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1 – 10 of over 1000Hussein I. Abdel‐Shafy, Werner Hegemann and Elke Genschow
In this study tannery industrial wastewater was supplied from aleather industry plant in the south of Germany. An anaerobic pilot plantwas erected for the treatment of…
Abstract
In this study tannery industrial wastewater was supplied from a leather industry plant in the south of Germany. An anaerobic pilot plant was erected for the treatment of this wastewater. Discusses the effect of such an anaerobic process with special reference to the fate of chronium and the other associated heavy metals throughout the process. The studied metals were Cr, Cd, Pb, Ni, Cu, Fe and Zn. The elimination rate of these metals throughout the anaerobic processes from the wastewater and the increasing rate of metal correlations in the sludge were studied extensively. Levels of Cr, Cu, Fe, Cd, Ni, Pb and Zn in the raw wastewater after acidification were 33.72, 0.13, 1.82, 0.06, 0.19, 0.21 and 1.07 mg/l respectively. In the sludge the levels were 6,296, 16, 141, 31, 12.4, 23 and 94 mg/kg dry weight respectively. The levels of these metals were decreased by stabilization. The overall results revealed that a remarkable decrease has been achieved in the reduction level of metals in the final wastewater. The elimination of such metals reached 98 per cent for Cr, 53.8 per cent for Cu, 81.3 per cent for Fe, 16.7 per cent for Cd, 21.1 per cent for Ni, 72.9 per cent for Zn. On the other hand, such metals were concentrated in the sludge, on the dry weight basis, up to the levels of 13,193 mg Cr/kg, 27.7 mg Cu/kg, 348 mg Fe/kg, 3.2 mg Cd/kg, 13.7 mg Ni/kg, 28 mg Pb/kg and 110 mg Zn/kg. Meanwhile, the studied anaerobic process exhibited significant improvement in the quality of the tannery wastewater to meet the guideline characteristics. However, the partial high level of Cr (III) and the other associated metals in the produced sludge strongly militate against the use of such tannery sludges as manure in agriculture.
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José Luis Salvatierra, Miguel Ángel Gálvez, Freddy Bastías, Tito Castillo, Rodrigo Fernando Herrera and Luis Fernando Alarcón
The construction industry’s business model is mainly based on the interaction among the architecture office, the engineering office and the construction company. The…
Abstract
Purpose
The construction industry’s business model is mainly based on the interaction among the architecture office, the engineering office and the construction company. The performance and practices of architects’ offices, unlike those of the other actors, are difficult to characterize and there have been few studies on these issues. To better understand architects’ performance, the purpose of this paper is to develop a benchmarking tool based on real practices identified by managers of Chilean architecture offices.
Design/methodology/approach
The research method includes a complete literature review, followed by a study of a sample of nine Chilean architecture offices, with whom a series of four workshops was developed, to establish both performance indicators and relevant management practices. Finally, these metrics were applied in an architectural office as a pilot case.
Findings
Four management dimensions were defined: client management, external coordination, internal organization and human resources. Key performance indicators were divided into process, financial and quality indicators. The workshops carried out with the architectural offices demonstrated the relevance of benchmarking tools such as the one developed, which enables the systematic measurement of both management practices and performance indicators.
Originality/value
Although there have been several efforts to create benchmarking tools for the construction industry, few efforts have focused on architecture offices. Therefore, this research aims to explicitly identify management practices that can be used for this type of organization and to coordinate among multiple actors to find the best way to measure their performance, other than the fulfilment of schedules and budgets.
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With the proliferation of environmental science literature during the past two decades, librarians find it increasingly difficult to determine which sources of information…
Abstract
With the proliferation of environmental science literature during the past two decades, librarians find it increasingly difficult to determine which sources of information are relevant to their clientele. This difficulty is compounded for the non‐science librarian by a lack of familiarity with journals currently available and the decidedly technical language of most environmental science publications. There are, however, a wide range of periodicals which are appropriate for informed readers at academic university libraries and public libraries that offer a wealth of information on the environmental sciences. It is this type of publication that will be identified in this annotated bibliography. As with all selected bibliographies, it does not attempt to identify all environmental science journal titles that may be used in an academic university library or public library. Titles selected will be those thought to be appropriate for the informed reader.
Donnice Cochenour and Joel S. Rutstein
Lawrence Clark Powell's words describe the premise of this article:
THE exact date of the first foundation of the library is not discoverable, but it was within the first two years of the formation of the Medico‐Chirurgical Society…
Abstract
THE exact date of the first foundation of the library is not discoverable, but it was within the first two years of the formation of the Medico‐Chirurgical Society (1805–1807), as a Library Committee was appointed as early as March, 1807.
THE Classification of Technology has long been a fruitful source of controversy and discussion, and the problems presented by such discussions are becoming more prominent…
Abstract
THE Classification of Technology has long been a fruitful source of controversy and discussion, and the problems presented by such discussions are becoming more prominent every day and are among the most interesting to the librarian with a speculative turn of mind. Dr. Richardson in his synthesis of classification arrives at the conclusion that the order of knowledge is the order of things, and that the order of classification is the order of things. Therefore the correct order or arrangement of Technology should follow the same order as that placed before us by Dr. Richardson. To make provision for the better and more systematic classification of Technology for the student and craftsman is the office and responsibility of the librarian.
