Mutual-Excitation of Cryptocurrency Market Returns and Social Media Topics

Cryptocurrencies have recently experienced a new wave of price volatility and interest; activity within social media communities relating to cryptocurrencies has increased significantly. There is currently limited documented knowledge of factors which could indicate future price movements. This paper aims to decipher relationships between cryptocurrency price changes and topic discussion on social media to provide, among other things, an understanding of which topics are indicative of future price movements. To achieve this a well-known dynamic topic modelling approach is applied to social media communication to retrieve information about the temporal occurrence of various topics. A Hawkes model is then applied to find interactions between topics and cryptocurrency prices. The results show particular topics tend to precede certain types of price movements, for example the discussion of 'risk and investment vs trading' being indicative of price falls, the discussion of 'substantial price movements' being indicative of volatility, and the discussion of 'fundamental cryptocurrency value' by technical communities being indicative of price rises. The knowledge of topic relationships gained here could be built into a real-time system, providing trading or alerting signals.Comment: 3rd International Conference on Knowledge Engineering and Applications (ICKEA 2018) - Moscow, Russia (June 25-27 2018

Not what anyone wanted: Observations on regulations, standards, quality and experience in the wake of Grenfell

While many factors will have contributed to the catastrophe at Grenfell Tower, it is clear that the structure itself behaved in a way that no one could possibly have intended. In this article the authors sample the bewildering and sometimes apparently contradictory directions provided by building regulations, and review how fire safety precautions, while seeming adequate on paper, can be undermined on contact with observed on-site practice

Virtual Site as an aid to first-year learning

Courses run by the School of the Built Environment have a range of entry requirements that enable diverse students and those with lower academic qualifications to gain entry. This results in a particular challenge for the Documentation & Estimating module, which is a very practical, skillsand competence-based module. It is delivered to large tutorial cohorts of mixed courses, abilities, ages and experience. Many students need one-toone guidance to understand what, practically, they have to do. They are given the theory first in a lecture and then have practical tutorials to carry out assessed exercises with limited tutor contact time. The module includes some basic surveying techniques and a levelling exercise which involves the transfer of a level from an assumed benchmark to establish a temporary benchmark some distance away. Many students have problems with computation of results. In spite of a careful introduction and explanation of the use of the instruments and techniques, many students find it difficult to visualise what is happening

Addressing the thermal performance gap: Possible performance control tools for the construction manager

Construction practice has failed to deliver buildings that consistently meet their expected thermal performance; however, examples of good practice do exist. Buildings can be designed and built within acceptable tolerances and meet nearly zero carbon standards. Unfortunately, due to the negative implications associated with the performance gap there have been attempts to divert attention from measurement, with some being critical of methods that were used to identify the variance in building performance. However, the tools have proven reliable and the practice of thermal measurement which was once limited to scientists is finding its place in industry. Measurement is becoming more accepted and different tools are being used to assess thermal performance. The tools can add value to inspections, building surveys and assist with quality control. Construction professionals, not least construction managers, are gaining valuable insights through research undertaken and observations gained. The tests reviewed provide new methods of capturing evidence on building performance, thus allowing valuable information on the quality of design, workmanship and process to be gained. Use of thermal measurement and analysis tools should result in further improvements to building performance. The data from major performance evaluation projects are reviewed and presente

Developing an End-User Data Capture Methodology

The aim of this research is to establish the extent to which end user requirements are communicated throughout the construction process. The method of inquiry is purely literature based. This research indicates that the perspectives of those involved in construction projects are widening. Whole life considerations are now requiring those with operational expertise and knowledge to be involved in decision making processes. In particular, design build and operate schemes, such as PFI developments, require facilities management involvement at an early stage to allow their operational knowledge to influence design and component decisions based on long term operational efficiencies. The increased use of BIM in such developments also compliments a collaborative approach by endorsing the involvement of those with specialist skills and sharing rich information in timely ways throughout the development project, from inception to operation. The process of arriving at ‘informed decisions’ is clearly complex due to the interactions of components relating to data, information and knowledge. This paper illustrates the need for effective communication of user requirements throughout the construction process. It demonstrates that provision for the capture of tangible data is reaching levels of maturity through the adoption of property asset management systems, platforms and tools. However, the paper raises awareness of the need for further research into how less tangible user requirements are obtained to ensure the ‘voice of the customer’ is heard, interpreted and communicated appropriately by construction specialists throughout the development phases

