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This study aims to examine the links between office types (cellular, shared-room, small and medium-sized open-plan) and employees' subjective well-being regarding cognitive and affective evaluations and the role perceived noise levels at work has on the aforementioned associations.

A survey with measures of office types, perceived noise levels at work and the investigated facets of subjective well-being (cognitive vs affective) was distributed to employees working as real estate agents in Sweden. In total, 271 useable surveys were returned and were analyzed using analyses of variance (ANOVAs) and a regression-based model mirroring a test of moderated mediation.

A significant difference was found between office types on the well-being dimension related to cognitive, but not affective, evaluations. Employees working in cellular and shared-room offices reported significantly higher ratings on this dimension than employees working in open-plan offices, and employees in medium-sized open-plan offices reported significantly lower cognitive evaluation scores than employees working in all other office types. This pattern of results was mediated by perceived noise levels at work, with employees in open-plan (vs cellular and shared-room) offices reporting less satisfactory noise perceptions and, in turn, lower well-being scores, especially regarding the cognitive (vs affective) dimension.

This is one of the first studies to compare the relative impact of office types on both cognitive and affective well-being dimensions while simultaneously testing and providing empirical support for the presumed process explaining the link between such aspects.

Outlines building evaluation methodology and instruments, which will facilitate comparative, cross‐cultural evaluation of the performance of a building type which is common worldwide; i.e. intelligent office buildings. States that failure to obtain feedback on building performance can have serious consequences. Focuses on post‐occupancy evaluation (POE) an evaluation methodology. Concludes that there is a need for an evaluative stance throughout the building delivery process and cycle and POE appears to be of critical importance in the area of inter‐cultural differences in order to achieve better quality intelligent buildings.

This paper aims to focus on determining the effects of location of closed offices on the front facade, rear facade and side facade plans and the indoor layout (left and right users’ cabinets) on perceptual evaluations of users of physical environmental factors.

For this purpose, the responses of 54 academic users who use the Gazi University Technology Faculty Taskent Building offices were taken with the help of a survey.

As a result, it was determined that office users on the front and side facades generally perceived more positively the offices’ environmental factors than office users on the back facade. In addition, it was determined that offices with storage cabinets located to the right of users (Type A) were perceived more positively than storage cabinets located to the left of users (Type B). On the other hand, it was determined that users between the ages of 25–45 who used closed offices generally perceived the physical environmental factors of offices more positively than users between the ages of 46 and 65.

Especially the location of the building, the landscaping, the plan of the rooms and the landscape to which they are directed are major design decisions that cannot be controlled by employees. Therefore, it is necessary to know the positive/negative effects that may occur during use before making design decisions.

The purpose of this literature review is to investigate the reliability of self-evaluation as a method for measuring the effect(s) of indoor environment quality (IEQ) on the productivity of office workers. The aim of this review is to identify the various constraints to its adequacy in measuring productivity.

Thirty studies were selected from peer-reviewed sources and reviewed on their method of measuring productivity. These studies used self-evaluation (questionnaires or interview) as the sole method of measuring the effect of IEQ on productivity/performance.

This review provides insight on the insufficiencies and biases prevalent in self-evaluation. Various issues that compromised the reliability of self-evaluation results in an office environment were discussed. It was concluded that self-evaluation is not reliable and does not accurately measure occupant productivity.

This study has been a review of past studies and their findings. Further studies that will provide empirical evidence are required to solely test the reliability of self-evaluation in measuring productivity and the effect of factors such as IEQ on it.

The paper calls for further debate on occupant productivity measurement and how the various factors that affect it can be quantified into measurable entities.

This paper fulfils an identified need to revisit the technique of self-evaluation as a method for measuring occupant productivity.

The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of window proximity on perceptions of employees in the call center offices.

A semantic differential scale composed of nine bipolar adjectives, four of which dealt with “planning,” three of “privacy,” while the rest measured “lighting” was applied for evaluation. In total, 92 employees at the TEPE Call Center in the Bilkent District, Ankara, Turkey participated in the research.

The results showed that window proximity directly affected the call center employees’ perceptions. In addition, a positive approach was even less affected when the location of the workstation was more at the inner part of the workspace. On the contrary, workstations in front of the window were evaluated more positively, presumably because the employees were happy at feeling roomy and by giving them a higher level of privacy, while also minimizing distractions and interruptions. It was also found that call center employees with secondary education responded more positively than higher educated employees.

This study was limited to examining the effects of window proximity in a call center on employees’ perceptions of an open-plan office. The study supports the results of planning, privacy and lighting, as well as the study on physical environmental factors, such as design, ambient and social, which are thought to be realized in the future.

This study presents suggestions that would be useful for increasing the working and solution-focused perceptual performance values in call center environments from the new generation of work areas. They should be appropriate for the psychological and physical needs of employees in twenty-first-century communication environments, especially in spatial environments and for the suitability of the technological equipment used.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze and evaluate the current status of e-government services in Afghanistan. To identify the evaluation criteria based on citizen satisfaction from e-government services, the proposed government-to-citizen (G2C) evaluation model is considered in the context of Afghanistan.