Nathalia de Paula and Silvio Melhado
The objective of this paper is to draw up management guidelines on environmental sustainability for architectural and engineering design firms.
Abstract
Purpose
The objective of this paper is to draw up management guidelines on environmental sustainability for architectural and engineering design firms.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is derived from a research experience between 2010 and 2018. That experience comes from three source sets: Management Development Program for Design Firms from the Research Line of Management Design, Department of Civil Construction Engineering, University of São Paulo in Brazil; papers including a doctoral thesis; and literature review. Revisiting and investigating processes were conducted by research questions, resulting in lessons learned, management difficulties and guidelines.
Findings
The guidelines were drawn up from a strategic sphere, understanding internal and external factors to the firm, diagnosis of the firm's management and sustainability, a building sustainability plan, implications of the plan for management processes, plan monitoring and control and plan evaluation.
Research limitations/implications
The studies were mostly conducted in Brazil, and one of them in the USA. Other studies could be carried out in other countries comparing findings or implementing the guidelines.
Practical implications
The findings will provide feedback to Management Development Program for Design Firms (PDGEP) in the action research method. Moreover, the knowledge about firm's capabilities can advance understanding of architectural and engineering (AE) design firm management as support for sustainability, performance and building information modeling (BIM).
Originality/value
Architectural and engineering design firms are hardly discussed; design is treated in the building project context, giving prominence to technical solutions, not to management ones.
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In this study, I analyze two Brazilian experiences, their main characteristics and quandaries in Brazil. I collect and analyze social–historical documents and statistic…
Abstract
In this study, I analyze two Brazilian experiences, their main characteristics and quandaries in Brazil. I collect and analyze social–historical documents and statistic data related to the Program of Indigenous Inclusion (PROIND) and University For All Program (PROUNI). It was noticed that both the experiences have contributed for the growth in school registrations of college students from sub-represented ethnical groups, and there was an increase of cultural diversity; although there were marks of resistance from some students and professors, these marks have been overcome by the perseverance and success obtained by those who have been contemplated by these programs.
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Environmental engineering is primarily concerned with the application of technology to the urgent tasks of cleaning up our environment. Its practitioners generally attempt…
Abstract
Environmental engineering is primarily concerned with the application of technology to the urgent tasks of cleaning up our environment. Its practitioners generally attempt to cope with the problems of streams and waterways polluted by sewage and industrial waste, oceans damaged by oil spills and sewage sludge dumpings, air polluted with noxious fumes and land abused by solid waste disposal. But that is not all that they do. The recent energy crisis has sharply brought into focus the need for alternate energy strategies, including energy extraction from solid waste. Under current estimates, the United States will produce approximately 340 million tons of solid waste by 1980. This is equivalent to one ton of solid waste per person per year. The most widely used methods of waste disposal right now are dumping, incineration and sanitary landfill. They are expensive and they cause pollution. Instead, solid waste can be burned to produce steam which can be used for heating or to generate electricity. It can also be converted to pyrolysis gas or oil, which can be stored or transported. It is from this standpoint that environmental engineering assumes considerable importance. A report which presents an overview of the state of the art in this area is the Resource Recovery from Municipal Solid Waste. Other pertinent guides include Energy from Solid Waste, Conversion of Refuse to Energy, Recycling and Reclaiming of Municipal Solid Wastes, Resource Recovery and Recycling Handbook of Industrial Wastes, and Wasteheat Management Guidebook. No project of this nature can be undertaken without government assistance. A description of the activities of the Federal Solid Waste Management Program is available from EPA's Solid Waste Recycling Projects: A National Directory.
To quantify water closet (WC) provisions in shopping malls in order to help building professionals to determine effective sanitary designs at certain service standards in…
Abstract
Purpose
To quantify water closet (WC) provisions in shopping malls in order to help building professionals to determine effective sanitary designs at certain service standards in terms of the user's probable waiting time.
Design/methodology/approach
The proposed WC provision takes account of the probable waiting time corresponding to certain demand patterns of shopping malls. The probable waiting time for a WC and the failure rate of the closet in providing immediate service to the users at various WC provision levels described by a simple queuing process are evaluated by the Monte Carlo simulations. Model parameters such as the maximum waiting time expected by the users, the frequency distributions of the time between user arrivals and the service time at sanitary facilities were determined from a survey of a large shopping mall in Hong Kong.
Findings
The suitable provision of WCs was determined by the user's acceptable waiting time, and compared with those provision levels determined by the limiting failure rate of providing immediate service.
Research limitations/implications
The model parameters are not exhaustive, with assumptions made for the queuing process of washroom users and have only been determined from a recent survey in Hong Kong, which perhaps will limit the model's usefulness elsewhere.
Practical implications
A useful source of reference in planning the sanitary facilities of shopping malls for various user demands. The methodology can be used in a modified form for most building types.
Originality/value
This paper proposes mathematical expressions for WC provision in shopping malls and presents a template to determine the required model parameters. The model offers practical help to professionals involved in planning, designing and managing the sanitary facilities of shopping malls.
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