Building Bridges, Blurring Boundaries: The Milwaukee School in Environment-Behavior Studies

Along with the 40th anniversary of the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the 30th anniversary of our Ph.D. Program in Architecture represents another important benchmark in educational excellence. As one of the pioneering PhD programs in architecture dedicated to understanding the relationship between people and place, its influence has been considerable. Its 51 (and counting) graduates teach in architectural design and allied fields at major institutes and practice throughout the world. Their intellectual contributions, and those of the faculty, continue to shape Environment-Behavior Studies and the discipline of architecture as a whole. This book, a tribute to the many excellent students who have shared the Milwaukee experience, is a testament to their collective input for the design of settings for health care, education, the workplace, older people, and communities, and their insights about the role well-designed environments contribute to the quality of people’s lives.https://dc.uwm.edu/sarup_facbooks/1000/thumbnail.jp

Holocene Earthquakes and Right-lateral Slip on the Left-lateral Darrington-Devils Mountain Fault Zone, Northern Puget Sound, Washington

Sources of seismic hazard in the Puget Sound region of northwestern Washington include deep earthquakes associated with the Cascadia subduction zone, and shallow earthquakes associated with some of the numerous crustal (upper-plate) faults that crisscross the region. Our paleoseismic investigations on one of the more prominent crustal faults, the Darrington–Devils Mountain fault zone, included trenching of fault scarps developed on latest Pleistocene glacial sediments and analysis of cores from an adjacent wetland near Lake Creek, 14 km southeast of Mount Vernon, Washington. Trench excavations revealed evidence of a single earthquake, radiocarbon dated to ca. 2 ka, but extensive burrowing and root mixing of sediments within 50–100 cm of the ground surface may have destroyed evidence of other earthquakes. Cores in a small wetland adjacent to our trench site provided stratigraphic evidence (formation of a laterally extensive, prograding wedge of hillslope colluvium) of an earthquake ca. 2 ka, which we interpret to be the same earthquake documented in the trenches. A similar colluvial wedge lower in the wetland section provides possible evidence for a second earthquake dated to ca. 8 ka. Three-dimensional trenching techniques revealed evidence for 2.2 ± 1.1 m of right-lateral offset of a glacial outwash channel margin, and 45–70 cm of north-side-up vertical separation across the fault zone. These offsets indicate a net slip vector of 2.3 ± 1.1 m, plunging 14° west on a 286°-striking, 90°-dipping fault plane. The dominant right-lateral sense of slip is supported by the presence of numerous Riedel R shears preserved in two of our trenches, and probable right-lateral offset of a distinctive bedrock fault zone in a third trench. Holocene north-side-up, right-lateral oblique slip is opposite the south-side-up, left-lateral oblique sense of slip inferred from geologic mapping of Eocene and older rocks along the fault zone. The cause of this slip reversal is unknown but may be related to clockwise rotation of the Darrington–Devils Mountain fault zone into a position more favorable to right-lateral slip in the modern N-S compressional stress field

Regulating the transition from centriole to basal body

The role of centrioles changes as a function of the cell cycle. Centrioles promote formation of spindle poles in mitosis and act as basal bodies to assemble primary cilia in interphase. Stringent regulations govern conversion between these two states. Although the molecular mechanisms have not been fully elucidated, recent findings have begun to shed light on pathways that regulate the conversion of centrioles to basal bodies and vice versa. Emerging studies also provide insights into how defects in the balance between centrosome and cilia function could promote ciliopathies and cancer

COVID-19 symptoms at hospital admission vary with age and sex: results from the ISARIC prospective multinational observational study

Background: The ISARIC prospective multinational observational study is the largest cohort of hospitalized patients with COVID-19. We present relationships of age, sex, and nationality to presenting symptoms. Methods: International, prospective observational study of 60 109 hospitalized symptomatic patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 recruited from 43 countries between 30 January and 3 August 2020. Logistic regression was performed to evaluate relationships of age and sex to published COVID-19 case definitions and the most commonly reported symptoms. Results: ‘Typical’ symptoms of fever (69%), cough (68%) and shortness of breath (66%) were the most commonly reported. 92% of patients experienced at least one of these. Prevalence of typical symptoms was greatest in 30- to 60-year-olds (respectively 80, 79, 69%; at least one 95%). They were reported less frequently in children (≤ 18 years: 69, 48, 23; 85%), older adults (≥ 70 years: 61, 62, 65; 90%), and women (66, 66, 64; 90%; vs. men 71, 70, 67; 93%, each P < 0.001). The most common atypical presentations under 60 years of age were nausea and vomiting and abdominal pain, and over 60 years was confusion. Regression models showed significant differences in symptoms with sex, age and country. Interpretation: This international collaboration has allowed us to report reliable symptom data from the largest cohort of patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19. Adults over 60 and children admitted to hospital with COVID-19 are less likely to present with typical symptoms. Nausea and vomiting are common atypical presentations under 30 years. Confusion is a frequent atypical presentation of COVID-19 in adults over 60 years. Women are less likely to experience typical symptoms than men

