A knowledge management system to optimise comfort throughout the building life-cycle

Comfort is, in essence, satisfaction with the environment, and with respect to the indoor environment it is primarily satisfaction with the thermal conditions and air quality. Improving comfort has social, health and economic benefits, and is more financially significant than any other building cost. Despite this, comfort is not strictly managed throughout the building lifecycle. This is mainly due to the lack of an appropriate system to adequately manage comfort knowledge through the construction process into operation. Previous proposals to improve knowledge management have not been successfully adopted by the construction industry. To address this, the BabySteps approach was devised. BabySteps is an approach, proposed by this research, which states that for an innovation to be adopted into the industry it must be implementable through a number of small changes. This research proposes that improving the management of comfort knowledge will improve comfort. ComMet is a new methodology proposed by this research that manages comfort knowledge. It enables comfort knowledge to be captured, stored and accessed throughout the building life-cycle and so allowing it to be re-used in future stages of the building project and in future projects. It does this using the following: Comfort Performances – These are simplified numerical representations of the comfort of the indoor environment. Comfort Performances quantify the comfort at each stage of the building life-cycle using standard comfort metrics. Comfort Ratings - These are a means of classifying the comfort conditions of the indoor environment according to an appropriate standard. Comfort Ratings are generated by comparing different Comfort Performances. Comfort Ratings provide additional information relating to the comfort conditions of the indoor environment, which is not readily determined from the individual Comfort Performances. Comfort History – This is a continuous descriptive record of the comfort throughout the project, with a focus on documenting the items and activities, proposed and implemented, which could potentially affect comfort. Each aspect of the Comfort History is linked to the relevant comfort entity it references. These three components create a comprehensive record of the comfort throughout the building lifecycle. They are then stored and made available in a common format in a central location which allows them to be re-used ad infinitum. The LCMS System was developed to implement the ComMet methodology. It uses current and emerging technologies to capture, store and allow easy access to comfort knowledge as specified by ComMet. LCMS is an IT system that is a combination of the following six components: Building Standards; Modelling & Simulation; Physical Measurement through the specially developed Egg-Whisk (Wireless Sensor) Network; Data Manipulation; Information Recording; Knowledge Storage and Access.Results from a test case application of the LCMS system - an existing office room at a research facility - highlighted that while some aspects of comfort were being maintained, the building���s environment was not in compliance with the acceptable levels as stipulated by the relevant building standards. The implementation of ComMet, through LCMS, demonstrates how comfort, typically only considered during early design, can be measured and managed appropriately through systematic application of the methodology as means of ensuring a healthy internal environment in the building.

State building as strategy: An interrogation of NATO's comprehensive approach in Afghanistan between 2006 and 2011

The core of this thesis is the study of NATO’s Comprehensive Approach strategy to state building in Afghanistan between 2006 and 2011. It argues that this strategy sustained operational and tactical practices which were ineffective in responding to the evolved nature of the security problem. The thesis interrogates the Comprehensive Approach along ontological, empirical and epistemological lines and concludes that the failure of the Comprehensive Approach in the specific Afghan case is, in fact, indicative of underlying theoretical and pragmatic flaws which, therefore, generalize the dilemma. The research is pragmatic in nature, employing mixed methods (quantitative and qualitative) concurrently. Qualitative methods include research into primary and secondary literature sources supplemented with the author’s personal experiences in Afghanistan in 2008 and various NATO HQ and Canadian settings. Quantitative research includes an empirical case study focussing on NATO’s Afghan experience and its attempt at state building between 2006 and 2011. This study incorporates a historical review of NATO’s evolutionary involvement in Afghanistan incorporating the subject timeframe; offers an analysis of human development and governance related data mapped to expected outcomes of the Afghan National Development Strategy and NATO’s comprehensive campaign design; and interrogates the Comprehensive Approach strategy by means of an analysis of conceptual, institutional and capability gaps in the context of an integrated investigational framework. The results of the case study leads to an investigation of a series of research questions related to the potential impact of the failure of the Comprehensive Approach for NATO in Afghanistan and the limits of state building as a means of attaining security for the Alliance.

