Measuring building quality of shopping centres in Surabaya by Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP)

Quality has been an important factor for shopping centers in competitive conditions. However, quality measurement has no standard. In Surabaya, only two regional shopping centers will be measured in this research. The objective is assessing quality of shopping centers building using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method and calculating the Building Quality Index. An overall ranking of Hierarchy priorities of quality criteria founded as a result from AHP analysis. Access and Circulation became the highest priority in affecting quality of shopping centers building according to respondents’ perception of quality. Weightened value as a result from comparison between two shopping centers as follows: Tunjungan Plaza get 0,732 point and Surabaya Plaza get 0,268 point. The first shopping center got higher weight than the second shopping center. The BQI for Tunjungan Plaza is 66% and for Surabaya Plaza is 64%.

The use of high dynamic range luminance mapping in the assessment, understanding and defining of visual issues in post occupancy building assessment

The international focus on embracing daylighting for energy efficient lighting purposes and the corporate sector’s indulgence in the perception of workplace and work practice “transparency” has spurned an increase in highly glazed commercial buildings. This in turn has renewed issues of visual comfort and daylight-derived glare for occupants. In order to ascertain evidence, or predict risk, of these events; appraisals of these complex visual environments require detailed information on the luminances present in an occupant’s field of view. Conventional luminance meters are an expensive and time consuming method of achieving these results. To create a luminance map of an occupant’s visual field using such a meter requires too many individual measurements to be a practical measurement technique. The application of digital cameras as luminance measurement devices has solved this problem. With high dynamic range imaging, a single digital image can be created to provide luminances on a pixel-by-pixel level within the broad field of view afforded by a fish-eye lens: virtually replicating an occupant’s visual field and providing rapid yet detailed luminance information for the entire scene. With proper calibration, relatively inexpensive digital cameras can be successfully applied to the task of luminance measurements, placing them in the realm of tools that any lighting professional should own. This paper discusses how a digital camera can become a luminance measurement device and then presents an analysis of results obtained from post occupancy measurements from building assessments conducted by the Mobile Architecture Built Environment Laboratory (MABEL) project. This discussion leads to the important realisation that the placement of such tools in the hands of lighting professionals internationally will provide new opportunities for the lighting community in terms of research on critical issues in lighting such as daylight glare and visual quality and comfort.

Blogs, wikis and podcasts : collaborative knowledge building tools in a design and technology course

Design and Technology has become an important part of the school curriculum. In Queensland, Australia, Technology (which encompasses Design) is one of the Key Learning Areas (KLAs) for students in the first ten years of schooling. This KLA adopts a student-centred, hands-on constructivist approach to teaching and learning. The ability to conceptualise and implement appropriate learning experiences, however, has been a challenge for some early career teachers. This paper describes how Design and Technology is being taught to pre-service primary teachers at an Australian University through their involvement in a range of authentic problem-solving activities supported by social learning tools such as wikis and blogs. An interview with a sample from this group (N=5) provides an insight into how these social software tools enhanced their knowledge and learning. This paper will describe how these social learning tools impact on the agency of learning.

Open standards-based system integration for asset management decision support

Over the last decade, system integration has grown in popularity as it allows organisations to streamline business processes. Traditionally, system integration has been conducted through point-to-point solutions – as a new integration scenario requirement arises, a custom solution is built between the relevant systems. Bus-based solutions are now preferred, whereby all systems communicate via an intermediary system such as an enterprise service bus, using a common data exchange model. This research investigates the use of a common data exchange model based on open standards, specifically MIMOSA OSA-EAI, for asset management system integration. A case study is conducted that involves the integration of processes between a SCADA, maintenance decision support and work management system. A diverse number of software platforms are employed in developing the final solution, all tied together through MIMOSA OSA-EAI-based XML web services. The lessons learned from the exercise are presented throughout the paper.

Europe and the Media: Building a new kind of Europe; is mass media the key?

