The interdisciplinary conceptual design of buildings

The Interdisciplinary Conceptual Design of Buildings Design activity during the conceptual phase of building projects is dynamic, vibrant and as a result, chaotic in appearance. This problem is compounded by the fact that iterative, or cyclic, design progression is often criticised, with the concept of 'going round in circles' being one that is discouraged. However, designbis a learning activity and, owing to the complexity of contemporary building projects,it is often only by moving ahead to improve knowledge, before taking a step back to re-address a problem with improved understanding, that the design process can progress. Today's design professionals are being urged to undertake early design activity in a more programmable, and thus manageable fashion. As such, it is becoming increasingly apparent that designers have little, if any, shared understanding of what conceptual design actually involves, let alone a deeper knowledge of the structure of iterative progression. This can, and is, causing problems for the industry, as the lack of both common understanding and synchronisation in interdisciplinary thinking is resulting in design team fragmentation and adversarial relationships. By modelling design activity it is possible to simplify, and thus ease understanding of, its complexities. The development and trialling of a generic framework of design phases and activities has allowed a simple graphical means of recording and displaying patterns of design progression to be devised. The models produced have been used to study and analyse the patterns of iterative working, the output of which has enabled a clarification of conceptual design practice to be achieved. A web-based design system has been developed from the paper-based framework. This accords well with the richly iterative and often non-linear process which design typically follows and is intended to encourage creativity without imposing a rigid procedure. The tool offers alternative routes through conceptual design, and contains 'Team Thinking Tools' to help designers widen the solution space, set priorities and evaluate options. In addition, it promotes effective teamwork practices to help teams deal with social interactions. Also, at the user's option, the system can be used to capture, store and retrieve decisions made, and the reasoning behind them. This is of key importance in improving the performance of the industry as a whole, for it is only by understanding how the final product is influenced by early design activity, that the design process can be adapted to take account of these issues on future projects

Smart Grid Metering Networks: A Survey on Security, Privacy and Open Research Issues

Smart grid (SG) networks are newly upgraded networks of connected objects that greatly improve reliability, efficiency and sustainability of the traditional energy infrastructure. In this respect, the smart metering infrastructure (SMI) plays an important role in controlling, monitoring and managing multiple domains in the SG. Despite the salient features of SMI, security and privacy issues have been under debate because of the large number of heterogeneous devices that are anticipated to be coordinated through public communication networks. This survey paper shows a brief overview of real cyber attack incidents in traditional energy networks and those targeting the smart metering network. Specifically, we present a threat taxonomy considering: (i) threats in system-level security, (ii) threats and/or theft of services, and (iii) threats to privacy. Based on the presented threats, we derive a set of security and privacy requirements for SG metering networks. Furthermore, we discuss various schemes that have been proposed to address these threats, considering the pros and cons of each. Finally, we investigate the open research issues to shed new light on future research directions in smart grid metering networks

Integrated Home Server

Since the advent of the microprocessor in the 1970s, the market for consumer electronics has exploded with new devices changing the way we live and do business. Today, mobile phones, cameras, PCs, iPads, mp3 players, network media players, security systems, automation and IT systems, all have common functionality and there is an increasing need for unification of access to all these devices around a common server based architecture to unlock the benefits of smart integration and to simplify access for the end user. IHS project is designed to provide to its business and home owners a unified network for all IT and electronic systems within a home or an office. This system integrates security, surveillance, access and attendance, home automation, audio and video players, File Server, Email Server, SMS Server (Texting), HTTP Proxy Server, DHCP Server, a caching DNS Server, Web Server and an internet gateway with an automatic virus scanner. In fact, it is a comprehensive system that completely governs a place wherever it is installed and provides integrated remotely accessible infrastructure for a Home or Business. Access to all home and business systems is available from any computer on the LAN, the internet and mobile phone. IHS is built around the Gateman Lifestyle Server which uses the robust Enterprise Linux Kernel CEntOS 5 and is written in Java. It can be accessed from Windows, MAC, Linux machines and i-phones as well as from any device that has a Java script enabled web browser. The device driver architecture allows additional electronic hardware to be incorporated making it relevant and extendable well into the future

Context Aware Computing for The Internet of Things: A Survey

As we are moving towards the Internet of Things (IoT), the number of sensors deployed around the world is growing at a rapid pace. Market research has shown a significant growth of sensor deployments over the past decade and has predicted a significant increment of the growth rate in the future. These sensors continuously generate enormous amounts of data. However, in order to add value to raw sensor data we need to understand it. Collection, modelling, reasoning, and distribution of context in relation to sensor data plays critical role in this challenge. Context-aware computing has proven to be successful in understanding sensor data. In this paper, we survey context awareness from an IoT perspective. We present the necessary background by introducing the IoT paradigm and context-aware fundamentals at the beginning. Then we provide an in-depth analysis of context life cycle. We evaluate a subset of projects (50) which represent the majority of research and commercial solutions proposed in the field of context-aware computing conducted over the last decade (2001-2011) based on our own taxonomy. Finally, based on our evaluation, we highlight the lessons to be learnt from the past and some possible directions for future research. The survey addresses a broad range of techniques, methods, models, functionalities, systems, applications, and middleware solutions related to context awareness and IoT. Our goal is not only to analyse, compare and consolidate past research work but also to appreciate their findings and discuss their applicability towards the IoT.Comment: IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials Journal, 201

