1,621 research outputs found
The Pragmatic Development of a Carbon Management Framework for UK SMEs
The UK's commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050 is challenged by critics citing current government strategies as inadequate, marked by a lack of concrete action and aspirational guidelines. Notably, businesses, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) which constitute about half of all business emissions, are pivotal to this goal. Yet, existing policies and standards often neglect the significant role of SMEs, who face barriers such as limited knowledge and resources in implementing carbon management practices.
This thesis explores the development of a novel carbon management framework specifically designed for medium-sized organisations in the UK to address these problems. The research adopts a practical approach through collaboration with an industry partner, facilitating a case study for real-world application.
Adopting a mixed-methods research design grounded in pragmatism, the study commenced with a qualitative study in the form of a focus group. This exploratory phase, critical for understanding SME challenges, yielded rich data revealing key management themes in strategy, energy, and data. The framework design was supported by a materiality assessment and input from key stakeholders on three major iterations. The final framework comprises three phases: establishing a baseline carbon footprint, creating a carbon reduction plan, and strategically implementing this plan. The validation process, conducted at Knowsley Safari, successfully tested the initial two phases but faced constraints in fully assessing the third phase due to time limitations.
While the research achieved its primary aim of developing a novel carbon management framework for SMEs, it encountered limitations, notably in time and the generalisability of findings due to reliance on a single case study. Future research could test the framework across diverse SME settings to establish its broader applicability and effectiveness in aiding the UK's net-zero emission goals
Differences in well-being:the biological and environmental causes, related phenotypes, and real-time assessment
Well-being is a complex, and multifaceted construct that includes feeling good and functioning well. There is a growing global recognition of well-being as an important research topic and public policy goal. Well-being is related to less behavioral and emotional problems, and is associated with many positive aspects of daily life, including longevity, higher educational achievement, happier marriage, and more productivity at work. People differ in their levels of well-being, i.e., some people are in general happier or more satisfied with their lives than others. These individual differences in well-being can arise from many different factors, including biological (genetic) influences and environmental influences. To enhance the development of future mental health prevention and intervention strategies to increase well-being, more knowledge about these determinants and factors underlying well-being is needed. In this dissertation, I aimed to increase the understanding of the etiology in a series of studies using different methods, including systematic reviews, meta-analyses, twin designs, and molecular genetic designs. In part I, we brought together all published studies on the neural and physiological factors underlying well-being. This overview allowed us to critically investigate the claims made about the biology involved in well-being. The number of studies on the neural and physiological factors underlying well-being is increasing and the results point towards potential correlates of well-being. However, samples are often still small, and studies focus mostly on a single biomarker. Therefore, more well-powered, data-driven, and integrative studies across biological categories are needed to better understand the neural and physiological pathways that play a role in well-being. In part II, we investigated the overlap between well-being and a range of other phenotypes to learn more about the etiology of well-being. We report a large overlap with phenotypes including optimism, resilience, and depressive symptoms. Furthermore, when removing the genetic overlap between well-being and depressive symptoms, we showed that well-being has unique genetic associations with a range of phenotypes, independently from depressive symptoms. These results can be helpful in designing more effective interventions to increase well-being, taking into account the overlap and possible causality with other phenotypes. In part III, we used the extreme environmental change during the COVID-19 