Search results

In the context of the energy-led refurbishment of traditionally constructed non-domestic buildings, the purpose of this study was to identify the attributes that professionals consider to be important in the selection of energy performance improvement measures (EPIMs) and to establish their relative importance.

A questionnaire-based Delphi exercise was carried out to draw up a set of attributes agreed among a small panel of experts. Subsequently, a paired comparison questionnaire was completed by the experts to establish the relative importance ascribed to the attributes.

In total, 22 assessment attributes, relevant to different stages in the building’s life cycle, were agreed as important by the expert panel. Measures fell into one of three broad groups, expressed on a weighting scale of 0-100, such that the sum of the weights of all 22 measures was 100. Measures of relatively high importance (7-9 per cent) included capital cost, potential energy and carbon savings, financial payback and impact on the building’s vapor permeability. Measures of medium importance (4-5 per cent) were impact on internal air movement, loss of significant original building fabric, impact on internal layout, appearance and occupant comfort, environmental impact and availability of grants or subsidies. Eight further measures were ranked of low importance (2-3 per cent).

This paper is the first attempt to draw up a ranking order of the attributes of EPIMs applicable to non-domestic buildings. It confirms that more attributes must be considered by professionals with decision-making responsibility than merely cost, energy performance and payback on investment and suggests that policy instruments targeting or incentivizing a single or a restricted range of attributes risk failure to deliver the desired improvements.

Pressure is growing globally for larger businesses to improve the energy performance of the buildings in which they operate. Property or facility managers are usually responsible for these improvements through energy‐led refurbishment. The number and complexity of possible interventions pose challenges that these professionals attempt to meet by using decision support tools (DSTs). The work aims to identify key features of DSTs for energy‐led building refurbishment and define an optimum approach.

A desk study examined ten DSTs reported in the available literature and evaluated them against a set of desirable attributes that a property or facility manager would value for this task.

The results of the desk study concluded that no DST offers every feature and that there is an opportunity for a new DST for energy‐led refurbishment. An optimum DST template is proposed, consisting of a seven‐step process from assessment of the existing state of the building through to continuous evaluation and improvement of the refurbished building.

The work combines the best features of available DSTs into a novel optimised strategy for energy‐led refurbishment of non‐domestic buildings, which is geographically non‐specific and could be applied anywhere in the world.

Human capital is a key component of the success of organisations, and career development of staff is a vital component to both increasing and retaining human capital. Universities are no different, their people are key to their mission. There has been limited rigorous study of the careers of professional staff in the academy. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

A systematic literature review methodology resulted in a review of 23 articles dedicated to research on careers of professional staff in higher education (HE). Thematic analysis identified a series of enablers and barriers that influence career development and progression.

Career enablers and barriers have been found to exist at both the institutional and individual levels. Within the HE context, professional staff have a hybrid career mindset, desiring traditional and more contemporary career factors, leading to a reciprocal relationship between the organisation and the individual.

There is a need for future research to investigate the hybrid career mindset, and the reciprocal relationship, both to add depth to understanding of careers for professional staff in universities, and to examine this in other settings.

Universities may need to consider ways to integrate institutional support for high performance work systems (HPWS) with opportunities for professional staff, while individuals may need to consider adopting career self-management behaviours (CSMB) to fit their hybrid mindset.

This review has highlighted organisations and individuals will benefit if the relationship between HPWS and CSMB is better understood for the hybrid career mindset.