scholarly journals Transcending disciplines in architecture, structural and building services engineering: a new multidisciplinary educational approach

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonja Oliveira ◽  
Luke Olsen ◽  
Liora Malki-Epshtein ◽  
Dejan Mumovic ◽  
Dina D’Ayala
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Building Design ◽  
Mixed Data ◽  
Design Practice ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Educational Approach ◽  
Disciplinary Boundaries ◽  
Multidisciplinary Education ◽  
Building Services Engineering ◽  
Shed Light

AbstractThis paper reflects upon the mechanisms that enable development of curricular approaches to multidisciplinary architecture/engineering higher education. Building upon recent calls for integrated multidisciplinary building design practice, academics at UCL, industry partners and respective professional bodies embarked upon developing a new course that challenged disciplinary boundaries and defined the needs of a new design professional. Whilst there have been attempts internationally to better integrate architecture as well as engineering education, efforts have largely been focused on bolt-on solutions based on pre-existing education programmes. In addition, there has been little discussion (empirical or theoretical) on practical measures associated with developing multidisciplinary education in the built environment. Drawing on mixed data including documentary evidence, semi structured interviews and observations, the study begins to shed light on the approaches underpinning the development of a multidisciplinary built environment MEng course at UCL that integrates architecture, building services and civil engineering. The paper’s contribution is threefold. First, the findings have implications for developing multidisciplinary built environment education curricula, through revealing key mechanisms including the need for shared attitudes and expectations. Second, the paper highlights the conditions that enable the negotiation of multidisciplinary curricula including institutional support, shared values and a collective need and willingness to explore new solutions. Third, the paper reflects upon the value of design studio learning as a critical integrative component to the delivery of multidisciplinary education in the built environment and STEM more widely.

scholarly journals The Exclusive Nature of Inclusive Productive Employment in the Rural Areas of Northern Ethiopia

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 1044-1060 ◽  
Author(s):  
Crelis F Rammelt ◽  
Maggi Leung ◽  
Kebede Manjur Gebru
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Development Policy ◽  
Northern Ethiopia ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Sociology Of Work ◽  
Poverty Threshold ◽  
Self Reliance ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Productive Employment

Inclusiveness, with its emphasis on productive employment, has become central in development policy. From this perspective, unwaged-work is condemned for not being sufficiently productive; that is, for failing to lift incomes above a poverty threshold. However, insights from the sociology of work reveal a range of unwaged activities that are potentially highly productive in their contribution to self-reliance. The article explores whether these activities are undermined by the promotion of inclusiveness. The case study takes place in Tigray, Ethiopia. Through semi-structured interviews, the activities of different households were classified according to a typology of work based on the work of Gorz, Illich, Wheelock, Taylor, Williams and others. Results show the heterogeneous character of work and shed light on the meaning of productivity. The article ends with a discussion on the risk that inclusiveness may be achieved by replacing activities ‘that count’ with activities ‘that can be counted’.

scholarly journals Teachers’ Use of Education Dashboards and Professional Growth

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 61-78
Author(s):  
Shiran Michaeli ◽  
Dror Kroparo ◽  
Arnon Hershkovitz
Keyword(s):  
Elementary School Teachers ◽  
Professional Growth ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Visual Aids ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
School Teachers ◽  
Online Learning Environments ◽  
Iste Standards ◽  
Data Driven Decisions ◽  
Shed Light

Education dashboards are a means to present various stakeholders with information about learners, most commonly regarding the learners’ activity in online learning environments. Typically, an education dashboard for teachers will include some type of visual aids that encourage teachers to reflect upon learner behavior patterns and to act in accordance to it. In practice, this tool can assist teachers to make data-driven decisions, thus supporting their professional growth, however, so far, the use of education dashboards by teachers has been greatly understudied. In this research we report on two studies related to the associations between the use of education dashboards by elementary school teachers and the teachers’ professional growth. We used the framework defined by the International Society for Technology in Education’s (ISTE) Standards for Educators. In the first study, we took a quantitative approach (N=52 teachers), using an online self-report questionnaire, and found that the use of dashboards is positively associated with professional growth in the dimensions of facilitator, analyst, designer, and citizen. In the second study, we took a qualitative approach (N=9 teachers), using semi-structured interviews, to shed light on the mechanisms through which teachers benefit from the use of education dashboards.

