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Fintech is an “untilled field” in which the relation between Fintechs and incumbents is yet to be understood. This paper aims to explore this relationship and advance its theoretical and practical understanding. It further contributes toward Fintech paradigm and research domain emergence that both to date remain yet elusive.

This paper adopted a multiple-case study strategy for the purpose of theory building. Seven players from the Fintech ecosystem in Quebec (Canada) were selected, representing financial institutions, Fintech start-ups and Quebec’s financial cluster. Primary data was collected via in-depth interviews with ten respondents at the level of vice presidents, Managers, directors, chief executive officers and founders, and unobtrusive data – in the form of running records, mass-media news reports, presentations and proceedings from Fintech events. Data analysis was informed by grounded theory methods and techniques.

Grounded in data, this paper puts forward a typology of “comfort zoning” and its four types: nimbling, imperiling, cocooning and discomforting.

Following the tenets of the grounded theory, four criteria are used to evaluate the emergent theory: fit, relevance, workability and modifiability. It is expected the interpretation and adoption of comfort zoning typology will be challenged, modified and enhanced by Fintech researchers and practitioners.

The comfort zoning typology would aid practitioners in their efforts to define and refine the domain of Fintech, problematize it and eventually enhance the relationship between Fintechs.

This paper fulfills an identified need to explore the relationship between Fintechs and incumbents and advance the theoretical and practical understanding of this relationship.

This chapter analyses common, contradictory, paradoxical patterns in the evolution and development of authentic leadership that emerged throughout this handbook. The authentic leadership literature has been valuable in focusing on and reawakening a wider discourse on leadership and in particular the need for a reappraisal of leadership values. The adamant, one might say absolutist, claims for the theory have begun to restrict understanding. The chapters in this book reveal dimensions and insights that broaden and diversify potential approaches to contextual understanding and exercising leadership. Reilly and Turcan conclude that authentic leadership is still in its embryonic stage and whether it will fully emerge and become a mature discipline remains to be seen.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the social and functional features of micro-apartment and, based on the findings, to demonstrate the projects of modern micro-apartment designed for one or two people, which are implemented in the experimental design.

Based on the analysis of the study of theoretical scientific works on the research topic and from the standpoint of an interdisciplinary discourse the social and economic prerequisites for the demand for such a dwelling are determined and the categories of citizens for whom a micro-apartment is an advantage are identified. Particular attention is paid to the typological boundaries of the study, the generalization and synthesis of sources which is reflected in identifying the features of the functional zoning of a micro-apartment in connection with the needs of residents and determining modern ways to improve the comfort of living.

At the examples of experimental design of micro-apartment for the city of Almaty we substantiated the expanding the existing typology of residential buildings by adding a new type of urban dwelling – a micro-apartment which occupies a niche between apartment housing for permanent residence and traditional hotels.

The content of the study is devoted to the analysis of a micro-apartment as a new type of modern urban dwelling for a single and small-family population. Urban residents’ interest in economical, affordable small-area dwellings as well as the need to study and design micro format dwellings for the modern urban environment is a topical issue.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a set of affordable retrofit packages that can be applied to existing residential buildings in hot-humid regions to improve occupants’ thermal comfort and reduce energy consumption.

A critical review of relevant literature to identify passive design strategies for improving thermal comfort and reducing energy consumption in hot-humid climates with focus on the building envelope was conducted in addition to a simulation study of an existing building typology in study area.

There is enormous potential to reduce energy costs and improve thermal comfort through building retrofit packages which is a recent concept in developing countries, such as Nigeria. Analysing the results of the retrofit interventions using building energy simulation helped in developing affordable retrofit packages which had optimum effect in improving indoor comfort temperature to the neutral temperature specified for hot humid Nigeria and further down to 3°C less than that of the reference building used. The use of passive design strategies to retrofit the building might help homeowners reduce their annual energy consumption by up to 46.3 per cent just by improving the indoor thermal comfort.

