1,400 research outputs found
Integrating sciences to sustain urban ecosystem services
Effective water management within urban settings requires robust multidisciplinary understanding and an appreciation of the value added to urban spaces by providing multifunctional green-blue spaces. Multifunctional landscapes where ecosystem service provisions are âdesigned-inâ can help âtransitionâ cities to more sustainable environments which are more resilient to changing future conditions. With benefits ranging from the supply of water, habitat and energy to pollutant removal, amenity and opportunities for recreation, urban water bodies can provide a focal point for reconnecting humans and nature in otherwise densely built-up areas. Managing water within urban spaces is an essential infrastructure requirement but has historically been undertaken in isolation from other urban functions and spatial requirements. Increasingly, because of the limits of space and need to respond to new drivers (e.g. mitigation of diffuse pollution), more sustainable approaches to urban water management are being applied which can have multiple functions and benefits. This paper presents a review of ecosystem services associated with water, particularly those in urban environments, and uses the emerging language of ecosystem services to provide a framework for discussion. The range of supporting, provisioning, regulating and cultural ecosystem services associated with differing types of urban water bodies are identified. A matrix is then used to evaluate the results of a series of social, ecological and physical science studies co-located on a single stretch of a restored urban river. Findings identify the benefits of, but also barriers to, the implementation of a transdisciplinary research approach. For many, transdisciplinary research still appears to be on the edge of scientific respectability. In order to approach this challenge, it is imperative that we bring together discipline specific expertise to address fundamental and applied problems in a holistic way. The ecosystem services approach offers an exciting mechanism to support researchers in tackling research questions that require thinking beyond traditional scientific boundaries. The opportunity to fully exploit this approach to collaborative working should not be lost
Safety Risk Management of LEED Building Construction : A BIM based Approach
Green buildings have been gaining popularity in the construction industry due to their low impact on the environment. Green buildings are aimed at creating energy-efficient, healthy, and environment-friendly buildings. However, OSHA records show that about 48% more accidents occur in green building construction as compared to traditional construction methods. Compromising the workers\u27 health and safety questions the true sustainability of the building. Green buildings have been a popular strategy in institutional sustainability agendas. Globally, LEED is the most popular green buildings rating system. Statistics show that an increasing number of construction projects intend to obtain the LEED certification in the next decade. However, elevated worker health and safety risks have been gradually becoming a concern while pursuing LEED credits. However, there exists a limited study comparing the safety hazards occurring in conventional construction practices and green construction practices.This research explores the major safety risks associated with LEED-certified building construction. Failure Mode Effect, Analysis (FMEA) is used to determine the safety risk associated with each LEED credit. LEED credits were ranked based on safety performance. Safety score and incremental cost of LEED credits were used to identify the optimal credit combination for LEED gold certification that reduces the safety risk and minimizes the cost. Bayesian Belief Networks (BBN) was used to analyze the impact of project factors on safety risk. This analysis identified how the risk level of LEED credits changes based on project parameters. Safety risks identified from FMEA and BBN were used to develop Building Information Modelling (BIM)-based solutions to improve worker safety. The outcomes of this research will address the challenges of LEED construction and inform the construction industry in enhancing the health and safety of construction workers with state-of-the-art technolog
The International Intellectual Property Commercialization Councilâs 3rd Annual U.S. Conference: The State of Innovation in the Union
The International Intellectual Property Commercialization Council (âIIPCCâ) presented its third annual policy conference at the United States Capitol on May 6, 2019. The conferenceâs theme explored the question of âwhat is the state of innovation in the United States?â Panelists included The Honorable Andrei Iancu â Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office; Dr. Carl J. Schramm â University Professor, Syracuse University and Former President of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation; Mr. Patrick Kilbride â Senior Vice President of the Global Innovation Policy Center (âGIPCâ) at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce; and Mr. Colman Ragan â Vice President and General Counsel, North America IP Litigation at Teva Pharmaceuticals, who all shared their perspectives on the state of innovation. A lead off panel including local entrepreneurs, intellectual property specialists, federal government specialists, and academics allowed this panel to provide a âboots on the groundâ perspective
Computer Applications as Mediators of Design and Use
The present report constitutes together with 21 submitted papers the author's doctor's dissertation. This dissertation summarizes an understanding of computers as the materials that we shape in design, on the one hand, and the artifacts that we use, in work and other everyday activities on the other. The presented work is primarily methodological and design-oriented, i.e. it is concerned with changing computer applications and with understanding them as changing and as part of change
Beyond problem identification: valuing methods in a âsystem usability practiceâ
Historically, usability evaluation methods (UEMs) have been evaluated on their
capability for problem identification. However, the relevance of this approach has been
questioned for applied usability work. To investigate alternative explanations of what is
important for method use a grounded theory of usability practitioners was developed (9
interviews from the website domain and 13 in the safety-critical domain). The analysis
proceeded in bottom-up and top-down stages. The bottom-up stages produced insight
from the data in an exploratory and inductive manner. This highlighted the importance
of contextual factors and the need for system descriptions: UEM adoption and
adaptation cannot be fully understood devoid of context. The top-down stages used
Distributed Cognition and Resilience Engineering conceptual frameworks as leverage
for exploring the data in a deductive manner. These were chosen for their functional
descriptions of systems. To illustrate the importance of context we describe three
models: 1) where previous research has highlighted the downstream utility of UEMs we
expand the metaphor to consider the landscape through which the stream flows, where
the landscape represents the projectâs context; 2) where information propagation and
transformation in a project is influenced by social, information flow, artefact, physical
and evolutionary factors; and 3) where the functional couplings between parts of the
system of usability practice can be monitored and managed to positively resonate with
each other, thereby improving the performance of the system overall. The concept of
âPositive Resonanceâ is introduced to describe how practitioners adapt to the context to
maximise their impact under constrained resources. The functional couplings are
described in a functional resonance model of HCI practice. This model is validated by
interviewees and other practitioners outside of the study. This research shows that
problem identification is limited for valuing UEMs. Instead, functional couplings of
UEMs should be considered to improve system performance, which influence UEM
adoption and adaptation in practice
A participatory GIS approach to flood risk assessment of informal settlements the case of Cape Town
Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references.Rural-urban migrations have contributed to the steady increase in the population of Cape Town. Many of the migrants have settled in informal settlements because they cannot afford to rent or buy decent housing. Many of these settlements are however located on marginal and often poorly drained land. Consequently, most of these settlements are prone to flooding after prolonged rainfall. Current flood risk management techniques implemented by the authorities of the Cape Town City Council (CTCC) are ideal for formally planned settlements but are not designed to support informal settlements...This study sought to investigate a methodology that the CTCC could use to improve flood risk assessment
- âŠ