The Tate Modern multi-faith room: where sacred space and art space converge and merge

The Multi-faith Spaces project has visited over 600 multi-faith spaces in the past six years. Designed to accommodate religious diversity through the provision of multi-faith spaces, the project considers not just the architecture of these spaces but also their political aspect and their ability to encourage real social and religious encounters. Andrew Crompton finds that the multi-faith room in the new Tate Modern building is a typical example of a multi-faith space in a unique environment

Supply Chain Management in the Hospitality Industry: A research agenda

Supply Chain Management is at the heart of competitive advantage for any organisation. Without Supply Chains, the Hospitality Industry would quickly grind to a halt. There would be no fruit or vegetables in our restaurants, no beer or wine in our bars and no beds or toilets in our hotels. There would be no recycling of glass or the disposal of food products. There would be no customers. Given the importance of Supply Chains to the Hospitality Industry it is perhaps surprising that so little is published about Supply Chains and how Supply Chains can be managed. The aim of this working paper is to define SCM and establish an agenda for undertaking research into this important but neglected topic

How to look at a reading font

Science portrays letters as bundles of distinctive features such as lines, curves and angles. How can this reductive description be reconciled with the craft of typography? It is argued that although simple features might be necessary to identify letters they are insufficient to explain their design. During reading, anything we observe about letters, other than which ones are present, is unwanted information or noise. It is conjectured that the complications of letterforms are a form of crypsis that prevents us noticing anything about letters over and above the words they make. Fonts are designed to resist logic, rhetoric and art history. A worse subject for ekphrasis cannot be imagined. They are best described negatively as a self-camouflaged set of shapes. Those on the autism spectrum who can see though this camouflage may be word-blind through seeing letters too clearly. This suggests that it was by a darkening of our perception, by precisely not being able to know or see everything, that reading became possible

Junior Recital: Robert Nicholas Dixon, trombone

This recital is presented in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree Bachelor of Music in Performance. Mr. Dixon studies trombone with Wes Funderburk.https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/musicprograms/1467/thumbnail.jp

Paramedics and their role in end-of-life care: perceptions and confidence

Background: Studies have highlighted paramedics are inadequately prepared to care for patients who are at the end of their life, due to the historical focus of their training on acute medical management. This appears to cause conflict with paramedic perceptions of their role. Objective: To gain an understanding of paramedics' perceptions, confidence and concerns towards dealing with end of life care patients and their families. Design: An online survey comprising open and closed questions was distributed to all paramedics in a regional ambulance service in the north of England. Demographic data included: National Health Service (NHS) grade, personal experience, education and training to contextualise the data. A total population sample across differing organisational roles was used for paramedics in a regional ambulance service in the north of England. Responses were obtained from 182 staff. Results: NHS grade and length of service as a paramedic influenced the participant's confidence and concerns when dealing with end of life patients. A large number of participants (n=126, 70%) identified validity of documentation as a concern with 83 (46%) highlighting fear of litigation and 90 (50%) identifying that conflict with families was a concern. Support from other services was viewed as a contributing factor to increased paramedic involvement in end of life care. Conclusion: Most paramedics viewed end of life care as central to their role, but there was a need for further specific education to help enable paramedics to feel more confident, competent and supported in ensuring patients receive optimal care. </jats:sec

Computational Generation of Hutong Neighbourhoods: A procedural modelling framework to represent their urban structure

The Hutong neighbourhoods, composed of Chinese courtyard dwellings (Siheyuan), are historically and socially significant urban spaces that embody traditional Chinese philosophy. There is a global interest in these spaces many of which face oblivion, this study presents a formal grammar for parametrically generating Hutong neighbourhoods, which replicates the morphological characteristics of historic cases. This research investigates traditional principles of urban planning of ancient Beijing, based on examples on the historical map Qianlong Jingcheng Quantu, to derive the lost design rules. These rules are then used to build up a procedural modelling process, which reveals the development of Beijing urban structure from Yuan (1271-1368) to Qing (1368-1911) dynasty. The grammar presented in the procedural modelling process contributes to the understanding of the generation of Hutong neighbourhoods. In support of traditional Chinese urban design, the grammar will be translated into an algorithm to be implemented in a computational environment by visual scripting that will generate new instances of Hutong neighbourhoods

Translating Fengshui into algorithmic design: A digital tool to examine the impact of Fengshui on Siheyuan’s layout

In continuation of our previous work on the design principles of traditional Beijing Siheyuan courtyard housing and their implementation into computational algorithms, this paper investigates the impact of the Fengshui theory on the layout. In particular, we will present the development of a Grasshopper algorithm able to examine Siheyuan houses' fortune status according to their layout. We have verified the algorithm by using Siheyuan precedents from the ancient Beijing map and measured surveys of existing buildings. Our findings highlight that most Siheyuan houses were designed to be auspicious even though other forces were working against i

Parametrising Historical Chinese Courtyard-Dwellings: An algorithmic design framework for the digital representation of Beijing Siheyuan iterations based on Fengshui and Gongcheng Zuofa Zeli

Many Beijing Siheyuan, a type of Chinese vernacular housing with significant cultural value, have been lost in recent years. Preserving the few remaining has become a necessity, but many contemporary architects lack an understanding of their design principles. Based on a historical analysis deriving from Fengshui theory, the Gongcheng Zuofa Zeli ancient construction manual, and craftsmen’s experience, this paper describes a parametric algorithm capable of producing Siheyuan variants within a 4D CAD environment which by transforming the original design principles into an algorithm contributes to an understanding of Siheyuan typology and their preservation. This algorithm was implemented in a virtual scripting environment to generate accurate virtual counterparts of historical or extant Siheyuan houses revealing the tacit computational rules underlying traditional Chinese architecture

Hutong Neighbourhood Grammar: a procedural modelling approach to unravel the rationale of historical Beijing urban structure

Hutong neighbourhoods, composed of Chinese courtyard dwellings (Siheyuan), are historically and socially significant urban spaces that embody the traditional Chinese way of life and philosophy. As part of the national heritage, there is an increasing research interest in Hutong neighbourhoods, many of which are facing oblivion. This study presents a formal grammar for Hutong neighbourhood generation. This research investigates traditional principles of urban planning of ancient Beijing, based on examples on the historical map Qianlong Jingcheng Quantu, to derive the lost design rules. These rules are used to build up a procedural modelling framework, which reveals the development of Beijing's urban structure from the Yuan (1271–1368) to the Qing (1644–1911) dynasty. Our findings present a grammar incorporated into the procedural modelling framework to parametrically generate Hutong neighbourhoods, which replicates the morphological characteristics of historic cases. It contributes to the understanding of the generation of Hutong neighbourhoods. In support of heritage sustainability, this grammar can be implemented in a computational environment by visual scripting that enables the generation of new instances of Hutong neighbourhoods, both real and virtual