Sarajevo and the Sarajevo Sephardim

2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (5) ◽  
pp. 892-910
Author(s):  
Jonna Rock
Keyword(s):  
Identity Formation ◽  
Fifteenth Century ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Jewish Identification ◽  
The Status ◽  
Late Fifteenth ◽  
And Function ◽  
Role And Function ◽  
Shed Light

This article highlights issues pertaining to the Sephardim ([-im] is the masculine plural Hebrew ending and Sepharad is the Hebrew name for Spain. Sephardim thus literally means the Jews of Spain) in Sarajevo from the time of their arrival in the Ottoman Empire in the late fifteenth century until the present day. I describe the status quo for the Sephardi minority in post-Ottoman Sarajevo, in the first and second Yugoslavia, and in today's post-Communist Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The objective is to shed light on how historic preconditions have influenced identity formation as it expresses itself from a Sephardic perspective. The aim is moreover to generate knowledge of the circumstances that affected how Sephardim came to understand themselves in terms of their Jewish identification. I present empirical findings from my semi-structured interviews with Sarajevo Sephardim of different generations (2015 and 2016). I argue that while none of the interlocutors conceive of Jewish identification as divergent from halachic interpretations of matrilineal descent, they moreover propose other conceptions of what it means to be Jewish, such as celebrating Shabbat and other Jewish holidays, and other patterns of socialization. At the same time, these individuals also assert alternative forms of being Bosnian, one that includes multiple ethnicities, and multiple religious ascriptions. This study elucidates a little-explored history and sheds light on the ways in which historical conditions have shaped contemporary, layered framings of identification among Sarajevo's current Jewish population. This article is relevant for those interested in contemporary Sephardic Bosnian culture and in the role and function of ideology in creating conditions for identity formation and transformation.

scholarly journals BARRIERS TO TRANSIT MOBILITY AND WELL-BEING AMONG LATE-LIFE ASIAN INDIAN IMMIGRANTS

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S365-S365
Author(s):  
Rupal Parekh
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Asian Indian ◽  
Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Late Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Sustainable Transportation ◽  
Religious Activities ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Indian Immigrants

Abstract Using qualitative interpretative phenomenological analysis and semi-structured interviews, we explored transit mobility needs and its impact on well-being and quality of life among late-life Asian Indian immigrants. Using inductive and deductive methods, we analyzed qualitative data collected from 18 participants. Four themes emerged specific to the influence of contextual factors on transportation mobility barriers among participants. Findings suggest that cultural and individual attitudes combined with the ‘built environment’ hinder participation at the temple and other cultural and religious activities and increase dependence on adult children. The reciprocal fit between transit mobility needs, access to culturally familiar environments and the built environment is critical to freedom, independence, and healthy aging for diverse older adults. Research at the intersection of global aging and transportation mobility requires equal grounding in a range of justice principles (environmental, social, and economic) in the pursuit of sustainable transportation options for diverse older adult populations.

scholarly journals A Building Information Modelling (BIM) based Water Efficiency (BWe) Framework for Sustainable Building Design and Construction Management

Electronics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 599 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhen Liu ◽  
Chao Zhang ◽  
Yuanxiang Guo ◽  
Mohamed Osmani ◽  
Peter Demian
Keyword(s):  
Information Integration ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Building Design ◽  
Water Efficiency ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Building Information Modelling ◽  
Building Projects ◽  
Information Modelling ◽  
Building Information ◽  
Design And Construction