The architecture of influence: Paul Rudolph's Art and Architecture Building at Yale

Focussing on Paul Rudolph’s Art & Architecture Building at Yale, this thesis demonstrates how the building synthesises the architect’s attitude to architectural education, urbanism and materiality. It tracks the evolution of the building from its origins – which bear a relationship to Rudolph’s pedagogical ideas – to later moments when its occupants and others reacted to it in a series of ways that could never have been foreseen. The A&A became the epicentre of the university’s counter culture movement before it was ravaged by a fire of undetermined origins. Arguably, it represents the last of its kind in American architecture, a turning point at the threshold of postmodernism. Using an archive that was only made available to researchers in 2009, this is the first study to draw extensively on the research files of the late architectural writer and educator, C. Ray Smith. Smith’s 1981 manuscript about the A&A entitled “The Biography of a Building,” was never published. The associated research files and transcripts of discussions with some thirty interviewees, including Rudolph, provide a previously unavailable wealth of information. Following Smith’s methodology, meetings were recorded with those involved in the A&A including, where possible, some of Smith’s original interviewees. When placed within other significant contexts – the physicality of the building itself as well as the literature which surrounds it – these previously untold accounts provide new perspectives and details, which deepen the understanding of the building and its place within architectural discourse. Issues revealed include the importance of the influence of Louis Kahn’s Yale Art Gallery and Yale’s Collegiate Gothic Campus on the building���s design. Following a tumultuous first fifty years, the A&A remains an integral part of the architectural education of Yale students and, furthermore, constitutes an important didactic tool for all students of architecture.

The application of computer modelling to develop a methodology for ‘existing building��� upgrades to move towards carbon-neutral buildings

The retrofitting of existing buildings for decreased energy usage, through increased energy efficiency and for minimum carbon dioxide emissions throughout their remaining lifetime is a major area of research. This research area requires development to provide building professionals with more efficient building retrofit solution determination tools. The overarching objective of this research is to develop a tool for this purpose through the implementation of a prescribed methodology. This has been achieved in three distinct steps. Firstly, the concept of using the degree-days modelling method as an adequate means of basing retrofit decision upon was analysed and the results illustrated that the concept had merit. Secondly, the concept of combining the degree-days modelling method and the Genetic Algorithms optimisation method is investigated as a method of determining optimal thermal energy retrofit solutions. Thirdly, the combination of the degree-days modelling method and the Genetic Algorithms optimisation method were packaged into a building retrofit decision-support tool and named BRaSS (Building Retrofit Support Software). The results demonstrate clearly that, fundamental building information, simplified occupancy profiles and weather data used in a static simulation modelling method is a sufficient and adequate means to base retrofitting decisions upon. The results also show that basing retrofit decisions upon energy analysis results are the best means to guide a retrofit project and also to achieve results which are optimum for a particular building. The results also indicate that the building retrofit decision-support tool, BRaSS, is an effective method to determine optimum thermal energy retrofit solutions.

Stair na Gaeilge i gContae Thiobraid Árann 1700-1901

Stair na Gaeilge i gCo. Thiobraid Árann i rith na tréimhse 1700-1901 atá á ríomhadh sa tráchtas seo. Tar éis a cúlra agus a comhthéacs a shuíomh i gCaibidil a hAon, déantar scríobhaithe an cheantair a áireamh, fara tráchtaireacht orthu, i gCaibidil a Dó. I gCaibidlí a Trí agus a Ceathair, féachtar ar thionchar na hEaglaisí Caitlicí agus Eaglais na hÉireann (i measc eaglaisí Protastúnacha eile) ar an dteangain. I gCaibidil a Cúig, faightear spléachadh ar ghnéithe éagsúla de shaíocht an chontae, ag tabhairt léargais ar tháirgí na scríobhaithe, ar leabhair a clóbhualadh sa réigiún, agus ar fhilí móra na háite, leithéidí Liam Daill Uí Ifearnáin, ag sonrú limistéir faoi leith, an t-oirdheisceart, mar shampla. Léirítear éifeacht na gcumann Gaelach agus na ndíograiseoirí iomadúla a bhain leo. Ábhar suime, leis, feidhm na Gaeilge sna cúirteanna dlí. Tugtar faisnéis i gCaibidil a Sé ar fhianaise cuairteoirí ar an Ghaeilge mar urlabhra i dTiobraid Árann. Is anseo chomh maith a deintear anailís ar Dhaonáirimh na mblianta 1861-1901, le mórchuid adhmaid á baint as ceann 1901 go háirithe. Breactar as ainmneacha sagart agus múinteoirí le Gaeilge, agus tráchtar ar aicmí suntasacha eile, na póilíní agus na saighdiúirí a raibh an teanga sin ina mbéal acu. Tugtar le chéile dá réir na snáithíní difriúla eolais ar an dúiche ar bhealach nár tharla cheana don gcontae casta fairsing seo le haghaidh na tréimhse atá idir lámha ag an saothar.

