Search results for: constructive knowledge building

Authors: Sameen Masood, Muhammad Ali Jibran

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The frequent flood history in Pakistan has pronounced the need for disaster risk management. Various policies are formulated and steps are being taken by the government in order to cope with the flood effects. However, a much promising pro-active approach that is globally acknowledged is educating the masses regarding living with risk and uncertainty. Unfortunately, majority of the flood victims in Pakistan are poor and illiterate which also transpires as a significant cause of their distress. An illiterate population is not risk averse or equipped intellectually regarding how to prepare and protect against natural disasters. The current research utilizes a cross-disciplinary approach where the role of education (both formal and informal) and indigenous knowledge is explored with reference to disaster preparedness. The data was collected from the flood prone rural areas of Punjab. In the absence of disaster curriculum taught in formal schools, informal education disseminated by NGOs and relief and rehabilitation agencies was the only education given to the flood victims. However the educational attainment of flood victims highly correlated with their awareness regarding flood management and disaster preparedness. Moreover, lessons learned from past flood experience generated indigenous knowledge on the basis of which flood victims prepared themselves for any uncertainty. If the future policy regarding disaster preparation integrates indigenous knowledge and then delivers education on the basis of that, it is anticipated that the flood devastations can be much reduced. Education can play a vital role in amplifying perception of risk and taking precautionary measures for disaster. The findings of the current research will provide practical strategies where disaster preparedness through education has not yet been applied.

Keywords: education, disaster preparedness, illiterate population, risk management

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Authors: S. Jeyarajan

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Concept of knowledge is discovered from conducted study for successive Competition in Sri Lankan Non-State Higher Educational Institutes. The Concept discovered out of collected Knowledge Management Practices from Emerald inside likewise reputed literatures and of Non-State Higher Educational sector. A test is conducted to reveal existences and its reason behind of these collected practices in Sri Lankan Non-State Higher Education Institutes. Further, unavailability of such study and uncertain on number of participants for data collection in the Sri Lankan context contributed selection of research method as qualitative method, which used attributes of Delphi Method to manage those likewise uncertainty. Data are collected under Dramaturgical Method, which contributes efficient usage of the Delphi method. Grounded theory is selected as data analysis techniques, which is conducted in intermixed discourse to manage different perspectives of data that are collected systematically through perspective and modified snowball sampling techniques. Data are then analysed using Grounded Theory Development Techniques in Intermix discourses to manage differences in Data. Consequently, Agreement in the results of Grounded theories and of finding in the Foreign Study is discovered in the analysis whereas present study conducted as Qualitative Research and The Foreign Study conducted as Quantitative Research. As such, the Present study widens the discovery in the Foreign Study. Further, having discovered reason behind of the existences, the Present result shows Concept for Knowledge from Sri Lankan Non-State sector to manage higher educational Institutes in successful manner.

Keywords: adherence of snowball sampling into perspective sampling, Delphi method in qualitative method, grounded theory development in intermix discourses of analysis, knowledge management for success of higher educational institutes

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Authors: Prachyanun Nilsook, Panita Wannapiroon

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The purpose of this research is to study a Digital Learning Repository System (DLRS) on vocational teachers and teaching in Thailand. The innobpcd.net is a DLRS being utilized by the Office of Vocational Education Commission and operationalized by the Bureau of Personnel Competency Development for vocational education teachers. The aim of the system is to support and enhance the process of vocational teaching and to improve staff development by providing teachers with a variety of network connections and information. The system provides centralized hosting and access to content, and the ability to share digital objects or files, to set permissions and controls for access to content that can be used vocational education teachers for their teaching and for their own development. The elements of DLRS include; Digital learning system, Media Library, Knowledge-based system and Mobile Application. The system aims to link vocational teachers to the most effective emerging technologies available for learning, so they are better resourced to support their vocational students. The initial results from this evaluation indicate that there is a range of services provided by the system being used by vocational teachers and this paper indicates which facilities have the greatest usage and impact on vocational teaching in Thailand.

Keywords: digital learning repositories, vocational education, knowledge sharing, learning objects

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Authors: Emanuela Zilli, Antonella Ruffatto, Davide Bonaldo, Stefano Bevilacqua, Tommaso Caputo, Luisa Fontana, Carmelina Saraceno, Antonio Sturaroo, Teodoro Sava, Antonio Madia

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The new Hospital in Cittadella - ULSS 6 Euganea Health Trust, in the North-East of Italy (400 beds, project completion date in 2026), will partially take the place of the existing building. Interesting features have been suggested in order to project a modern, “environmental-friendly” and “people-friendly” building. Specific multidisciplinary meetings (involving stakeholders and professionals with different backgrounds) have been organized on a periodic basis in order to guarantee the appropriate implementation of logistic and organizational solutions related to eco-sustainability, integration with the context, and the concept of “design for all” and “humanization of care.” The resulting building will be composed of organic shapes determined by the external environment (sun movement, climate, landscape, pre-existing buildings, roads) and the needs of the internal environment (areas of care and diagnostic-treatment paths reorganized with experience gained during the pandemic), with extensive use of renewable energy, solar panels, a 4th-generation heating system, sanitised and maintainable surfaces. There is particular attention to the quality of the staff areas, which include areas dedicated to psycho-physical well-being (relax points, yoga gym), study rooms, and a centralized conference room. Outdoor recreational spaces and gardens for music and watercolour therapy will be included; atai-chi gym is dedicated to oncology patients. Integration in the urban and social context is emphasized through window placement toward the gardens (maternal-infant, mental health, and rehabilitation wards). Service areas such as dialysis, radiology, and labs have views of the medieval walls, the symbol of the city’s history. The new building has been designed to pursue the maximum level of eco-sustainability, harmony with the environment, and integration with the historical, urban, and social context; the concept of humanization of care has been considered in all the phases of the project management.

