A dynamic, probabilistic model for city building

The problem of interdependence between housing and commuting in a city has been analysed within the framework of welfare economics. Uncertain changes overtime in the working population has been considered by means of a dynamic, probabilistic model. The characteristics of irreversibility and durability in city building have been explicitly dealt with. The ultimate objective is that the model after further development will be an auxiliary tool in city planning.

Seismic earth thrust against massive building walls

The problem of earth thrust for a massive building in a seismic environment is analysed. Intertial and kinematic soil-structure interactions are considered by modelling the soil and the structure together. The problem is solved in the frequency domain by using the computer code FLUSH. Results show that the horizontal component of the seismic earth thrust is much greater than that obtained when applying the Mononobe-Okabe theory. This study establishes a set of conclusicns and recommendations for both design and practical purposes, and proposes future lines of investigation.

The development of architecture and urban design in China and the problem we need to solve = La utilización de la baja tecnología en la arquitectura popular de China y su combinación con el método del diseño arquitectónico moderno

In this article, I will research this topic from these aspects: the material, architectural forms, building technology and space experience, hoping to figure out the characteristic of traditional Chinese architecture and the use of low technology in it, explore a suitable path of the development of Chinese Vernacular Architecture.

Evolution of chlorophyll and bacteriochlorophyll: the problem of invariant sites in sequence analysis.

Competing hypotheses seek to explain the evolution of oxygenic and anoxygenic processes of photosynthesis. Since chlorophyll is less reduced and precedes bacteriochlorophyll on the modern biosynthetic pathway, it has been proposed that chlorophyll preceded bacteriochlorophyll in its evolution. However, recent analyses of nucleotide sequences that encode chlorophyll and bacteriochlorophyll biosynthetic enzymes appear to provide support for an alternative hypothesis. This is that the evolution of bacteriochlorophyll occurred earlier than the evolution of chlorophyll. Here we demonstrate that the presence of invariant sites in sequence datasets leads to inconsistency in tree building (including maximum-likelihood methods). Homologous sequences with different biological functions often share invariant sites at the same nucleotide positions. However, different constraints can also result in additional invariant sites unique to the genes, which have specific and different biological functions. Consequently, the distribution of these sites can be uneven between the different types of homologous genes. The presence of invariant sites, shared by related biosynthetic genes as well as those unique to only some of these genes, has misled the recent evolutionary analysis of oxygenic and anoxygenic photosynthetic pigments. We evaluate an alternative scheme for the evolution of chlorophyll and bacteriochlorophyll.

Capacity-building through English language training to improve long-term resettlement success: A case study of the refugees along the Thailand-Burma border

Achieving long-term resettlement success is a challenge for many refugees seeking to restart their lives after displacement and being uprooted from their lives. Refugees must deal with finding employment, integrating into a society immensely different from what they have known their whole lives, and starting over from scratch. Learning a new language enables refugees to progress towards integration and long-term resettlement success, however, resettled refugees face a multitude of barriers in the U.S. to accessing language classes and attaining English proficiency. This study seeks to bridge this problem by exploring the possibilities of implementing a standardized language training program in the refugee camps to better prepare refugees for resettlement. A case study of the refugees along the Thai-Burma border demonstrated the significance of learning English in the camps on eventual English proficiency as well as the need for increased partnerships to overcome the barriers of lack of motivation and lack of funding. The author explores the possibilities of implementing a language training program in the camps by determining need, interest, barriers, and perceptions through the use of interviews, surveys, and focus groups of camp refugees, resettled refugees, and key organizational representatives. The significance of these results offers the possibility of leveraging and unlocking resettlement as a durable solution for more of the world's refugees in protracted situations.

3D model based map building

Comunicación presentada en el IX Workshop de Agentes Físicos (WAF'2008), Vigo, 11-12 septiembre 2008.

How buildings visualise client and architect: The problem that today’s user is typically not the client

An article presented at the last ICAT- conference stated at the end that buildings at all times tend to picture the people who had them erected. This paper aims to show the correctness of that statement. To this end, it will examine a number of typical residential buildings dating from the beginning of the seventeenth century up to today, investigate who had the buildings erected, and relate that to the performance of the buildings. This relation analysis will mainly use the scale but also the degree of diversity in function and appearance as factors. Furthermore, using economic data and data on the buildings to identify patterns, it will investigate how size of the property and relative size of the capital interest behind the building has developed. Since the authors live in Copenhagen and Copenhagen is very typical in its historical development, buildings and environments in and around the centre of Copenhagen are used as examples.

