benefits such as biogas generation from organic waste, resource optimization through 3R concept (reduce, reuse and recycle) from paper, plastics, cardboard, glass, metals, etc. could be derived by adopting suitable waste management strategy.

Originality/value

The present work discusses the feasible options for the efficient utilization of the components of solid waste through integrated solid waste management system. The university with its diverse nature of wastes generated from academic buildings, hostels, mess, shopping complex and residential areas; provides a good opportunity to understand the options for sustainable waste management on the campus for wider applications.

Details

Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, vol. 28 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-7835

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 March 2009

Godfried Augenbroe, Daniel Castro and Karthik Ramkrishnan

The purpose of this paper is to describe a tool that supports an investment strategy aimed at improving the energy performance of existing buildings. It is particularly aimed at…

1350

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe a tool that supports an investment strategy aimed at improving the energy performance of existing buildings. It is particularly aimed at large building portfolios, such as encountered on university and corporate campuses, where typically a plethora of potential refurbishment interventions are candidates for a greening effort.

Design/methodology/approach

The investment optimization strategy is implemented in a web‐based software tool. Under a chosen financial constraint and investment time horizon, the tool empowers campus facility management to make the difficult “greening” decisions as part of their continuous building commissioning. The tool calculates and accepts user data that reflect different types of risks, posed by uncertainties in investment costs, energy performance, and energy cost scenarios. In addition, decision makers (DMs) can set different investment priorities, reflecting their financial risk attitude and commitment to “greenness”.

Findings

The tool helps DMs determine the best investment options from a set of available energy efficiency improvement options in the light of expected long range energy costs. It will enable the choice of the optimal mix of technologies and buildings within a given budget limit and predict the long‐term monetary as well as “green” return on investment.

Research limitations/implications

The tool has been tested on a portfolio of campus buildings, but needs further validation with a larger set of buildings in a real life campus management setting. The tool can become a trusted instrument in the hands of portfolio managers faced with the problem to select the optimal mix of technologies, and buildings within the given budget. It should be noted that “investment returns (IRs)” and “commitment to greenness” are just two elements considered in the broader decision making framework of portfolio energy management.

Practical implications

The investment tool can provide an essential instrument for campus managers who are faced with the task to refurbish buildings in their portfolio to increase their energy performance. In the current business culture of campus management, the decision to investment in energy savings needs to be weighed against competing initiatives that target greener campuses. The target of the research was to develop an instrument that can help DMs to verify rapidly what can be achieved if a budget line item of, say $10 million would be added to the campus budget for energy performance improvements.

Originality/value

The research output from this paper is valuable for continued efforts in the development of indicators that measure “IRs” and “commitment to greenness”. Other elements that impact portfolio decision making can be identified in a common decision framework of which the investment tool will become an integral part over time.

Details

Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology, vol. 7 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1726-0531

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 31 August 2012

Low Sheau Ting, Abdul Hakim Bin Mohammed and Weng Wai Choong

This study seeks to propose the implementation strategies for energy sustainability on a Malaysian university campus.

13303

Abstract

Purpose

This study seeks to propose the implementation strategies for energy sustainability on a Malaysian university campus.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper describes five proposed implementation strategies for Malaysian Universities to contribute to a sustainable energy future and to realise a sustainable university, namely: gaining top management commitment, raising energy awareness, providing energy education, developing energy conservation behaviour and developing a sustainable campus implementation blueprint.

Findings

Over the years, numerous global energy issues have been identified, which include fluctuation of world energy prices, uncertainty of future energy supplies and environmental degradation. All these problems are threatening global movement towards a sustainable energy future. Immediate action should be taken by everyone in order to secure a sustainable energy future for the next generation. Malaysian universities, which are composed of hundreds of building blocks equipped with massive facilities, present enormous opportunities to contribute to a sustainable energy future, through reduction of their overall energy consumption.

Research limitations/implications

The proposed implementation strategies are set in the Malaysian context. These strategies detail the crucial aspect towards an energy efficient campus especially in Malaysian universities. It is recommended in future studies to benchmark other countries in this research.