Keywords: environmental-friendly, humanization, eco-sustainability, new hospital

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Authors: Sara Rankohi, Lloyd Waugh

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Construction sites are information saturated. Digitalization is hitting construction sites to meet the incredible demand of knowledge sharing and information documentations. From flying drones, 3D Lasers scanners, pocket mobile applications, to augmented reality glasses and smart helmet, visualization technologies help real-time information imposed straight onto construction professional’s field of vision. Although these technologies are very applicable and can have the direct impact on project cost and productivity, experience shows that only a minority of construction professionals quickly adapt themselves to benefit from them in practice. The majority of construction managers still tend to apply traditional construction management methods. This paper investigates a) current applications of visualization technologies in construction projects management, b) the direct effect of these technologies on productivity improvement and cost saving of a multi-residential building project via a case study on Mac Taggart Senior Care project located in Edmonton, Alberta. The research shows the imaged based technologies have a direct impact on improving project productivity and cost savings.

Keywords: image-based technologies, project management, cost, productivity improvement

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Authors: Erica Cochran Hameen, Bobuchi Ken-Opurum, Mounica Guturu

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The United Stated (U.S.) populous spends the majority of their time indoors in spaces where building codes and voluntary sustainability standards provide clear Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) metrics. The existing sustainable building standards and codes are aimed towards improving IEQ, health of occupants, and reducing the negative impacts of buildings on the environment. While they address the post-occupancy stage of buildings, there are fewer standards on the pre-occupancy stage thereby placing a large labor population in environments much less regulated. Construction personnel are often exposed to a variety of uncomfortable and unhealthy elements while on construction sites, primarily thermal, visual, acoustic, and air quality related. Construction site power generators, equipment, and machinery generate on average 9 decibels (dBA) above the U.S. OSHA regulations, creating uncomfortable noise levels. Research has shown that frequent exposure to high noise levels leads to chronic physiological issues and increases noise induced stress, yet beyond OSHA no other metric focuses directly on the impacts of noise on contractors’ well-being. Research has also associated natural light with higher productivity and attention span, and lower cases of fatigue in construction workers. However, daylight is not always available as construction workers often perform tasks in cramped spaces, dark areas, or at nighttime. In these instances, the use of artificial light is necessary, yet lighting standards for use during lengthy tasks and arduous activities is not specified. Additionally, ambient air, contaminants, and material off-gassing expelled at construction sites are one of the causes of serious health effects in construction workers. Coupled with extreme hot and cold temperatures for different climate zones, health and productivity can be seriously compromised. This research evaluates the impact of existing green building metrics on construction and risk management, by analyzing two codes and nine standards including LEED, WELL, and BREAM. These metrics were chosen based on the relevance to the U.S. construction industry. This research determined that less than 20% of the sustainability context within the standards and codes (texts) are related to the pre-occupancy building sector. The research also investigated the impact of construction personnel’s health and well-being on construction management through two surveys of project managers and on-site contractors’ perception of their work environment on productivity. To fully understand the risks of limited Environmental and Health Quality metrics for contractors (EHQ) this research evaluated the connection between EHQ factors such as inefficient lighting, on construction workers and investigated the correlation between various site coping strategies for comfort and productivity. Outcomes from this research are three-pronged. The first includes fostering a discussion about the existing conditions of EQH elements, i.e. thermal, lighting, ergonomic, acoustic, and air quality on the construction labor force. The second identifies gaps in sustainability standards and codes during the pre-occupancy stage of building construction from ground-breaking to substantial completion. The third identifies opportunities for improvements and mitigation strategies to improve EQH such as increased monitoring of effects on productivity and health of contractors and increased inclusion of the pre-occupancy stage in green building standards.

Keywords: construction contractors, health and well-being, environmental quality, risk management

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Authors: Olteanu Constanta, Olteanu Lucian

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Researchers note that algebraic reasoning and sense making is essential for building conceptual knowledge in school mathematics. Consequently, pre-service teachers’ own reasoning and sense making are useful in fostering and developing students’ algebraic reasoning and sense making. This article explores the forms of reasoning and sense making that pre-service mathematics teachers exhibit and use in the process of analysing problem-posing tasks with a focus on first-degree equations. Our research question concerns the characteristics of the problem-posing tasks used for reasoning and sense making of first-degree equations as well as the characteristics of pre-service teachers’ reasoning and sense making in problem-posing tasks. The analyses are grounded in a post-structuralist philosophical perspective and variation theory. Sixty-six pre-service primary teachers participated in the study. The results show that the characteristics of reasoning in problem-posing tasks and of pre-service teachers are selecting, exploring, reconfiguring, encoding, abstracting and connecting. The characteristics of sense making in problem-posing tasks and of pre-service teachers are recognition, relationships, profiling, comparing, laddering and verifying. Beside this, the connection between reasoning and sense making is rich in line of flight in problem-posing tasks, while the connection is rich in line of rupture for pre-service teachers.