In addition to improving thermal comfort and reducing energy consumption, this research identified affordable retrofit packages and considered its cost implications especially to low-income earners who form a larger population of Lagos, Nigeria, as this was not considered by many previous researchers.

The study aims to highlight and understand, and bring the human agency into the debate on the theory of normative control. While, the previous literature has highlighted the problem of the missing subject. However, the actual human agency in terms of agential properties has not been seriously addressed. This study is an attempt to overcome this problem of the missing subject.

A two-phase design inspired by retroductive inference was adopted for this study. In the first phase, abduction was used to explore the literature on normative control to highlight the forces of attraction, which may pull the employees to participate willingly within normative control systems. In the second phase, following retroductive inference, agential explanations of the forces of attraction identified in the first phase were explored by venturing into other related fields, e.g. psychology and sociology.

The study highlights four strategies used by organizations using normative control, i.e. comfort zoning, relational bonding, moral trapping and elitist appeal. These strategies rely on attractive forces. These forces of attraction pull employees to participate in the normative control system. The attractive element in the identified strategies is due to the fact that these strategies target specific agential properties, i.e. the need for comfort, sense of belonging, moral agency and pride. Overall, the findings suggest that individuals drive their concerns from culture but in relation to their capacity as needy beings for being enculturated.

Theoretically, this study adds conceptual strength to the explanations of normative control. It is suggested that neglect of human agency renders explanations conceptually weak. The study fills this gap in the research. Practically, this study would be beneficial for better design and implementation of normative control. Several studies have pointed out that normative control does not yield the intended results. Out of many reasons, a lack of understanding of human agency is a major cause of unsuccessful attempts to normatively control employees. This study provides some basis to understand the human subject for better design of soft systems of control.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first research study that explores agential properties with reference to normative control systems. This study is important for researchers and practitioners.

Practicing Muslims pray five times a day during specified periods. Hence, public buildings in many Muslim-majority countries tend to have prayer facilities. These facilities are typically gender-segregated. Unfortunately, for a long time, the main focus for the design of these facilities has been on the male facilities. As a result, many female users suffer from using facilities that are not safe, hygienic or comfortable. Part of the reason is the lack of guidelines that help designers provide a facility that satisfies the needs of female users. This paper aims to address this problem with a focus on prayer facilities that are in public buildings and not in mosques.

The paper offers design guidelines that are based on interviews with female users, analysis of well-designed female prayer facilities, observations of users’ behavior, feedback from users on previously developed guidelines that are shared with male prayer facilities, and relevant religious rulings.

The guidelines address the location of the facility, the zoning and circulation and the design considerations for the prayer space, as well as the reception area and the ablution space. It also recommends a design for an ablution unit that better fits female users. Finally, the paper analyzes an existing design for a female prayer facility in a shopping mall and shows how a change in the design based on this paper’s recommended guidelines can achieve better safety, hygiene and comfort for female users.

The paper focus is new and should trigger the discussion on this aspect of facilities design where needed.

The objective of this paper is to study the efficacy of the ASPECTSS Design Index's concepts as drivers of design intervention for educational environments for students on the autism spectrum. Based on the seven principles of acoustics, spatial sequencing, escape spaces, compartmentalization, transitions, sensory zoning and safety, ASPECTSS formed the basis for a preliminary post-occupancy evaluation (POE) and survey of an existing school environment.

Concepts drawn from the review of other strategies for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) friendly design were integrated with the seven ASPECTSS principles to create a design framework and consequent design retro-fit for a Pre-K-12th grade public school for students on the autism spectrum. The following design interventions were proposed: colour-coding based navigation; acoustical treatments in key circulation spaces; introduction of transition alcoves; classroom reorganisation using compartmentalization principles and the introduction of escape spaces for de-escalation. Specifically, a classroom template of modules of ASPECTSS-compliant layouts was provided to all staff. The efficacy and impact of these interventions were assessed using a whole campus online staff survey with further probing using classroom observations and subsequent interviews.