pandemic to investigate individual differences in the effects of such environmental changes on well-being. On average, we found a negative effect of the pandemic on different aspects of well-being, especially further into the pandemic. Whereas most previous studies only looked at this average negative effect of the pandemic on well-being, we focused on the individual differences as well. We reported large individual differences in the effects of the pandemic on well-being in both chapters. This indicates that one-size-fits-all preventions or interventions to maintain or increase well-being during the pandemic or lockdowns will not be successful for the whole population. Further research is needed for the identification of protective factors and resilience mechanisms to prevent further inequality during extreme environmental situations. In part IV, we looked at the real-time assessment of well-being, investigating the feasibility and results of previous studies. The real-time assessment of well-being, related variables, and the environment can lead to new insights about well-being, i.e., results that we cannot capture with traditional survey research. The real-time assessment of well-being is therefore a promising area for future research to unravel the dynamic nature of well-being fluctuations and the interaction with the environment in daily life. Integrating all results in this dissertation confirmed that well-being is a complex human trait that is influenced by many interrelated and interacting factors. Future directions to understand individual differences in well-being will be a data-driven approach to investigate the complex interplay of neural, physiological, genetic, and environmental factors in well-being
Finding an effective problem-solving heuristic instructional approach for circle geometry
Abstracts in English, Afrikaans and ZuluThis research study carried out an investigation into finding a contemporary problem- solving instructional approach that will be effective for teaching and learning of mathematics in South African schools, with specific focus on circle geometry. Prior to conducting this study, a retrospection was done into the mathematical practices implemented, in schools in South Africa, by researchers, educational practitioners and stakeholders such as Non-Governmental Organisations. The aforementioned unanimously identified the instructional approaches for teaching and learning of mathematics, particularly, the traditional teaching and learning approach, as problematic and counter-productive, and this might be contributing to poor learnersâ performances. In a bid to replace the obsolete traditional approach, the researcher in this study recommended: âteaching thinking skillsâ and âteaching effective problem-solving instructional approachesâ as more appropriate. With regards to teaching thinking skills, the infusion approach (teaching thinking skills, along with content instructions), was highlighted. For teaching effective problem-solving, Polyaâs Problem-Solving Model, was investigated. To ensure an effective design and implementation of the proposed problem-solving instructional approach, the APOS theory (ACE teaching cycle) was adopted. Also, the teaching and learning of circle geometry was carried out in a collaborative classroom setting. This proposed instructional approach was tentatively, labelled as âIPAC mathematics problem-solving instructional modelââ or simply, the âIPAC modelâ. This was an acronym for the four elements of this new approach, namely - the infusion approach, Polyaâs approach, and APOS theory in a collaborative learning classroom. Two groups of Grade 11 mathematics learners served as participants for this study: group 1 - 11A had 30 learners (the control group) and group 2- 11B had 32 learners (the experimental group). Data collected methods for this study were: observations of participants in their natural classroom settings, recorded videos, questionnaires, photograph of participantsâ work (classwork/homework and standardized tests). This study followed a mixed-method research design, hence, both quantitative and qualitative data analyses procedures were implemented. The quantitative data was analysed by implementing inferential statistics and descriptive statistics, while the APOS theory analysis was used to analyse the qualitative facet of the collected data. During the APOS theory analysis, content analysis was done on participantsâ written responses to each of the four standardized testsâ data. The content analysis was carried out on the written responses of participants, from both the control and the experimental groups. The research findings that emanated from this study were the