Keywords: first-degree equations, problem posing, reasoning, rhizomatic assemblage, sense-making, variation theory

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Authors: P. Hajyalikhani, B. Hudson, D. Boll, L. Boren, Z. Sparks, M. Ward

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Wood Light frame construction is one of the most common types of construction methods for residential and light commercial building in North America and parts of Europe. The typical roof framing for wood framed building is sloped and consists of several structural members such as rafters, hips, and valleys which are connected to the ridge and ceiling joists. The common slopes for roofs are 3/12, 8/12, and 12/12. Wood framed residential roof failure is most commonly caused by wind damage in such buildings. In the recent study, one of the weaknesses of wood framed roofs is long unsupported structural member lengths, such as hips and valleys. The purpose of this research is to find the critical support location for long hips and valleys with different slopes. ForteWeb software is used to find the critical location. The analysis results demonstrating the maximum unbraced hip and valley length are from 8.5 to 10.25 ft. dependent on the slope and roof type.

Keywords: wood frame, stick framing, hip, valley

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Authors: Yasemin İlkay

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Street is not only a crucial spatial unit in urban design and planning discipline but also the context of walking practice in urban space. Moreover, psychogeography concentrates on both ‘walking’ and, therefore, the differentiated forms of (urban) streets to examine the influence of the built environment on the feelings and attitudes of human beings. This paper focuses on ‘walking practice’ in university campuses with reference to spatial appropriation forms via a psychogeographic lens on the phenomenon of alle in two different cities of Turkey, Ankara, the capital city, and Van, in the eastern part of the country. Alle, as an extension of ‘street’ in university campuses, is the constructive spatial structure in university campuses, and as a result, it should be the (both physical and mental) spine of design policy while conceiving and constructing a university campus. The main question of the paper is: How does the interrelation of ‘campus design’ and ‘walking practice’ on alle penetrate reciprocally on the spatial representations of citizens within their urban daily lives. The body contacts with and at urban space (with other objects and subjects) via its movements and stops; this interaction occurs through the spatial pattern of occupancy and vacancy. Walking practice leads to a set of cognitive mental representations in relation to the repertoire of place attachment and spatial appropriation. University campuses are autonomous and fruitful urban spaces to investigate such an interaction. There are both physical/real and psychogeographic representations of the same urban spaces and urban spatial practices. This separation would indicate the invisible dimensions of the difference between ‘what is conceived’ and ‘what is perceived.’ This study aims to compare and contrast the role of alle in both campus design and spatial appropriation via walking at two differentiated university campuses by collecting the mental representations, doing in-depth interviews, and attending walks with the interviewees by psychogeographic techniques. Campus design and spatial appropriation will be compared [with reference to the conception and perception of alle] in three scales: (1) the historical spatial development stories and design approaches of university campuses, (2) the spatial pattern of campuses on the basis of alle, and (3) sub-behavioral regions of the alle in campuses in relation with mental representations and psychogeographic attentive walks. The sub-questions of the research are: [1] How and why do the design approaches differentiate in two university campuses in Turkey, [2] How the interrelation among alle design and spatial appropriation differs in these two cases, and [3] What do the differentiated gaps among real and psychographic maps indicate about the design and spatial appropriation interrelation. METU, as a well-designed, readable campus with its alle, promise a rich walking practice with in-depth and fruitful spatial appropriation regions; however, Van YYÜ limits both the practice and place attachment with its partial design with an alle which is later added to the campus. This research both displays the role of alle in the campus design, walking practice and spatial appropriation and opens a new methodological path to discover hidden knowledge within urban spaces.

Keywords: alle, campus design, cognitive geography, psychogeography, spatial appropriation, Turkey

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Authors: Alagie Salieu Nankey

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Flood-resistant house is the key mechanism to withstand flood hazards in Ebo-Town. It emerged simple yet powerful way of mitigating flooding in the community of Ebo- Town. Even though there are different types of buildings, little is known yet how and why flood affects building severely. In this paper, we examine three different types of flood-resistant buildings that are suitable for Ebo Town. We gather content and contextual features from six (6) respondents and used this data set to identify factors that are significantly associated with the flood-resistant house. Moreover, we built a suitable design concept. We found that amongst all the theories studied in the literature study Slit or Elevated House is the most suitable building design in Ebo-Town and Pile foundation is the most appropriate foundation type in the study area. Amongst contextual features, local materials are the most economical materials for the proposed design. This research proposes a framework that explains the theoretical relationships between flood hazard zones and flood-resistant houses in Ebo Town. Moreover, this research informs the design of sense-making and analytics tools for the resistant house.