Building from building waste: The development of an instrument to determine the circularity of materials from the existing building stock in order to maximise high quality reuse

On a global level the population growth and increase of the middle class lead to a growing demand on material resources. The built environment has an enormous impact on this scarcity. In addition, a surplus of construction and demolition waste is a common problem. The construction industry claims to recycle 95% of this waste but this is in fact mainly downcycling. Towards the circular economy, the quality of reuse becomes of increasing importance. Buildings are material warehouses that can contribute to this high quality reuse. However, several aspects to achieve this are unknown and a need for more insight into the potential for high quality reuse of building materials exists. Therefore an instrument has been developed that determines the circularity of construction waste in order to maximise high quality reuse. The instrument is based on three principles: ‘product and material flows in the end of life phase’, ‘future value of secondary materials and products’ and ‘the success of repetition in a new life cycle’. These principles are further divided into a number of criteria to which values and weighting factors are assigned. A degree of circularity can then be determined as a percentage. A case study for a typical 70s building is carried out. For concrete, the circularity is increased from 25% to 50% by mapping out the potential for high quality reuse. During the development of the instrument it was clarified that some criteria are difficult to measure. Accurate and reliable data are limited and assumptions had to be made. To increase the reliability of the instrument, experts have reviewed the instrument several times. In the long-term, the instrument can be used as a tool for quantitative research to reduce the amount of construction and demolition waste and contribute to the reduction of raw material scarcity.

Boston, Massachusetts, 2-Dimensional Building Footprints with Height Data (from LIDAR data), 2002

This dataset consists of 2D footprints of the buildings in the metropolitan Boston area, based on tiles in the orthoimage index (orthophoto quad ID: 229890, 229894, 229898, 229902, 233886, 233890, 233894, 233898, 233902, 237890, 237894, 237898, 237902, 241890, 241894, 241898, 241902, 245898, 245902). This data set was collected using 3Di's Digital Airborne Topographic Imaging System II (DATIS II). Roof height and footprint elevation attributes (derived from 1-meter resolution LIDAR (LIght Detection And Ranging) data) are included as part of each building feature. This data can be combined with other datasets to create 3D representations of buildings and the surrounding environment.

The quality of sales manager:salesperson exchanges perspective under problem resolution conditions

Building on social exchange theory and qualitative inquiry, managerial responsiveness, caring, and aggressiveness were uncovered as three key social exchange dimensions used by sales managers when dealing with problem situations in the salesforce. We used Australian data to develop measures of these three constructs. Results of the development process indicate that the measures show good validity. Further to this, we also provide examination of the relationship of the three exchange dimensions with key organizational outcomes. Overall the findings suggest that the three constructs are important in sales manager problem resolution exchanges, and that they may ultimately influence the success of sales organizations.

Quid pro quo:reflections on the value of problem structuring workshops

Attracting clients who are willing to invest in using a problem structuring method (PSM) can be particularly difficult for the emerging generation of modellers. There are many reasons for this, not least that the benefits of a problem structuring intervention are vague and evidence of benefits are often anecdotal for example, claims of constructing a deeper understanding of the problem or building the commitment of a group to implementing an outcome. This paper contributes to the evaluation of problem structuring methods by reflecting on the quid pro quo that a client and problem structuring modeller can enjoy from collaboration. The paper reflects on 21 cases, where Journey Making (a problem structuring method) was used with 16 organizations to help managers agree a suite of actions to tackle a complex strategic issue. The reflections are clustered around those benefits that pertain to: PSMs in general; PSMs that use computer-supported workshops; the Journey Making methodology.

Building user commitment to implementing a knowledge management strategy

In the IS literature, commitment is typically considered to involve organizational or managerial support for a system and not that of its users. This paper however reports on a field study involving 16 organizations that attempted to build user involvement in developing a knowledge management strategy by having them design it. Twenty-two IT-supported group workshops (involving 183 users) were run to develop action plans for better knowledge management that users would like to see implemented. Each workshop adopted the same problem structuring technique to assist group members develop a politically feasible action plan to which they were psychologically and emotionally dedicated. In addition to reviewing the problem structuring method, this paper provides qualitative insight into the factors a knowledge management strategy should have to encourage user commitment. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sales manager problem resolution styles:measure development and an examination of their salesperson-related consequences