MediaSync: Handbook on Multimedia Synchronization

This book provides an approachable overview of the most recent advances in the fascinating field of media synchronization (mediasync), gathering contributions from the most representative and influential experts. Understanding the challenges of this field in the current multi-sensory, multi-device, and multi-protocol world is not an easy task. The book revisits the foundations of mediasync, including theoretical frameworks and models, highlights ongoing research efforts, like hybrid broadband broadcast (HBB) delivery and users' perception modeling (i.e., Quality of Experience or QoE), and paves the way for the future (e.g., towards the deployment of multi-sensory and ultra-realistic experiences). Although many advances around mediasync have been devised and deployed, this area of research is getting renewed attention to overcome remaining challenges in the next-generation (heterogeneous and ubiquitous) media ecosystem. Given the significant advances in this research area, its current relevance and the multiple disciplines it involves, the availability of a reference book on mediasync becomes necessary. This book fills the gap in this context. In particular, it addresses key aspects and reviews the most relevant contributions within the mediasync research space, from different perspectives. Mediasync: Handbook on Multimedia Synchronization is the perfect companion for scholars and practitioners that want to acquire strong knowledge about this research area, and also approach the challenges behind ensuring the best mediated experiences, by providing the adequate synchronization between the media elements that constitute these experiences

Applications of internet technology for requirements elicitation

During the Requirements Elicitation part of a project various stakeholders need to be able to communicate their requirements to the developers, and the developers need to be able communicate their understanding back to the stakeholders. Communication between the various members of the project is the key factor during the Requirements Elicitation part of a project. Easing communications between stakeholders and developers makes the process of eliciting requirement easier, leading to better requirements specification and eventually a better product. The Requirements Elicitation Process through Internet (REPI) web site has been designed and implemented to explore this idea. The prototype version of REPI guides project members through the elicitation phase using the Software Engineering Institute\u27s framework for Requirements Elicitation. The REPI web site forces stakeholders to explicitly describe the requirements and encourage early discussion between stakeholders and developers. This decreases the likelihood of misunderstood requirements, leading to better requirements specification

Business plan for travel with: a started-up company for a tourism social platform

Travel With comes from the need to have a platform that improves the authors trip planning experience. The idea is to smooth the research pase by reducing the time needed, providing a digital space where the customer can see or plan trips with cheaper prices, compare bias feedback and travel tips. By storing all the information in one place, Travel With simplifies planning and travel logistics management, and thus brings a quicker, happier, and rewarding user experience. The purpos of this study is to analyse the ideas feasibility, considering literature review on the market and customer (Millennials), led to the conclusion of which was the best business target and strategy. Customer needs and interests were analysed through quantitative and qualitative research with the goal to find market opportunities. This reasearch allowed an improvement of the original concept, supporting the creationg of aplatform that would satisfy the customers. According to the market analysis and the customer researches, obstacles where identified, and transformed into opportunities through a digital marketing strategy focusing on social networks and the importance of influencers. The results have shown that the idea brings value to the market, but its success highly depends on its strategy, which will ensure the companies survival and success in a completive market.A ideia de negócios surge de uma necessidade do autor em facilitar a sua experiência de planeamento de viagens. De modo a reduzir as horas de pesquisa bem como as várias fontes, surge a ideia de criar uma única plataforma capaz de recolher toda a informação, onde os consumidores poderão não só criar as suas próprias viagens onde a plataforma sugere os serviços com os preços mais baixos versus qualidade, mas também a planos de viagens feitos por outros "users" com dicas e comentários fidedignos. O objetivo deste estudo teve por base a analise da viabilidade da ideia de negócio, através de uma análise de mercado e de consumidores target ("Millennials") com base em artigos e publicações, sendo posteriormente confirmada por métodos de pesquisa quantitativos e qualitativos, dos quais surgiram resultados que tiveram impacto na ideia original, tendo sido necessário realizar alterações de modo a garantir que a mesma satisfazia as necessidades dos cientes tornando-se uma oportunidade de mercado. Após as analises internas e externas foi possível identificar fraquezas que posteriormente foram transformadas em oportunidades através de uma estratégia de marketing digital baseada na experiência de redes socias e o impacto de "Influencers" nos consumidores. O estudo concluí que o mercado atribui valor à ideia, no entanto o sucesso da mesma está diretamente ligado ao sucesso de implementação da estratégia, que ajudará na obtenção de resultados num mercado de elevada competitividade onde a melhoria continua e adaptabilidade são cruciais para o sucesso e sobrevivência da empresa