Future users, future cities: dweller as designer

As technology advances, users get more detached from the way things work and are produced. Users end up being pure consumers and leave their positions as decision makers behind. Before the architecture and buildings processes were industrialized, most practitioners of the so-called vernacular architecture were in fact the dwellers of what they built and they easily met the specific personal needs since they were in total control. Some “architectural theorists have turned to vernacular construction with the conviction that such buildings and settlements express the interconnectedness between humans and the landscapes they live in.” (Beesley and Bonnemaison 2008). Considering the present day intense building activity, such relationship of dweller and architecture seems not possible excepting a very few examples to later referred to. This paper will instead focus on the possibility of the non-architect users of architectures as decision makers in order to reach designs that meet the requirements of their addressees

Client-contractor bargaining on net present value in project scheduling with limited resources

The client-contractor bargaining problem addressed here is in the context of a multi-mode resource constrained project scheduling problem with discounted cash flows, which is formulated as a progress payments model. In this model, the contractor receives payments from the client at predetermined regular time intervals. The last payment is paid at the first predetermined payment point right after project completion. The second payment model considered in this paper is the one with payments at activity completions. The project is represented on an Activity-on-Node (AON) project network. Activity durations are assumed to be deterministic. The project duration is bounded from above by a deadline imposed by the client, which constitutes a hard constraint. The bargaining objective is to maximize the bargaining objective function comprised of the objectives of both the client and the contractor. The bargaining objective function is expected to reflect the two-party nature of the problem environment and seeks a compromise between the client and the contractor. The bargaining power concept is introduced into the problem by the bargaining power weights used in the bargaining objective function. Simulated annealing algorithm and genetic algorithm approaches are proposed as solution procedures. The proposed solution methods are tested with respect to solution quality and solution times. Sensitivity analyses are conducted among different parameters used in the model, namely the profit margin, the discount rate, and the bargaining power weights

THE GENETIC PARAMETERS OF FEEDING BEHAVIOUR AND PRODUCTION TRAITS, SOCIAL INTERACTION AND DISEASE CONTROL IN FINNISH PIGS

A major proportion of the costs of pork production is related to feed; thus, improving feed efficiency is one of the most important breeding goals in pig breeding programs. Feed efficiency measurements are based on the performance of pigs in a controlled test station environment with an automatic feeding system. During the test period, a large amount of feeding-related information, including time entering the feeder, time leaving the feeder and amount of feed consumed, are gathered. These data can be used to form different feeding behaviour traits (FBT) such as daily feed intake (DFI) or feed intake per visit (FPV). During the test period, pigs are group housed. Therefore, social behaviour between pen mates may affect feeding behaviour, production traits (PT) and welfare of other pen mates. Furthermore, unusual or radical changes in pigs’ behaviour can be a sign of diseases or discomfort and can be used for the detection of diseases for timely intervention. The thesis has three objectives. The first objective was to estimate the heritability of FBT and their correlation with PT in the Finnish Yorkshire pig population (I). The second objective was to estimate genetic parameters of feeding behaviour and PT in Finnish pig breeds using a model with a social genetic effect (SGE; study II). The third objective was to develop machine learning methods for detection of pigs that may need medical treatment or extra management based on changes in their feeding behaviour patterns (III). The data consisted of purebred Finnish Yorkshire and Finnish Landrace pigs and their F1-crosses. Pigs were raised in a controlled test station environment located in Längelmäki, Finland (Figen Oy). Pigs arrived at the test station at an average age of 89 ± 10 days (mean ± standard deviation) and an average weight of 34.7 ± 6.4 kg. The slaughter age was 186 ± 10 days, and the slaughter weight was 121.2 ± 12.9 kg. The feeding, production and sickness data were collected from 10,275 pigs that had entered the test station between 2011 and 2016 (October). From obtained feeding observation, daily values were calculated as the number of visits per day (NVD), time spent in feeding per day (TPD), DFI, time spent feeding per visit (TPV), FPV and feed intake rate (FR). The final records of FBT were calculated as averages of the daily records separately for the five testing time periods: 0 to 20 days (period 1), 21 to 40 days (period 2), 41 to 60 days (period 3), 61 to 80 days (period 4) and 81 to 93 days (period 5). The PT were average daily gain (ADG), feed conversion rate (FCR) and backfat thickness (BF) as well as residual feed intake (RFI), which was calculated as the difference between the observed and predicted DFIs. For the last objective, daily observations of the health status of pigs (794,509 daily observations) were used. The data included 13,018 observations of symptoms (cough, limp, loss of appetite, skin damage, bitten tail). Pigs with symptoms were classified as “sick” while the pigs with no symptoms were classified as “healthy”. For the first objective (I), a univariate animal model was applied for the estimation of heritability of FBT and PT and a bi-variate model for the estimation of genetic correlations between the traits. For the second objective, single-trait social genetic models were applied with two different group size parametrisations: a fixed group size with a random sampling of eight pigs for each pen and a variable group size model where the number of pen mates varied. The restricted maximum likelihood (REML) method and the DMU software were used for the variance component estimations (I and II). For the last objective, the machine learning algorithm (Xgboost) was designed with different window lengths (one-day, three-day and seven-day window lengths) using features calculated from the feeding data to predict the individual health status (sick or healthy). Heritability estimates for FBT and PT were moderate (around 0.3). Only the DFI had strong genetic correlations with PT (e.g., over 0.8 with RFI). Interestingly, the FR and FPV were associated with BF in early testing time (I). The SGE was significant for FBT and the FCR but not for the ADG and BF (II). For those traits, the total heritable variation was considerably higher than the pure classical heritability. The fixed and variable group size models produced very similar estimates (II). Using the Xgboost machine learning method, the best performance for predicting pigs’ daily health status was obtained with a seven-day window length (80% area under the Receiver Operator Characteristics (ROC) curve) [AUC], 7% F1-score, 67% sensitivity and 73% specificity). However, the precision was very low (0.04), possibly due to an imbalanced dataset (III). In conclusion, results indicate that the FBT are moderately inherited but their correlation with PT are weak; thus, FBT are not important in breeding programs. The social genetic component was important in FBT but also in the FCR; thus, applying SGEs in breeding value estimation would increase the accuracy of selection for the FCR. Predictions based on changes in feeding behaviour can help in the detection of sick pigs, leading to better pig welfare and increased sustainability of pork production

