Search results

1 – 10 of over 16000
Article
Publication date: 9 September 2014

A.H. Buckman, M. Mayfield and Stephen B.M. Beck

Within the building sector a lack of clarity in terminology does not help designers, clients or researchers. Non-domestic buildings have shown rapid increases in the use of…

29224

Abstract

Purpose

Within the building sector a lack of clarity in terminology does not help designers, clients or researchers. Non-domestic buildings have shown rapid increases in the use of advanced technology and control systems with varying drivers, many of which are labelled as intelligent. The term smart has been used interchangeably with intelligent without any clear distinction between the two. If the term Smart Buildings represented a separate, more advanced grouping, it would provide an opportunity to focus the future progress of non-domestic building development. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing upon academic and industrial literature and experience, this paper reviews the scope of Intelligent Buildings and the current available definitions of Smart Buildings to form a clear definition of both smart and Intelligent Buildings.

Findings

These definitions define the border between the intelligent and the (more advanced) Smart Building. The upper bound of the Smart Building is defined by (the future development of) the predictive building.

Originality/value

This work provides a clear focus which will allow the progression of the non-domestic building sector by providing guidance and aspiration, as well as providing a platform upon which a large amount of technical work can be based.

Details

Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, vol. 3 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-6099

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 May 2019

Valentina Putrino and Dina D’Ayala

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the dynamics of the evolution of damage to the residential buildings within the city walls of Norcia during the six-month seismic swarm…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the dynamics of the evolution of damage to the residential buildings within the city walls of Norcia during the six-month seismic swarm that hit Central Italy in the period 24th August 2016 to end of January 2019. This is accomplished by comparing the damage recorded by the Italian Civil Protection usability form (AEDES form) during this period after each event.

Design/methodology/approach

First, these outputs are compared with a qualitative assessment conducted by means of omnidirectional camera (ODC) imagery collected on site by the authors, to explore the ability of this technology to support post-earthquake damage assessment. The damage level attributed with these two techniques is then further compared with the output of the analytical vulnerability assessment method FaMIVE, which allows to correlate damage to vulnerability. Specifically, the objective is to investigate the efficacy and performance of historic and recent strengthening interventions.

Findings

Results show that there is a good correspondence between AeDES and ODC assessments for low to medium damage grades (DG). Discrepancies in higher DGs are discussed in light of the different levels of information that can be recorded by using the two tools. The efficacy of strengthening is also well captured by the FaMIVE method. The procedure estimates a decrease of almost 40, 25 and 20 per cent of the total number of buildings failing out-of-plane, respectively, for the three seismic events considered, when restraining elements are in action.

Research limitations/implications

The analysis conducted in this work make use of deterministic values of Norcia’s masonry fabric characteristics that have been found in literature, thus implying that neither the probabilistic aspects nor the related uncertainties have been properly investigated and addressed. However, this limitation is to be considered within the more general context of the legislation for the preservation of historic buildings which limits substantially any type of semi-destructive tests, hence limiting the reliability of the values available in literature. This in turn affects the decisions informing the design and implementation of strengthening interventions which can be confidently considered reliable and effective.

Originality/value

The paper addresses for the first time a systematic investigation of damage progression in historic masonry structures, part of urban aggregates in heritage cities. The current urban fabric is discussed in view of historic building codes as the basis for determining the present seismic vulnerability of the historic city centre of Norcia. The study provides new data sets for the city of Norcia and develops a statistical correlation between cumulative damage and analytical vulnerability functions for heritage buildings exposed to a swarm of earthquakes. The analytical assessment of the effect of historic strengthening is totally novel.

Details

Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal, vol. 29 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0965-3562

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 April 2023

Yigal Rosen, Garrett Jaeger, Michelle Newstadt, Sara Bakken, Ilia Rushkin, Maneeza Dawood and Chris Purifoy

Despite the fact that research on creativity and cognition have garnered the attention of researchers and practitioners for decades, there is a lack of valid, reliable, and…

Abstract

Purpose

Despite the fact that research on creativity and cognition have garnered the attention of researchers and practitioners for decades, there is a lack of valid, reliable, and accessible instruments for enhancing and measuring these critical skills. Leveraging research from The LEGO Foundation and in collaboration with BrainPOP and the Learning Economy Foundation, this paper introduces an assessment framework for holistic skills and reports evidence from the 2022 validation study.

Design/methodology/approach

The complexities associated with both competencies such as multidimensionality, authenticity, and domain specificity pose a major issue for its measurement and credentialing. This paper provides evidence-based insights on promising ways to measure and provide actionable insights on holistic skills.

Findings

Preliminary evidence supports the assessment framework for holistic skills.

Research limitations/implications

Future directions for further development of the assessment are discussed.

Practical implications

The framework should also be of help for practitioners looking for research-based guiding principles for the design of learning-through-play activities aimed to help develop holistic skills across a wide range of digital, physical, and hybrid modalities.

Social implications

The framework provides new instruments and insights for evaluating the social and educational impact of learning-through-play programs and initiatives.

Originality/value

The learning progressions and formative assessment for holistic skills development are novel and clearly needed in research and practice of learning-through-play.

