Search results

Until now, it is not clear whether there are differences in patient perception between multi-bedded rooms with two and four beds. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the physical (i.e. room type) and psychosocial (i.e. kindness of roommates and extraversion) aspects on the patients’ experience (i.e. pleasantness of the room, anxiety, sleep quality) in multi-bedded rooms in an oncology ward.

A group of 84 hospitalized oncology patients completed a questionnaire on the day of departure. Room types were categorized into two groups: two-person and four-person rooms.

Multivariate logistic regression analyses with the minimum Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) showed no direct main effects of room type (two vs. four-person room), kindness of roommates and extraversion on pleasantness of the room, anxiety and sleep quality. However, the authors found an interaction effect between room type and extraversion on pleasantness of the room. Patients who score relatively high in extraversion rated the room as more pleasant when they stayed in a four-person rather than a two-person room. For patients relatively low in extraversion, room type was not related to pleasantness of the room.

The findings allow hospitals to better understand individual differences in patient experiences. Hospitals should inform patients about the benefits of the different room types and potential influences of personality (extraversion) so patients are empowered and can benefit from autonomy and the most appropriate place.

This study emphasizes the importance of including four-person rooms in an oncology ward, while new hospital facility layouts mainly include single-bed rooms.

This study aims to qualitatively examine the relationship between the indoor environmental quality (IEQ), lecturers’ and students’ perceived internal responses and academic performance.

To capture user experiences with the IEQ in classrooms, semi-structured interviews with 11 lecturers and three focus group discussions with 24 students were conducted, transcribed, coded and analyzed using direct content analysis.

The findings show that lecturers and students experience poor thermal, lighting, acoustic and indoor air quality (IAQ) conditions that may influence their ability to teach and learn. Maintaining acceptable thermal and IAQ conditions was difficult for lecturers, as opening windows or doors caused noise disturbances. In uncomfortable conditions, lecturers may decide to give a break earlier or shorten a lecture. When students experienced discomfort, it may affect their ability to concentrate, their emotional status and their quality of learning.

The findings originate from a relatively small sample, which might have limited the number and variety of identified associations between environment and users.

Maintaining acceptable air and thermal conditions will mitigate the need to open windows and doors. Keeping doors and windows closed will prevent noise disturbances and related distractions. This will support the quality of learning in classrooms. This study reveals the end users’ perspectives and preferences, which can inspire designers of new school buildings in higher education.

This study emphasizes the importance of creating and maintaining optimal IEQ conditions to support the quality of teaching and learning. These conditions are particularly relevant when classroom occupancy rates are high or outdoor conditions are unfavourable.

Based on the stimuli-organism-response model and relationship marketing theory, the effect of different dimensions of Servicescape (Ambience, Cleanliness, Functionality, Spatial Layout, Employee Service Quality) on Customer Satisfaction and Behavioral Intention in hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic are considered.

The study takes a quantitative approach, applying structural equation model using partial least square structural equation modeling to test the hypotheses. A total of 360 responses were collected using questionnaires distributed to different individuals who visited private hospitals in the past two months in India.

Contradicting previous research, this study found that among servicescape dimensions, employee service quality had the maximum influence on customer satisfaction and cleanliness does not have any significant impact on customer satisfaction as hypothesized. Mediation results show that customer satisfaction has a partial mediation effect for all servicescape dimensions except ambience, as both direct and indirect effects are significant. Importance-performance map analysis was performed on the responses collected, and it was found that employee service quality is the most important dimension affecting servicescape, followed by functionality and spatial layout. Thus, health-care institutions should focus on these factors to keep their customers satisfied.

Past studies have focused on the roles of servicescape and customer satisfaction separately. The authors have extended the literature by examining the combined effects of both servicescape and customer satisfaction. The findings from the study, therefore, help in developing a deeper understanding of the literature on the behavior intention relationship in the context of health care, as well as in service marketing.

Growing health concerns amid the COVID-19 pandemic have led guests to focus on various aspects of hotel cleanliness. This study aims to investigate whether customers’ perceived importance of hotel cleanliness during their stay depends on local pandemic severity and moderators of the pandemic–cleanliness relationship.

Based on TripAdvisor data from 26,519 reviews in 2020 for 2,024 hotels across the USA, this study evaluated the importance of hotel cleanliness using the estimated coefficient of the cleanliness score in a regression of overall hotel rating scores.