The results show alignment between the implementation of the ASPECTSS informed design interventions and responses to nine of the Likert scale items were all significantly lower than the middle response, indicating a high degree of satisfaction from survey respondents. These questions and responses related to the colour scheme facilitating ease of navigation for visitors of the school, the acoustics of the building successfully mitigating sound magnification and subsequently student distractibility, the organisation of the classrooms enhancing learning and the de-escalation zones allowing improved management of disruptive behaviours in the classroom.

This study focuses primarily on the Autism ASPECTSS Design Index as a framework for assessing classroom efficacy. Other tools and frameworks may produce different insights. A single school site was studied. Validation of these findings in other school environments is necessary before generalising these strategies at scale. The use of qualitative tools, primarily teacher and staff surveys, provides one lens into the efficacy of these design strategies. Further research using measurable biometric indicators such as heart-rate and stress levels measured through wearable technology could provide a first step towards the triangulation of these findings.

These findings could help provide more standardised best practices for designing learning environments for autism, potentially providing supportive strategies with real impact on learning quality, skill development and knowledge acquisition in school environments. This could potentially have economic implications by supporting more efficient progress for autistic students through their school curriculum.

Similar to economic impact, if validated and generalised, these findings could help with sense of accomplishment, general mental health improvement, alleviation of family stress and potential reduction of stigma in the autism community.

There is a slowly emerging field of design guidance for autism schools, but very little empirical evidence on the measurable efficacy of these strategies. This research provides one type of such evidence, as measured by the perceived impact from the point of view of staff and teachers at the school.

Many people living in and around Mumbai face space scarcity within homes, an issue exacerbated for families with members having differing and conflicting spatial requirements. By investigating how families live in existing residential environments, planners and designers can enable families to cope better with space scarcity.

A case study approach is used to examine four small home settings in and around Mumbai, followed by a thematic analysis of the data collected.

This study contributes a framework for studying small homes in and around Mumbai wherein they are characterized by five categories of information: internal zoning pattern, expansion pattern, spatial specialization and stratification pattern, outdoor space appropriation pattern and household adjustment pattern. Analysis through this framework gives insight into how small home settings are used by residents.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study offering in-depth comparative analysis of small home typologies in India.

This research introduces a hypothesis for establishing typologies and patterns for architectural plans based on their climate, culture and orientation. The repetition and reproduction of spaces in architectural plans are rooted in mathematical equations. Factorial and permutation formulae are the type of equations used as scientific tools to define typology. In addition, a new perspective on culture and privacy in line with the Arabic house is included to illustrate the practicality of restricted plans according to cultural needs.

To make the approach accessible, the theory is integrated into a software using C++ as the programming tool. Accordingly, all patterns and typologies are reproduced by inserting digits or numbers to simulate the process of using permutations and factorials for the creation of diagrammatic patterns and, subsequently, architectural plans.

The authors recommend that this method be integrated in future housing studies at earlier stages to obtain a high number of alternatives for architectural plans. The results of mathematical permutation of this study will help architects and designers to evolve their methods and processes through creating alternative patterns and culture (and climate)-specific typologies to provide more design possibilities.

This study is set to improve the adjacency diagram theory into the adjacency diagram with orientation theory, which accounts for the geographical orientation to obtain more comprehensive and climate-responsive patterns.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of locally-produced architectural design solutions for the provision of thermal comfort in the vernacular settlements of Mardin, Turkey.

With an aim of extracting clues of climate responsive design, the paper develops a socio-technical assessment methodology and presents a comparative inquiry between the vernacular and contemporary built environments of Mardin.

Findings display that the capacity of vernacular architecture in providing a more climate responsive living environment than contemporary one is in fact correlated with the design of living spaces in harmony with the local climatic conditions as well as how inhabitants traditionally use and behave in designed space.

The paper argues for a need for (re)conceptualization of thermal comfort within and through the production of housing, as well as by taking into account the ways in which end-users interact, adapt and sustain end-users' everyday life in accordance with the local climatic characteristics.