Keywords: flood-resistant, slit, flood hazard zone, pile foundation

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Authors: Sneha Manjunath

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Architecture is a continuous process of evolution that keeps changing and evolving through time and gives rise to various design solutions based on the purpose of change and the present function of the space. This evolution in design has been happening for a long time and hence a variety of climate-responsive, context-responsive and human-responsive developments in habitats are witnessed. India has been one of the hot spots for the conservation of heritage and architecture. Buildings ranging from Indus-valley civilization to modern contemporary dwellings have all evolved in one or the other way. Various historical sites such as Hampi in Karnataka, Taj Mahal in Agra and various temples in Southern India are identified and preserved under the Archeological Survey of India. The main objective of such preservation is to help in protecting, preserving and keeping it intact for the future. Study of such heritage-rich buildings and building techniques helps us in understanding the psychology, lifestyle and socio-cultural impacts it had on the complete urban fabric that developed in a region. It also gives an insight into the occupation, economic status and religious beliefs that gave rise to a pattern in an urban form that was more inclusive and appropriate as per the need of the users. Today’s generation draws various inspirations from history with respect to space planning, building services such as lighting, ventilation and sanitation systems and elevation treatments. It is important to know and understand the importance of certain urban planning techniques used to develop ancient towns or cities in a radial pattern, square pattern, or checkered pattern depending on the need of the administrative set-up of the respective town or city. It is believed that every element of design undergoes evolution and it is important for a designer to know, respect and develop the same for the future so as to acknowledge and conserve every aspect of heritage that has been a backbone in urban form generation even today. Hampi in the Karnataka state of India is a very good example of how the monuments and dwellings from 14th Century still stand strong. Temples from North India, such as Kedarnath Temple, survived heavy floods because of their building techniques. Such building materials and construction techniques are to be revived and reused for a better perspective towards space planning in urbanized cities.

Keywords: architecture, urban form, heritage, town planning

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Authors: Nabil Mekaoui, Nacer Jabour, Abdelhamid Allaoui, Abderahim Oulidi

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The reliability of several insurance indexes of the seismic risk is evaluated and compared for an efficient seismic risk coverage of buildings in Morocco, thus, reducing the basic risk. A large database of earthquake ground motions is established from recent seismic events in Morocco and synthetic ground motions compatible with the design spectrum in order to conduct nonlinear time history analyses on three building models representative of the building stock in Morocco. The uninhabitability index is evaluated based on the simulated damage index, then correlated with preselected insurance indexes. Interestingly, the commonly used peak ground acceleration index showed poor correlation when compared with other indexes, such as spectral accelerations at low periods. Recommendations on the choice of suitable insurance indexes are formulated for efficient seismic risk coverage in Morocco.

Keywords: catastrophe modeling, damage, earthquake, reinsurance, seismic hazard, trigger index, vulnerability

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Authors: Ahmet Y. Gurkan, Cagatay S. Koksal, Cagri Aydin, U. Oral Unal

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The present paper covers the viscous flow computations for the asymmetric diffuser section of a large, high-speed cavitation tunnel which will be constructed in Istanbul Technical University. The analyses were carried out by using the incompressible Reynold-Averaged-Navier-Stokes equations. While determining the diffuser geometry, a high quality, separation-free flow field with minimum energy loses was particularly aimed. The expansion angle has a critical role on the diffuser hydrodynamic performance. In order obtain a relatively short diffuser length, due to the constructive limitations, and hydrodynamic energy effectiveness, three diffuser sections with varying expansion angles for side and bottom walls were considered. A systematic study was performed to determine the most effective diffuser configuration. The results revealed that the inlet condition of the diffuser greatly affects its flow field. The inclusion of the contraction section in the computations substantially modified the flow topology in the diffuser. The effect of the diffuser flow on the test section flow characteristics was clearly observed. The influence of the introduction of small chamfers at the corners of the diffuser geometry is also presented.

Keywords: asymmetric diffuser, diffuser design, cavitation tunnel, viscous flow, computational fluid dynamics (CFD), rans

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Authors: Yavuz Arat, Ugur Tuztasi, Mehmet Uysal

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Anatolia has been the host of many civilizations and a site where architectural structures of many cultural layers were interpreted. Most significantly the Turks who settled in Central Asia brought their architectural dynamics and cultural accumulation to Anatolia after the 12th century. The tomb structures first observed in Central Asia under the influence of Islamic faith and Turkish cultural heritage has blossomed under Great Seljuk Empire and with the Anatolian Seljuk Empire these tombs changed both in size and form with rich and beautiful samples from Ahlat to Sivas to Kayseri and Konya. This tomb tradition which started during 13th century has continued during the Ottoman Empire period with some alterations of form and evolved into the rarely observed mausoleum type tombs. The Ottoman tradition of building tombs inside mosque gardens and their forms present the clues of an important burial tradition. However this understanding was abandoned in 20th century Turkey. This tradition was abandoned with regard to legal regulations and health conditions. This study investigates the vestiges of this tradition and its spatial reflections over a sample. The present sample is representative of a tradition that started in 1970s and the case of building tombs inside mosque gardens will be illustrated over the tomb of Hacı Kemal Onsun and his wife which is located in Konya, the capital of the Anatolian Seljuks. The building process of this tomb will be evaluated with regard to burial traditions and architectural stylization.

