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This study discusses that the necessary criteria and the solution approach taken to resolve the main spatial infection problems with a burn center design should be evaluated holistically to achieve spatial infection control in a burn center. The burn center design plays an important role in protecting severely burned patients from infection because the microbial flora of the hospital can affect the infection risk. In hospitals, sterilization and disinfection are the basic components of infection prevention; however, the prevention and control of infection for burn patients also requires the design of burn centers that adhere to a specific set of criteria that considers spatial infection control in addition to appropriate burn treatment methods and treatments. In this study, a burn facility converted from a burn unit into a burn center is introduced and the necessary design inputs for the transformation are discussed because there is no holistic study in the literature that delas with all the spaces that should be in a burn center and relations between spaces. This study aims to define the functional relations between each of the units and the spaces that change according to different sterilization demands in the burn center for ensuring spatial infection control. Furthermore, it aims to propose a method for ensuring continuity in the control of spatial infections.

The burn care and health facilities guidelines are examined within the framework of spatial standards, together with a comprehensive literature review. The design method was based on the spread of microorganisms and the effect of human movement on space and spatial transitions in the burn center, according to all relevant literature reviews. To determine the extent to which the differences in treatment protocols of burn care guidelines were reflected in the space, interviews were conducted with burn facility officials. The plan–do–check–act (PDCA) method is also modeled to ensure the continuity of infection control in the burn center.

The burn center design findings are classified under three main headings, namely, location of the burn center in the hospital, spatial organization and physical features of the burn center and the air flowing system. The importance of the interactions among the criteria for spatial infection control has been revealed. Due to the physical space characteristics and air flow characteristics that change according to human movement and the way microorganisms spread, it has been seen that designing the air flow and architectural aspects together has an effective role in providing spatial infection control. Accordingly, a functional relation scheme for the center has been suggested. It is also proposed as a model to ensure the continuity of infection control in the burn center.

This research presents spatial measures for infection control in burn centers for practitioners in health-care settings such as designers, engineers, doctors and nurses. The PDCA method also leads to continuity of infection control for hospital management.

This is the first study, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, to focus on developing the criteria for spatial infection control in burn center. Moreover, the aim is to create a function chart that encompasses the relationships between the units within the burn center design so that infection control can be coordinated spatially.

This paper focusses on analysing the impact of crime on the housing market in Los Angeles (LA) County. By looking at different types of crime instead of general crime measures and controlling by spatial dimension of prices and crime as well as endogeneity, a model is developed that allows for the understanding of how a specific crime impacts the housing market transaction price. To perform the analysis, the paper merges different data sets (crime, housing transaction and census data) and then computes the distances to crucial transport modes to control the accessibility features affecting housing prices. The latter allows estimating the association of housing prices and crime in the distance and estimating the impact on housing depending on it.

This paper focusses on the following crimes: aggravated assault, burglary (property crime), narcotics, non-aggravated assault and vandalism. The paper shows firstly how incidents of reported crime are distributed across space and how they are related to each other – thus highlighting crime models with spatial influences. Secondly, the research utilises instrumental variables within the methodology to estimate house prices using spatial analysis techniques while controlling for endogeneity. Thirdly, it estimates the direct impact of crime on house prices and explores the impact of housing and neighbourhood features.

Results suggest that house transaction prices and crime are closely correlated in two senses. Housing prices are endogenously negatively associated with the levels of narcotics and aggravated assaults. For narcotics, the impact of distance is shorter (1,000 m). However, for burglary, vandalism and non-aggravated assaults, the price reaction suggests a positive association: the further away the crime occurs, the higher the prices. The paper also shows the large spatial association of different crimes suggesting that they occur together and that their accumulation would make negative externalities appear affecting the whole neighbourhood.

The use of a huge database allows interesting findings, but one limitation can be to not have longer time observations to identify the crime evolution and its impact on housing prices.

Large implications as the relationship identified in this paper allow defining precise policies to avoid crime in different areas in LA. In addition, crime has significant but quantitative small effects on LA housing transaction prices suggesting that the effect depends on the spatial scale as well as lack on information about where the crimes are committed. Lack on information suggests low transparency in the market, affecting the transaction decision-taken process, affecting the risk perception and with relevant implications over household welfare.

This paper relates the spatial association among crimes defining the hotspots and their impacts on housing transaction prices.

Spatial autocorrelation in regression residuals is a major issue for the modeller because it disturbs parameter estimates and invalidates the reliability of conclusions drawn from models. The purpose of this paper is to develop an approach which generates new spatial predictors that can be mapped and qualitatively analysed while controlling for spatial autocorrelation among residuals.

This paper explores an alternate approach using a Fourier polynomial function based on geographical coordinates to construct an additional spatial predictor that allows to capture the latent spatial pattern hidden among residuals. An empirical validation based on hedonic modelling of sale prices variation using a large dataset of house transactions is provided.