Metals Production Requirements for Rapid Photovoltaics Deployment

If global photovoltaics (PV) deployment grows rapidly, the required input materials need to be supplied at an increasing rate. In this paper, we quantify the effect of PV deployment levels on the scale of metals production. For example, we find that if cadmium telluride {copper indium gallium diselenide} PV accounts for more than 3% {10%} of electricity generation by 2030, the required growth rates for the production of indium and tellurium would exceed historically-observed production growth rates for a large set of metals. In contrast, even if crystalline silicon PV supplies all electricity in 2030, the required silicon production growth rate would fall within the historical range. More generally, this paper highlights possible constraints to the rate of scaling up metals production for some PV technologies, and outlines an approach to assessing projected metals growth requirements against an ensemble of past growth rates from across the metals production sector. The framework developed in this paper may be useful for evaluating the scalability of a wide range of materials and devices, to inform technology development in the laboratory, as well as public and private research investment

The impact of anxiety on sexual satisfaction in menopausal women

Purpose:This study was carried out in order to determine the anxiety levels of menopausal women on their sexual satisfaction.Method and material:This descriptive study. The study was carried out at a menopause clinic of a state hospital between June and August 2011. Data were collected by questionnaire: the Golombok Rust Inventory of Sexual Satisfaction (GRISS) and the State Trait Anxiety Inventory.     Results:The mean age of the participants was 49.2±7.6 years old and nearly half of the women 46-50 age group. Half of the women in our sample had a chronic disease, 46.4% of women had sexual intercourse twice a week and 85.1% of them were housewives.  In our research it was found that the women’s sexual satisfaction was low, and their state anxiety levels were moderate level. There was a moderate positive correlation between the women’s sexual satisfaction scores and their anxiety levels. Increased levels of both state and trait anxiety in women reduces their sexual satisfaction. Conclusion:In this study, it was shown that women’s anxiety levels were middle and their sexual satisfactions were decreased during menopause. For this reason menopausal women’s should recommended give information about sexual and psychological consultancy services

Validity and reliability of Turkish version of “Paternal Antenatal Attachment Questionnaire”: “Paternal Antenatal Bağlanma Ölçeği” nin Türkçe versiyonunun geçerlik ve güvenirlik çalışması