Keywords: tomb, language of architectural form, Anatolian Seljuk tombs, Ottoman tombs

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Authors: Abubakar-Zagoon Adams, Emmanuel Intsiful, Haruna Zagoon-Sayeed

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Within the Ghanaian context, the promotion of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) has been faced with many obstacles which are of great concern to national development. One of the obstacles that have been identified as having some negative impact on TVET promotion is the poor public perception of TVET. Poor public perception, as identified in the sub-sectors report in a number of Ghana Education Service reports, has received little attention in both research and the government’s effort to address the poor performance of the TVET sub-sector. This study investigated TVET stakeholders in the Ayawaso-West Municipality in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana to ascertain knowledge of technical and vocational education in Ghana. This study explored parents’ and students’ views and knowledge about technical and vocational education. The study adopted an exploratory research design and a qualitative research approach. Thirty-six (36) participants were selected by employing a purposive sampling technique. Twelve (ten parents and two school personnel) out of the total sample were engaged in key informant interviews, whereas three focus group discussions were conducted with students, eight in each group. The study found that the public has fair knowledge (positive) about TVET, and the other side of the coin knows that TVET is only meant for school dropouts, underprivileged students, and weak academic students. The study recommended that the government should intensify public education on TVET, deliberate investment should be made in TVET infrastructure, as well as proper regulation of the sub-sector.

Keywords: public perception, TVET promotion, socioeconomic, self-employment

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Authors: Susanne Ferschl, Peter Holzmüller, Elisabeth Wacker

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Ageing populations, advances in medical sciences and digitalization, diversity and social disparities, as well as the increasing need for skilled healthcare professionals, are challenging healthcare systems around the globe. To address these challenges, future healthcare systems need to center on human needs taking into account the living environments that shape individuals’ knowledge of and opportunities to access healthcare. Moreover, health should be considered as a common good and an integral part of securing livelihoods for all people. Therefore, the adoption of a systems approach, as well as inter-disciplinary and inter-sectoral cooperation among healthcare providers, are essential. Additionally, the active engagement of target groups in the planning and design of healthcare structures is indispensable to understand and respect individuals’ health and livelihood needs. We will present the research project b4 – identifying needs | building bridges | developing health care in the social space, which is situated within this reasoning and accompanies the cross-sectoral cooperation project Brückenschlag (building bridges) in a Bavarian district. Brückenschlag seeks to explore effective ways of health care linking university medicine (Maximalversorgung | maximum care) with regional inpatient, outpatient, rehabilitative, and preventive care structures (Regionalversorgung | regional care). To create advantages for both (potential) patients and the involved cooperation partners, project b4 qualitatively assesses needs and motivations among professionals, population groups, and political stakeholders at individual and collective levels. Besides providing an overview of the project structure as well as of regional population and healthcare characteristics, the first results of qualitative interviews conducted with different health experts will be presented. Interviewed experts include managers of participating hospitals, nurses, medical specialists working in the hospital and registered doctors operating in practices in rural areas. At the end of the project life and based on the identified factors relevant to the success -and also for failure- of participatory cooperation in health care, the project aims at informing other districts embarking on similar systems-oriented and human-centered healthcare projects. Individuals’ health care needs in dependence on the social space in which they live will guide the development of recommendations.

Keywords: cross-sectoral collaboration in health care, human-centered health care, regional health care, individual and structural health conditions

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Authors: Jawad Alzeer

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Cultural setup is varied from country to country and nation to nation, but the ability to adapt successfully to the new cultural setup may pave the way toward the development of cultural intelligence. Overcoming differences may require to build up our personality with the ability to learn, exchange thoughts, and have a constructive dream. Adaptation processes can be accelerated if we effectively utilize our cultural diversity. This can be done through a unified body or society; people with common goals can collectively work to satisfy their values. Narrowing the gap between developed and developing countries is of prime importance. Many international organizations are trying to resolve these issues by rational and peaceful means. Failing to understand the cultural differences, mentalities, strengths and weaknesses of developed and developing countries led to the collapse of many partnerships. Establishment of a neutral body influenced by developed countries intellectuality and developing countries personality may offer a better understanding and reasonable solutions, suggestions, advice that may assist in narrowing gaps and promote-strengthening relationship between developed and developing countries. The key issues, goals, and potential concepts associated with initiating Swiss scientific society for developing countries as a model to facilitate integration of highly skilled scientists are discussed.

