Completions: Reuse and Object Representations

Reuse of construction and demolition waste tends to be exceptional rather than systemic, despite the fact that such waste exists in excess. One of the challenges in handling used elements and materials is integrating them into a digital workflow through means of survey and representation. Techniques such as 3d-scanning and robotic fabrication have been used to target irregular geometries of such extant material. Scanning can be applied to digitally define a unique rather than standard stock of materials, or, as in the field of preservation, to transfer specific forms and qualities onto a new stock. This paper melds these two approaches through Completions, a project that promotes reuse by integrating salvaged elements and materials into new assemblies. Drawing from the ancient practice of reuse known as spolia, the work develops from the identification and documentation of a varied set of used entities that become points of departure for subsequent design and production of new entities. This involves multiple steps, from locating and selecting used elements, to scanning and fabrication. Three assemblies based on salvaged objects are produced: a window frame, a door casing, and a mantelpiece. Different means of documentation are outlined in relation to specific qualities of these objects, from photogrammetry, to image and mesh-based tracing. Authentic qualities belonging to these elements, such as wear and patina, are coupled with more ambiguous forms and materialities only attainable through digital survey and fabrication. Finally, Completions speculates on how more automated workflows might make it feasible to develop extensive virtual catalogues of used objects that designers could interact with remotely

Challenges for environmental governance: policy issue interdependencies might not lead to collaboration

Policy actors address complex environmental problems by engaging in multiple and often interdependent policy issues. Policy issue interdependencies imply that efforts by actors to address separate policy issues can either reinforce (‘win–win’) or counteract (‘trade-off’) each other. Thus, if interdependent issues are managed in isolation instead of being coordinated, the most effective and well-balanced solution to the underlying problem might never be realised. This study asks if reinforcing and counteracting interdependencies have different impacts on perception and collaboration. Our empirical study of collaborative water governance in the Norrström basin, Sweden, shows that policy actors often avoid collaborating when the policy issues exhibit reinforcing interdependencies. Our evidence indicates a perceived infeasibility of acting on reinforcing interdependencies. We also find that actors do not consider counteracting interdependencies (‘trade-offs’) at all when they engage in collaboration. Further, even though actors were aware of counteracting and reinforcing interdependencies, our analyses suggest they might be less aware of the former. These findings illustrate that actors either avoid each other due to policy issue interdependencies or, at best, ignore existing interdependencies when engaging in collaboration. Our study highlights the importance of problem perception in accomplishing integrated solutions to complex environmental problems, and of how understandings of different types of interdependencies shape collaboration in environmental governance

Interplay between magnetism and short-range order in medium- and high-entropy alloys: CrCoNi, CrFeCoNi, and CrMnFeCoNi

The impact of magnetism on predicted atomic short-range order in three medium- and high-entropy alloys is studied using a first-principles, all-electron, Landau-type linear response theory, coupled with lattice-based atomistic modelling. We perform two sets of linear-response calculations: one in which the paramagnetic state is modelled within the disordered local moment picture, and one in which systems are modelled in a magnetically ordered state, which is ferrimagnetic for the alloys considered in this work. We show that the treatment of magnetism can have significant impact both on the predicted temperature of atomic ordering and also the nature of atomic order itself. In CrCoNi, we find that the nature of atomic order changes from being $\mathrm{L}1_2$-like when modelled in the paramagnetic state to MoPt$_2$-like when modelled assuming the system has magnetically ordered. In CrFeCoNi, atomic correlations between Fe and the other elements present are dramatically strengthened when we switch from treating the system as magnetically disordered to magnetically ordered. Our results show it is necessary to consider the magnetic state when modelling multicomponent alloys containing mid- to late-$3d$ elements. Further, we suggest that there may be high-entropy alloy compositions containing $3d$ transition metals that will exhibit specific atomic short-range order when thermally treated in an applied magnetic field. This has the potential to provide a route for tuning physical and mechanical properties in this class of materials.Comment: 26 pages, 4 figures, 2 table

Enabling Image Recognition on Constrained Devices Using Neural Network Pruning and a CycleGAN

Smart cameras are increasingly used in surveillance solutions in public spaces. Contemporary computer vision applications can be used to recognize events that require intervention by emergency services. Smart cameras can be mounted in locations where citizens feel particularly unsafe, e.g., pathways and underpasses with a history of incidents. One promising approach for smart cameras is edge AI, i.e., deploying AI technology on IoT devices. However, implementing resource-demanding technology such as image recognition using deep neural networks (DNN) on constrained devices is a substantial challenge. In this paper, we explore two approaches to reduce the need for compute in contemporary image recognition in an underpass. First, we showcase successful neural network pruning, i.e., we retain comparable classification accuracy with only 1.1% of the neurons remaining from the state-of-the-art DNN architecture. Second, we demonstrate how a CycleGAN can be used to transform out-of-distribution images to the operational design domain. We posit that both pruning and CycleGANs are promising enablers for efficient edge AI in smart cameras

The Archival Photographic Preservation of Heritage and The Open Access Using Software Description ICA-AtoM

A Arquivologia vem ganhando força com o surgimento de novas tecnologias da informação e comunicação, isso faz o arquivista ser visto como um administrador de informações, mudando assim aquela imagem antiquada. Funções do profissional como a descrição, a preservação e a garantia de acesso à informação, podem ser realizadas com o auxílio de softwares específicos. Nesse contexto o Curso de Arquivologia da Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM) juntamente ao Departamento de Arquivo Geral da UFSM, desenvolveram práticas arquivísticas voltadas à instituição. Foi instalado o ICA-AtoM, um software livre, o qual possui os requisitos desejados para atender as necessidades de descrição e difusão do acervo fotográfico existente. Essa ideia resultou em um projeto de extensão, que conta com bons resultados. Um dos fatores diferenciais do trabalho é que o ICA-AtoM é um software específico para a atividade de descrição arquivística, ou seja, não há adaptações em seu uso.Ibero-American Science and Technology Education Consortium (ISTEC

The Archival Photographic Preservation of Heritage and The Open Access Using Software Description ICA-AtoM

A Arquivologia vem ganhando força com o surgimento de novas tecnologias da informação e comunicação, isso faz o arquivista ser visto como um administrador de informações, mudando assim aquela imagem antiquada. Funções do profissional como a descrição, a preservação e a garantia de acesso à informação, podem ser realizadas com o auxílio de softwares específicos. Nesse contexto o Curso de Arquivologia da Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM) juntamente ao Departamento de Arquivo Geral da UFSM, desenvolveram práticas arquivísticas voltadas à instituição. Foi instalado o ICA-AtoM, um software livre, o qual possui os requisitos desejados para atender as necessidades de descrição e difusão do acervo fotográfico existente. Essa ideia resultou em um projeto de extensão, que conta com bons resultados. Um dos fatores diferenciais do trabalho é que o ICA-AtoM é um software específico para a atividade de descrição arquivística, ou seja, não há adaptações em seu uso.Ibero-American Science and Technology Education Consortium (ISTEC