The Evolution of Smart Buildings: An Industrial Perspective of the Development of Smart Buildings in the 2010s

Over the course of the 2010s, specialist research bodies have failed to provide a holistic view of the changes in the prominent reason (as driven by industry) for creating a smart building. Over the 2010s, research tended to focus on remaining deeply involved in only single issues or value drivers. Through an analysis of the author’s peer reviewed and published works (book chapters, articles, essays and podcasts), supplemented with additional contextual academic literature, a model for how the key drivers for creating a smart building have evolved in industry during the 2010s is presented. The critical research commentary within this thesis, tracks the incremental advances of technology and their application to the built environment via academic movements, industrial shifts, or the author’s personal contributions. This thesis has found that it is demonstrable, through the chronology and publication dates of the included research papers, that as the financial cost and complexity of sensors and cloud computing reduced, smart buildings became increasingly prevalent. Initially, sustainability was the primary focus with the use of HVAC analytics and advanced metering in the early 2010s. The middle of the decade saw an economic transformation of the commercial office sector and the driver for creating a smart building was concerned with delivering flexible yet quantifiably used space. Driven by society’s emphasis on health, wellbeing and productivity, smart buildings pivoted their focus towards the end of the 2010s. Smart building technologies were required to demonstrate the impacts of architecture on the human. This research has evidenced that smart buildings use data to improve performance in sustainability, in space usage or for humancentric outcomes

Flatness optimization of micro-injection moulded parts: The case of a PMMA microfluidic component

Micro-injection moulding (µ-IM) has attracted a lot of interest because of its potential for the production of low-cost, miniaturized parts in high-volume. Applications of this technology are, amongst others, microfluidic components for lab-on-a-chip devices and micro-optical components. In both cases, the control of the part flatness is a key aspect to maintaining the component's functionality. The objective of this work is to determine the factors affecting the flatness of a polymer part manufactured by µ-IM and to control the manufacturing process with the aim of minimizing the in-process part deformation. As a case study, a PMMA microfluidic substrate with overall dimensions of 10 mm diameter and 1 mm thickness was investigated by designing a µ-IM experiment having flatness as the experimental response. The part flatness was measured using a micro-coordinate measuring machine. Finite elements analysis was also carried out to study the optimal ejection pin configuration. The results of this work show that the control of the µ-IM process conditions can improve the flatness of the polymer part up to about 15 µm. Part flatness as low as 4 µm can be achieved by modifying the design of the ejection system according to suggested guideline

Goffman and the Infantilization of Elderly Persons: A Theory in Development

Infantilization is a behavioral pattern in which a person of authority interacts with, responds to, or treats an elderly person in a child-like manner. This paper uses Erving Goffman’s theories as a framework from which to analyze the reasons for and the results of infantilization of elderly residents in partial and total institutions (i.e., adult day care centers and nursing homes). First, we review the literature on infantilization. Next, we offer a brief summary of Goffman’s work and delineate his major theoretical assumptions. Then, we analyze the process of infantilization through Goffman’s theories. Finally, we offer suggestions for advancing research using Goffman’s premises. This paper asks whether infantilization can produce symptoms of dementia in institutionalized elders. If Goffman is correct, the answer may be yes. Six researchable propositions are offered to test Goffman’s theoretical framework

New evidence on the link between ethnic fractionalization and economic freedom

Among the determinants of economic freedom, the presence of different ethnic groups within a country has sometimes been explored by the empirical literature, without conclusive evidence on the sign of the relation, its drivers, and the conditions under which it holds. This paper offers new evidence by empirically modelling how ethnic fragmentation is related to economic freedom, as measured by the Economic Freedom Index and by each of its numerous areas, components and sub-components. The results provide insights on the components driving the effect and, interestingly, detect notable differences between developed and developing countries

The Measurement of Suicide Assessment and the Development of a Treatment Strategy for Elders: Durkheim an Approach