Temporal variations of IEEE 802.11b signal strengths in an in-building environment

Recent popularity of the IEEE 802.11b Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) in a host of current-day applications has instigated a suite of research challenges. The 802.11b WLANs are highly reliable and wide spread. In this work, we study the temporal characteristics of RSSI in the real-working environment by conducting a controlled set of experiments. Our results indicate that a significant variability in the RSSI can occur over time. Some of this variability in the RSSI may be due to systematic causes while the other component can be expressed as stochastic noise. We present an analysis of both these aspects of RSSI. We treat the moving average of the RSSI as the systematic causes and the noise as the stochastic causes. We give a reasonable estimate for the moving average to compute the noise accurately. We attribute the changes in the environment such as the movement of people and the noise associated with the NIC circuitry and the network access point as causes for this variability. We find that the results of our analysis are of primary importance to active research areas such as location determination of users in a WLAN. The techniques used in some of the RF-based WLAN location determination systems, exploit the characteristics of the RSSI presented in this work to infer the location of a wireless client in a WLAN. Thus our results form the building blocks for other users of the exact characteristics of the RSSI.

Improving the use of asset-building financial services by Latino immigrants in Langley Park, Maryland

Gemstone Team ANSWER Poverty (Assessing the Need for Services Which Effectively Reduce Poverty)

Carbon mitigation costs for the commercial building sector: Discrete-continuous choice analysis of multifuel energy demand

We estimate a carbon mitigation cost curve for the U.S. commercial sector based on econometric estimation of the responsiveness of fuel demand and equipment choices to energy price changes. The model econometrically estimates fuel demand conditional on fuel choice, which is characterized by a multinomial logit model. Separate estimation of end uses (e.g., heating, cooking) using the U.S. Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey allows for exceptionally detailed estimation of price responsiveness disaggregated by end use and fuel type. We then construct aggregate long-run elasticities, by fuel type, through a series of simulations; own-price elasticities range from -0.9 for district heat services to -2.9 for fuel oil. The simulations form the basis of a marginal cost curve for carbon mitigation, which suggests that a price of $20 per ton of carbon would result in an 8% reduction in commercial carbon emissions, and a price of $100 per ton would result in a 28% reduction. © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Lukas Foss's The Prairie (1942): Building Community through Music

Lukas Foss's The Prairie, a seven-movement cantata for SATB soloists, mixed chorus, and orchestra, is a well-crafted and audience-friendly setting of the poem of the same name by Carl Sandburg. Acclaimed at its 1944 premiere, The Prairie has not enjoyed a robust performance history due in large part to numerous inconsistencies between the score and parts which render the work challenging to perform. Heretofore, each conductor has individually located these inconsistencies and made the necessary adjustments for performances. In this document, resources have been assembled which identify and correct many of the inconsistencies, thus facilitating more performances in the future. The Prairie is an ideal vehicle for a project-based chorus, which is itself an opportunity to create a new community. A correlation may exist between "community" and "vulnerability;" that is, when a choral singer feels comfortably connected to fellow singers, he or she may be more likely to open up to new ways of making sounds for the ultimate service of the music. Results are inconclusive, but the project points to a successful strategy for creating an affirming new community and to positive musical and nonmusical results of intentional community-building.

The EXODUS evacuation model applied to building evacuation scenarios

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the potential of the EXODUS evacuation model in building environments. The latest PC/workstation version of EXODUS is described and is also applied to a large hypothetical supermarket/restaurant complex measuring 50 m x 40 m. A range of scenarios is presented where population characteristics (such as size, individual travel speeds, and individual response times), and enclosure configuration characteristics (such as number of exits, size of exits, and opening times of exits) are varied. The results demonstrate a wide range of occupant behavior including overtaking, queuing, redirection, and conflict avoidance. Evacuation performance is measured by a number of model predicted parameters including individual exit flow rates, overall evacuation flow rates, total evacuation time, average evacuation time per occupant, average travel distance, and average wait time. The simulations highlight the profound impact that variations in individual travel speeds and occupant response times have in determining the overall evacuation performance.