Results of a multilevel ordered logit model confirmed that a more difficult local pandemic situation rendered cleanliness more important during hotel stays. Additionally, the effect of the pandemic was more pronounced among specific groups: men and travelers with more expertise, and guests staying in hotels without COVID-19 protocols for linen cleaning, with a lower average rating, with a larger size and in a more urbanized location.

This study represents a pioneering effort to assess how pandemics shape people’s (perceived) importance of cleanliness during hotel stays based on revealed data. Despite potential managerial relevance, a number of the moderating variables included in this study, such as traveler expertise and hotel location, have never been studied within the context of cleanliness perceptions during a pandemic.

The buildings should be designed by respecting the environmental and climatic conditions they are in and their orientation. Then, the characteristics of the building envelope (BE) play an important role in building energy consumption and user comfort. In fact, the type and material of glazing is one of the crucial parameters for BE. The transparency ratio of BE also determines the façade performance. The aim of this study is to analyze the different renovation scenarios for BE with high transparency of an educational building (EB) in hot summer weather to obtain indoor thermal comfort (ITC) for users.

The methodology includes thorough measurement of existing ITC using TESTO-440 and simulation of each retrofit scenario using DesignBuilder building energy modeling (BEM) simulation software with Energyplus to determine optimal thermal comfort. Since the study focuses on the impact of the transparent BE on summer ITC, four main scenarios, naturally ventilated (NV) façade, film-coated glass façade, replacement of glazing with opaque units, sun-controlled façade with overhang and solar shading, were simulated. The results were analyzed comparatively on both performance and cost to find the best renovation solutions.

A total of 7 different renovation scenarios were tested. Simulation results show that passive systems such as NV have limited contribution to indoor air temperature (IAT) improvement, achieving only a 4 °C reduction while offering the lowest cost. A film coating resulted in a reduction of 3–6 °C, but these applications have the highest cost and least impact on ITC. It was found that exterior coating leads to better results in film coating. Preventing and limiting the increase in IAT was achieved by reducing the transparency ratio of BE. The best results were obtained in these scenarios, and it was possible to reduce IAT by more than 10 °C. The best performance/cost value were also obtained by decreasing transparency ratio of roof and sun control.

Since the high transparency ratio has a negative impact on summer comfort, especially in hot climate zones, summer ITC was prioritized in the renovation solutions for the case building.

The study’s findings present a range of solutions for improving the ITC of highly transparent buildings. The solutions can help building managers see the differences in renovation costs and their impacts on ITC to decrease the cooling load of the existing buildings.

Globally, there is a growing proportion of disabled people as a result of different circumstances. This growth generates attention and leads to ways to integrate the affected population into society. Addressing such disability and integration is particularly important at buildings level, enabling and expanding the scope of activities for people with disabilities (PWDs). The rising number of PWDs and the need to integrate them into society create a need for action to improve their living condition and integration into society. This study aims to examine the issue of accessibility for PWDs in higher education facilities in Qatar.

Addressing accessibility at buildings level is particularly important in higher education because it enables inclusion in training and education and increases the potential for productive engagement in society. The study aims to develop an objective tool to assess and measure accessibility in educational institutions. Five selected buildings were examined and evaluated at Qatar University based on proximity, multi-use, vertical and horizontal circulation availability. The survey respondents were randomly selected. An existing assessment method was used in surveying respondents, including those with and without disabilities.

A comparative study was conducted to explore the discrepancy between facility users with and without disability, indicating the gap in existing tools.

The developed tool generates the same outcome when conducted by different assessors, indicating the level of compliance and percentage met as a benefit, not a focus. It allows professionals and non-professionals with minimal experience to conduct the assessment.

With the high penetration rate of the Internet and the prevalence of social networking sites (SNSs), the negative emotions caused by stressors on SNS have become an important issue worthy of attention. This study explored the relationship between SNS stressors, negative emotions and prosocial behavior, by employing negative emotions as the mediation role and social support as the moderator.

The samples of this study were Facebook users who have used it constantly in the past six months. An online survey was conducted, from which 547 responses were completed, and 525 were valid, for an effective recovery ratio of 95.98%.

Employing the structural equation model (SEM), the findings show that five paths were supported with a good fit. Negative emotions (anxiety and loneliness) have a moderating effect.

This study contributes to the literature by factors divided by negative emotions of anxiety and loneliness from SNS stressors’ perspectives. In addition, this study provides additional support the moderating effect of social support of anxiety on prosocial behavior.