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate Durkheim Suicide Assessment (DSA).The DSA was designed to measure suicide risk among older adults. Despite a major influence of Durkheim' theory in understanding suicide, little effort has been made to apply such theory in gerontological practice. Data were drawn from a survey of 380 older adults over the age of 65. Principal component analysis was conducted with the 80 items of the original DSA, which yielded the 26 items of the DSA. Furthermore we performed explore factor analyses to assess the factor structures of the DSA. Internal consistency reliability was examined using Cronbach's alpha. The results show that the DSA is a psychometrically sound measurement. Health care professionals can use the DSA to assess suicide potential and develop an effective treatment strategy based on the type of suicide in which the elder has the highest probability of pursuing

Seismic vulnerability maps of Timisoara historical center based on fragility curves

The seismic vulnerability assessment on a territorial scale requires the application of simplified procedures. Data collection is usually carried out by adopting external inspections; for this reason the knowledge gained for the considered buildings is usually not complete and lack of information has to be managed. The definition of a methodology which takes into account these aspects is one of the aims of this paper. Another goal is the extension of the obtained results to buildings not directly surveyed on site, whose characteristics are similar to those of the analyzed buildings. The case study of Timisoara (Romania) is presented. A rapid survey of the historical center is performed and recurring typologies are identified. Analyses of the most significant local mechanisms of collapse are implemented, taking into account possible parameters variation. Fragility curves for each typology are then obtained allowing the definition of vulnerability maps for the whole historical center

Durkheim’s Greatest Blunder

In describing fatalism in Suicide, Durkheim executes two blunders. The first can be categorized in errors of commission while the second should be included in errors of omission. In the error of commission area, he hypothesizes two platforms for existence of fatalistic suicide. Without employing theory-embedded data, he contends that infertility is a catalyst for fatalistic suicidal. Later, he asserts that slavery is fertile soil for fatalistic suicide. Although there is suicidal data in these two arenas, a closer inspection demonstrates that these are not characteristics of fatalistic suicide. For errors of omission, he failed to systematically observe two social factors for which data was available during his time of study. Poverty and poor health existed in a social environment which is best described by Durkheim’s vision of fatalistic suicide. He missed observing and collecting the available data to lend support for the empirical existence of fatalistic suicide. These four social factors are discussed

The main stages in the history of systemic lupus erythematosus

Systemic lupus erythematosus can be considered the most characteristic and important among the connective tissue diseases. In this short review the main stages of its history are sketched, from the introduction of the term "lupus", traditionally attributed to Roger Frugardi, in 1230 (but in fact already documented in the 10th century) to the actual knowledge of its clinical and laboratory aspects. Initially considered exclusively of dermatological interest, the first to describe a systemic form with visceral involvement were Moriz Kohn Kaposi and William Osler. Significant contribution was also given by serological diagnosis, and in particular, by the identification of specific markers of disease, such as anti-native DNA and anti-Sm antibodies, allowing early diagnosis and the establishment of an adequate therapy

A Marxian Review of Gerontological Literature

A major concern for the sociology of aging and social gerontology is the lack of theoretical rigor. In particular, Birren and Bengtson (1988) describe all of social gerontology as data-rich but theory-poor. In an effort to deal with the lack of theory, this essay reviews the general social gerontology literature from a Marxian perspective. The findings suggest that the Marxian framework can illuminate aspects of social gerontology hitherto left unexamined in both the academic and applied arenas

Multi-wavelength visibility measurements of the red giant R Doradus

We present visibility measurements of the nearby Mira-like star R Doradus taken over a wide range of wavelengths (650--990 nm). The observations were made using MAPPIT (Masked APerture-Plane Interference Telescope), an interferometer operating at the 3.9-m Anglo-Australian Telescope. We used a slit to mask the telescope aperture and prism to disperse the interference pattern in wavelength. We observed in R Dor strong decreases in visibility within the TiO absorption bands. The results are in general agreement with theory but differ in detail, suggesting that further work is needed to refine the theoretical models.Comment: 8 pages; SPIE Conf. 4006 "Interferometry in Optical Astronomy