following: that this new method of teaching and learning is valid, practical and effective; there was a statistically significant improvement in the test scores of participants who were taught by the new instructional approach; participantsâ conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, strategic competence and mathematical reasoning skills were enhanced; participantsâ problem-solving competence improved, during and after the intervention; the IPAC model guided the majority of the participants to operate at the object and schema levels in relation to the APOS theory mental conceptions. Lastly, the ACE teaching instructional approach significantly guided and enhanced participantsâ cognitive engagement and development, which ultimately, optimized their problem-solving competence. Based on these research findings, the researcher recommended among others, that the new instructional approach - the IPAC model, should be implemented for teaching and learning of circle geometry in South African schools. The researcher also recommended that cultivation of thinking skills and implementation of effective problem-solving instructional approaches should be prioritized in mathematics classrooms in South Africa. The researcher established from this study that the developed IPAC model will serve as an effective and a reliable pedagogical tool which can address some of the teaching and learning challenges teachers and learners encounter in mathematics classrooms.Hierdie navorsingstudie het 'n ondersoek gedoen na die vind van 'n kontemporĂȘre probleemoplossende onderrigbenadering wat effektief sal wees vir onderrig en leer van wiskunde in Suid-Afrikaanse skole, met spesifieke fokus op sirkelmeetkunde. Voor die uitvoering van hierdie studie is 'n terugblik gedoen na die wiskundige praktyke wat in skole in Suid-Afrika geĂŻmplementeer is deur navorsers, opvoedkundige praktisyns en belanghebbendes soos nie-regeringsorganisasies. Die instruksionele benaderings vir onderrig en leer van wiskunde, veral die tradisionele onderrig-en-leerbenadering, is eenparig geĂŻdentifiseer as problematies en teenproduktief, en dit kan dalk bydra tot swak leerders se prestasies. In 'n poging om die uitgediende tradisionele benadering te vervang, het die navorser in hierdie studie aanbeveel: "onderrig van denkvaardighede" en "onderrig van effektiewe probleemoplossende onderrigbenaderings" as meer gepas. Met betrekking tot die onderrig van denkvaardig hede, is die infusiebenadering (onderrig van denkvaardighede, tesame met inhoudsinstruksies), uitgelig. Vir die onderrig van effektiewe probleemoplossing is Polya se probleemoplossingsmodel ondersoek. Om 'n effektiewe ontwerp en implementering van die voorgestelde probleemoplossende onderrigbenadering te verseker, is die APOS-teorie (GOS-onderrigsiklus) aanvaar. Die onderrig en leer van sirkelmeetkunde is ook in 'n samewerkende klaskameropset uitgevoer. Hierdie voorgestelde onderrigbenadering is voorlopig, gemerk as "IPAC wiskunde probleemoplossing instruksionele model" of eenvoudig die "IPAC model". Dit was 'n akroniem vir die vier elemente van hierdie nuwe benadering, naamlik - die infusiebenadering, Polya se benadering en APOS-teorie in 'n samewerkende leerklaskamer. Twee groepe graad 11-wiskunde-leerders het as deelnemers vir hierdie studie gedien: groep 1 - 11A het 30 leerders (die kontrolegroep) en groep 2- 11B het 32 leerders (die eksperimentele groep). Data wat ingesamel is metodes vir hierdie studie was: waarnemings van deelnemers in hul natuurlike klaskamerinstellings, opgeneemde video's, vraelyste, foto van deelnemers se werk (klaswerk/huiswerk en gestandaardiseerde toetse). Hierdie studie het 'n gemengde-metode navorsingsontwerp gevolg, dus is beide kwantitatiewe en kwalitatiewe data-ontledingsprosedures geĂŻmplementeer. Die kwantitatiewe data is ontleed deur inferensiĂ«le statistiek en beskrywende statistiek te implementeer, terwyl die APOS teorie-analise gebruik is om te analiseer die kwalitatiewe faset van die versamelde data. Tydens die APOS-teorie-analise is inhoudsontleding gedoen op deelnemers se geskrewe antwoorde op elk van die vier gestandaardiseerde toetse se data. Die inhoudsanalise is uitgevoer op die geskrewe reaksie van deelnemers, van beide die kontrole- en die eksperimentele groepe. Die navorsingsbevindinge wat uit hierdie studie voortgespruit het, was die volgende: dat hierdie nuwe metode van onderrig en leer geldig, prakties en effektief is; daar was 'n statisties beduidende verbetering in die toetstellings van deelnemers wat deur die nuwe onderrigbenadering onderrig is; deelnemers se konseptuele begrip, prosedurele vlotheid, strategiese bevoegdheid en wiskundige redenasievaardighede is