Going Private in Public: A study on shift in behavioral trend using Facebook

The growth of social media has open a new dimension of research in the domain of human Psychology. The data generated by virtue of various available social media platforms is enormous, dynamic, unstructured, imprecise and most of the time uncertain. Facebook has emerged as one of the most successful media of social interaction and thus, contributing a lot to understand various aspects of human behavior. In this paper, a specific and crucial aspect of human nature is being explored- “Going Private in Public”. This aspect deals with some unexploited trend of human psychology and the research work presented in this paper is planned such as to investigate the data that eventually helps to understand this aspect to a great extent. A questionnaire to capture some behavioral trends of Facebook user was designed and filled up using both online and offline mode. The questionnaire included sets of non-identifying demographic questions, Facebook Intensity scale, Social and Emotional Loneliness Scale for Adult, Perceived Stress Scale and NEO-PI-R model. Filling of the forms was made voluntarily and anonymously to avoid any biasing. A total of 312 responses were received and analyzed using Independent-Sample t-test, Cronbach's alpha test, Exploratory factor analysis, and MANOVA etc.     

The EU internal electricity market: Done forever?

Taking a quarter-century to build Europe's internal market for electricity may seem an incredibly long journey. The aim of achieving a European-wide market might be reached, but we went through – and should continue to go through – a process subject to many adverse dynamics. The EU internal market may derail greatly in the coming years from the effects of a massive push for renewables, as well as a growing decentralization of the production–consumption loop. Moreover, a serious concern is the risk of a definitive fragmentation of the European electricity market due to uncoordinated national moves with respect to renewable support and capacity mechanisms.     

民办高校开放性实验室网上预约管理系统的开发

高校实验室是人才培养的基地。民办高校实验室开放是提高办学水平,增加学生的动手能力,更能充分利用了实验室的资源,提高了民办高校实验室及仪器设备的利用率,为大学生创新能力的培养和教师科研水平的提高,提供了良好的环境;但传统的手工实验管理已很难满足现代实验教学的要求。为此,开发了一套开放性实验管理系统,旨在实现实验室资源、实验课程的有效管理以及提供预约实验的可能。应用数据库技术,设计并实现了一个基于Web的应用——开放性实验管理系统。     

IaaS云平台资源池网络管理子系统的设计与实现

随着科技的进步和产业自动化水平的提高,计算能力作为一种资源越来越受到社会的重视和认可。云计算作为一项蓬勃发展的技术,在很大程度上解决了人们日益增长的对计算能力的需求。如今越来越多的企事业单位开始建立私有的Iaa S云平台以满足其组织内部的IT需求。面对复杂多样的组网需求,如何建立一个安全而可靠网络已成为一个重要课题。本文旨在设计与实现一种通用的Iaa S云平台资源池的网络管理系统,以满足私有云建设中对网络资源的纳管需求。     

社会资本举办医疗机构的开发模式研究

国家在新医改中鼓励和引导社会资本举办医疗机构,针对社会资本举办医疗机构的开发模式,本文进行了模式构建和比较分析。根据医疗机构的营利性和非营利性,结合社会资本的单独投资和政企合作投资模式,提出了社会投资营利性医疗机构、社会投资非营利性医疗机构、政企合作非营利性医疗机构三种可行的开发模式,以及每种模式的适用范围,并结合国内外的案例实践对各模式进行了分析和比较,提出了社会资本举办医疗机构的开发流程框架。为社会资本举办医疗机构的实践提供参考。     

District-scale simulation for multi-purpose evaluation of urban energy systems

This article presents a simulation model for application to several commercial sector buildings in a particular area to analyse the impact of changes in buildings and building energy systems on the issue domains of mitigation of global warming and heat island phenomena as well as the planning of urban infrastructures for electricity and water. The impact on these issue domains is evaluated using five indicators: primary energy consumption, carbon dioxide emission, sensible anthropogenic heat release, peak electricity demand and water consumption by cooling towers. This article explains the modelling methodology, the simulation model including databases and a case study carried out to demonstrate the simulation capacity of the model. The case study shows that the form and function of buildings influence energy consumption and the five indicators significantly. The trade-off relationship is also shown between the five indicators with respect to changes in the heat-source system of buildings.     

