21,094 research outputs found

    Hearts and Minds: The Untold Story of How Philanthropy and the Civil Marriage Collaborative Helped America Embrace Marriage Equality

    Get PDF
    In 2004, a group of foundations came together to create a funder collaborative in support of Freedom to Marry's state-by-state strategy to win marriage equality. Over the following 11 years, this unique collaborative and its funding partners invested a total of $153 million to support a wide range of activities across the country to change hearts and minds on a massive scale -- and ultimately to deliver a historic win for equality and love. This case study tells the untold, behind-the-scenes story of this funder collaborative -- how its members worked with movement leaders to develop a strategy for winning, how they persevered in their support despite enormous setbacks, and how they invested in the opinion research, state-by-state grassroots action and litigation that pushed marriage over the finish line from coast to coast. As the Civil Marriage Collaborative closes its doors in 2015, the case study and video also draw lessons from this historic victory for foundations supporting other social justice causes

    Seafloor characterization using airborne hyperspectral co-registration procedures independent from attitude and positioning sensors

    Get PDF
    The advance of remote-sensing technology and data-storage capabilities has progressed in the last decade to commercial multi-sensor data collection. There is a constant need to characterize, quantify and monitor the coastal areas for habitat research and coastal management. In this paper, we present work on seafloor characterization that uses hyperspectral imagery (HSI). The HSI data allows the operator to extend seafloor characterization from multibeam backscatter towards land and thus creates a seamless ocean-to-land characterization of the littoral zone

    Developing a valid method to study adaptive behaviours with regard to IEQ in primary schools

    Get PDF
    Adaptive behaviour impacts the classroom's environment and the student's comfort. Therefore, a deep understanding of students' adaptive behaviour is required. This study aims to develop a valid and reliable method to realize how children in their late middle childhood (9–11) practise adaptive behaviours as a response to the classroom's Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ). A self-reported questionnaire accompanied with an observation form is designed based on children's ‘here and now’ sensations, their cognitive and linguistic competence. Validity and reliability of the questionnaire were tested by running pilot and field studies in eight primary schools from July 2017 to May 2018. Through transverse sampling, 805 children were observed, and 1390 questionnaires were collected in 31 classrooms. Questions and responses of the designed questionnaire were validated by monitoring answer-process, non-participant observations, cross-checking questions and statistical tests. Validating process improved the wording of the questions and response categories and resulted in a questionnaire with a high and valid response rate. The reliability of the questionnaire was tested by measuring the variability and standard deviations of responses under similar conditions. To conclude, the study introduces a questionnaire and an observation form that should be used together to provide a valid and reliable method for studying adaptive behaviour of primary school children

    Why advanced buildings don't work?

    Get PDF
    The intent of policy is to achieve robust comfortable low energy buildings. However there are obvious policy disconnects and, where there is evidence, it appears that in general advanced buildings do not achieve their intended performance. There are many industry and policy initiatives aimed at improving industry processes such as: Soft Landings, BREEAM, LEED, Green Star, AGBR and BIM. In this paper the performance of buildings likely to be promoted by current policy is investigated and a number of significant and recurring problems identified. The possibility that these problems will be resolved by current initiatives is discussed and it is concluded that important gaps remain to be addressed

    Pedestrian demand modelling of large cities: an applied example from London

    Get PDF
    This paper introduces a methodology for the development of city wide pedestrian demand models and shows its application to London. The approach used for modelling is Multiple Regression Analysis of independent variables against the dependent variable of observed pedestrian flows. The test samples were from manual observation studies of average total pedestrian flow per hour on 237 sample sites. The model will provide predicted flow values for all 7,526 street segments in the 25 square kilometres of Central London. It has been independently validated by Transport for London and is being tested against further observation data. The longer term aim is to extend the model to the entire greater London area and to incorporate additional policy levers for use as a transport planning and evaluation tool

    The Cord (October 9, 2013)

    Get PDF
    • 

    corecore