The book is a joint effort of eight academics and journalists, Europe specialists from six countries (Australia, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, the United Kingdom and the United States). They give sometimes divergent views on the future of the so-called “European Project”, for building a common European economy and society, but agree that cultural changes, especially changes experienced through mass media, are rapidly taking place. One of the central interests of the book is the operation of the large media centre located at the European Commission in Brussels – the world’s largest gallery of permanently accredited correspondents. Jacket notes: The Lisbon Treaty of December 2009 is the latest success of the European Union’s drive to restructure and expand; yet questions persist about how democratic this new Europe might be. Will Brussels’ promotion of the “European idea” produce a common European culture and society? The authors consider it might, as a culture of everyday shared experience, though old ways are cherished, citizens forever thinking twice about committing to an uncertain future. The book focuses on mass media , as a prime agent of change, sometimes used deliberately to promote a “European project”; sometimes acting more naturally as a medium for new agendas. It looks at proposed media models for Europe, ranging from not very successful pan-European television, to the potentials of media systems based on national markets, and new media based on digital formats. It also studies the Brussels media service, the centre operated by the European Commission, which is the world’s largest concentration of journalists; and ways that dominant national media may come to serve the interests of communities now extending across frontiers. Europe and the Media notes change especially as encountered by new EU member countries of central and eastern Europe.

Lighter than Tai

YEAR: 2008 ROLE: Performer FORMAT: Live Art Event at Tiananmen Square Beijing, China (3 hours) and Later on Summit of Mt. Tai Shan, Shandong Province, China (6 hrs + 3 hrs). WITH: Solo WHAT: In the Hall of Reverence on Tiananmen Square, Beijing Mao Zedong's body lies in state surrounded by flowers and draped with a Red Flag of Communist China. His casket with a glass top lies on a black stone from Mt. Tai, reflecting the quotation from Sima Qian (China's Han Dynasty historian) that "One's life can be weightier than Mt. Tai or lighter than a goose feather". This pair of performances were a quiet, personal reflection upon what such a once revolutionary expression might mean in today's very different time and place. The work was conceived during the Olympic Cultural Festival showing of Intimate Transactions (www.intimatetransactions.com) - during the tumultuous times leading up to China's proudly staged August 2008 Olympics. The rise and rise of China had long been generating major geopolitical, ecological and cross-cultural shifts throughout the region and beyond. In this dramatic epicentre of change and at a time of such great national pride, how might we each act in ways that are ecologically 'mighty' and yet simultaneously have an impact lighter than a goosefeather? This is both a question for China in its relations with the autonomous provinces and the environment as it is for all of us in our own 'local' affairs. However ecologically speaking all that is of local concern is of global concern and noone can therefore be exempt from the need to sustain that which we share in common and must all protect for the future. Performance 1: Tiananmen Square, Beijing: Dropping 100 goose feathers. Performance 2: The summit of Mt Tai, Shandong Province. Building a mountain from Goose Feathers. SHOWING HISTORY: 1: Anniversary of Protest Crackdown, Jun 8th 2008. 2: Dawn on Tai Shan's summit, 15th June, 2008 DETAILS: Performance 1: Begin an hour after dawn (5.45am) in Tiananmen Square Bring pre-prepared performance shirt, a bag of goose feathers tipped with red. Begin at the "Gate of Heavenly Peace" under the image of Chairman Mao. Circumnavigate the world's largest open and the most surveilled public space 5 times dropping feathers periodically. Meditate on Forces of Change. Finally enter Chairman Mao's mausoleum with the masses and move quietly past his preserved body. End the performance at the Gate of Heavenly Peace 3 hours later. Performance 2: Walk up Mt. Tai Shan in silence meditating on Forces of Change (6 hours). Stay overnight on the summit. Begin an hour before dawn (3.45am) in silence. Bring performance shirt, a sack of goose feathers and a simple wooden structure. On the sunrise viewing side of the mountain build a miniature, fragile 'mountain' in goose feathers and sticks on the edge of a sheer precipice. Watch the sun rise as the feathers blow away into the valley deep below (3 hours).