A conceptual G2C evaluation model and e-government evaluation model are proposed. The criteria used for the G2C evaluation model is based on the demand and supply side, which have an immense effect on citizen satisfaction. The mixed research method (quantitative and qualitative) is used, and quantitative data analysis results are supported through qualitative data analysis.

The findings reveal that citizen satisfaction from e-government services in Afghanistan are affected by services availability on multiple channels, citizen-centric features, paralingual support, process performance, skills divide, awareness, information security and transaction security.

Yet to be addressed, three criteria deemed as significant factors are recommended to be included in the model, namely, government readiness, system quality (usability, service quality and information quality) for supply side and social divide for demand side. These three criteria can help in proposing a successful G2C evaluation model. Additionally, the quantitative data used in this study were collected through paper-based questionnaires. Data collection through Internet can help to get responses from various parts of the country for future evaluation of G2C services.

The key findings of this study are vitally important for e-government strategies and policy makers to design and disseminate appropriate e-government services to Afghan citizens. The proposed evaluation model can also be used as a guideline for e-government development in Afghanistan.

A conceptual model for e-government services evaluation approach is proposed based on literature review. The proposed G2C evaluation model identifies and validates key factors and criteria in the context of Afghanistan.

To illustrate the complexity of post‐occupancy evaluation of office buildings, details the 1991 IFM competition and the FT competition for Architecture at Work. Stresses the importance of research into and knowledge of building user needs to developers and financial institutions; property professionals; and government departments. Suggests that post‐occupancy evaluation is a technique that will be increasingly applied, and it will help the profession of facilities management to become more scientific.

Over the past 30 years, both the governmental and private sectors have made use of a feedback mechanism, which helps improve the quality of environments: post‐occupancy evaluation (POE) or similar systematic processes, which gauge the satisfaction with, and importance of, the designed and built environment. How does this process work, what kind of input does it require? What value, if any, does it add to the core business of an organisation? When should it be carried out, and how should the resulting data be used in enhancing the quality of existing and future buildings? Who should commission POEs and who should be in charge of developing databases, which can be used for benchmarking and the development of building performance criteria for future projects? What is the cost of these POEs in relationship to the benefits to be derived? All of these questions will be addressed in this paper.

In recent years, expectations for demonstrating the impact of public diplomacy programs have dramatically increased. Despite increased calls for enhanced monitoring and evaluation, what texts exist on the subject suggest the state of practice is grim. However, while the current debate is based mostly on practice reports, conceptual work from academics or anecdotal evidence, we are missing empirical insights on current views of monitoring and evaluation from practitioners. Such a practice-level perspective is central for better understanding factors that may actually drive or hamper performance evaluation in day-to-day public diplomacy work. The purpose of this paper is to update knowledge on the state of evaluation practice within public diplomacy from the perspectives of practitioners themselves.

This study assesses the state of evaluation in public diplomacy through qualitative interviews with public diplomacy officers working for the US Department of State – a method heretofore unused in studies of the topic. In total, 25 in-depth interviews were conducted with officers in Washington, DC and at posts around the world.

The interviews suggest that practitioners see evaluation as underfunded despite increased demands for accountability. Further, the results show a previously not discussed tension between diplomacy practitioners in Washington, DC and those in the field. Practitioners are also unclear about the goals of public diplomacy, which has implications for the enactment of targeted evaluations.

The research uncovers the perceptions of evaluation from the voices of those who must practice it, and elaborates on the common obstacles in the enactment of public diplomacy, the influence of multiple actors and stakeholders on evaluation practice, as well as the perceived goals of public diplomacy programming. No empirical research has considered the state of evaluation practice. Moreover, the study uses qualitative interview data from public diplomacy officers themselves, an under-used method in public diplomacy research. The findings provide insights that contribute to future public diplomacy strategy and performance management.

Post-occupancy evaluation (POE) of office buildings, accommodating large number of users, is significantly demanded, to ascertain the provision and upkeep of users' requirements. This paper presents the findings of a POE of an office building located in Saudi Arabia, as a case study.

A mixed approach of qualitative and quantitative research activities were conducted to achieve the objective of this study. Previous studies were analyzed to identify 28 performance indicators, grouped under seven technical and functional performance elements in office buildings. A walkthrough served to gain familiarity with the building, and identify the obvious performance defects. Interviews were conducted to solicit the users' perceptions about the performance elements, and initiate discussions based on the findings of the walkthrough. A user satisfaction survey was then deployed to quantify the user's feedback on the performance of the building.

Users of the case study office building were generally satisfied with all the technical performance elements, except visual comfort. They were also dissatisfied with two functional performance elements, namely office layout and building equipment.

Recommendations were developed to improve the performance of the case study building. The approach followed and the defined indicators can be of practical value to design professionals, administrators and facilities managers, responsible for the design and operation of office buildings.

Office buildings are valuable business capital for their corporate organizations. This study contributes to the facilities management literature, through providing a systematic approach for the quality and performance appraisal of the performance elements of office buildings.