verbeter; deelnemers se probleemoplossingsbevoegdheid het verbeter, tydens en na die intervensie; die IPAC-model het die meerderheid van die deelnemers gelei om op die objek- en skemavlakke te werk in verhouding tot die APOS-teorie se verstandelike opvattings. Laastens het die GOS-onderrigbenadering die deelnemers se kognitiewe betrokkenheid en ontwikkeling aansienlik gelei en verbeter, wat uiteindelik hul probleemoplossingsbevoegdheid geoptimaliseer het. Op grond van hierdie navorsingsbevindinge het die navorser onder andere aanbeveel dat die nuwe onderrigbenadering - die IPAC-model, geĂŻmplementeer moet word vir onderrig en leer van sirkelmeetkunde in Suid-Afrikaanse skole. Die navorser het ook aanbeveel dat die kweek van denkvaardighede en implementering van effektiewe probleemoplossende onderrigbenaderings in wiskundeklaskamers in Suid-Afrika geprioritiseer moet word. Die navorser het uit hierdie studie vasgestel dat die ontwikkelde IPAC-model sal dien as 'n effektiewe en betroubare pedagogiese hulpmiddel wat sommige van die onderrig- en leeruitdagings wat onderwysers en leerders in wiskundeklaskamers ondervind, kan aanspreek.Lolu cwaningo luqukethe uphenyo mayelana nokuthola ikhambi elingaxazulula ekutholeni indlela eqondile engaletha imiphumela ewusizo ekufundiseni nasekufundeni kwezibalo ezikoleni zaseMzansi Africa, ezophinde ibhekane ngqo ne circle Geometry. Ngaphambi kokuba kuqale lolu cwaningo, kube nolunye ucwaningo olunzulu olwenziwe ngezinye izindlela esezivele zikhona mayelana nezibalo, ezikoleni zaseMzansi Africa, lwenziwa ngabacwaningi, izifundiswa ezingo ncweti Kanye nezinhlangano ezizimele. Inhlangano ebizwa nge okushiwo ngenhla luhlonze indlela eqondile yokufundisa nokufunda izibalo, ikakhulukazi, indlela ejwayelekile yokwenza, njengezindlela eziyinkinga nezingahambisani, futhi lokhu ngungaba yimbangela ekungenzini kahle kwabafundi. Emkhankasweni wokushintsha lolu hlelo oludala lokwenza olungasasizi, uMhlaziyi kulolu cwaningo uncome ukuthi: âikhono elufundisa ukuzicabangelaâ Kanye ânekhono lokufundisa elisebenzayo ukuzixazululela izinkingaâ njengendlela okuyiyo efanele. Mayelana nekhono elifundisa ukuzicabangela, indlela eyiqophelo (ikhono elifundisa ukuzicabangela, elihambisana nemigomo equkethwe), luthintiwe. Mayelana nohlelo oluwusizo ekuxazululeni izinkinga, uhlelo luka Polya lokuxazulula izinkinga luphenyiwe. Ukuqinisekisa ukuthi uhlelo olusebenzayo futhi oluzosentsenziswa ekuphakamiseni indlela eqondile enemigomo ekuxazululeni izinkinga yokwenza, i APOS theory (ACE teaching cycle) iyona ekhethiwe. Okunye, uhlelo lokufundisa nokufunda i circle geometry lukhishiwe endleleni ehlanganisayo yokuhlala egunjini lokufunda. Okwamanje Lolu hlelo oluphakanyisiwe lokufundisa, lubekwe njenge âIPAC indlela yezibalo eqondile yokuxazulula izinkinga enemigomoâ . Lokhu kuyigama elifinqiwe elakhiwe izinhlamvu ezine kule ndlela entsha ebizwa nge infusion approach, Polyaâs approach, Kanye ne APOS theory egunjini lokufunda elihlanganisile. Amaqembu amabili ebanga le shuminanye labafundi bezibalo basentshenzisiwe ukubamba iqhaza kulolu cwaningo: iqembu lokuqala ibanga 11A ebelinabafundi abangu 30 (iqembu labaqondisi) bese iqembu lesibili ibanga 11B ebelinabafundi abangu 32 (iqembu elenzayo). Ucwaningo oluqoqiwe lwalendlela lube kanje: imibono yalaba ebekade bebambe iqhaza egunjini lokufunda obuhleliwe, baqophe amavidiyo, babhala imibuzo, bathatha izithombe zalaba ekade bembambe iqhaza lwalomsebenzi wokubamba iqhaza. (imisebenzi yasegunjini lokufunda/imisebenzi yasekhaya Kanye nokwenza uvivinyo). Lolu phenyo lulandele uhlelo oluxubile okuwuhlelo lokuphenya, yingakho zombili lezi zinhlelo zokuqukethwe nokuseZingeni zokuqoqa uphenyo olwenziwe zisentshenzisiwe. Uhlelo lokuqukethwe lemininingwane lusentshenzisiwe ukuhlaziya ngokusebenzisa uhlelo lokuqoqa okutholakele Kanye nohlelo lokwenza okutholakele, futhi kube kwenziwa ne APOS theory analysis ukuhlaziya okusezingeni eliphezulu zigxenye zonke lwemininingwane eqoqiwe. Ngesikhathi se APOS theory analysis, ukuhlaziywa kokuqukethwe okwenziwe ababambe iqhaza babhale okwenzekile ngesikhathi benza lezi zivivinyo ezine ezibekiwe. Uhlelo lokuhlaziya okuqukethwe lwenziwe labhalwa yilaba kade bebambe iqhaza, kuwo womabili amaqembu , elokuqondisa nelokwenza. Uphenyo olutholakele kulolu hlelo lunje: lolu hlelo lokufundisa nokufunda luyasebenza, luyenzeka, futhi lunomehluko: ngokwezibalo kube nomehluko omkhulu oncono ezibalweni zalabo ekade bebambe iqhaza besebenzisa indlela entsha yemigomo: bonke ekade bebambe iqhaza bathole ithuba lokuthi kuthuthuke amakhono abo ekwazini ukuqonda ukuzicabangela, ekwazini ukwenza izinto ezinomehluko eyinqubomgomo, ukumelana nezindlela eziningi eziphumelelisayo Kanye nekhono