Energy-efficient design of optical transport networks

Energy efficiency is becoming a key factor in the design and operation of telecommunications networks as a way to reduce operational expenditures and the carbon footprint associated to telecom operators. This Ph.D. thesis evaluates and proposes novel energy-efficient approaches in three design areas of optical transport networks: (1) Network architectures and operation modes; (2) Resilience schemes; and (3) Optical amplifier placements. The solutions proposed in these areas are shown to significantly reduce the power consumption in realistic deployment scenarios and could be applied by telecom operators in the near and medium-term future to enhance the energy efficiency of optical transport networks

Green automotive supply chain for an emerging market

Thesis (M. Eng. in Logistics)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2008.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 94-97).Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) within the automotive industry is largely based on combining lean manufacturing with mandated supplier adoption of ISO 14001-compliant Environmental Management Systems (EMS). This approach evolved from automotive manufacturers seeking to expediently expand green practices within existing lean supply chains. However, a new automotive enterprise, without the legacy issues of an existing supply chain, has the opportunity to customize its supply chain from scratch, to comprehensively achieve both financial and green objectives. This thesis investigated a more holistic approach to creating a financially-viable green automotive supply chain for the MIT Vehicle Design Summit (VDS) - a start-up enterprise planning to enter the Indian emerging market with a new type of eco-friendly automobile. First, a hypothetical VDS supply chain was postulated by analyzing the contextual challenges of the Indian emerging economy, so as to optimize the location, supplier selection and manufacturing models within its business context. To ensure that the capital investments needed to fulfill the supply chain's green objectives do not compromise its primary purpose of value creation, a Triple Bottom Line technique called Environmental Cost Accounting was used as a managerial decision tool, which demonstrated the financial viability of GSCM for VDS. Next, green solutions for each supply chain function were identified for integration into the hypothetical supply chain. It was found that many important green solutions for an automotive supply chain like supplier selection, concurrent engineering, cascading of lean production best practices to the extended supply chain, fuel-efficient transport practices and green infrastructure design, have already been developed by various governmental and non-governmental agencies.(cont.) Also, product recovery through End-of-Life Vehicle (ELV) processing was identified as a vital green supply chain function required for closing the loop between sales and sourcing. The key issue was integrating these disparate solutions into a holistic environmental management framework for VDS to implement and sustain. This was accomplished using an IS014001-based EMS as the master plan. The developed EMS Manual is a pioneering document that leverages chain-wide participation in existing green initiatives like the Green Suppliers Network, SmartWay Transport Partnership and LEED Green Building Rating, to realize a green supply chain by ensuring continuous monitoring and improvement of the implemented initiatives.by Gene Fisch, Jr. [and] Tien Song Paul Neo.M.Eng.in Logistic

Architectural discourse and the transformation of the discipline of architecture in America, 1918-1943

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1993.Includes bibliographical references (v. 2, leaves 241-262).This dissertation is an historical inquiry into the concomitant transformations of architectural discourse and the discipline of architecture in America. It proceeds on the theoretical assumption that the documents produced and used in architecture not only reflect but constitute architecture as an institutional practice. The study begins with an outline of the academic discipline established, during the late nineteenth century, along the ideals of artistic autonomy and methods of the Ecole des Beaux Arts. It was an internalized discipline, centered on the self-referential discursive practice of the portfolio, and the integrated conceptual framework of composition, planning and the parti. During the latter half of the 1910s, with the changing conditions of architectural production, the traditional status of architecture began to be cast into doubt. In the aftermath of this crisis, what had once been an efficacious disciplinary formation was fragmented into the formal concerns of composition and the concept of functional planning as a rational intervention into social institutions. By the late twenties, ideological formations that made a fundamental break with the traditional claim to autonomy had emerged. The study examines two divergent strains of rationalist ideology: first, the new editorial policies of the architectural journals which projected in different ways, a rational discipline that would be integrated with the demands of mass production and consumer society; secondly, the Veblenian strategy of Frederick Ackerman, who attempted to isolate a domain of architectural discourse uncontaminated by the exigencies of capitalism. Two important transformations of architectural discourse that ensued during the thirties will be examined: the first was the shift in the status of the discourse of reference, constituted by the emergence of new types of reference manuals; secondly, the transformation of the architectural journal which saw the demise of the traditional status of the portfolio and its reorganization along studies of planning. At the center of these transformations was what I have called the discourse of the diagram. Through this new discursive formation, planning emerged as an integral discipline of architecture; it allowed the architect to intervene into the institutional program, while maintaining an independent method that was rational, free of formal preconceptions, and yet would produce singular results for each project. What had been a closed and tightly organized discipline was now opened and dispersed. Along with its promise of social amelioration, it carried the constant burden of formal invention.by Hyungmin Pai.Ph.D