Building the toolkit of quality monitoring clinical outcomes as a means of assessing quality in residential care

Residential aged care in Australia does not have a system of quality assessment related to clinical outcomes, creating a significant gap in quality monitoring. Clinical outcomes represent the results of all inputs into care, thus providing an indication of the success of those inputs. To fill this gap, an assessment tool based on resident outcomes (the ResCareQA) was developed and evaluated in collaboration with residential care providers. A useful output of the ResCareQA is a profile of resident clinical status, and this paper will use such outputs to present a snapshot of nine residential facilities. Such comprehensive data has not yet been available within Australia, so this will provide an important insight. ResCareQA data was collected from all residents (N=498) of nine aged care facilities from two major aged care providers. For each facility, numerator–denominator data were calculated to assess the degree of potential clinical problems. Results varied across clinical areas and across facilities, and rank-ordered facility results for selected clinical areas are reviewed and discussed. Use of the ResCareQA to generate clinical outcome data provides a concrete means of monitoring care quality within residential facilities; regular use of the ResCareQA could thus contribute to improved care outcomes within residential aged care.

Building resilience to prevent mental health problems in young people : The resourceful adolescent programme (RAP)

This chapter describes an evidence-based programme called the Resourceful Adolescent Program (RAP), which has been successful in building resilience in young people to prevent depressive symptoms developing.The programme adopts a strengths-focused approach. It aims to build a range of coping resources that foster teenagers’ abilities to maintain a positive sense of self and regulate emotions in the face of the vicissitudes of everyday struggles and difficult life events.This groupbased programme can be implemented routinely in schools or by counselling professionals as an early intervention or prevention programme. While there is no universal definition, ‘resilience’ generally means the process of avoiding the negative trajectories associated with exposure to risk factors (Fergus and Zimmerman, 2005). Current models of resilience are also very clear that there ‘are many pathways to resilience’ (Bonanno, 2004) and there is no

Building eResearch Services, Capabilities and Capacity

The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is known for several flagship eResearch centres. It also has a number of mature, centralised research support services that address a several of areas of eResearch. The university has openly stated its aspiration to be an institution with a strongly embedded eResearch capability and to this end it has expressed the desire to establish a university-wide eResearch support service. However, articulating this desire is much easier than realising it. During 2008 QUT undertook a major review into eResearch that made recommendations on the development of university-wide eResearch support service and the building of eResearch capabilities and capacity throughout the university. The results of this review were reported last year at this conference. In 2009, QUT is progressing a second, follow-on project – Building eResearch Support Capability and Capacity. It has been designed to build upon existing strengths in HPC, repositories, data management, and the delivery of integrated skills for eresearch. The purpose of this presentation is to give an update on QUT’s journey, one year on from its first major report into eResearch. It will outline how the university is approaching this challenge, the current work being carried out and the strategies being employed. We will also discuss the lessons learned.

Milk : students building mobile learning games in everyday places

This paper explores how mobile games can transform everyday places into dynamic learning spaces filled with information and inspiration. It discusses the motivation inherent in playing games and creating games for others, and how this stimulates an iterative process of creation and reflection and evokes a natural desire to engage in learning. The use of MiLK at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens is offered as a case in point. MiLK is an authoring tool that allows students and teachers to create and share SMS games for mobile phones. A group of South Australian high school students used MiLK to play a game, create their own games and play each other’s games during a day at the gardens. This paper details the learning processes involved in these activities and how the students reflected on their learning, conducted peer assessment, and engaged in a two-way discussion with their teacher about new technologies and their implications for learning. The paper concludes with a discussion of the needs and requirements of 21st Century learners and how MiLK can support constructivist and connectivist teaching methods that engage learners and may produce an appropriately skilled future workforce.

