135 research outputs found

    Breaking together: a freedom-loving response to collapse

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    The collapse of modern societies has already begun. That is the conclusion of two years of research by the interdisciplinary team behind the book 'Breaking Together'. How did it come to this? Because monetary systems caused us to harm each other and nature to such an extent it broke the foundations of our societies. So what can we do? This book describes people allowing the full pain of our predicament to liberate them into living more courageously and creatively. They demonstrate we can be breaking together, not apart, in this era of collapse. Professor Jem Bendell argues that reclaiming our freedoms is essential to soften the fall and regenerate the natural world. Escaping the efforts of panicking elites, we can advance an ecolibertarian agenda for both politics and practical action in a broken world. Endorsing the text, the founder of Schumacher College, Satish Kumar, remarked: “this is a prophetic book.

    A review of commercialisation mechanisms for carbon dioxide removal

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    The deployment of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) needs to be scaled up to achieve net zero emission pledges. In this paper we survey the policy mechanisms currently in place globally to incentivise CDR, together with an estimate of what different mechanisms are paying per tonne of CDR, and how those costs are currently distributed. Incentive structures are grouped into three structures, market-based, public procurement, and fiscal mechanisms. We find the majority of mechanisms currently in operation are underresourced and pay too little to enable a portfolio of CDR that could support achievement of net zero. The majority of mechanisms are concentrated in market-based and fiscal structures, specifically carbon markets and subsidies. While not primarily motivated by CDR, mechanisms tend to support established afforestation and soil carbon sequestration methods. Mechanisms for geological CDR remain largely underdeveloped relative to the requirements of modelled net zero scenarios. Commercialisation pathways for CDR require suitable policies and markets throughout the projects development cycle. Discussion and investment in CDR has tended to focus on technology development. Our findings suggest that an equal or greater emphasis on policy innovation may be required if future requirements for CDR are to be met. This study can further support research and policy on the identification of incentive gaps and realistic potential for CDR globally

    Qualia in Markets: Ruili's Jadeite Marketplaces in the China-Myanmar Borderland

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    Ph.D

    Measuring knowledge sharing processes through social network analysis within construction organisations

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    The construction industry is a knowledge intensive and information dependent industry. Organisations risk losing valuable knowledge, when the employees leave them. Therefore, construction organisations need to nurture opportunities to disseminate knowledge through strengthening knowledge-sharing networks. This study aimed at evaluating the formal and informal knowledge sharing methods in social networks within Australian construction organisations and identifying how knowledge sharing could be improved. Data were collected from two estimating teams in two case studies. The collected data through semi-structured interviews were analysed using UCINET, a Social Network Analysis (SNA) tool, and SNA measures. The findings revealed that one case study consisted of influencers, while the other demonstrated an optimal knowledge sharing structure in both formal and informal knowledge sharing methods. Social networks could vary based on the organisation as well as the individuals’ behaviour. Identifying networks with specific issues and taking steps to strengthen networks will enable to achieve optimum knowledge sharing processes. This research offers knowledge sharing good practices for construction organisations to optimise their knowledge sharing processes

    ECOS 2012

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    The 8-volume set contains the Proceedings of the 25th ECOS 2012 International Conference, Perugia, Italy, June 26th to June 29th, 2012. ECOS is an acronym for Efficiency, Cost, Optimization and Simulation (of energy conversion systems and processes), summarizing the topics covered in ECOS: Thermodynamics, Heat and Mass Transfer, Exergy and Second Law Analysis, Process Integration and Heat Exchanger Networks, Fluid Dynamics and Power Plant Components, Fuel Cells, Simulation of Energy Conversion Systems, Renewable Energies, Thermo-Economic Analysis and Optimisation, Combustion, Chemical Reactors, Carbon Capture and Sequestration, Building/Urban/Complex Energy Systems, Water Desalination and Use of Water Resources, Energy Systems- Environmental and Sustainability Issues, System Operation/ Control/Diagnosis and Prognosis, Industrial Ecology

    Copper in Tambat Ali: Design, Craft, and the Transformative Properties of a Material in Pune, India

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    This research is an examination of the materiality of copper in the context of a design and craft community in a place called tambat ali (which in the local language Marathi translates to coppersmith alley) located in the heart of the city of Pune in Western India. For centuries, several generations of coppersmiths (tambats) have been shaping this malleable, sensorial material into a variety of objects for domestic use. Copper (tamba), in an expression of transformational materiality, has in turn, shaped the tambats into who they are as persons. In addition, the materiality of copper has engendered a unique set of skills and techniques, and it has moulded their bodies and gestures. The tambats make a variety of objects that are described as vastu in Marathi, a word that also refers to narratives that arc over the life of the material, the people, and the things themselves. For the past few years, the tambats have been collaborating with architects and industrial designers to create a variety of new copper products that are sold nationally and internationally. While industrial design practice typically tends to focus on form, user needs, or the market, in tambat ali, it starts with an emphasis on the properties of the material. Here, design unfolds in a new social context created by the presence of copper. This thesis, with its focus on materiality, design, and craft, will attempt to show how copper has produced a materially inspired sociability, which has shaped the stories of objects, the nature of place, the practices of design and craft, and the lives of the people of tambat ali

    Flexible Automation and Intelligent Manufacturing: The Human-Data-Technology Nexus

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    This is an open access book. It gathers the first volume of the proceedings of the 31st edition of the International Conference on Flexible Automation and Intelligent Manufacturing, FAIM 2022, held on June 19 – 23, 2022, in Detroit, Michigan, USA. Covering four thematic areas including Manufacturing Processes, Machine Tools, Manufacturing Systems, and Enabling Technologies, it reports on advanced manufacturing processes, and innovative materials for 3D printing, applications of machine learning, artificial intelligence and mixed reality in various production sectors, as well as important issues in human-robot collaboration, including methods for improving safety. Contributions also cover strategies to improve quality control, supply chain management and training in the manufacturing industry, and methods supporting circular supply chain and sustainable manufacturing. All in all, this book provides academicians, engineers and professionals with extensive information on both scientific and industrial advances in the converging fields of manufacturing, production, and automation
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