Results show that the spatial autocorrelation problem is under control as shown by low Moran's I indexes. Moreover, this geo‐statistical approach provides coefficients on environmental amenities that are still highly significant by capturing only the remaining spatial autocorrelation.

The originality of this paper relies on the development of a new model that allows considering, simultaneously spatial and time dimension while measuring the marginal impact of environmental amenities on house prices avoiding competition with the weight matrix needed in most spatial econometric models.

This work aims at developing guidelines and methods for establishing urban hazard information infrastructure (UHII) for the City of Windhoek (CoW) in Namibia, to set up an institutional and technical framework for spatial data exchange and sharing in development control and hazard management. An analysis of UHII requirements in the Twente Fire Brigades (The Netherlands) was first conducted and the Spatial Information Management Reference Model (RSIMM) was created. RSIMM was used as a reference to the Case‐Specific Spatial Information Management Model (CSIMM) for the CoW, where young institutions face financial, structural, legal and technical uncertainties. The new methodology to introduce UHII to the CoW was developed using combined soft and structured system development methods. The policies and strategies supporting UHII development were identified. The Urban Hazard and Emergency Management Information System (UHEMIS) development was chosen to initiate UHII introduction creating data and metadata management base for decision making in spatial development control, risk assessment and emergency response planning. The UHII and UHEMIS models are being designed next in this on‐going research.

Work-life flexibility policies (e.g., flextime, telework, part-time, right-to-disconnect, and leaves) are increasingly important to employers as productivity and well-being strategies. However, policies have not lived up to their potential. In this chapter, the authors argue for increased research attention to implementation and work-life intersectionality considerations influencing effectiveness. Drawing on a typology that conceptualizes flexibility policies as offering employees control across five dimensions of the work role boundary (temporal, spatial, size, permeability, and continuity), the authors develop a model identifying the multilevel moderators and mechanisms of boundary control shaping relationships between using flexibility and work and home performance. Next, the authors review this model with an intersectional lens. The authors direct scholars’ attention to growing workforce diversity and increased variation in flexibility policy experiences, particularly for individuals with higher work-life intersectionality, which is defined as having multiple intersecting identities (e.g., gender, caregiving, and race), that are stigmatized, and link to having less access to and/or benefits from societal resources to support managing the work-life interface in a social context. Such an intersectional focus would address the important need to shift work-life and flexibility research from variable to person-centered approaches. The authors identify six research considerations on work-life intersectionality in order to illuminate how traditionally assumed work-life relationships need to be revisited to address growing variation in: access, needs, and preferences for work-life flexibility; work and nonwork experiences; and benefits from using flexibility policies. The authors hope that this chapter will spur a conversation on how the work-life interface and flexibility policy processes and outcomes may increasingly differ for individuals with higher work-life intersectionality compared to those with lower work-life intersectionality in the context of organizational and social systems that may perpetuate growing work-life and job inequality.

From the intra- and inter-regional dimensions, this paper investigates the linkage between industrial agglomeration and inventory performance, and further demonstrates the moderating role of firm size and enterprise status in the supply chain on this linkage.

Using a large panel dataset of Chinese manufacturers in the Yangtze River Delta for the period from 2008 to 2013, this study employs the method of spatial econometric analysis via a spatial Durbin model (SDM) to examine the effects of industrial agglomeration on inventory performance. Meanwhile, the moderation model is applied to examine the moderating role of two firm-level heterogeneity factors.

At its core, this research demonstrates that industrial agglomeration is associated with the positive change of inventory performance in the adjacent regions, whereas that in the host region as well as in general does not significantly increase. Additionally, both firm size and enterprise status in the supply chain can positively moderate these effects, except for the moderating role of firm size on the positive spillovers.

In view of firm heterogeneity, managers should take special care when matching their abilities of inventory management with the agglomeration effects. Firms with a high level of inventory management are suited to stay in an industrial cluster, while others would be better in the adjacent regions to enhance inventory performance.

This paper is the first to systematically analyze the effects of industrial agglomeration on inventory performance within and across clusters, and confirm that these effects are contingent upon firm size and enterprise status in the supply chain. It adds to the existing literature by highlighting the spatial spillovers from industrial clusters and enriching the antecedents of inventory leanness.

In this chapter, different security-related examples are shown in SGL dealing with discovery, tracing and analysis of multiple mobile objects, technical or human, in distributed environments. Starting from how overall command and control of a hypothetical missile defence can be automatically managed in SGL by following and supervising the movement of multiple ballistic missiles on their full path from discovery to elimination. Other case is dealing with fully distributed tracing of cruise missiles with complex and tricky routes, which can be effectively chased, analysed and controlled by mobile spatial intelligence spreading through intelligent sensor network. Another one is providing high-level simulation and tracing of multiple objects in outer space to avoid collisions for new vehicles launched, with engagement of scattered space observation sensors integrated under SGT. The chapter also shows how to organize distributed simulation, assistance and control of flow of refugees through international borders.

