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The use of modern methods of construction (MMC) has been advocated as a way of addressing some of the criticisms of the construction industry made in the Latham and Egan reports. This paper seeks to examine the current position of accommodation that has been built using modern methods of construction (MMC) particularly, volumetric/modular construction.

A literature review is followed by a survey of student occupants of such accommodation in Nottingham.

The main finding was that students chose their accommodation because of its locality to the university and factors that relate to the construction type are not high priorities. The main concern of the residents in the student accommodation is intrusive noise, which may come from external unspecified sources that are not related to the residents in neighbouring rooms. A low level of dissatisfaction indicates that the majority of residents were satisfied living in MMC/Modular build accommodation.

Modular build accommodation, if built within the requirements of its residents, is a satisfactory form of construction for multi‐space accommodation that could be used for future multi‐occupational premises. Modern methods of construction could benefit the UK's construction industry.

This paper aims to show the opportunities and challenges of implementing slow tourism through a slow city concept, particularly concerning preserving paddy fields.

A qualitative approach using FGD, in-depth interviews and questionnaires with open questions.

Paddy field preservation can be achieved through the slow city concept if there is a strong commitment from the government and influential local wisdom.

This research is conducted in five areas (cities and regencies). Hence, there should be similar research in other areas to find whether it can be implemented in other areas. Furthermore, other aspects have not been explored, such as how to convince policymakers to implement a slow city concept, integrate urban infrastructures and paddy fields or encourage and protect local residents who develop a slow city concept.

This research will give insight for policymakers to establish a policy that can realize livable cities for local residents and tourists, particularly in terms of food resiliency through tourism.

This research will give new information about the importance of slow tourism to improve the quality of life in a city and to maintain food resilience.

This research shows the implementation and challenges of realizing slow city and slow tourism in some regions in Indonesia, particularly related to paddy fields preservation.

As part of the Baltimore Ecosystem Study (BES), a long-term ecological research project that conducts research in metropolitan Baltimore as an ecological system, scientists have measured the effect of urbanization on entire watersheds, such as Gwynns Falls, from headwaters to the Chesapeake Bay. In general, urbanization has buried many seasonal headwater streams and has contributed to the erosion of extant streams due to flashy urban storm runoff in what was a slow moving, beaver-dominated landscape (Elmore & Kaushal, 2008; Brush, 2009). This chapter fuses scientific ecological research in Baltimore with ethnographic evidence of human ecological technologies practiced in Northern Thailand. Anthropologist Shigeharu Tanabe studied one such ecological technology practiced for centuries in Chiang Mai called muang fai. More recently, a royally inspired community project of forest regeneration was successfully completed through small headwater dam building in nearby Lampang. The authors report on a recently conducted survey of the sites Tanabe documented in the 1970s and the results of the community reforestation project in relation to design proposals for three neighborhoods in Baltimore. The ecological research in Baltimore and the ethnographic research in Chiang Mai are integrated in this chapter to argue for new sustainable design practices in urban headwaters that combine ethnography, scientific monitoring, and design.

The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) 2002/91/EC introduced various obligatory requirements intended to achieve the reduction of use of energy resources in buildings. This directive had to be transposed into national legislation by the EU member states. Concurrently the European Committee for Standardisation developed a number of technical standards to assist member states to define the methodology for the calculation of the energy performance of buildings. The purpose of this paper is to present a comparative review of the relationship between the European directive and the standards, and the different country legislation and methodologies that have been implemented in Malta, Italy, Spain and Cyprus.

The analysis is based on a review of national legislation in the four states. Reference is also made to publications by the Concerted Action for the EPBD and to related publications by the national bodies responsible for the implementation of the EPBD. These include the Ministry for Economic Development in Italy, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism in Cyprus, the Ministry for Resources and Rural Affairs in Malta, and the Ministries of Industry Tourism and Commerce and of Housing in Spain.

This paper analyses and compares the implementation of the directive using the above‐mentioned sources. In so doing, it focuses on general principles rather than on the specific technical requirements for the calculation method in the various states. The paper then considers the implementation of these general principles within each state before finally drawing conclusions about whether legislation relating to the original Directive 2002/91/EC is meeting its objectives and the implications relating to the requirements of the recast Directive 2010/31/EC.

The introduction of the directive in the states considered has taken place slowly and gradually over the last three to four years. There are few publications relating to the actual implementation of the directive, and this limits the possibility of comparison of sources.

The relationship between the EPBD and the milder climate experienced in the Mediterranean is considered to be of great importance, particularly since world temperatures are slowly rising. However, it is acknowledged that insufficient research has been carried out on the energy performance of buildings in this region. This paper investigates the existing legal structures that have been put into place to implement the EPBD and the effectiveness of this implementation to date.