Objective:The study was carry out in order to evaluate the validity and reliability of Paternal-Antenatal Attachment Questionnaire. Method: Research was made with 155 expectant fathers who attended routine pregnancy controls with their partners in a obstetric and gynecology clinic in Izmir, were literate, aged 18 or older and without any health risk of fetus. Data were collected by  information form and Paternal-Antenatal Attachment Questionnaire by developed Condon in 1993. İnitially the language validity of the scale was made by using the translation-back translation method with five experts. The Turkish version of the scale was presented to the opinion of ten experts using Davis technique for the content validity and content validity index was calculated. Factor structure was tested.by exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. In the confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modelling fit indices were examined. Findings: Content validity index of each item was determined to vary between .80–1.00. As a result of exploratory factor analysis, a two-factor structure explaining 36.54% of the total variance of the scale was determined. Factor loads vary between 0.41-0.84 in the one dimension and 0.30-0.82 in the another dimension. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that this two-factor structure was appropriate (RMSEA 0.044, GFI 0.912, AGFI 0.880 χ2/df ise 1.298(p=0.025).  The Cronbach’s alpha value of scale was 0.79. Conclusions: The two-factor structure of the scale, as “attachment quality” and “time spent of attachment mode” is valid and reliable for the use of expectant fathers’ Turkish society. ​Extended English summary is in the end of Full Text PDF (TURKISH) file.   Özet Amaç: Araştırma “Paternal Antenatal Bağlanma Ölçeği”nin geçerlik ve güvenirliğini incelemek amacıyla gerçekleştirilmiştir. Yöntem: Araştırma İzmir’de bir kadın doğum kliniğine, eşleriyle birlikte rutin gebelik kontrollerine katılan, okuma yazma bilen, 18 yaş üzeri ve fetüste herhangi sağlık riski bulunmayan 155 baba adayı ile gerçekleştirilmiştir. Veriler sosyodemografik bilgi formu ve Condon tarafından 1993 tarihinde geliştirilmiş olan  “Paternal Antenatal Bağlanma Ölçeği” ile toplanmıştır. Öncelikle beş uzman ile çeviri-geri çeviri yöntemi kullanılarak ölçeğin dil geçerliği yapılmıştır. Türkçe son hali oluşturulmuş ölçek kapsam geçerliliği için Davis tekniği kullanılarak on alan uzmanın görüşüne sunulmuş ve kapsam geçerlik indeksi hesaplanmıştır. Açımlayıcı ve doğrulayıcı faktör analizi ile ölçeğin faktör yapısı değerlendirilmiştir. Doğrulayıcı faktör analizi için yapısal eşitlik modeli uyum indeksleri incelenmiştir. Ölçeğin güvenirlik analizinde cronbach alfa güvenirlik katsayısı ve madde toplam kolelasyon değerleri hesaplanmıştır. Bulgular: Kapsam geçerlik indeksi sonucu her bir maddenin 0,80-1,00 arasında değiştiği belirlenmiştir. Açımlayıcı faktör analizi ile ölçeğin toplam varyansının % 36.54’ünü açıklayan iki faktörlü bir yapı belirlenmiştir. Faktör yükleri ilk boyutta 0.41- 0.84 arasında değişirken diğer boyutta 0.30-0.82 değerleri arasında değişmektedir. Doğrulayıcı faktör analizi bu iki faktörlü yapının uygun olduğunu göstermiştir (RMSEA 0.044, GFI 0.912, AGFI 0.880  χ2/df ise 1.298(p=0.025). Ölçeğin Cronbach’s Alpha değeri 0.79 bulunmuştur. Sonuç: “Bağlanma kalitesi” ve “bağlanmaya yönelik geçirilen zaman” olmak üzere iki faktörlü yapıdan oluşan ölçek Türk toplumunda bebek bekleyen baba adaylarının kullanılması için geçerli ve güvenilirdir

Solving challenging grid puzzles with answer set programming

We study four challenging grid puzzles, Nurikabe, Heyawake, Masyu, Bag Puzzle, interesting for answer set programming (ASP) from the viewpoints of representation and computation: they show expressivity of ASP, they are good examples of a representation methodology, and they form a useful suite of benchmarks for evaluating/improving computational methods for nontight programs

