Property cash flow studies : focusing on model consistency and data accuracy

The high degree of variability and inconsistency in cash flow study usage by property professionals demands improvement in knowledge and processes. Until recently limited research was being undertaken on the use of cash flow studies in property valuations but the growing acceptance of this approach for major investment valuations has resulted in renewed interest in this topic. Studies on valuation variations identify data accuracy, model consistency and bias as major concerns. In cash flow studies there are practical problems with the input data and the consistency of the models. This study will refer to the recent literature and identify the major factors in model inconsistency and data selection. A detailed case study will be used to examine the effects of changes in structure and inputs. The key variable inputs will be identified and proposals developed to improve the selection process for these key variables. The variables will be selected with the aid of sensitivity studies and alternative ways of quantifying the key variables explained. The paper recommends, with reservations, the use of probability profiles of the variables and the incorporation of this data in simulation exercises. The use of Monte Carlo simulation is demonstrated and the factors influencing the structure of the probability distributions of the key variables are outline. This study relates to ongoing research into functional performance of commercial property within an Australian Cooperative Research Centre.

A quasi stationary approach to drying kinetics of cylindrical food particulates in a heat pump asisted fluid bed dryer

Experiments were undertaken to study drying kinetics of moist cylindrical shaped food particulates during fluidised bed drying. Cylindrical particles were prepared from Green beans with three different length:diameter ratios, 3:1, 2:1 and 1:1. A batch fluidised bed dryer connected to a heat pump system was used for the experimentation. A Heat pump and fluid bed combination was used to increase overall energy efficiency and achieve higher drying rates. Drying kinetics, were evaluated with non-dimensional moisture at three different drying temperatures of 30, 40 and 50o C. Numerous mathematical models can be used to calculate drying kinetics ranging from analytical models with simplified assumptions to empirical models built by regression using experimental data. Empirical models are commonly used for various food materials due to their simpler approach. However problems in accuracy, limits the applications of empirical models. Some limitations of empirical models could be reduced by using semi-empirical models based on heat and mass transfer of the drying operation. One such method is the quasi-stationary approach. In this study, a modified quasi-stationary approach was used to model drying kinetics of the cylindrical food particles at three drying temperatures.

Diversity of accuracy profiles for absolute pitch recognition

Most advanced musicians are able to identify and label a heard pitch if given an opportunity to compare it to a known reference note. This is called ‘relative pitch’ (RP). A much rarer skill is the ability to identify and label a heard pitch without the need for a reference. This is colloquially referred to as ‘perfect pitch’, but appears in the academic literature as ‘absolute pitch’ (AP). AP is considered by many as a remarkable skill. As people do not seem able to develop it intentionally, it is generally regarded as innate. It is often seen as a unitary skill and that a set of identifiable criteria can distinguish those who possess the skill from those who do not. However, few studies have interrogated these notions. The present study developed and applied an interactive computer program to map pitch-labelling responses to various tonal stimuli without a known reference tone available to participants. This approach enabled the identification of the elements of sound that impacted on AP. Pitch-labelling responses of 14 participants with AP were recorded for their accuracy. Each participant’s response to the stimuli was unique. Their accuracy of labelling varied across dimensions such as timbre, range and tonality. The diversity of performance between individuals appeared to reflect their personal musical experience histories.

An innovative learning model for teaching architectural technology using building information modelling : a Queensland University of Technology perspective

In architecture courses, instilling a wider understanding of the industry specific representations practiced in the Building Industry is normally done under the auspices of Technology and Science subjects. Traditionally, building industry professionals communicated their design intentions using industry specific representations. Originally these mainly two dimensional representations such as plans, sections, elevations, schedules, etc. were produced manually, using a drawing board. Currently, this manual process has been digitised in the form of Computer Aided Design and Drafting (CADD) or ubiquitously simply CAD. While CAD has significant productivity and accuracy advantages over the earlier manual method, it still only produces industry specific representations of the design intent. Essentially, CAD is a digital version of the drawing board. The tool used for the production of these representations in industry is still mainly CAD. This is also the approach taken in most traditional university courses and mirrors the reality of the situation in the building industry. A successor to CAD, in the form of Building Information Modelling (BIM), is presently evolving in the Construction Industry. CAD is mostly a technical tool that conforms to existing industry practices. BIM on the other hand is revolutionary both as a technical tool and as an industry practice. Rather than producing representations of design intent, BIM produces an exact Virtual Prototype of any building that in an ideal situation is centrally stored and freely exchanged between the project team. Essentially, BIM builds any building twice: once in the virtual world, where any faults are resolved, and finally, in the real world. There is, however, no established model for learning through the use of this technology in Architecture courses. Queensland University of Technology (QUT), a tertiary institution that maintains close links with industry, recognises the importance of equipping their graduates with skills that are relevant to industry. BIM skills are currently in increasing demand throughout the construction industry through the evolution of construction industry practices. As such, during the second half of 2008, QUT 4th year architectural students were formally introduced for the first time to BIM, as both a technology and as an industry practice. This paper will outline the teaching team’s experiences and methodologies in offering a BIM unit (Architectural Technology and Science IV) at QUT for the first time and provide a description of the learning model. The paper will present the results of a survey on the learners’ perspectives of both BIM and their learning experiences as they learn about and through this technology.