Adding value and meaning to coheating tests

Purpose: The coheating test is the standard method of measuring the heat loss coefficient of a building, but to be useful the test requires careful and thoughtful execution. Testing should take place in the context of additional investigations in order to achieve a good understanding of the building and a qualitative and (if possible) quantitative understanding of the reasons for any performance shortfall. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach: Leeds Metropolitan University has more than 20 years of experience in coheating testing. This experience is drawn upon to discuss practical factors which can affect the outcome, together with supporting tests and investigations which are often necessary in order to fully understand the results. Findings: If testing is approached using coheating as part of a suite of investigations, a much deeper understanding of the test building results. In some cases it is possible to identify and quantify the contributions of different factors which result in an overall performance shortfall. Practical implications: Although it is not practicable to use a fully investigative approach for large scale routine quality assurance, it is extremely useful for purposes such as validating other testing procedures, in-depth study of prototypes or detailed investigations where problems are known to exist. Social implications: Successful building performance testing is a vital tool to achieve energy saving targets. Originality/value: The approach discussed clarifies some of the technical pitfalls which may be encountered in the execution of coheating tests and points to ways in which the maximum value can be extracted from the test period, leading to a meaningful analysis of the building's overall thermal performance

External walls partially filled with insulation, and the potential to "top-up" the residual cavity.

This review found that the connecting voids in partially filled cavity walls leads to considerable variation in thermal performance. Whilst photographic records found considerable evidence of gaps in the insulation resulting from poor site practice and installation, research also shows that relatively small breaks between insulation sheets or gaps between the wall and insulation result in a thermal bypass. As the gaps and connecting voids increase air circulation, convection currents and pressure induced exchanges reduce the effectiveness of the thermal barrier. Where effective installation is possible, the topping up of partially filled cavity walls with insulation shows potential to improve the thermal performance of the wall. In the cases reviewed, the installation of blown mineral wool fill reduced variation in heat flow and increased thermal performance. By filling the voids with insulation the passage of air and thermal bypasses were restricted

Party Wall Cavity Barrier Effective Edge Seal Testing for ARC Building Solutions Ltd

ARC Building Solutions Ltd manufacture, market and distribute a range of party wall cavity barriers. Part L of the Building Regulations (HM Government, 2013) stipulates that when cavity barriers are used for edge sealing purposes, then the seal must be effective at restricting air flow between the party wall cavity and the external wall cavity or external environment (Figure 1). The Building Control Alliance (2011) describes how an edge seal is to be judged as being effective in a qualitative manner. However, there is currently no standard test for quantitatively demonstrating the effectiveness of edge sealing using a cavity barrier product. ARC Building Solutions Ltd wished to quantify the effectiveness of the edge seal that could be achieved using the Company’s products under test conditions. This information could prove useful when engaging designers, building control bodies and warranty providers. As there is currently no quantitative benchmark for what is deemed to be an effective edge seal this project aimed to compare the performance of a recognised ‘current practice’ solution against ARC Building Solutions Ltd.’s T-Barrier, and as far as possible compare these to an accepted effective edge seal for a number of different party wall and external wall cavity widths. In addition to this comparative testing, this project may also assist in the development and application of a standardised ‘Edge Seal Test’ for which there is understood to be no current standard or specific precedent. Whilst the test rig may not be fully representative of the actual construction of a party wall/external wall junction in situ, it is hoped that the results may provide insight as to how the performance of these products may compare in real building situations

Editorial: International Sustainable Ecological Engineering Design for Society (SEEDS) Conference 2018

Specialty section: This article was submitted to Sustainable Design and Construction, a section of the journal Frontiers in Built Environment</p