The effects of internal migration on women’s health in Turkey

           Internal migration in Turkey has been doubled within the last 25 years. According to the Turkey Migration and Displaced Population Survey (2006); total population was found 67.8 million, nearly 4.1 million people migrated and 10.7% of the population aged between 18-69 have the intention of migrating at some time in the future.          Some of the impacts of the migration process in Turkey has had on women are: frequent pregnancies and having many children; not being able to receive adequate antenatal care; a high rate of perinatal mortality; and undergoing labour. Nurses should be aware of the biological, social and cultural variables which may affect migrant women’s health, as well as other important issues such as their health traditions, beliefs and life styles

Effectiveness of Bobath therapy on balance in cerebral palsy

Purpose: Weakness on balance control is one of the most common problems for children with cerebral palsy. Present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of 8 week-Bobath therapy on balance in children with diparetic or hemiparetic cerebral palsy.Materials and Methods: A total of 15 cerebral palsy diagnosed children (8 diparesis, 7 hemiparesis) aged 5-14 years, were included in this study. Children could walk independently or by using a walking aid. The demographic data were saved for each case. Gross Motor Function Classification System and Gross Motor Function Measure were used to determine level of motor function. 1 Minute Walking Test, 10-meter Walking Test, Pediatric Balance Scale for balance ability and Functional Independence Measure for children (WeeFIM) for assessing of independence in activities of daily living were used. Bobath therapy were applied to children one 60-minute session, 2 days a week and 8 weeks in total. All evaluations were performed before treatment and repeated after treatment program.Results: After 8-week Bobath therapy, the results showed that improvement in motor function, level of functional independence and balance scores were statistically significant.Conclusion: Bobath therapy improves functional motor ability, independence level on daily living activities, and also balance ability in children with cerebral palsy

Drivers of photovoltaics cost evolution

Thesis: Ph. D. in Engineering Systems, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Engineering, Institute for Data, Systems, and Society, 2018.This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (pages 99-109).Photovoltaics (PV) have experienced notable development over the last forty years. PV module costs have declined 20% on average with every doubling of cumulative capacity, while global PV installations have increased at an average rate of 30% per year. However, costs must fall even further if PV is to achieve cost-competitiveness at high penetration levels and in a wide range of locations. Understanding the mechanisms that underlie the past cost evolution of PV can help sustain its pace of improvement in the future. This thesis explores the drivers of and constraints to cost reduction and large-scale deployment of PV. By developing novel conceptual and mathematical models, we address the following questions: (1) What caused PV's cost to fall with time? (2) How may materials constraints influence PV cost and deployment? These questions are addressed in the analyses presented in Chapters 2-4. Chapter 2 assesses the causes of cost reduction observed in PV modules since 1980. We develop a new model that identifies the causes of improvement at the engineering level and links these to higher-level mechanisms such as economies of scale. The methodology advanced can be used to evaluate the causes of improvements in any technology. By developing a model of PV modules, we find that in the early stages of the technology (1980-2001), improvements in the material usage and module conversion efficiency played an important role in reducing module cost. These improvements were mainly driven by research and development (R&D) efforts. As the PV technology matured (2001-2012), economies of scale from larger manufacturing plants resulted in significant gains. Both market-expansion policies and public R&D stimulated cost reduction, with the former contributing the majority of the cost decline from 1980 to 2012. Chapter 3 turns to assessing the materials constraints to PV cost reduction. We ask how fast metals production should be scaled up to match the increasing demand by the PV sector, if installations grow to meet a significant portion of energy demand. Unlike previous studies, which primarily used inherently uncertain factors such as reserves to estimate limits to technology scalability, we use past growth rates of a large set of metals as a benchmark for future growth rates. This analysis shows that thin-film PV technologies such as CIGS and CdTe that employ rare metals would require unprecedented growth rates in metals production even for the most conservative PV growth scenarios. On the other hand, crystalline silicon PV can provide 100% of global electricity without silicon exceeding the historical growth rates observed by all metals in the periodic table. Chapter 4 assesses the risks that material inputs bring to technologies today. This study develops cost-riskiness metrics based on the price behavior of metals along two dimensions: average price and price volatility. We first compare a large set of metals using these cost-riskiness metrics. We observe that metals obtained as byproducts have higher risk than major metals. We then apply these metrics to different PV technologies by treating them as a portfolio of metals. We find that designs such as CIGS and CdTe, which use byproduct metals with high average prices and price volatilities, show signals of cost-riskiness. The approach advanced here can serve as an assessment of the cost-riskiness of technologies introduced by their materials inputs.by Goksin Kavlak.Ph. D. in Engineering System