Details

The International Journal of Information and Learning Technology, vol. 40 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-4880

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 August 2019

Mary Lundberg, Susanne Engström and Helena Lidelöw

In the construction industry, it has proven difficult to implement and realize innovation efforts, for example in the development of industrialized construction and use of…

Abstract

Purpose

In the construction industry, it has proven difficult to implement and realize innovation efforts, for example in the development of industrialized construction and use of platform concepts. Thus, the purpose of this study is to characterize the innovation diffusion process in the social system of a large Swedish contractor company. Specifically, the diffusion of three innovative industrialized house-building (IHB) platforms and factors affecting their adoption and implementation (particularly effects of their perceived radicality in relation to the company’s decentralized characteristics) are identified and discussed.

Design/methodology/approach

A case study approach was applied, using empirical material including semi-structured interviews and archival records (research reports from earlier studies at different points in time related to each innovation and annual corporate reports). The material was analyzed using Rogers’ (2003) five-stage innovation process model, acknowledging the importance of social systems’ structures.

Findings

Structural characteristics of the social system strongly affect innovation diffusion. In subsystems that had not been involved in initiation of the innovations, they were regarded as radical, which hindered their adoption and implementation.

Research limitations/implications

This study builds upon the recent findings that successful innovation implementation depends on a range of contingencies in the construction context. Although the diffusion of the innovations per se has been traced over a ten-year period, generalizability is limited because the results come from one construction company.

Practical implications

Contractors have invested substantially in the development of industrialized construction and use of platform concepts, but less in their implementation, so they have obtained little gain. How innovations are perceived and implemented in different subsystems affects the success of their implementation in the overarching social system.

Originality/value

This study adheres to previous calls for more research on firm level in the complex social system of construction companies by adopting a ten-year perspective on the diffusion of innovation at a large contractor addressing in particular the impact of the innovations perceived radicality in relation to the decentralized characteristics of the company.

Details

Construction Innovation , vol. 19 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1471-4175

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 4 December 2012

Dorte Madsen

Purpose — The chapter discusses the challenges of developing a three year bachelor's programme in information management. The argument focuses on creating a programme that (1…

Abstract

Purpose — The chapter discusses the challenges of developing a three year bachelor's programme in information management. The argument focuses on creating a programme that (1) facilitates cooperation with the business community, (2) represents a coherent whole that fosters student identity and (3) provides an explanatory framework for information management.

Design/methodology/approach — A model for curriculum development is presented which takes its starting point in the business community's perception of the graduates’ future practice. Interdisciplinary theory, and its continuum of integration from multidisciplinarity to interdisciplinarity to transdisciplinary is applied as the backbone of the programme structure, and its role in creating progression is discussed, together with the importance of problem-oriented work, and the interplay between problem-based and discipline-based elements of the programme. The information management programme distinguishes between ‘information management’ as an umbrella term for the whole programme and ‘information management’ in a more narrow and discipline-specific perspective rooted in information science.

Findings — It is shown how the programme elements (projects, internship, semester themes and courses) are combined so that each single element contributes to gradually build up a holistic view of information processes and practices in organisations. The underlying structure of the programme contributes to a coherent, theoretically based explanatory framework for information management.

Practical implications — The chapter describes benefits and challenges of interdisciplinary curriculum development and may be provide inspiration for curriculum developers.

Originality/value — Interdisciplinary theory may be useful to respond to the challenges of engaging several disciplines in the information management field. It is suggested that multidisciplinarity may be supplemented or replaced by more interdisciplinary approaches in the future.

Details

Library and Information Science Trends and Research: Europe
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78052-714-7

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 June 2024

Georgia Till, Iduna Shah-Beckley, Joel Harvey and Maisie Kells

A key aspect of psychologically informed planned environments (PIPEs), are the attachment theory-informed relationships between residents and staff (Bainbridge, 2017). The…

Abstract

Purpose

A key aspect of psychologically informed planned environments (PIPEs), are the attachment theory-informed relationships between residents and staff (Bainbridge, 2017). The key-work provision of one-to-one support from officers to residents is one of the main ways through which relationships are formed. The purpose of this paper is to explore prison officers’ experiences of the key-work role within a PIPE in a women’s Prison in England.

Design/methodology/approach

Semi-structured interviews explored ten prison officers’ experiences. Interviews were analysed using thematic analysis.

Findings

Five main themes were identified; “Professional support”, “Negotiating Professional Boundaries”, “A Successful Relationship”, “Rupture and Repair” and “Growth for Everyone”. These themes reflected the framework around keywork; what support officers need to cope with the emotional demands of the role, and how to manage challenging situations and build meaningful key-work relationships.

Research limitations/implications

Limitations include the lack of focus on diversity, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on officer experience and applicability to other PIPE services. Future research could address some of these limitations.

Practical implications

Practical implications highlight the need for consistent supervision, greater consideration of officers’ transition to the role and trauma-informed training.

Originality/value

The research provides an unprecedented account of prison officers’ experiences of the key-work role, adding to the limited literature within PIPEs in the women’s estate. The supportive nature of the key-work relationship was perceived by officers to contribute towards people’s sentence progression and officers’ personal and professional development.