lokuqonda izibalo; ikhono lalabo ekade bebambe iqhaza ekuxazululeni izinkinga ngokusezingeni lithuthukile, ngesikhathi nangemuva kokwenza ucwaningo; I IPAC model ukwenzisa abaningi balaba ekade bebambe iqhaza kalula umsebenzi ngokuhlukana kwamazinga kusentsenziswa i APOS theory. Ekugcineni, indlela yokwenza ebizwa nge ACE teaching ikwazile okwenzisa kahle ngokusezingeni eliphezulu futhi yakhuphula labo ebekade bebambe iqhaza yaphinde yabathuthukisa, lokhu okwenze bakwazi ukuba sezingeni lokuphumelela ukuxazulula izinkinga. Ngenxa yalokhu okutholakale kucwaningo, umcwaningi uncome ukuthi kokunye, indlela entsha yokwenza ngemigomo â i-IPAC, kumele isentshenziswe ekufundiseni nasekufundeni i circle geometry ezikoleni zaseMzansi Africa. Umcwaningi uphinde waphakamisa ukuthi ukuthuthukisa ikhono lokuzicabangela nokwenziwa kwezindlela ezisebenzayo zokuxazulula izinkinga kumele zibekwe phambili emagunjini okufunda izibalo eMzansi Africa. Umcwaningi ubeke indlela eseqophelweni eliphezulu eyisisekelo kusukela kwisifundo esenziwe yokuthi i IPAC model iyona esebenza njenge ndlela eyithuluzi elibonakalayo futhi elinemiphumela emihle ethembekile, engakwazi ukubhekana nezinkinga futhi ixazulule izinqinamba zokufundisa nokufunda ezikoleni, lezi othisha nabafundi ababhekana nazo egunjini lokufundela izibaloEducational StudiesD. Phil. (Education
Talking about personal recovery in bipolar disorder: Integrating health research, natural language processing, and corpus linguistics to analyse peer online support forum posts
Background: Personal recovery, âliving a satisfying, hopeful and contributing lifeeven with the limitations caused by the illnessâ (Anthony, 1993) is of particular value in bipolar disorder where symptoms often persist despite treatment. So far, personal recovery has only been studied in researcher-constructed environments (interviews, focus groups). Support forum posts can serve as a complementary naturalistic data source. Objective: The overarching aim of this thesis was to study personal recovery experiences that people living with bipolar disorder have shared in online support forums through integrating health research, NLP, and corpus linguistics in a mixed methods approach within a pragmatic research paradigm, while considering ethical issues and involving people with lived experience. Methods: This mixed-methods study analysed: 1) previous qualitative evidence on personal recovery in bipolar disorder from interviews and focus groups 2) who self-reports a bipolar disorder diagnosis on the online discussion platform Reddit 3) the relationship of mood and posting in mental health-specific Reddit forums (subreddits) 4) discussions of personal recovery in bipolar disorder subreddits. Results: A systematic review of qualitative evidence resulted in the first framework for personal recovery in bipolar disorder, POETIC (Purpose & meaning, Optimism & hope, Empowerment, Tensions, Identity, Connectedness). Mainly young or middle-aged US-based adults self-report a bipolar disorder diagnosis on Reddit. Of these, those experiencing more intense emotions appear to be more likely to post in mental health support subreddits. Their personal recovery-related discussions in bipolar disorder subreddits primarily focussed on three domains: Purpose & meaning (particularly reproductive decisions, work), Connectedness (romantic relationships, social support), Empowerment (self-management, personal responsibility). Support forum data highlighted personal recovery issues that exclusively or more frequently came up online compared to previous evidence from interviews and focus groups. Conclusion: This project is the first to analyse non-reactive data on personal recovery in bipolar disorder. Indicating the key areas that people focus on in personal recovery when posting freely and the language they use provides a helpful starting point for formal and informal carers to understand the concerns of people diagnosed with bipolar disorder and to consider how best to offer support
Epigenetic regulation of enhancer activity in the mammalian genome
Cell types are defined by their spatiotemporal gene expression patterns and their differential activity of promoters and enhancers. Enhancers are cis-regulatory elements in the DNA critical for the acquisition and maintenance of cellular identities by regulating the expression of key genes. Enhancers serve as landing pads for transcription factors (TFs) which are DNA-binding proteins that interpret the genomic code and enhance gene expression upon their binding. However, the underlying DNA sequence does not solely convey binding specificity, and therefore it is still largely elusive what additional factors regulate TF binding.