Invasive alien plants and rural livelihoods: a case of Gwanda District, Zimbabwe

Biodiversity is the cornerstone of ecosystem functioning and the realisation that most rural African community livelihoods are directly dependent on ecosystem goods and services warrants its conservation. Invasive alien plants threaten biodiversity and compromise the ecosystem's ability to provide goods and services for rural communities, thereby negatively affecting livelihood strategies. Information on IAPs is lacking in most African countries, thus, the livelihood effects of Invasive Alien Plants (IAPs) are not clearly understood. In Zimbabwe, Cylindropuntia fulgida var. fulgida (Cff) has invaded Gwanda district in the Matabeleland south province compromising local household capital assets that contribute to livelihood strategies and altering the ecosystem. This study exposed the rural worldview of the environment, the effect that Cff has on local livelihood strategies and the effectiveness environmental management institutions in rural Gwanda district. The study followed a post positivist paradigm. The impacts of IAPs on rural communities in Zimbabwe were analysed by looking at the livelihood stresses that arise because of Cff. The research used multi-stage sampling to select a representative sample of respondents. Primary data was collected using semi-structured questionnaires, group discussion and key informant guides. Furthermore, document analysis was conducted to collect secondary data. The data analysis process used Computer packages Microsoft Excel, SPSS and NVIVO. Results showed that livelihood benefits that species in the natural environment provide strongly influence environmental perceptions of rural African communities. Additionally, the study showed that Cff compromises the local ecosystem and reduces its ability to support the dominant livelihoods in the study area. The long-term result of such a situation in the absence of control is increased poverty and the failure to realise sustainable development. However, results indicated that IAPs could also improve the poverty situation of a community before they have reached the threshold points. It is therefore imperative to know the threshold points of an invasive plant in order to ascertain the efficient point to intervene. The study also showed that benefits of invasive plants accrue to different members of a society at different times (private/public). This knowledge allows the adoption of efficient and effective control strategies

Modelling and visualisation to support decision-making in air quality-related transport planning

This thesis introduces three main elements to support decision-making in air quality-related transport planning. The first are novel automatic collection and processing algorithms for traffic flow and geospatial data for input to air pollution models of transport schemes under analysis. The second is a novel strategy to improve the modelling of air quality by the calibration of input background concentrations. The third is a novel 3D air pollution dispersion interface for the 3D visualisation of the air quality predictions in 3D digital city models. Four urban transport schemes were used for the initial development of, and for testing, the applicability and validation of future air quality predictions of the decision-support system based on the above three elements. The automation of the input data collection and processing reduced significantly the time and effort required to set up the air pollution model. The calibration of background concentrations significantly improved the accuracy of, not only the annual mean, but also the hourly, air quality predictions and effectively reduced the model runtime. The 3D air pollution dispersion interface provided an intuitive 3D visualisation of the air quality predictions at and above the ground surface in a single 3D virtual scene. The application of this decision-support system enabled the development of alternative future traffic scenarios so a proposed urban transport scheme might contribute to achieving certain air quality objectives. The validation of the future air quality predictions showed that the methods used for the future projection of air pollution input data slightly increase the error between the modelled and actual annual mean NO2 future concentrations. They also significantly increase the error between the modelled and actual hourly NO2 future concentration