Keywords: cultural diversity, developing countries, integration, Switzerland

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Authors: Shu-Hui Jan, Hui-Ping Tserng, Shih-Ping Ho

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Construction project control attempts to obtain real-time as-built schedule information and to eliminate project delays by effectively enhancing dynamic schedule control and management. Suitable platforms for enhancing an as-built schedule visually during the construction phase are necessary and important for general contractors. As the application of building information modeling (BIM) becomes more common, schedule management integrated with the BIM approach becomes essential to enhance visual construction management implementation for the general contractor during the construction phase. To enhance visualization of the updated as-built schedule for the general contractor, this study presents a novel system called the Construction BIM-assisted Schedule Management (ConBIM-SM) system for general contractors in Taiwan. The primary purpose of this study is to develop a web ConBIM-SM system for the general contractor to enhance visual as-built schedule information sharing and efficiency in tracking construction as-built schedule. Finally, the ConBIM-SM system is applied to a case study of a commerce building project in Taiwan to verify its efficacy and demonstrate its effectiveness during the construction phase. The advantages of the ConBIM-SM system lie in improved project control and management efficiency for general contractors, and in providing BIM-assisted as-built schedule tracking and management, to access the most current as-built schedule information through a web browser. The case study results show that the ConBIM-SM system is an effective visual as-built schedule management platform integrated with the BIM approach for general contractors in a construction project.

Keywords: building information modeling (BIM), construction schedule management, as-built schedule management, BIM schedule updating mechanism

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Authors: Javkhlan Nyamjav, Simona Fischer, Lauren Garner, Veronica McCracken

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Current whole building life cycle assessments (LCA) primarily focus on structural and major architectural elements to measure building embodied carbon. Most of the interior finishes and fixtures are available on digital tools (such as Tally); however, furniture is still left unaccounted for. Due to its repeated refreshments and its complexity, furniture embodied carbon can accumulate over time, becoming comparable to structure and envelope numbers. This paper presents a method to calculate the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of furniture elements in commercial buildings. The calculator uses the quantity takeoff method with GWP averages gathered from environmental product declarations (EPD). The data was collected from EPD databases and furniture manufacturers from North America to Europe. A total of 48 GWP numbers were collected, with 16 GWP coming from alternative EPD. The finalized calculator shows the average GWP of typical commercial furniture and helps the decision-making process to reduce embodied carbon. The calculator was tested on MSR Design projects and showed furniture can account for more than half of the interior embodied carbon. The calculator highlights the importance of adding furniture to the overall conversation. However, the data collection process showed a) acquiring furniture EPD is not straightforward as other building materials; b) there are very limited furniture EPD, which can be explained from many perspectives, including the EPD price; c) the EPD themselves vary in terms of units, LCA scopes, and timeframes, which makes it hard to compare the products. Even though there are current limitations, the emerging focus on interior embodied carbon will create more demand for furniture EPD. It will allow manufacturers to represent all their efforts on reducing embodied carbon. In addition, the study concludes with recommendations on how designers can reduce furniture-embodied carbon through reuse and closed-loop systems.

Keywords: furniture, embodied carbon, calculator, tenant improvement, interior design

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Authors: Venkatesh Kumar, Kasun Hewage, Rehan Sadiq

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Residential buildings consume significant amounts of energy and produce a large amount of emissions and waste. However, there is a substantial potential for energy savings in this sector which needs to be evaluated over the life cycle of residential buildings. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology has been employed to study the primary energy uses and associated environmental impacts of different phases (i.e., product, construction, use, end of life, and beyond building life) for residential buildings. Four different alternatives of residential buildings in Vancouver (BC, Canada) with a 50-year lifespan have been evaluated, including High Rise Apartment (HRA), Low Rise Apartment (LRA), Single family Attached House (SAH), and Single family Detached House (SDH). Life cycle performance of the buildings is evaluated for embodied energy, embodied environmental impacts, operational energy, operational environmental impacts, total life-cycle energy, and total life cycle environmental impacts. Estimation of operational energy and LCA are performed using DesignBuilder software and Athena Impact estimator software respectively. The study results revealed that over the life span of the buildings, the relationship between the energy use and the environmental impacts are identical. LRA is found to be the best alternative in terms of embodied energy use and embodied environmental impacts; while, HRA showed the best life-cycle performance in terms of minimum energy use and environmental impacts. Sensitivity analysis has also been carried out to study the influence of building service lifespan over 50, 75, and 100 years on the relative significance of embodied energy and total life cycle energy. The life-cycle energy requirements for SDH is found to be a significant component among the four types of residential buildings. The overall disclose that the primary operations of these buildings accounts for 90% of the total life cycle energy which far outweighs minor differences in embodied effects between the buildings.

Keywords: building simulation, environmental impacts, life cycle assessment, life cycle energy analysis, residential buildings

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Authors: Farah Al-Mutairi, Hadeer Al-Jeeraan, Lima Ali, Raya Al-Dabbous, Sarah Baroun

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Lately, within the middle east, development has taken place in the construction area which increased the demand of a crucial component, where without it; stunning views from skyscrapers cannot been experienced, and natural light would not be able to be viewed from an indoor building. Glass has changed the path of living and building. Float glass is a type of glass that is flat and it is the type used in the construction and automobile sector. Facility design on the other hand is a study that improves the efficiency utilization of people, equipment, material and space. Kuwait's governmental future developing plan bears in mind the need of increase in industries to increase the growth domestic product(GDP) of the country. This project studies the feasibility of two designs of a float glass manufacture in Kuwait. The first Alternative, consists of one production line of capacity 500 tons of glass per day. The second alternative, consists of three production lines, each of capacity 500 tons of glass daily.