A tri-dimensional approach for auditing brand loyalty

Over the past twenty years brand loyalty has been an important topic for both marketing practitioners and academics. While practitioners have produced proprietary brand loyalty audit models, there has been little academic research to make transparent the methodology that underpins these audits and to enable practitioners to understand, develop and conduct their own audits. In this paper, we propose a framework for a brand loyalty audit that uses a tri-dimensional approach to brand loyalty, which includes behavioural loyalty and the two components of attitudinal loyalty: emotional and cognitive loyalty. In allowing for different levels and intensity of brand loyalty, this tri-dimensional approach is important from a managerial perspective. It means that loyalty strategies that arise from a brand audit can be made more effective by targeting the market segments that demonstrate the most appropriate combination of brand loyalty components. We propose a matrix with three dimensions (emotional, cognitive and behavioural loyalty) and two levels (high and low loyalty) to facilitate a brand loyalty audit. To demonstrate this matrix, we use the example of financial services, in particular a rewards-based credit card.

Simulations of pollutant dispersion at toll plazas using three-dimensional CFD models

Toll plazas are particularly susceptible to build-ups of vehicle-emitted pollutants because vehicles pass through in low gear. To look at this, three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics simulations of pollutant dispersion are used on the standard k e turbulence model. The effects of wind speed, wind direction and topography on pollutant dispersion were discussed. The Wuzhuang toll plaza on the Hefei-Nanjing expressway is considered, and the effects of the retaining walls along both sides of the plaza on pollutant dispersion is analysed. There are greater pollutant concentrations near the tollbooths as the angle between the direction of the wind and traffic increases implying that retaining walls impede dispersion. The slope of the walls has little influence on the variations in pollutant concentration.

Sodium 2-nitrocinnamate dihydrate: a one-dimensional hydrogen-bonded coordination polymer

The title compound catena-poly[aqua-mu3-2-nitrocinnamato], [Na(C9H6NO4)(H2O)2]n, the sodium salt of trans-2-nitrocinnamic acid, is a one-dimensional coordination polymer based on six-coordinate octahedral NaO6 centres comprising three facially-related monodentate carboxylate O-atom donors from separate ligands (all bridging)[Na-O, 2.4370(13)-2.5046(13)A] and three water molecules (two bridging, one monodentate) [Na-O, 2.3782(13)-2.4404(17)A]. The structure is also stabilized by intra-chain water-O-H...O(carboxylate) and O-H...O(nitro) hydrogen bonds.

Zero- one- and two-dimensional hydrogen-bonded structures in the 1:1 proton-transfer compounds of 4,5-dichlorophthalic acid with the monocyclic heteroaromatic Lewis bases 2-aminopyrimidine, nicotinamide and isonicotinamide

The structures of the anhydrous 1:1 proton-transfer compounds of 4,5-dichlorophthalic acid (DCPA) with the monocyclic heteroaromatic Lewis bases 2-aminopyrimidine, 3-(aminocarboxy) pyridine (nicotinamide) and 4-(aminocarbonyl) pyridine (isonicotinamide), namely 2-aminopyrimidinium 2-carboxy-4,5-dichlorobenzoate C4H6N3+ C8H3Cl2O4- (I), 3-(aminocarbonyl) pyridinium 2-carboxy-4,5-dichlorobenzoate C6H7N2O+ C8H3Cl2O4- (II) and the unusual salt adduct 4-(aminocarbonyl) pyridinium 2-carboxy-4,5-dichlorobenzoate 2-carboxymethyl-4,5-dichlorobenzoic acid (1/1/1) C6H7N2O+ C8H3Cl2O4-.C9H6Cl2O4 (III) have been determined at 130 K. Compound (I) forms discrete centrosymmetric hydrogen-bonded cyclic bis(cation--anion) units having both R2/2(8) and R2/1(4) N-H...O interactions. In compound (II) the primary N-H...O linked cation--anion units are extended into a two-dimensional sheet structure via amide-carboxyl and amide-carbonyl N-H...O interactions. The structure of (III) reveals the presence of an unusual and unexpected self-synthesized methyl monoester of the acid as an adduct molecule giving one-dimensional hydrogen-bonded chains. In all three structures the hydrogen phthalate anions are

Unusual hydrate stabilization in the two-dimensional layered structure of quinacrinium bis(2-carboxy-4,5-dichlorobenzoate) tetrahydrate, a proton-transfer compound of the drug quinacrine

The crystal structure of the hydrated proton-transfer compound of the drug quinacrine [rac-N'-(6-chloro-2-methoxyacridin-9-yl)-N,N-diethylpentane-1,4-diamine] with 4,5-dichlorophthalic acid, C23H32ClN3O2+ . 2(C8H3Cl2O4-).4H2O (I), has been determined at 200 K. The four labile water molecules of solvation form discrete ...O--H...O--H... hydrogen-bonded chains parallel to the quinacrine side chain, the two N--H groups of which act as hydrogen-bond donors for two of the water acceptor molecules. The other water molecules, as well as the acridinium H atom, also form hydrogen bonds with the two anion species and extend the structure into two-dimensional sheets. Between these sheets there are also weak cation--anion and anion--anion pi-pi aromatic ring interactions. This structure represents only the third example of a simple quinacrine derivative for which structural data are available but differs from the other two in that it is unstable in the X-ray beam due to efflorescence, probably associated with the destruction of the unusual four-membered water chain structures.