Organizational clients and architectural communities of practice: Material and social construction at the Chrysler Technology Center.

Large organization clients increasingly set the agenda and standards for architectural practice. Hence, there is a blurring of traditional boundaries between client and architect. Growing numbers of client-situated architects work as in-house employees of large client organizations, engage in long-term consulting relationships with them, and participate in client-sponsored team-based associations, such as project partnering. To understand better the nature of client-situated practice, this ethnographic study examines architects who work in and around the Big Three of the U.S. automobile industry. The investigation occurs at two levels. At the macro-level of institutions, the study examines how practices in the automobile industry have historically influenced and continue to influence the strategies and actions of architects who serve the Big Three. Findings suggest that automobile industry practices pervade architectural work to such an extent that the architects design and build buildings in the same way as their respective companies design and build cars. At the micro-level of situated action, the case study examines how Chrysler Corporation's adoption of lean production strategies, which are associated with the Japanese automobile industry, manifested in the everyday practices of the architects and other design and construction professionals who managed building design and construction at the Chrysler Technology Center. In keeping with a lean production philosophy, the architectural community of practice was organized as a project partnering team that promotes collaboration and relational sensemaking in order to counteract confrontational and litigious tendencies associated with traditional construction. Though project partnering provided an ideological framework and practical stance that enabled the accomplishment of their work, everyday practice presented challenges that impelled the architects and others to resort, despite their rhetoric, to entrained confrontational behaviors. Frequent breaches of relational trust required ongoing repair. Overall, the study suggests both lessons for the implementation of project partnering and the benefits of a broader conception of the profession that recognizes the challenges and opportunities faced by client-situated. Such a perspective would prove beneficial to both the profession and the education of future architects.Ph.D.ArchitectureCommunication and the ArtsManagementSocial SciencesUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/123271/2/3068956.pd

Effects of indoor vegetation density on human well-being for a healthy built environment

Vegetation in the built environment is known to affect human well-being. Although previous studies have provided quantitative evidence of the benefits of indoor vegetation on human well-being, the effects of vegetation density in indoor environments remain to be explored. To bridge this gap, this study explored the effects of indoor vegetation density on well-being, particularly on perceived restorativeness, stress reduction, and selective visual attention. This study employed the perceived restorativeness scale (PRS-11) and psychophysiological restorativeness (EEG) and found a positive association between increased indoor vegetation density and restorativeness. Despite the restorative effect, there was an inflection point in the indoor environments at 13%–24% vegetation density. For perceived restorativeness and stress reduction, 13%–24% was the most efficient density within indoor environments. Thus, this study contributes a baseline guideline and reference for designers and decision makers to understand efficient vegetation density in indoor environments

Effects of nature on restorative and cognitive benefits in indoor environment

Abstract This study investigates the effects of natural exposure in an indoor environment on restorative quality and cognitive ability. Thirty participants were shown nature at three different indoor sites: baseline, indoor (some vegetation), and semi-indoor (a large amount of vegetation and view to sky) for five minutes. After viewing, they completed an assessment of restoration and a cognitive task, and their electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded. Compared to the baseline, the sites with nature resulted in restorative (higher perceived restoration scores) and cognitive (higher working memory performance and lower delta-to-theta ratio (DTR), delta-to-alpha ratio (DAR), theta-to-beta ratio (TBR), and alpha-to-beta ratio (ABR) responses) benefits. These findings further our understanding of the effects of exposure to nature on restorative and cognitive benefits in an indoor environment, and help to build guidance for future research on the effects of nature indoors and designing restorative- and cognitive-enhancing indoor spaces