Keywords: float glass manufacture, Kuwait, feasibility float glass, facility design, float glass production

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Authors: Kefayatullah Wahidi

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This article examines the challenges and opportunities of intercultural communication in Afghanistan. Afghanistan, with its ancient history and location on the Silk Road, connects the great civilizations of the world. This country holds a sensitive strategic and geopolitical position in the Middle East. In Afghanistan, various ethnic groups live, each with distinct linguistic, religious, and racial cultures. In today's world, elements such as identity, religion, and culture form the main components of international political relations. In some cases, these factors can even overshadow the materialistic and self-interest-driven aspects of international relations. Therefore, we used a qualitative case study method (using interviews) for this research. In this context, we attempted to discuss the issues and problems related to the challenges and opportunities of intercultural communication, with the participation of a sample of 12 Afghan people. The findings of this research show that Afghanistan is facing many challenges in the field of intercultural communication. Cultural dissatisfaction, linguistic and religious differences, and cultural sanctions are among the major challenges that can cause tensions and a lack of mutual understanding. At the same time, intercultural communication is an opportunity to increase mutual understanding, cultural exchange, and constructive interactions. Please note that I have made some minor edits for clarity and grammar, but the overall content remains the same.

Keywords: cultural dissatisfactions, language differences, intercultural communication, Afghanistan

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Authors: Andrey A. Chernousov, Ben Y. B. Chan

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The thermal behavior of a large-scale, phase change material (PCM) enhanced building envelope system was studied in regard to the need for pre-fabricated construction in subtropical regions. The proposed large-scale envelope consists of a reinforced aluminum skin, insulation core, phase change material and reinforced gypsum board. The PCM impact on an energy efficiency of an enveloped room was resolved by validation of the Energy Plus numerical scheme and optimization of a smart material location in the core. The PCM location was optimized by a minimization method of a cooling energy demand. It has been shown that there is good agreement between the test and simulation results. The optimal location of the PCM layer in Hong Kong summer conditions has been then recomputed for core thicknesses of 40, 60 and 80 mm. A non-dimensional value of the optimal PCM location was obtained to be same for all the studied cases and the considered external and internal conditions.

Keywords: thermal performance, phase change material, energy efficiency, PCM optimization

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Authors: Aneri Mehta, Krunal Mehta

Abstract:

Administration is largely based on two sciences: ‘management science’ and ‘political science’. The approach of new public management is more inclined towards the management science. Era of ‘New Public Management’ has affected the developing countries very immensely. Public management reforms are needed to enhance the development of the countries. This reform mainly includes capacity building, control of corruption, political decentralization, debureaucratization and public empowerment. This gives the opportunity to create self-sustaining change in the governance. This paper includes the link of approach of new public management and their effect on building effective democratization in the country. This approach mainly focuses on rationality and effectiveness of governance system. These need to have deep efforts on technological, organizational, social and cultural fields. Bringing citizen participation in governance is main objective of NPM. The shift from traditional public management to new public management have low success rate of reforms. This research includes case study of RTI which is a big step of government towards citizen centric approach of governance. The aspect of ‘publicness’ in the democratic policy implementation is important for good governance in India.

Keywords: public management, development, public empowerment, governance

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Authors: Gia Surguladze, Nino Topuria, Lily Petriashvili, Giorgi Surguladze

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Modeling of building processes of a multimodal freight transportation support information system is discussed based on modern CASE technologies. Functional efficiencies of ports in the eastern part of the Black Sea are analyzed taking into account their ecological, seasonal, resource usage parameters. By resources, we mean capacities of berths, cranes, automotive transport, as well as work crews and neighbouring airports. For the purpose of designing database of computer support system for Managerial (Logistics) function, using Object-Role Modeling (ORM) tool (NORMA – Natural ORM Architecture) is proposed, after which Entity Relationship Model (ERM) is generated in automated process. The software is developed based on Process-Oriented and Service-Oriented architecture, in Visual Studio.NET environment.

Keywords: seaport resources, business-processes, multimodal transportation, CASE technology, object-role model, entity relationship model, SOA

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Authors: Adejo Andrew Ojonugwa, Jomboh Jeff Kator, Garkida Adele Dzikwi

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This study investigates the behaviour of textured glass coat to chemical reactions upon application. Samples of textured glass coat developed from mixed post consumer glass were subjected to pH test (ASTM D5464), Chemical resistance test (ASTM D3260 and D1308), Adhesion test (ASTM D3359), and Abrasion test (ASTM D4060). Results shows a pH of 8.50, Chemical resistance of 5% flick rate when reacted with Sodium hydroxide (NaOH), a 3%, 5%, 10%, and 15% discolouration when reacted with Magnesium hydroxide (Mg(OH)2), Hydrogen fluoride (HF), Potassium hydroxide (KOH) and NaOH respectively, an adhesion of 4A and abrasion of 0.2g. The results confirm that the developed textured glass coat is in line with the standard pH range of 8-9, resistant to acid and base except for HF, NaOH, and Mg(OH)₂, good adhesion and abrasion properties, thereby making the coat resistant to chemical degradation and a good engineering material.