Personal selling and sales management play a critical role in the short and long term success of the firm, and have thus received substantial academic interest since the 1970s. Sales research has examined the role of the sales manager in some depth, defining a number of key technical and interpersonal roles which sales managers have in influencing sales force effectiveness. However, one aspect of sales management which appears to remain unexplored is that of their resolution of salesperson-related problems. This study represents the first attempt to address this gap by reporting on the conceptual and empirical development of an instrument designed to measure sales managers' problem resolution styles. A comprehensive literature review and qualitative research study identified three key constructs relating to sales managers' problem resolution styles. The three constructs identified were termed; sales manager willingness to respond, sales manager caring, and sales manager aggressiveness. Building on this, existing literature was used to develop a conceptual model of salesperson-specific consequences of the three problem resolution style constructs. The quantitative phase of the study consisted of a mail survey of UK salespeople, achieving a total sample of 140 fully usable responses. Rigorous statistical assessment of the sales manager problem resolution style measures was undertaken, and construct validity examined. Following this, the conceptual model was tested using latent variable path analysis. The results for the model were encouraging overall, and also with regard to the individual hypotheses. Sales manager problem resolution styles were found individually to have significant impacts on the salesperson-specific variables of role ambiguity, emotional exhaustion, job satisfaction, organisational commitment and organisational citizenship behaviours. The findings, theoretical and managerial implications, limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

Elastic-plastic analysis of complete building structures

In this Thesis, details of a proposed method for the elastic-plastic failure load analysis of complete building structures are given. In order to handle the problem, a computer programme in Atlas Autocode is produced. The structures consist of a number of parallel shear walls and intermediate frames connected by floor slabs. The results of an experimental investigation are given to verify the theoretical results and to demonstrate various factors that may influence the behaviour of these structures. Large full scale practical structures are also analysed by the proposed method and suggestions are made for achieving design economy as well as for extending research in various aspects of this field. The existing programme for elastic-plastic analysis of large frames is modified to allow for the effect of composite action of structural members, i.e. reinforced concrete floor slabs and the supporting steel beams. This modified programme is used to analyse some framed type structures with composite action as well as those which incorporate plates and shear walls. The results obtained are studied to ascertain the influence of composite action and other factors on the load carrying capacity of both bare frames and complete building structures. The theoretical failure load presented in this thesis does not predict the overall failure load of the structure nor does it predict the partial failure load of the shear walls and slabs but it merely predicts the partial failure load of a single frame and assumes that the loss of stiffess of such a frame renders the overall structure unusable. For most structures the analysis proposed in this thesis is likely to break down prematurely due to the failure of the slab and shear wall system and this factor must be taken into account in any future work on such structures. The experimental work reported in this thesis is acknowledged to be unsatisfactory as a verification of the limited theory proposed. In particular perspex was not found to be a suitable material for testing at high loads, micro-concrete may be more suitable.

Building cliques and alliances as practices to 'make things happen' in complex networks

The Roma population has become a policy issue highly debated in the European Union (EU). The EU acknowledges that this ethnic minority faces extreme poverty and complex social and economic problems. 52% of the Roma population live in extreme poverty, 75% in poverty (Soros Foundation, 2007, p. 8), with a life expectancy at birth of about ten years less than the majority population. As a result, Romania has received a great deal of policy attention and EU funding, being eligible for 19.7 billion Euros from the EU for 2007-2013. Yet progress is slow; it is debated whether Romania's government and companies were capable to use these funds (EurActiv.ro, 2012). Analysing three case studies, this research looks at policy implementation in relation to the role of Roma networks in different geographical regions of Romania. It gives insights about how to get things done in complex settings and it explains responses to the Roma problem as a „wicked‟ policy issue. This longitudinal research was conducted between 2008 and 2011, comprising 86 semi-structured interviews, 15 observations, and documentary sources and using a purposive sample focused on institutions responsible for implementing social policies for Roma: Public Health Departments, School Inspectorates, City Halls, Prefectures, and NGOs. Respondents included: governmental workers, academics, Roma school mediators, Roma health mediators, Roma experts, Roma Councillors, NGOs workers, and Roma service users. By triangulating the data collected with various methods and applied to various categories of respondents, a comprehensive and precise representation of Roma network practices was created. The provisions of the 2001 „Governmental Strategy to Improve the Situation of the Roma Population‟ facilitated forming a Roma network by introducing special jobs in local and central administration. In different counties, resources, people, their skills, and practices varied. As opposed to the communist period, a new Roma elite emerged: social entrepreneurs set the pace of change by creating either closed cliques or open alliances and by using more or less transparent practices. This research deploys the concept of social/institutional entrepreneurs to analyse how key actors influence clique and alliance formation and functioning. Significantly, by contrasting three case studies, it shows that both closed cliques and open alliances help to achieve public policy network objectives, but that closed cliques can also lead to failure to improve the health and education of Roma people in a certain region.