There is a lack of decision-making tools for water efficiency design and construction to maximize project benefits and water conservation. An increasing number of research studies indicate that building information modelling (BIM) can enhance the cooperation, improve work efficiency, and conduct simulation and analysis of sustainability performance in building projects. However, BIM’s potential to enhance water efficiency is yet to be established, such as water gird design optimization, clash detection, combination of BIM with smart appliances and sensors. The research adopted a mixed method approach to investigate the potential impact of BIM on water efficiency in building projects. It involved 50 practitioners from the Architectural, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry through a questionnaire survey and the follow-up interviews. The quantitative results of questionnaire data and qualitative results of interviews were used to develop a “BIM-based Water Efficiency (BWe) Framework” which was subsequently validated by five experienced practitioners and researchers in the form of semi-structured interviews. The framework applies BIM to optimize traditional water efficiency measures based on an information database. The geometry, attributes, status information of building components or non-component objects stored in the database greatly improve information integration degree of construction engineering. This study provided a reference for the use of BIM for water conservation in building design and construction.

scholarly journals Life cycle costing: evaluating its use in UK practice

2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Higham ◽  
Chris Fortune ◽  
Howard James
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Project Evaluation ◽  
Life Cycle Costing ◽  
Evaluation Tool ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Uk

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to establish the extent to which life cycle costing (LCC) is used as an early stage project evaluation tool by practitioners in the UK construction industry. The use of this evaluation tool has long been advocated by academics as a means of ensuring best value rather than lowest cost is a driver for business decisions related to potential built environment projects. Therefore there is a need to appraise its current uptake levels amongst built environment professionals and assess whether there are any barriers affecting its use in UK practice. Design/methodology/approach – Using a mixed methods approach, the authors present the findings from a survey of construction professionals located in the UK and the results from a series of follow up semi-structured interviews designed to further explore the factors found to affect the use of LCC in practice. Findings – The study shows that LCC is still not widely used by built environment professionals in the UK. The greatest inhibitor on the take up of the tool is the need of clients to budget on short-term horizons. Other factors such as a lack awareness of the tool by practitioners and clients, unreliability of data into the long term and the overriding need for commercially driven projects to achieve maximum return on investment continue to inhibit the widespread adoption of LCC as an early stage project evaluation tool. These findings have implications for the capability of the UK construction industry to deliver on its commitment to enhance the sustainability of the built environment. Originality/value – The paper offers insights into the current use of LCC and the factors affecting its use in the UK.

Evolution of seismic building design practice in Japan

1998 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Whittaker ◽  
Jack Moehle ◽  
Masahiko Higashino
Keyword(s):  
Building Design ◽  
Design Practice

Informing sustainable building design

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 194-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathilde Landgren ◽  
Signe Skovmand Jakobsen ◽  
Birthe Wohlenberg ◽  
Lotte Bjerregaard Jensen
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Integrated Design ◽  
Building Design ◽  
Design Teams ◽  
Design Decisions ◽  
Sustainable Building ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Interdisciplinary Design

Purpose In recent decades there has been a focus on reducing the overall emissions from the built environment, which increases the complexity of the building design process. More specialized knowledge, a greater common understanding and more cooperation between the stakeholders are required. Interdisciplinary design teams need simple and intuitive means of communication. Architects and engineers are starting to increase their focus on improving interdisciplinary communication, but it is often unclear how to do so. The purpose of this paper is to define the impact of visually communicating engineering knowledge to architects in an interdisciplinary design team and to define how quantifying architectural design decisions have an impact during the early phases of sustainable building design. Design/methodology/approach This work is based on a study of extensive project materials consisting of presentations, reports, simulation results and case studies. The material is made available by one of the largest European Engineering Consultancies and by a large architectural office in the field of sustainable architecture in Denmark. The project material is used for mapping communication concepts from practice. Findings It is demonstrated that visual communication by engineers increases the level of technical knowledge in the design decisions made by architects. This is essential in order to reach the goal of designing buildings with low environmental impact. Conversely, quantification of architectural quality improved the engineer’s acceptance of the architects’ proposals. Originality/value This paper produces new knowledge through the case study processes performed. The main points are presented as clearly as possible; however, it should be stressed that it is only the top of the iceberg. In all, 17 extensive case studies design processes were performed with various design teams by the 3 authors of the paper Mathilde, Birthe and Signe. The companies that provided the framework for the cases are leading in Europe within sustainability in the built environment, and in the case of Sweco also in regards to size (number of employees). Data are thus first hand and developed by the researchers and authors of this paper, with explicit consent from the industry partners involved as well as assoc. Professor Lotte B. Jensen Technical University of Denmark (DTU). This material is in the DTU servers and is in the PhD dissertation by Mathilde Landgren (successful defence was in January 2019). The observations and reflection is presented in selected significant case examples. The methods are descriped in detail, and if further information on method is required a more in depth description is found in Mathilde Landgrens PhD Dissertation. There is a lack in existing literature of the effect of visualisation in interdisciplinary design teams and though the literature (e.g. guidelines) of integrated design is extensive, there is not much published on this essential part of an integrated design process.