An important regulatory layer in gene expression are dynamic and reversible epigenetic modifications of chromatin including DNA and histone proteins. To date, dozens of histone modifications have been identified that are associated with different genomic contexts and transcriptional states. For instance, histone H3 lysine acetylation has been generally associated with active chromatin as active enhancers and promoters, while histone H3 tri-methylation at lysine 23 (H3K27me3) is coupled to transcription repression. Yet, the causal contribution of such histone modifications to the regulation of enhancer activity and TF binding is still large unknown.
To address this question, I developed a technical approach to analyse TF binding at DNA molecules where a certain histone modification of interest is present. For this, I combined a genomic enrichment technique with a single molecule footprinting (SMF) approach that allows to detect TF binding at single DNA molecule resolution. However, this experimental set-up paired with different optimization approaches did not produce high enough enrichments of DNA molecules harboring certain histone modifications to suffice the required statistical power. Therefore, the focus was laid on investigating the causal role of DNA methylation.
DNA methylation in CpG context is the most common epigenetic modification in the mammalian genome that covers 70-80% of all CpG dinucleotides. Despite its prevalence, DNA methylation can be highly dynamic, especially at enhancer elements that exhibit reduced methylation levels during their activation. Previous studies have identified that the binding of TFs to enhancers is correlated with the partial loss in DNA methylation and it has been suggested that DNA methylation regulates enhancer activity. This hypothesis has remained elusive up to date, which has multiple reasons. First, the relationship between TFs and DNA methylation is bidirectional. Previous studies have identified many methyl-sensitive TFs in vitro whose binding is reduced upon methylation of their DNA binding motif. Some of those have been confirmed by in vivo studies, which showed that DNA methylation prevents the spurious binding of those TFs in the genome. Opposingly, TFs have also been identified to be directly responsible for the demethylation of enhancers. In consequence, the bidirectional regulation between DNA methylation and TF binding has prevented the establishment of a causal relationship between them. Second, the cell-to-cell epigenetic variability observed as intermediate methylation at enhancers elements makes common bulk-cell genomics approaches ineffective to identify a direct correlation between DNA methylation and TF binding and to determine whether DNA methylation generally contributes to the regulation of enhancer activity.
In the here presented PhD project, I overcame these issues and limitation by advancing the single molecule footprinting (SMF) approach to resolve chromatin accessibility, TF binding, and simultaneously quantify the presence of DNA methylation on the same DNA molecules. By applying this technology across the murine genome, I demonstrate that TFs can bind most (>90%) enhancers irrespective of the underlying DNA methylation, suggesting that presence of DNA methylation does not generally impede enhancer activity. Yet, for stem cells and three somatic cell types, I identified active enhancers where TF occupancy is directly repressed by DNA methylation, including enhancers involved in the control of key cell identity genes. Using global perturbation assays and orthogonal enhancer activity measurements, I was able to show that at these active sites, DNA methylation directly controls the occupancy levels of TFs such as Max-Myc, that play a key role in the control of stem cell identity and proliferation. In the end, my data suggest a model where the function of DNA methylation extends beyond protecting the genome from spurious TF binding, by directly regulating the activation of cell-type specific enhancers.
