THE TECHNOLOGY MAPPING METHODOLOGY FOR BENCHMARKING THE CONSTRUCTION PERFORMANCE

ABSTRACT Globalization and increased international competitiveness point at the need for on-going improvement of the effectiveness of the industries in terms of the achievement of the quality and quantity of the required production output and the efficiency of the production processes. The Technology Status and Technological Capabilities are indicated to play an important role in the production performance of industries in literature of the last decade. Adequate management and policy plans that should be formulated to enhance an improved production performance in industries require insight in the actual status of technologies and technological capabilities in the production sector. This insight forms the basis for the development of new products and production systems. Benchmarking the performance -including the state of art of technologies and technological capabilities-enables the management of firms and the policy makers in industries to compare their performance with industry norms and market expectations and improve the major factors that have an impact on this. A proper methodology to benchmark the construction performance and to map the essential elements that have an impact on this is not readily available. This paper describes the principles of the so-called Technology Mapping Methodology that was developed and the results of its application in the construction industry. The key-elements in the theoretic framework that forms the basis for this methodology includes the market requirements and expectations, the status of technological capabilities, the technology status and the production performance and the socio-economic development status of the country. The last element is useful for international comparisons of the production performance which enhances the value of the benchmarking in the perspective of the increasing international competitiveness. The studies rendered a considerable amount of valuable data that could serve to support Construction Management and Policy Making with the objective to improve the Construction Performance. It also discusses the need for further research to establish a technology database similar to the existing socioeconomic databases in the countries

Electronic and Structural Properties of a 4d-Perovskite: Cubic Phase of SrZrO3_3

First-principles density functional calculations are performed within the local density approximation to study the electronic properties of SrZrO$_3$, an insulating 4d-perovskite, in its high-temperature cubic phase, above 1400 K, as well as the generic 3d-perovskite SrTiO$_3$, which is also a d^0-insulator and cubic above 105 K, for comparison reasons. The energy bands, density of states and charge density distributions are obtained and a detailed comparison between their band structures is presented. The results are discussed also in terms of the existing data in the literature for both oxides.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure

Low-frequency Raman scattering under high pressure in diamond anvil cell: Experimental protocol and application to GeO2 and SiO2 boson peaks

International audienceLow frequency vibrations, a universal feature of amorphous solids which is responsible for thermodynamical anomalies at low temperature, are complicated to record in high pressure device, notably because of the closeness of the elastic line. We first present an experimental protocol allowing to record the in situ low-frequency Raman scattering of samples under high pressure in the diamond anvil cell apparatus with a high quality. This protocol is particularly adapted to study the evolution of the boson peak of glassy materials. The second part is dedicated to the study of the boson peak of a-GeO2, a typical strong glass. The results, which clearly show the non-Debye behaviour of this material at the beginning of the compression where an anomalous compression takes place, are compared to previous measurements on a-SiO2. Interpretation in terms of local structural transitions and discussions about the elastic nanoheterogeneities of the amorphous state are addressed

Silica under hydrostatic pressure: A non continuous medium behavior

International audienceThe homogeneous/inhomogeneous structure of glasses is still a debated question. Hydrostatic high pressure experiments allow us to determine if a glass behaves as an elastic continuous random network or if a nanometer scale heterogeneity has to be taken into account. In order to get information on the homogeneous/inhomogeneous structure of glasses, in situ high pressure Raman experiments are performed on silica in the elastic domain up to 4.7 GPa. A strong decrease of the Boson peak intensity is observed between 1 bar and 3 GPa. We show that this decrease does not correspond quantitatively to the effect of pressure on a homogeneous elastic medium. From the interpretation of the narrowing of the main Raman band width under pressure as a narrowing of the θ inter-tetrahedral Si–O–Si angle distribution it is shown that the decrease of the Boson peak intensity is correlated to the decrease of the intrinsic inhomogeneity of the silica glass. These results confirm the occurrence of an intrinsic inhomogeneity at a nanometer scale even in a single component glass like SiO2 which is very important for the interpretation of the optical or mechanical properties of the glasses

Permanent densification of compressed silica glass: a Raman-density calibration curve

International audienc

Treatment of acrophobia in virtual reality: The role of immersion and presence

In this study the effects of virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) were investigated in patients with acrophobia. Feelings of presence in VRET were systematically varied by using either a head-mounted display (HMD) (low presence) or a computer automatic virtual environment (CAVE) (high presence). VRET in general was found to be more effective than no treatment. No differences were found in effectiveness between VRET using an HMD or CAVE. Results were maintained at 6 months follow-up. Results of VRET were comparable with those of exposure in vivo (Cyberpsychology and Behavior 4 (2001) 335). In treatment completers no relationship was found between presence and anxiety. Early drop-outs experienced less acrophobic complaints and psychopathology in general at pre-test. They also experienced less presence and anxiety in the virtual environment used in session one as compared to patients that completed VRET