Originality/value –

The study provides an overview of the important strategies for energy sustainability on a Malaysian university campus.

Details

Business Strategy Series, vol. 13 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1751-5637

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 7 May 2021

Sascha Naomi Jansz, Terry van Dijk and Mark P. Mobach

The purpose of this paper is to investigate which critical success factors (CSFs) influence interaction on campuses as identified by the facility directors (FDs) of Dutch…

1013

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate which critical success factors (CSFs) influence interaction on campuses as identified by the facility directors (FDs) of Dutch university campuses and to discuss how these compare with the literature.

Design/methodology/approach

All 13 Dutch university campus FDs were interviewed (office and walking interview), focussing on CSFs relating to spaces and services that facilitate interaction. Open coding and thematic analysis resulted in empirically driven categories indicated by the respondents. Similarities and differences between the CSFs as previously identified in the literature are discussed.

Findings

The following categories emerged: constraints, motivators, designing spaces, designing services, building community and creating coherence. The campus is seen as a system containing subsystems and is itself part of a wider system (environment), forming a layered structure. Constraints and motivators are part of the environment but cannot be separated from the other four categories, as they influence their applicability.

Research limitations/implications

This study was limited to interviews with FDs and related staff. The richness of the findings shows that this was a relevant and efficient data collection strategy for the purpose of this study.

Practical implications

By viewing the campus as an open system, this study puts the practical applicability of CSFs into perspective yet provides a clear overview of CSFs related to campus interaction that may be included in future campus design policies.

Social implications

This (more) complete overview of CSFs identified in both literature and practice will help FDs, policymakers and campus designers to apply these CSFs in their campus designs. This improved campus design would increase the number of knowledge sharing interactions, contributing to innovation and valorisation. This could create a significant impact in all research fields, such as health, technology or well-being, benefitting society as a whole.

Originality/value

This study provides a comprehensive overview and comparison of CSFs from both literature and practice, allowing more effective application of CSFs in campus design policies. A framework for future studies on CSFs for interaction on campuses is provided.

Details

Facilities , vol. 39 no. 9/10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-2772

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 August 2022

N.K. Mustaffa, S.A. Kudus and M.F.H.A. Aziz

There is a growing awareness of the dangers of climate change and global warming due to increasing energy consumption and associated greenhouse gas emissions. Campus universities…

Abstract

Purpose

There is a growing awareness of the dangers of climate change and global warming due to increasing energy consumption and associated greenhouse gas emissions. Campus universities are critical for implementing low-carbon development efficiently, given the large population and socio-economic activities concentrated on campus. This paper aims to explore the existing campus management initiatives and recommends holistic driving elements towards successful low-carbon campus development.

Design/methodology/approach

This study’s triangulation of information was supplemented by contributions from 116 respondents on the UiTM Shah Alam campus and eight professional interviews with stakeholders involved in low-carbon campus projects.

Findings

The study reported that low-carbon strategies had been implemented on the UiTM Shah Alam campus, with most existing programmes and activities focusing on low-hanging fruit initiatives. Moreover, the findings indicate that financial, cultural, behavioural, organisational and physical constraints are critical challenges to effectively implementing low-carbon approaches. The proposed techniques suggest that generating green funding, defining clear targets, developing standard procedures for carbon assessment and monitoring, also boosting education and outreach programmes lead to the improvement of low-carbon campus efforts.

Practical implications

The outcomes of this paper offer perspective to campus administration and community into an evaluation of current approaches and strategies for merging low-carbon systems. The effectiveness of low-carbon implementation was ensured by addressing issues concerning low-carbon uptake and fostering low-carbon improvement.

Originality/value

Besides providing a better understanding of techniques to implementing low-carbon development in Malaysia, the critical hurdles and driving factors, the output from this study adds to the existing knowledge available concerning the campus community’s existing comprehension.

Details

Journal of Facilities Management , vol. 21 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1472-5967

Keywords

21 – 30 of over 28000