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An area of great interest in current computational fluid dynamics research is that of free-surface modelling (FSM). Semi-implicit pressure-based FSM flow solvers typically involve the solution of a pressure correction equation. The latter being computationally intensive, the purpose of this paper is to involve the implementation and enhancement of an algebraic multigrid (AMG) method for its solution.

All AMG components were implemented via object-oriented C++ in a manner which ensures linear computational scalability and matrix-free storage. The developed technology was evaluated in two- and three-dimensions via application to a dam-break test case.

AMG performance was assessed via comparison of CPU cost to that of several other competitive sparse solvers. The standard AMG implementation proved inferior to other methods in three-dimensions, while the developed Freeze version achieved significant speed-ups and proved to be superior throughout.

A so-called Freeze method was developed to address the computational overhead resulting from the dynamically changing coefficient matrix. The latter involves periodic AMG setup steps in a manner that results in a robust and efficient black-box solver.

In a series of mid-20th century cases, the U.S. Supreme Court has modified and diversified the status of the enemy in U.S. law. We see a shift away from the statist egalitarian model toward a transnationalized model of enemies. U.S. Supreme Court decisions in three clusters of cases (German enemy aliens, the internment of the West Coast Japanese Americans, and Communist) from the 1940s and 1950s prefigure the radicalized post-9/11 “enemy combatant” status. The choice for such enemy conceptions is both a result of and a contribution to the changes in contemporary practices of violence.

This paper examines the accounts of three women, taken from the general population, who will not seek help for their alcohol problems. The narrative construction of their drinking forms a bricolage from the babble of discourses around alcohol that they encounter in their everyday lives. Much of the literature on alcohol & alcohol problems is written from the point of view of subjective experience mapped onto an objective definition which may show that they are not offering a true account of themselves, that they are in denial, or that they are displacing their (real) problem with alcohol onto something else. In this scenario, a cure can only be effected by first making the women understand, & then admit, what their real problem is. It is suggested that the reason these women, & possibly others, do not seek help is precisely because they fear that their own stories will be denied as untrue & that in this process, their own identities & personal accounts will be lost. In the confusion & difficulty they experience in defining the problem, they need an open space where they can explore their drinking & increase their knowledge from the many knowledges available, but free from the constraints & risks that they feel access to these knowledges would inevitably involve.

Amidst the backlash against gay rights in the U.S., a rapidly expanding number of companies are instituting inclusive policies. While in 1990 no major corporations provided health insurance for the partners of lesbian and gay employees, by early 2004, over 200 companies on the Fortune 500 list (approximately 40%) had adopted domestic partner benefits. This study of Fortune 1000 corporations reveals that the majority of adopters instituted the policy change only after facing pressure from groups of lesbian, gay, and bisexual employees. Despite such remarkable success, scholars have yet to study the workplace movement, as it is typically called by activists. Combining social movement theory and new institutional approaches to organizational analysis, I provide an “institutional opportunity” framework to explain the rise and trajectory of the movement over the past 25 years. I discuss the patterned emergence and diffusion of gay employee networks among Fortune 1000 companies in relation to shifting opportunities and constraints in four main areas: the wider sociopolitical context, the broader gay and lesbian movement, the media, and the workplace. Next, using the same wide-angle lens, I explain the apparent decline in corporate organizing since 1995. My multimethod approach utilizes surveys of 94 companies with and without gay networks, intensive interviews with 69 networks and 10 corporate executives, 3 case studies, field data, and print and virtual media on gay-related workplace topics. By focusing on not simply political but also broader institutional opportunities, I provide a framework for understanding the emergence and development of movements that target institutions beyond the state.

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of green residential properties. This phenomenon indicates that the demand for environmentally friendly residential properties is rising. However, the true reasons behind the growing interest and investment in green residential properties remain poorly understood. When it comes to residential properties, assessing these benefits becomes more challenging and complex, as it is crucial to understand the motivations to invest in green residential properties. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to identify the component factors that motivate homebuyers to invest in green residential properties.

This research aims to address a research gap by identifying the component factors that motivate individuals to invest in green residential properties using a factor analysis approach. The authors gathered data by distributing an online questionnaire among 161 certified green residential owners in Selangor, Malaysia.

The results from the factor analysis revealed three components as the primary factors that motivate individuals to invest in green residential properties. The findings contribute significantly to the growing yet limited literature in this area of research.

This research, however, set out to provide a context-specific motivation in Selangor as a limitation.

By understanding the motivations behind these investments, the research can encourage greater adoption of sustainable housing investment and guide developers and policymakers in offering better solutions for the green property market. The authors could facilitate informed decision-making and inspire positive change towards a future where sustainable housing becomes the norm.

This research took the form of an investigation into how different questions on online search request forms elicit different responses from users, and how the resulting differences in user input can influence search quality. Users of an academic library search service completed online search request forms which asked open, bibliographic and structural questions. Structural questions elicited longer responses than open questions, while bibliographic questions elicited very short responses. In some cases, the longer responses to structural questions led to the inclusion of more terms in search expressions. On average, these searches achieved lower precision. It appears that searchers who take a flexible approach to search topics are more affected by different amounts of user input than searchers who are less flexible. Because of the importance of the user‐intermediary interaction in initiating the retrieval process, online search request forms must be carefully designed. This includes selecting questions which will elicit an appropriate amount of detail about the information need.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of energy consumption on the financial performance of German residential buildings in a large panel framework. The authors provide evidence that energy efficiency in the residential sector is a relevant factor affecting both tenant investment decisions and consequently the performance of investor portfolios.

Based on the IPD Database and information from the German statistical office, the authors create portfolios of buildings across several energy consumption levels in order to describe the energy pricing mechanism in the context of total return and rent price. Furthermore, the authors apply conditional and unconditional regressions over the period of 2008 and 2010, to accurately quantify the energy price premium in the German residential market.

The descriptive portfolio results show that energy‐efficient buildings yield an up to 3.15 percent higher return and 0.76 €/m² higher rent than inefficient buildings. Furthermore, the regression results indicate that a one percent decline in energy consumption affects the total return of buildings positively by +0.015 percent. The hedonic results additionally show that one percent energy conservation boosts rent prices by +0.08 percent and market value by +0.45 percent, ceteris paribus.

Overall, the study presents an alternative methodology for describing and estimating hedonic datasets and offers some initial empirical evidence on the energy price premium in German residential markets. The paper contributes to prior European studies regarding the use and implications of energy performance certificates and confirms their significant impact on residential housing performance variables.

The Bureau of Economics in the Federal Trade Commission has a three-part role in the Agency and the strength of its functions changed over time depending on the preferences and ideology of the FTC’s leaders, developments in the field of economics, and the tenor of the times. The over-riding current role is to provide well considered, unbiased economic advice regarding antitrust and consumer protection law enforcement cases to the legal staff and the Commission. The second role, which long ago was primary, is to provide reports on investigations of various industries to the public and public officials. This role was more recently called research or “policy R&D”. A third role is to advocate for competition and markets both domestically and internationally. As a practical matter, the provision of economic advice to the FTC and to the legal staff has required that the economists wear “two hats,” helping the legal staff investigate cases and provide evidence to support law enforcement cases while also providing advice to the legal bureaus and to the Commission on which cases to pursue (thus providing “a second set of eyes” to evaluate cases). There is sometimes a tension in those functions because building a case is not the same as evaluating a case. Economists and the Bureau of Economics have provided such services to the FTC for over 100 years proving that a sub-organization can survive while playing roles that sometimes conflict. Such a life is not, however, always easy or fun.