Details

The Journal of Forensic Practice, vol. 26 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-8794

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 January 2010

Liz Doherty and Simonetta Manfredi

The overall purpose of the paper is to understand the barriers to women's progression to senior positions in universities. It aims to explore similarities and differences between…

3284

Abstract

Purpose

The overall purpose of the paper is to understand the barriers to women's progression to senior positions in universities. It aims to explore similarities and differences between the career experiences and leadership styles of men and women in middle‐ and senior‐level positions at one university. The ultimate aim is to identify interventions to help create a more equal gender balance at senior levels.

Design/methodology/approach

A mixed methods approach was adopted. In‐depth interviews were conducted with a quota sample of 53 men and women in order to explore their lived career experiences. In addition, 50 questionnaires were received from the same sample in order to compare factual data about the participants' life histories and biographical circumstances.

Findings

The findings show that women's human capital and career progression to date are at least equal to those of men and that this has been achieved without women sacrificing a holistic family life. They also show that there are still some important differences between men and women in the way they plan and manage their careers and the leadership style that they adopt.

Practical implications

A five‐level framework is proposed which sets down the types of intervention that are required to create a more equal gender balance in senior positions. It is argued that this should be used to shape the gender equality schemes developed in universities under the Gender Equality Duty.

Originality/value

The paper provides new evidence about the residual differences between men's and women's career experiences, even in an employment context, which is particularly supportive of women. It also makes a significant contribution to the debate about the gendered nature of leadership.

Details

Employee Relations, vol. 32 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0142-5455

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 December 2023

Kyung Wook Seo and Dong Yoon Kim

Analysis of architectural space is commonly conducted by examining architectural drawings that project spatial information by means of walls and partitions. To capture the lived…

Abstract

Purpose

Analysis of architectural space is commonly conducted by examining architectural drawings that project spatial information by means of walls and partitions. To capture the lived experience of space, which is richer than what we can see from drawings, a new method is proposed to quantify the cognitive dimension of space and re-present it as an audible format.

Design/methodology/approach

Using an urban vernacular house in Seoul as a case study, this research takes a syntactic approach to quantify one's changing perception through their movement from the main gate to the most private reception room. Based on Luigi Moretti's theory of hollow space, a new method is proposed to measure the level of spatial pressure exerted on a navigating body. The numerical data of spatial pressure are then converted to a sound using musical techniques of the chromatic scale and chorale textures.

Findings

Building on Moretti's abstract concept, it has been shown that a rule-based quantification of users' spatial perception is possible. In addition, unlike conventional approaches of treating architecture as a static entity, this study showed an alternative approach to represent it as a sequence of sensorial experience that can be readily converted to a sound of music.

Originality/value

This research developed a quantification method to measure the perception of pressure inside buildings by revisiting Luigi Moretti's theory proposed in 1952. It has been also demonstrated that the visual stimuli in space can be translated into an audible experience. This new method is applicable to a wide range of buildings including important historic architecture.

Details

Archnet-IJAR: International Journal of Architectural Research, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2631-6862

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 November 2023

Nicola Sum, Reshmi Lahiri-Roy and Nish Belford

Identity, positioning and possibilities intersect differently for South Asian women in white academia. Within a broader migrant community that defines Australian life, these…

Abstract

Purpose

Identity, positioning and possibilities intersect differently for South Asian women in white academia. Within a broader migrant community that defines Australian life, these identities and positioning imply great possibility, but pursuing such pathways within academia is a walk on the last strand of resilience. This paper explores this tension of possibilities and constraints, using hope theory to highlight the cognitive resistance evident in the narratives of three South Asian women in Australian academia.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use collaborative autoethnography to share their narratives of working in Australian universities at three different stages of careers, utilising Snyder's model of hope theory to interrogate their own goal-setting behaviours, pathways and agentic thinking.

Findings

The authors propose that hope as a cognitive state informs resistance and enables aspirations to contribute within academia in meaningful ways whilst navigating the terrain of inequitable structures.

Originality/value

The authors' use of hope theory as a lens on the intersectional experiences of career making, building and progression is a new contribution to scholarship on marginalised women in white academe and the ways in which the pathways of resistance are identified.

Details

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-7149

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 1997

Margaret A. Noble

Compares and contrasts the competitive priorities (manufacturing capabilities) of high‐ and low‐productivity firms, from the perspective of the cumulative model for manufacturing…

2397

Abstract

Compares and contrasts the competitive priorities (manufacturing capabilities) of high‐ and low‐productivity firms, from the perspective of the cumulative model for manufacturing competitiveness by using various statistical tests. Contends that the analysis of 561 firms worldwide demonstrates clearly differences in manufacturing strategy between the two productivity subsets, one of which is that better performing firms are the more likely to address multiple capabilities simultaneously; another is that these firms appear to have the more clearly defined competitive strategies. The high‐productivity firms are thus more supportive than are the low‐productivity firms of the cumulative model. Also discusses other findings.

Details

International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 17 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3577

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 16000