Benefits of collaborative ICT adoption for building project management

Purpose : Effective flow of data and communication at every stage of a construction project is essential for achieving required coordination and collaboration between the project participants, leading to successful management of the projects. In present scenario, when project participants are geographically separated, adoption of information communication technology (ICT) enables such effective communication. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to focus on ICT adoption for building project management.---------- Design/methodology/approach : It is difficult to quantitatively evaluate the benefits of ICT adoption in the multiple enterprise scenario of building project management. It requires qualitative analysis based on the perceptions of the construction professionals. The paper utilizes interpretive structural modeling (ISM) technique to assess importance of perceived benefits and their driving power and dependence on other benefits.---------- Findings : The developed ISM model shows that all the categories of benefits, i.e. benefits related to projects, team management, technology, and organization are inter-related and cannot be achieved in isolation. But, organization- and technology-related benefits have high-driving power and these are “strategic benefits” for the project team organizations. Thus, organizations are required to give more attention on strategically increasing these benefits from application of ICT. Originality/value – This analysis provides a road map to managers or project management organizations to decide that if they are planning ICT adoption for achieving certain benefits then which are the other driving benefits that should be achieved prior to that and also which are the dependent benefits that would be achieved by default.

Study of ICT adoption for building project management in the Indian construction industry

Building project management requires effective coordination and collaboration between multiple project members. It can be achieved through real time communication flow between all. In present scenario, it can be achieved through adoption of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). Construction industry primarily comprises small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Also, ICT adoption has been slow in the industry.---------- Research is required to assess the factors that affect ICT adoption at the three levels of industry, organization and people, with focus on SMEs. This paper discusses a component of the research undertaken to study these factors and issues in the context of Indian construction industry. A questionnaire survey was conducted and through quantitative data analysis the extent of adoption of formal Project Management processes, ICT adoption for these processes and factors including perception based factors affecting ICT adoption were studied. Results of data analysis includes identification of issues that require action at the three study levels.---------- The results can be generalized for other countries with due considerations, specifically for countries where the construction industry is similar to Indian construction industry in terms of working methodologies or for large countries.

Analysing strategic alliances in building construction

Building construction is a highly competitive and risky business. This competitiveness is compounded where conflicting objectives amongst contracting and subcontracting firms sets the stage for an adversarial and potentially destructive approach. There is a need for change in the construction industry—not only to a more cooperative approach to build mutual trust, respect and good faith—but also from a confrontationist and adversarial attitude to a harmonious relationship. It is necessary to change the culture to create a win-win situation. “Strategic Alliances” is one such concept. A strategic alliance is a cooperative arrangement between two or more organisations that forms part of their overall strategies, and contributes to achieving their major goals and objectives. This paper begins with an overview of the Australian building construction industry, then reviews the literature and describes an analysis framework comprising six attributes of strategic alliances—trust, commitment, interdependence, cooperation, communication, and joint problem solving. Given the trend towards greater emphasis on broader contracting firm performance criteria, indicators are proposed as a component of the tender evaluation process for public works.

Distribution profiles of key weather variables in Australian capital cities : implications for energy efficient building design

Local climate is a critical element in the design of energy efficient buildings. In this paper, ten years of historical weather data in Australia's eight capital cities were profiled and analysed to characterize the variations of climatic variables in Australia. The method of descriptive statistics was employed. Either the pattern of cumulative distribution and/or the profile of percentage distribution are presented. It was found that although weather variables vary with different locations, there is often a good, nearly linear relation between a weather variable and its cumulative percentage for the majority of middle part of the cumulative curves. By comparing the slopes of these distribution profiles, it may be possible to determine the relative range of changes of the particular weather variables for a given city. The implications of these distribution profiles of key weather variables on energy efficient building design are also discussed.

Modelling sustainable and optimal solutions for building services integration in early architectural design : confronting the software and professional interoperability deficit

Decisions made in the earliest stage of architectural design have the greatest impact on the construction, lifecycle cost and environmental footprint of buildings. Yet the building services, one of the largest contributors to cost, complexity, and environmental impact, are rarely considered as an influence on the design at this crucial stage. In order for efficient and environmentally sensitive built environment outcomes to be achieved, a closer collaboration between architects and services engineers is required at the outset of projects. However, in practice, there are a variety of obstacles impeding this transition towards an integrated design approach. This paper firstly presents a critical review of the existing barriers to multidisciplinary design. It then examines current examples of best practice in the building industry to highlight the collaborative strategies being employed and their benefits to the design process. Finally, it discusses a case study project to identify directions for further research.