The impact of the petroleum sector on the output of the Nigerian construction sector

The petroleum sector plays an important role in the Nigerian economy, as it is the single largest revenue earner of the country and one of the largest contributors to the gross domestic product (GDP). This study estimated the impact of petroleum and gas revenue on the performance of the construction sector using a polynomial distributed lag model. We extracted data on the petroleum and gas sector (PGS), the GDP and construction sector output (CNS) for this study from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Statistical Bulletin. The analysis employed econometric methodology, which includes testing for stationarity and co‐integration as well as estimating the distributed lag model. The result shows that the petroleum and gas revenue significantly affected construction output for three consecutive years starting from their year of occurrence. The study concluded that the PGS has a far‐reaching impact on the growth and development of the construction sector. It therefore recommends supporting the channelling of funds from the petroleum sector into development of constructed facilities infrastructure.     

Strategies for the construction sector in the information technology era

The construction industries in many countries are starting to consider seriously the strategic use of information technology (IT). The use of information technology in construction is extending beyond the stage of piecemeal application for improving the efficiency of discrete operations by individual organizations to the advanced stage where IT is applied strategically in commercial enterprises, government agencies and professional institutions. Progress in construction in this regard appears to lag behind that in most other sectors of the economy. This paper considers the nature and the background of this progression in construction by examining proposals by Earl (1989) of nine basic prerequisites to the IT era which make a strategic approach timely. Each prerequisite is outlined and how it has been met in other sectors of the economy considered. The extent to which these prerequisites apply in construction and the scope for their application in the near future are examined. It is argued that all organizations involved in construction will ultimately have to think strategically about their use of IT, and how some are already doing so is described.

In discussing the factors which hinder the strategic application of IT in construction, the nature of the design and construction processes and initiatives that may be necessary to overcome the perceived problems are examined in detail. The strategies that are evolving at a national level in Singapore are outlined.     

Construction as a career choice for young disabled people: dispelling the myths

Disabled people want to have the same opportunities and experiences as everyone else, yet owing to a number of barriers they are often excluded from meaningful employment. There are few statistics available in the UK to provide an accurate understanding of the number of disabled people within construction, and there remains a lack of research on employment, disability and construction. The perceptions of, and barriers faced by, young disabled people in considering potential employment in the construction industry were investigated. A participatory research approach was adopted which places disabled people at the heart of the research process. A mix of interviews and mini focus groups was undertaken with a total of 49 participants drawn from the North West of England. The need for inclusive approaches within the construction industry came across strongly, with participants preferring to be treated equally rather than being treated favourably. Disabled young people are unlikely to consider employment within construction without better awareness raising by industry–both employers and professional institutions–of the range and scope of opportunities available, and a dispelling of the myths that construction is for able-bodied, fit, men.     

A Review of “Children & Their Urban Environment: Changing Worlds”

Problem: Information is often suppressed when public infrastructure is planned by design-build-finance-operate (DFBO) public/private partnerships, an increasingly popular strategy for procuring transportation facilities, hospitals, and schools.

Purpose: I aim to identify strategies to increase transparency and accountability in large infrastructure projects delivered through public/private partnerships.

Methods: I studied the case of an award winning public/private partnership to plan a rapid rail line in Vancouver by comparing confidential documents released after project approval to the information available while planning was underway.

Results and conclusions: I find that although this project followed many best practices for achieving accountable and transparent public/private partnerships, in some instances it kept unfavorable study results from public view, limiting the potential for meaningful public involvement in the planning process. Takeaway for practice: I identify the following strategies to increase transparency and accountability in large infrastructure projects, including those delivered through private-public partnerships: (1) using a clear and narrow standard for what information should be kept confidential; (2) ensuring that public officials with responsibility for project decisions and their staffs have full access to all project information, including that not made public; (3) appointing a watchdog to see that these standards are upheld; and (4) implementing a decision process that allows public input and places the burden for proving that information should remain confidential on the entity making the request.