Along the 14th parallel, day and night oscillate exactly between predictable twelve hour divisions and months pass with little change in temperature barely affected by the earth's axial tilt. However between May and October, a shift in atmospheric currents brings monsoon rains from the Indonesian archipelago north to the mountain ranges ringing northern Thailand whose runoff feeds the Mae Nam Chao Phraya River Basin and Bangkok sprawling across its flat, silted tidal delta. Seasonal cycles of precipitation rather than temperature extremes of winter and summer bring rhythm to life just above the equator, putting into motion human cycles of planting, harvest and migration, as well as shaping Thai beliefs and rituals (Fig. 1).

In New Zealand, educational institutions at all levels are being encouraged by the nation's central government to develop international markets, largely to generate revenue and to therefore decrease dependence on state funding. This chapter presents research findings which show that some managers in education are responding to this challenge by establishing and maintaining relationships to respond to international student demand, a core focus of educational marketing work. These relationships seem to allow high schools, particularly resource-constrained ones, to be able to add value to the international student experience. In this case, this includes offering language tuition and access to support people who speak the students’ languages and are familiar with their cultural frameworks as part of the experience. Given the benefits to international students, and to the schools themselves, could this kind of relational approach be considered an example of leadership in international education marketing?

The paper aims to discuss and analyse the entrepreneurial process in Indian seed business and factors affecting entrepreneurship in this sector.

The paper is based on in‐depth personal interviews with 40 entrepreneurs involved in 31 seed ventures belonging to five districts covering three states of India – Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Uttarakhand. These firms were selected following the convenient method of sampling. All major components of entrepreneurial process – personal traits and background of the entrepreneur, legal and financial environment, and market structure – were studied in detail. Descriptive and relational data‐analytic methods were adopted such as frequency distribution, cross tabulation, and correlation analysis.

Realizing the importance of availability of quality seed to the farming community in adequate quantity in the country, current government policies are geared towards promoting and fostering entrepreneurship in seed industry in India. The paper finds that the firms established during last five to ten years have shown continuous growth indicating attractiveness of the industry. Ability to build entrepreneurial team with complementary skills and knowledge and experience of the lead entrepreneurs are found to be the critical success factors in this industry.

The findings of the paper is based on mainly qualitative data/information collected only from 40 entrepreneurs belonging to 31 seed ventures.

The study findings have implications for policy makers as well as for prospective entrepreneurs. It will help in designing appropriate policy instruments promote and foster entrepreneurship on one hand and provide suggestions for new entrepreneurs for creating sustainable new seed ventures on the other.

The paper is original and value loaded in the sense that this provides the practical implications for understanding the entrepreneurial process in a very critical segment of the agriculture sector.

To explore the relevance of Goffman's theatrical metaphor to describe video‐mediated interactions.

Grounded in four waves of observational data of MBA students interacting by videoconference in the context of a distributed course between Europe and Asia, with the students working in virtual teams on a consulting project.

People in video‐mediated contexts adjust and evolve the well‐established routines we have developed for interacting in everyday communication in order to build a “stage” for interaction. The stage does not only refer to a spatial frame of reference, but that it also refers to a shared social context, a ”place” that participants collaboratively construct.

The paper is based on observations of MBA students, and not teams of professionals in an organization.

The observations suggest that although people often blame the technology for frustrating or negative experiences and hoping for the development of better technology, practitioners aiming to support communication in video‐mediated settings should focus on building a stage and developing practices to support the interactional order. They should focus on the construction of a shared social context, a “sense of place”.

The use of Goffman's theatrical metaphor to study video‐mediated interactions. A suggestion for being innovative about the use of technology and avoid simply replicating face‐to‐face interactions.

This paper aims to evaluate the concentration effect of red mud waste filler on mechanical and thermal properties of amine functional aniline furfuraldehyde condensate (AFAFFC) modified epoxy composite along with the optimum result of modified epoxy.

For effective toughening, different compositions were made by adding various concentration of AFAFFC to epoxy. The concentration of 2, 5 and 10 parts per hundred parts of epoxy resin of aluminium silicate-based pristine red mud waste was incorporated into the each modified epoxy matrix. These filled modified matrixes were cured with ambient temperature curing agent triethylene tetramine and evaluated with respect to their impact, tensile and flexural strengths. The morphology was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and dynamic mechanical analysis. The thermal stability by thermogravimetric analysis was also reported.

The modification of epoxy resin using AFAFFC and filler showed significant enhancement of mechanical strength over unmodified epoxy. The increase depends on the concentration of the modifier and filler. The reason behind this is that in the initial stage of curing, the AFAFFC are miscible with the epoxy and form a homogeneous solution. This good mixing promotes the chemical reaction and network formation. During the curing process, as the molecular weight increases, the component separates with in the reaction medium to form a second dispersed phase.

The present paper discussed the effect of only one type of modifier, i.e. AFAFFC, and one filler, i.e. red mud waste filler effect. Besides these by changing the amine and aldehyde, other modifiers could be synthesised and the efficiency of modification of epoxy resin using these modifiers and other filler besides red mud waste such as paddy husk, bamboo dust, etc., could also be studied.

The present study regarding the concentration effect of modifier and filler was novel, and AFAFFC modified filled epoxy could be used in the field of coating, casting, adhesives, potting and encapsulation of semiconductor devices.