Community design studio: a collaboration of architects and psychologists

The 'Community Design Studio' was a programme of collaboration between two courses, one in architecture and the other in environmental psychology. It aimed to generate a creative dialogue identifying responsible and professionally informed plans for the renewal of an inner city area in Glasgow (Govanhill) in which community participation was an essentialingredient. The collaboration took the form of architecture students, as designers and environmental psychology students as consultants, communicating electronically between Guildford (University of Surrey) and Glasgow (University of Strathclyde) and then meeting for on-site project work in London and Glasgow. The local community in Glasgow was the client for the architecture students, as the commissioner of ideas for neighbourhood regeneration. This interdisciplinary collaboration took place over nine months and generated educational, social and professional capital and challenges for both groups of young professionals. It involved long-distance collaboration through a virtual-studio with limited direct contacts; the responsibility of dealing with a 'real' client; and the cultural diversity of the two disciplines with different curricula, philosophy, teaching styles and learning outcomes. This experience also suggests potential ways to overcome the obstacles encountered in professional/community as well as inter-disciplinary collaboration and cooperation, and advocates the educational and social utility of such collaboration

Undergraduate dissertations in a department of architecture

Undergraduate academic writing in a Department of Architecture offers opportunities as well as challenges. To students, it can be a source of independent research and learning, enriching their development as architects and critics of the built environment; at the same time it can be an obstacle, a perceived impediment to design work. To staff, it can be a chance to share their research interest with colleagues and students, so enriching exchange and debate; it can also be time consuming and not clearly relevant to the formation of a professional. This case study argues that a change in attitude towards the objectives of the dissertation, coupled with careful consideration of its curriculum, can enhance the role that undergraduate academic writing plays in a School of Architecture, extending its benefits to the development of research and design agendas

An evaluation of a contract management simulation game for architecture students

Architects are currently grappling to exploit new forms of communication made possible with developments in internet communication. At the same time, the construction industry is in a state of flux as novel project management systems are being introduced. Students need to understand the first principles of project management within the context of our changing environment. One of the best ways for students to learn about the legalities of the construction process is through role play and simulation but there is a Catch 22. Unless students have a basic understanding of project management, the contractual process can be confusing and intimidating. Even fifth and sixth year architecture students are reluctant to ask practitioners questions for fear of appearing ignorant. This paper presents an evaluation of the cost and benefits of a web-based simulation game to deliver the Architecture studies curriculum. The webbased game allows students to critically observe the transformation of designs into buildings through the exploration of the contract management process. A questionnaire survey was used to assess how the computer simulation operates as a group exercise, how it compares with more traditional approaches and the best and worst features of the web-based system. The students found the game to be practical, enjoyable, motivating and effective in stimulating the learning process. The benefits of the web-based game were also found to outweigh the costs, thus providing support for its use as an active learning tool in Architectural Education

Financial Transaction Tax: Small is Beautiful

The case for taxing financial transactions merely to raise more revenues from the financial sector is not particularly strong. Better alternatives to tax the financial sector are likely to be available. However, a tax on financial transactions could be justified in order to limit socially undesirable transactions when more direct means of doing so are unavailable for political or practical reasons. Some financial transactions are indeed likely to do more harm than good, especially when they contribute to the systemic risk of the financial system. However, such a financial transaction tax should be very small, much smaller than the negative externalities in question, because it is a blunt instrument that also drives out socially useful transactions. There is a case for taxing over-the-counter derivative transactions at a somewhat higher rate than exchange-based derivative transactions. More targeted remedies to drive out socially undesirable transactions should be sought in parallel, which would allow, after their implementation, to reduce or even phase out financialtransaction taxes

Sea-level change and storm surges in the context of climate change

This paper reviews the latest research in New Zealand surrounding the issues of sea-level rise and extreme sea levels in the context of global warming and variability in the Pacific-wide El Nino– Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Past records of climate, sea level (excluding tides) and sea and air temperatures have shown that they are continuously fluctuating over various long-term timescales of years, decades and centuries. This has made it very difficult to determine whether the anthropogenic effects such as increased levels of “greenhouse” gases are having an accelerating effect on global sea levels or an increased incidence of extreme storms. Over the past century, global sea level has risen by 10–25 cm, and is in line with the rise in relative sea level at New Zealand’s main ports of +1.7 mm yr –1. What has become very clear is the need to better understand interannual (year-to-year) and decadal variability in sea-level, as these larger signals of the order of 5–15 cm in annual-mean sea level have a significant “flow-on” effect on the long-term trend in sea level. The paper describes sea level variability in northern New Zealand—both long- and short-term—involved in assessing the regional trends in sea level. The paper also discusses the relative contributions of tides, barometric pressure and wind set-up in causing extreme sea levels during storm surges. Some recent research also looked at a related question—Is there any sign of increased storminess, and hence storm surge, in northern New Zealand due to climate change? The paper concludes that, while no one can be completely sure how sea-level and the degree of storminess will respond in the near future, what is clear is that interannual and decadal variability in sea level is inextricably linked with Pacific-wide ENSO response and longer inter-decadal shifts in the Pacific climate regime, such as the latest shift in 1976

Transforming Philanthropic Transactions

Evaluates the approach and effectiveness of SVP's first five years working to inspire philanthropy and volunteerism and build organizational capacity among nonprofits. Describes SVP's model that fuses donor education and capacity building activities

A transaction-based method for allocation of transmission grid cost and losses

The problem of grid cost and losses allocation may be divided into independent subproblems: allocation of branch flow and losses to transactions, definition of these transactions and cost allocation to transactions. From this final allocation, the charges to participants in transactions may be made straightforwardly. A differential, slack-invariant method for the allocation of flow and losses to transactions that makes use of the AC load flow equation is presented here. The definition of transactions must be addressed using a non-discriminatory rule in pool systems. There are many possible options for this definition, and the choice made has great influence on the results. Cost allocation, on the other hand, may be made in different ways, as well. The paper presents an allocation process that addresses all these issues. Results for the IEEE-RTS96 test system are obtained and discussed.Publicad