This detailed analysis is an important addition to our general knowledge on gene regulation and suggest that while epigenetic factors may have largely redundant functions, their individual contributions can play important and instructive roles in tuning the quantitative expression of key cell- specific genes. Understanding the regulation of such genes involved in cell identity will have important implications in the comprehension of development and disease
Tradition and Innovation in Construction Project Management
This book is a reprint of the Special Issue 'Tradition and Innovation in Construction Project Management' that was published in the journal Buildings
Implementation of technological innovations within the South African construction industry
In South Africa the construction industry has grown by more than 15% per annum over the past five-years and the construction industry is facing several pressures to decrease costs, improve productivity and to develop a competitive edge in terms of quality of service and customer satisfaction. Faced with a growing demand for service delivery the industry must seek new and improved ways to stay competitive in this market space. By effectively analysing the construction market all role players within the AEC industry can adopt new trends and techniques being implemented by either their foreign counterparts or direct competitors. One of these trends within the industry is technological innovations; each designed to play a beneficial role in construction industry advancements. It is clear that our industry is moving forward at an alarming rate, yet our foreign counterparts seem to be one step ahead. Based on the 2010 Soccer World Cup it was clear that the South African AEC Industry had the ability to conform and deliver on world class infrastructure, yet we still seem to have a slow adoption rate surrounding technological innovations. Investigating the depth of knowledge based around the most popular technological innovations currently being implemented can provide a clear view as to what S.A industry role players see as potentially profitable within our marketplace and the steps that could be taken to provide further research pertaining to those technological innovations which are being overlooked. Establishing the most prominent barriers preventing technological adoption within the South African AEC Industry can effectively be compared with those faced by foreign counterparts to mirror their solutions to similar problems. Finally, by establishing whether resistance to a changing environment plays a vital role in the hindrance to technological adoption one can access the extent to which the AEC Industry may effectively change based on a projected industry time frame.Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment and Technology, 202
Generative retrieval-augmented ontologic graph and multi-agent strategies for interpretive large language model-based materials design
Transformer neural networks show promising capabilities, in particular for
uses in materials analysis, design and manufacturing, including their capacity
to work effectively with both human language, symbols, code, and numerical
data. Here we explore the use of large language models (LLMs) as a tool that
can support engineering analysis of materials, applied to retrieving key
information about subject areas, developing research hypotheses, discovery of
mechanistic relationships across disparate areas of knowledge, and writing and
executing simulation codes for active knowledge generation based on physical
ground truths. When used as sets of AI agents with specific features,
capabilities, and instructions, LLMs can provide powerful problem solution
strategies for applications in analysis and design problems. Our experiments
focus on using a fine-tuned model, MechGPT, developed based on training data in
the mechanics of materials domain. We first affirm how finetuning endows LLMs
with reasonable understanding of domain knowledge. However, when queried
outside the context of learned matter, LLMs can have difficulty to recall
correct information. We show how this can be addressed using
retrieval-augmented Ontological Knowledge Graph strategies that discern how the
model understands what concepts are important and how they are related.
Illustrated for a use case of relating distinct areas of knowledge - here,
music and proteins - such strategies can also provide an interpretable graph
structure with rich information at the node, edge and subgraph level. We
discuss nonlinear sampling strategies and agent-based modeling applied to
complex question answering, code generation and execution in the context of
automated force field development from actively learned Density Functional
Theory (DFT) modeling, and data analysis
Smart Circular Cities : Governing the Relationality, Spatiality, and Digitality in the Promotion of Circular Economy in an Urban Region
This article discusses the governance of a smart-green transition in an urban region. The focus is on how the modes of public governance relate to relationality, spatiality, and digitality, which are of vital importance in determining the success of the transition in question. The empirical inquiry is based on observations of the case of the Tampere urban region in Finland, which exemplifies such governance efforts in the Nordic welfare society context. The discussion shows that the relationality in the given context is fragmentary, dominated by persuasive network governance and soft means of exerting pressure. Municipalities assume many roles in CE governance, which matches their urge to utilize different institutional logics from hierarchies to markets and networks. Rather than a genuine authority, municipalities emerge as facilitators and enablers. Spatiality is highlighted in the formation of designated areas that serve circularity and also provide brand benefits, as shown by the eco-industrial park in the city of Nokia. Digitalization is an underdeveloped area in the circular economy agenda vis-Ă -vis its assumed potential. Its relevance has been identified by institutional players in the urban-regional governance field, but its realization seems to require both nationally coordinated actions and local solutions that compensate for the lack of a critical mass of developers and users in the circular economy ecosystem. Lastly, regarding urban governance, the parallel utilization of different modes of governance forms a complex setting, in which increasingly sophisticated forms of hybrid governance are emerging. Most notably, in the case of the Tampere urban region, the promotion of a circular economy by intermediaries is supplemented by novel dynamic assemblages that utilize different institutional logics within loosely governed processes that aim at integrating a circular economy into business models and urban development.Peer reviewe
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