The Exodus evacuation model applied to building evacuation scenarios

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the potential of the EXODUS evacuation model in building environments. The latest PC/workstation version of EXODUS is described and is also applied to a large hypothetical supermarket/restaurant complex measuring 50 m x 40 m. A range of scenarios is presented where population characteristics (such as size, individual travel speeds, and individual response times), and enclosure configuration characteristics (such as number of exits, size of exits, and opening times of exits) are varied. The results demonstrate a wide range of occupant behavior including overtaking, queuing, redirection, and conflict avoidance. Evacuation performance is measured by a number of model predicted parameters including individual exit flow rates, overall evacuation flow rates, total evacuation time, average evacuation time per occupant, average travel distance, and average wait time. The simulations highlight the profound impact that variations in individual travel speeds and occupant response times have in determining the overall evacuation performance. 1. Jin, T., and Yamada T., "Experimental Study of Human Behavior in Smoke Filled Corridors," Proceedings of The Second International Symposium on Fire Safety Science, 1988, pp. 511-519. 2. Galea, E.R., and Galparsoro, J.M.P., "EXODUS: An Evacuation Model for Mass Transport Vehicles," UK CAA Paper 93006 ISBN 086039 543X, CAA London, 1993. 3. Galea, E.R., and Galparsoro, J.M.P., "A Computer Based Simulation Model for the Prediction of Evacuation from Mass Transport Vehicles," Fire Safety Journal, Vol. 22, 1994, pp. 341-366. 4. Galea, E.R., Owen, M., and Lawrence, P., "Computer Modeling of Human Be havior in Aircraft Fire Accidents," to appear in the Proceedings of Combus tion Toxicology Symposium, CAMI, Oklahoma City, OK, 1995. 5. Kisko, T.M. and Francis, R.L., "EVACNET+: A Computer Program to Determine Optimal Building Evacuation Plans," Fire Safety Journal, Vol. 9, 1985, pp. 211-220. 6. Levin, B., "EXITT, A Simulation Model of Occupant Decisions and Actions in Residential Fires," Proceedings of The Second International Symposium on Fire Safety Science, 1988, pp. 561-570. 7. Fahy, R.F., "EXIT89: An Evacuation Model for High-Rise Buildings," Pro ceedings of The Third International Sym posium on Fire Safety Science, 1991, pp. 815-823. 8. Thompson, P.A., and Marchant, E.W., "A Computer Model for the Evacuation of Large Building Populations," Fire Safety Journal, Vol. 24, 1995, pp. 131-148. 9. Still, K., "New Computer System Can Predict Human Behavior Response to Building Fires," FIRE 84, 1993, pp. 40-41. 10. Ketchell, N., Cole, S.S., Webber, D.M., et.al., "The Egress Code for Human Move ment and Behavior in Emergency Evacu ations," Engineering for Crowd Safety (Smith, R.A., and Dickie, J.F., Eds.), Elsevier, 1993, pp. 361-370. 11. Takahashi, K., Tanaka, T. and Kose, S., "An Evacuation Model for Use in Fire Safety Design of Buildings," Proceedings of The Second International Symposium on Fire Safety Science, 1988, pp. 551- 560. 12. G2 Reference Manual, Version 3.0, Gensym Corporation, Cambridge, MA. 13. XVT Reference Manual, Version 3.0 XVT Software Inc., Boulder, CO. 14. Galea, E.R., "On the Field Modeling Approach to the Simulation of Enclosure Fires, Journal of Fire Protection Engineering, Vol. 1, No. 1, 1989, pp. 11-22. 15. Purser, D.A., "Toxicity Assessment of Combustion Products," SFPE Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering, National Fire Protection Association, Quincy, MA, pp. 1-200 - 1-245, 1988. 16. Hankin, B.D., and Wright, R.A., "Pas senger Flows in Subways," Operational Research Quarterly, Vol. 9, 1958, pp. 81-88. 17. HMSO, The Building Regulations 1991 - Approved Document B, section B 1 (1992 edition), HMSO publications, London, pp. 9-40. 18. Polus A., Schofer, J.L., and Ushpiz, A., "Pedestrian Flow and Level of Service," Journal of Transportation Engineering, Vol. 109, 1983, pp. 46-47. 19. Muir, H., Marrison, C., and Evans, A., "Aircraft Evacuations: the Effect of Passenger Motivation and Cabin Con figuration Adjacent to the Exit," CAA Paper 89019, ISBN 0 86039 406 9, 1989. 20. Muir, H., Private communication to appear as a CAA report, 1996.

Advanced occupant behavioural features of the building-EXODUS evacuation model

The purpose of this paper is to describe and demonstrate some of the advanced behavioral features currently being developed for the building-EXODUS evacuation model. These advanced features involve the ability to specify roles for particular individuals during the evacuation. With these enhancements to the Behavioral Sub model of building-EXODUS, it is possible to include a number of procedural and behavioral aspects previously ignored in evacuation simulations. These include the behavioral aspect of group bonding, the procedural aspects involved with the role of the fire warden and rescue operations undertaken by the fire services. The importance of these enhancements are discussed and demonstrated through three simple simulations.

Adaptive decision-making in response to crowd formations in building EXODUS

Given the importance of occupant behavior on evacuation efficiency, a new behavioral feature has been developed and implemented into buildingEXODUS. This feature concerns the response of occupants to exit selection and re-direction. This behavior is not simply pre-determined by the user as part of the initialization process, but involves the occupant taking decisions based on their previous experiences and the information available to them. This information concerns the occupants prior knowledge of the enclosure and line-of-sight information concerning queues at neighboring exits. This new feature is demonstrated and reviewed through several examples.