A Pilot Study to Explore Novice Debriefers’ Post-Simulation Debriefing Experiences

2020 ◽  
pp. 104687812097099
Author(s):  
Grace Ng ◽  
Daniel M. Lugassy
Keyword(s):  
Faculty Development ◽  
Skill Acquisition ◽  
Health Professions ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Roles And Responsibilities ◽  
Learner Participation ◽  
Simulation Based ◽  
Data Saturation ◽  
Study Participants ◽  
Shed Light

Introduction. Effective debriefing of simulation-based experiences is critical for learning. Approximately 33% of health professions instructors are debriefing novices. However, specific faculty development needs of novice debriefers has not been studied. This study examines how health professions instructors approach debriefing when they are new to debriefing simulation-based experiences. Methods. This pilot qualitative study used a thematic analysis approach to explore novice debriefers’ experiences in conducting post-simulation debriefings. Eligible participants engaged in one-hour semi-structured interviews. Recruitment continued until data saturation was reached. We reviewed verbatim interview transcripts, hand-coded the data, and formed codes into themes. Results. Nine novice debriefers participated. The overarching theme “I’m on my own…and they’re on their own,” reflects debriefers’ view that they are on their own, without resources. Debriefers also believe learners should identifying their own errors. Three main themes emerged: “Deep divide between me and the learners” portrays a separation between debriefers and learners in terms of expectations, roles, and responsibilities. “Winging it” depicts debriefers’ making-up their own debriefing approaches. “Debriefing quality: missing pieces of the puzzle” portrays novice debriefers unaware of criteria for effective debriefing. Conclusions. Novice debriefers in this study perceived that they were on their own, having little to no debriefing training and mentorship. Study participants expressed debriefing struggles in several areas including discussing errors, facilitating learner participation, and assessing debriefing quality. Our findings shed light on simulation as a growing specialty by health profession educators and it is critical that resources are devoted to faculty development for debriefing skill acquisition. These findings can serve as a basis for future studies on debriefer skill acquisition.

Kweneng: A Newly Discovered Pre-Colonial Capital Near Johannesburg

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karim Sadr
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Preliminary Report ◽  
Urban Society ◽  
Architectural Style ◽  
N Compounds ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Northern Sector

Abstract Kweneng is an extensive aggregation of stone-walled ruins that represent a pre-colonial Tswana capital. It is located 30 km south of today’s Johannesburg. The Molokwane architectural style predominates at this site. This style dates from around the mid- eighteenth to the mid- nineteenth centuries AD. The northern sector of Kweneng contains some structures in an architectural style from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries AD. Scattered here and there on the fringes of Kweneng are Type N compounds, which represent the oldest architectural style in this region and date to the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries AD. With a long sequence from formation to collapse, Kweneng will shed light not only on the birth of complex urban society in this region, but also in more distant times and places where the evidence might be considerably less intact. This preliminary report introduces the site and the principal features of its built environment.

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