Advanced heavy water reactor (AHWR) is a pressure tube type of heavy water reactor. It eliminates high-pressure heavy water coolant resulting in a reduction of heavy water leakage losses and eliminating heavy water recovery system. It recovers the heat generated in the moderator for feed water heating. However, it requires a satisfactory technological response to develop an effective controller that attains the challenges of the very high-level safety system. Hence, they require application-specific improvement for better controlling performance.

The purpose of this study intends to propose a system for controlling state vectors v₁ and v₂and in AHWR using Grey Wolf second-order sliding mode control (GW-SoSMC) technique. The main aim of the paper is to minimize the errors between the predicted and desired azimuthal angles of the system. With this proposed method, it is possible to mitigate both the chattering phenomenon and controlling performance of AHWR system. It implements a SoSMC controller based on GWO algorithm for the purpose of controlling the state vectors in the AHWR system. It aims to accomplish a controller for improving the performance of the AHWR system.

Through the performance analysis, the efficiency of the proposed GW-SoSMC technique was verified by comparing it with various conventional algorithms, such as GW-SMC, FF-SoSMC, ABC-SoSMC, GS-SoSMC and GA-SoSMC. From the analysis, it was obtained that the implemented GW-SoSMC technique was 65.3 per cent superior to GW-SMC, 65.32 per cent superior to both FF-SoSMC and 65 per cent superior to ABC-SoSMC, 65.8 per cent superior to the GS-SoSMC and 58 per cent superior to the GA-SoSMC methods. Thus, the effectiveness of the proposed method in controlling the state vectors in AHWR was obtained.

This paper presents a technique for controlling the state vectors in the AHWR system using GWO algorithm. This is the first work that uses GWO-based optimization for controlling state vectors in the AHWR system.

This paper aims to analyse the spatial effect of school input – “student–teacher ratio” – on property prices in Taipei Metropolis, Taiwan. The falling fertility rate inevitably changes educational system since more less-experienced part-time teachers are hired for the sake of schools’ budget. Hence, in addition to full-time teachers, part-time teachers are included in measuring the student–teacher ratio to see if an increase in part-time teachers, indicating the possible plunge of school quality, may decrease the value of nearby properties.

Three types of spatial regressions (including spatial lag, spatial error and SARAR models), which incorporate different kinds of spatial dependencies into hedonic models, are applied to reveal the relationship between two measures of student–teacher ratios and property values.

Conventional variables, including housing attributes, demographics and local facilities, demonstrated their consistent and expected influence on property prices. More importantly, the significant “student–teacher ratio 2” (both full-time and part-time teachers) indicated that low-paid, less-experienced and overworked part-time teachers can hardly deliver quality instruction, which inevitably causes harm to school credit and potential buyers’ confidence in valuing neighbouring properties.

Facing the decrease in children and the shrinking budget, the solution to maintain teacher’s quality is to remove the unnecessary administrative chores from full-time teachers and let them do their jobs rather than hiring part-time teachers. Good school input quality should add value to nearby properties, which in return appeals more students to enrol in this school and further elevate schools’ financial burden.

This paper is one of the few studies that consider part-time teachers in capitalising school-input quality into property prices. The increase in part-time teachers, which may lead to an illusion that each student could have higher degree of individual attention from teachers, actually lowers the education quality distributed to all the students. It provides a different perspective in defining the importance of teaching quality to property values in Chinese culture.

Both hedonics and the traditional sales comparison approach are derived from a similar paradigm with respect to how prices, hence market values, are determined. While the hedonic approach can provide reliable estimates of individual attributes' marginal contribution, it may – unlike the sales comparison approach – underestimate the prominent influence that surrounding properties exert on any given nearby housing unit and sale price. This paper seeks to develop a simple method for reconciling the two approaches within a rigorous conceptual and methodological framework.

Peer effect models, an analytical device developed, and mainly used, by labour economists, are adapted to the hedonic price equation so as to incorporate nearby properties' influences, thereby controlling for non‐observable neighbourhood effects. In addition to basic, intrinsic, building and land attributes, the ensuing model accounts for three types of effects, namely endogenous interactions effects (i.e. comparable sales influences, or peer effects), exogenous, or neighbourhood, effects and, finally, spatial autocorrelation effects.

Preliminary findings suggest that integrating peer effects in the hedonic equation allows bringing out the combined impacts of endogenous, exogenous and spatially correlated effects in the house price determination process, with spatial autocorrelation of model residuals being significantly reduced, even without resorting to a spatial autoregressive procedure.

Further investigation is still needed in order to find out which submarket delineation should be used to obtain optimal model performances.

The paper leads to the conclusion that the comparable sales approach, as used in traditional appraisal practice, is valid, although its application is typically flawed by the too small sample size generally used by appraisers. Further investigation is still needed, however, in order to find out which submarket delineation should be used to obtain optimal model performances. This raises the paramount question as to whether the peer effect variable is adequately measured and addresses the tricky issue of kernel determination in spatial statistics and related applications, such as GWR.