214 research outputs found

    Aiding the conservation of two wooden Buddhist sculptures with 3D imaging and spectroscopic techniques

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    The conservation of Buddhist sculptures that were transferred to Europe at some point during their lifetime raises numerous questions: while these objects historically served a religious, devotional purpose, many of them currently belong to museums or private collections, where they are detached from their original context and often adapted to western taste. A scientific study was carried out to address questions from Museo d'Arte Orientale of Turin curators in terms of whether these artifacts might be forgeries or replicas, and how they may have transformed over time. Several analytical techniques were used for materials identification and to study the production technique, ultimately aiming to discriminate the original materials from those added within later interventions

    A geo-informatics approach to sustainability assessments of floatovoltaic technology in South African agricultural applications

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    South African project engineers recently pioneered the first agricultural floating solar photovoltaic tech nology systems in the Western Cape wine region. This effort prepared our country for an imminent large scale diffusion of this exciting new climate solver technology. However, hydro-embedded photovoltaic sys tems interact with environmentally sensitive underlying aquatic ecosystems, causing multiple project as sessment uncertainties (energy, land, air, water) compared to ground-mounted photovoltaics. The dissimi lar behaviour of floatovoltaic technologies delivers a broader and more diversified range of technical advan tages, environmental offset benefits, and economic co-benefits, causing analytical modelling imperfections and tooling mismatches in conventional analytical project assessment techniques. As a universal interna tional real-world problem of significance, the literature review identified critical knowledge and methodology gaps as the primary causes of modelling deficiencies and assessment uncertainties. By following a design thinking methodology, the thesis views the sustainability assessment and modelling problem through a geo graphical information systems lens, thus seeing an academic research opportunity to fill critical knowledge gaps through new theory formulation and geographical knowledge creation. To this end, this philosophi cal investigation proposes a novel object-oriented systems-thinking and climate modelling methodology to study the real-world geospatial behaviour of functioning floatovoltaic systems from a dynamical system thinking perspective. As an empirical feedback-driven object-process methodology, it inspired the thesis to create new knowledge by postulating a new multi-disciplinary sustainability theory to holistically characterise agricultural floatovoltaic projects through ecosystems-based quantitative sustainability profiling criteria. The study breaks new ground at the frontiers of energy geo-informatics by conceptualising a holistic theoretical framework designed for the theoretical characterisation of floatovoltaic technology ecosystem operations in terms of the technical energy, environmental and economic (3E) domain responses. It campaigns for a fully coupled model in ensemble analysis that advances the state-of-the-art by appropriating the 3E theo retical framework as underpinning computer program logic blueprint to synthesise the posited theory in a digital twin simulation. Driven by real-world geo-sensor data, this geospatial digital twin can mimic the geo dynamical behaviour of floatovoltaics through discrete-time computer simulations in real-time and lifetime digital project enactment exercises. The results show that the theoretical 3E framing enables project due diligence and environmental impact assessment reporting as it uniquely incorporates balanced scorecard performance metrics, such as the water-energy-land-food resource impacts, environmental offset benefits and financial feasibility of floatovoltaics. Embedded in a geoinformatics decision-support platform, the 3E theory, framework and model enable numerical project decision-supporting through an analytical hierarchy process. The experimental results obtained with the digital twin model and decision support system show that the desktop-based parametric floatovoltaic synthesis toolset can uniquely characterise the broad and diverse spectrum of performance benefits of floatovoltaics in a 3E sustainability profile. The model uniquely predicts important impact aspects of the technology’s land, air and water preservation qualities, quantifying these impacts in terms of the water, energy, land and food nexus parameters. The proposed GIS model can quantitatively predict most FPV technology unknowns, thus solving a contemporary real-world prob lem that currently jeopardises floating PV project licensing and approvals. Overall, the posited theoretical framework, methodology model, and reported results provide an improved understanding of floating PV renewable energy systems and their real-world behaviour. Amidst a rapidly growing international interest in floatovoltaic solutions, the research advances fresh philosophical ideas with novel theoretical principles that may have far-reaching implications for developing electronic, photovoltaic performance models worldwide.GeographyPh. D. (Geography

    Graduate Catalog of Studies, 2021-2022

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    Maine State Government Administrative Report 1987-1988

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    https://digitalmaine.com/me_annual_reports/1014/thumbnail.jp

    Maine State Government Administrative Report 1983-1984

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    https://digitalmaine.com/me_annual_reports/1010/thumbnail.jp

    History of Construction Cultures Volume 2

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    Volume 2 of History of Construction Cultures contains papers presented at the 7ICCH – Seventh International Congress on Construction History, held at the Lisbon School of Architecture, Portugal, from 12 to 16 July, 2021. The conference has been organized by the Lisbon School of Architecture (FAUL), NOVA School of Social Sciences and Humanities, the Portuguese Society for Construction History Studies and the University of the Azores. The contributions cover the wide interdisciplinary spectrum of Construction History and consist on the most recent advances in theory and practical case studies analysis, following themes such as: - epistemological issues; - building actors; - building materials; - building machines, tools and equipment; - construction processes; - building services and techniques ; -structural theory and analysis ; - political, social and economic aspects; - knowledge transfer and cultural translation of construction cultures. Furthermore, papers presented at thematic sessions aim at covering important problematics, historical periods and different regions of the globe, opening new directions for Construction History research. We are what we build and how we build; thus, the study of Construction History is now more than ever at the centre of current debates as to the shape of a sustainable future for humankind. Therefore, History of Construction Cultures is a critical and indispensable work to expand our understanding of the ways in which everyday building activities have been perceived and experienced in different cultures, from ancient times to our century and all over the world

    Maine State Government Administrative Report 1982-1983

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    https://digitalmaine.com/me_annual_reports/1009/thumbnail.jp

    Assuming Data Integrity and Empirical Evidence to The Contrary

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    Background: Not all respondents to surveys apply their minds or understand the posed questions, and as such provide answers which lack coherence, and this threatens the integrity of the research. Casual inspection and limited research of the 10-item Big Five Inventory (BFI-10), included in the dataset of the World Values Survey (WVS), suggested that random responses may be common. Objective: To specify the percentage of cases in the BRI-10 which include incoherent or contradictory responses and to test the extent to which the removal of these cases will improve the quality of the dataset. Method: The WVS data on the BFI-10, measuring the Big Five Personality (B5P), in South Africa (N=3 531), was used. Incoherent or contradictory responses were removed. Then the cases from the cleaned-up dataset were analysed for their theoretical validity. Results: Only 1 612 (45.7%) cases were identified as not including incoherent or contradictory responses. The cleaned-up data did not mirror the B5P- structure, as was envisaged. The test for common method bias was negative. Conclusion: In most cases the responses were incoherent. Cleaning up the data did not improve the psychometric properties of the BFI-10. This raises concerns about the quality of the WVS data, the BFI-10, and the universality of B5P-theory. Given these results, it would be unwise to use the BFI-10 in South Africa. Researchers are alerted to do a proper assessment of the psychometric properties of instruments before they use it, particularly in a cross-cultural setting
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