Keywords: chemical durability, glass-coat, building, recycling

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Authors: K. Geetha Ramesh, A. Ramachandraiah

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In an internal building space, daylight becomes a powerful source of illumination. The challenge therefore, is to develop means of utilizing both direct and diffuse natural light in buildings while maintaining and improving occupant's visual comfort, particularly at greater distances from the windows throwing daylight. The geometrical features of windows in a building have significant effect in providing daylight. The main goal of this research is to develop an innovative window geometry, which will effectively provide the daylight component adequately together with internal reflected component(IRC) and also the external reflected component(ERC), if any. This involves exploration of a light redirecting system using fractal geometry for windows, in order to penetrate and distribute daylight more uniformly to greater depths, minimizing heat gain and glare, and also to reduce building energy use substantially. Of late the creation of fractal geometrical window and the occurrence of daylight illuminance due to such windows is becoming an interesting study. The amount of daylight can change significantly based on the window geometry and sky conditions. This leads to the (i) exploration of various fractal patterns suitable for window designs, and (ii) quantification of the effect of chosen fractal window based on the relationship between the fractal pattern, size, orientation and glazing properties for optimizing daylighting. There are a lot of natural lighting applications able to predict the behaviour of a light in a room through a traditional opening - a regular window. The conventional prediction methodology involves the evaluation of the daylight factor, the internal reflected component and the external reflected component. Having evaluated the daylight illuminance level for a conventional window, the technical performance of a fractal window for an optimal daylighting is to be studied and compared with that of a regular window. The methodologies involved are highlighted in this paper.

Keywords: daylighting, fractal geometry, fractal window, optimization

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Authors: Nicolas Bae, Theodore L. Karavasilis

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Increasingly, a large number of new and existing tall buildings are required to improve their resilient performance against strong winds and earthquakes to minimize direct, as well as indirect damages to society. Those advent stationary functions of tall building structures in metropolitan regions can be severely hazardous, in socio-economic terms, which also increase the requirement of advanced seismic performance. To achieve these progressive requirements, the seismic reinforcement for some old, conventional buildings have become enormously costly. The methods of increasing the buildings’ resilience against wind or earthquake loads have also become more advanced. Up to now, vibration control devices, such as the passive damper system, is still regarded as an effective and an easy-to-install option, in improving the seismic resilience of buildings at affordable prices. The main purpose of this paper is to examine 1) the optimization of the shape of visco plastic brace damper (VPBD) system which is one of hybrid damper system so that it can maximize its energy dissipation capacity in tall buildings against wind and earthquake. 2) the verification of the seismic performance of the visco plastic brace damper system in tall buildings; up to forty-storey high steel frame buildings, by comparing the results of Non-Linear Response History Analysis (NLRHA), with and without a damper system. The most significant contribution of this research is to introduce the optimized hybrid damper system that is adequate for high rise buildings. The efficiency of this visco plastic brace damper system and the advantages of its use in tall buildings can be verified since tall buildings tend to be affected by wind load at its normal state and also by earthquake load after yielding of steel plates. The modeling of the prototype tall building will be conducted using the Opensees software. Three types of modeling were used to verify the performance of the damper (MRF, MRF with visco-elastic, MRF with visco-plastic model) 22-set seismic records used and the scaling procedure was followed according to the FEMA code. It is shown that MRF with viscous, visco-elastic damper, it is superior effective to reduce inelastic deformation such as roof displacement, maximum story drift, roof velocity compared to the MRF only.

Keywords: tall steel building, seismic retrofit, viscous, viscoelastic damper, performance based design, resilience based design

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Authors: H. Malachova, A. Oulehlova, D. Rezac

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Crisis preparedness training is the best possible strategy for identifying weak points, understanding vulnerability, and finding possible strategies for mitigation of blackout consequences. Training represents an effective tool for developing abilities and skills to cope with crisis situations. This article builds on the results of the research carried out in the field of preparation, realization, process, and impacts of training on subjects of energy sector critical infrastructure as a part of crisis preparedness. The research has revealed that the subjects of energy sector critical infrastructure have not realized training and therefore are not prepared for the restoration of the energy supply and black start after blackout regardless of the fact that most subjects state blackout and subsequent black start as key dangers. Training, together with mutual communication and processed crisis documentation, represent a basis for successful solutions for dealing with emergency situations. This text presents the suggested model of SIMEX simulator as a tool which supports managing crisis situations, containing training environment. Training models, possibilities of constructive simulation making use of non-aggregated as well as aggregated entities and tools of communication channels of individual simulator nodes have been introduced by the article.

Keywords: communication, energetic critical infrastructure, training, simulation

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Authors: N. S. A. Rahim, N. N. Abu Mansor, M. I. Saidi, N. R. A. Rahim, K. F. Adrutdin

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The use of coaching as one of organizational culture with the contribution of the involvement of line manager roles is an important to update employees’ knowledge and skills continuously. In healthcare sector, it is dynamic that nurse must update their knowledge and skills to keep pace with change. This paper attempts to discuss the involvement of line manager roles towards creating a coaching culture who give their support and innovation towards motivate nurses to give their best performance either in public or private hospitals.

Keywords: nursing, line managers’ roles, coaching, coaching culture

Procedia PDF Downloads 452