bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Analysis of aeromagnetic data for interpretation of seismicity at Fayoum-Cairo area, Egypt
Authors: Khalil Ahmed Bakr , Toni Mostafa , Hassoup Awad , Mansour Khamis
Published: March 2015

An aeromagnetic reconnaissance study is presented to delineate the subsurface structure and tectonic setting at the Fayoum-Cairo district, which experienced a damaging earthquake on October 12, 1992 of magnitude (M = 5.7). Analysis of aeromagnetic and seismicity data demonstrate three significant tectonic faults with trending to the NE-SW, NW-SE and E-W. The basement is uplifted in the northern and central parts with a depth of 1.3 km, and deepening in the southern part with a depth of 2.5 km. This is a seismically active zone and historically has experienced damaging earthquakes. In 1847, a damaging earthquake with maximum epicentral intensity (Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) = VII) was located there. On the eastern side, earthquake sources are well recognized at different locations. These sources created events of moderate size magnitude M < 5. The focal mechanisms of the major events from these sources are generally strike-slip with normal component. The focal mechanism of the earthquake on October 12, 1992 is normal fault type with strike trends in the NW-SE direction. These fault plane solutions are consistent with the tectonic trends derived from the aeromagnetic data mentioned above and suggest that the new tectonics of northeast Africa is predominant.  

 

Resumen

 

Este estudio presenta una exploración aeromagnética para delimitar la estructura subsuperficial y el marco tectónico del distrito de Fayoum-Cairo, que sufrió un terremoto el 12 de octubre de 1992 de magnitud M=5.7. Los análisis de datos sismicidad y aeromagnéticos señalan tres fallas tectónicas significativas con tendencias NE-SO, NO-SE y E-O. El subsuelo se elevó en el norte y en el centro a una profundidad de 1,3 kilómetros, y se hundió en el sur con una profundidad de 2,5 kilómetros. Esta es una zona sísmicamente activa que en su historia ha tenido terremotos dañinos. En 1847 tuvo lugar un terremoto con intensidad epicentral máxima (escala sismológica de Mercalli) de VII. En el lado este se estudiaron las fuentes de terremotos en diferentes partes. Estas fuentes crearon eventos de magnitud moderada M<5. Los mecanismos focales de los eventos principales en estas fuentes son generalmente fallas de desgarre con componente normal. El mecanismo focal del terremoto del 12 de octubre de 1992 es una falla tipo normal con fuertes movimientos NO-SE. Las soluciones de estas fallas son consistentes con las tendencias tectónicas de los datos aeromagnéticos antes mencionados y sugieren que la nueva tectónica del noreste de África es predominante.
Uncertainty in rainfall input data in a conceptual water balance model: effects on outputs and implications for predictability
Authors: Muñoz Enrique , Tume Pedro , Ortíz Gabriel
Published: March 2015

As hydrological models become more prevalent in water resources planning and management, increasing levels of detail and precision are needed. Currently, reliable models that simulate the hydrological behavior of a basin are indispensable; however, it is also necessary to know the limits of the predictability and reliability of the model outputs. The present study evaluates the influence of uncertainty in the main input variable of the model, rainfall, on the output uncertainty of a hydrological model. Using concepts of identifiability and sensitivity, the uncertainty in the model structure and parameters was estimated. Then, the output uncertainty caused by uncertainties in i) the rainfall amounts and ii) the periods of the rainfall was determined. The main conclusion is that uncertainty in rainfall estimation during rainy periods produces greater output uncertainty. However, in non-rainy periods, the output uncertainty is not very sensitive to the uncertainty in rainfall. Finally, uncertainties in rainfall during the basin filling and emptying periods (Apr. – Jun. and Sep. – Nov., respectively) alter the uncertainty in subsequent periods. Therefore, uncertainties in these periods could result in limited ranges of model predictability.

 

Resumen

Los modelos hidrológicos se han vuelto cada vez más necesarios en la planificación y gestión de recursos hídricos, donde un aumento en los niveles de detalle y precisión es necesario. Actualmente disponer de modelos para simular el comportamiento hidrológico de una cuenca resulta indispensable, sin embargo, también es necesario conocer los límites de predictibilidad y de confiabilidad de las salidas de un modelo. En este estudio se evalúan la influencia de la incertidumbre en la principal entrada de un modelo, la precipitación, sobre la incertidumbre de las salidas de un modelo hidrológico. Utilizando conceptos de identificabilidad y sensibilidad se estima la incertidumbre de los parámetros y estructura de un modelo. Luego, la incertidumbre en las salidas causadas por incertidumbre en i) los montos de precipitación, ii) los períodos de precipitación fue calculada. Como conclusiones se obtuvo que la incertidumbre en la estimación de la precipitación en períodos de lluvia produce mayor incertidumbre sobre las salidas. En períodos no lluviosos, la incertidumbre de las salidas es poco sensible a incertidumbre sobre las precipitaciones. Finalmente, incertidumbres en periodos de llenado y vaciado (Abril-Junio y Septiembre-Noviembre respectivamente) afectan la incertidumbre en las salidas en los períodos subsecuentes. Por lo tanto incertidumbres en aquellos períodos pueden resultar en rangos limitados de predictibilidad de un modelo.
Hydrocarbon Production Scenarios in Colombia. Review of Field Sizes, Hydrocarbon Reserves and Expectations of Conventional and Unconventional Resources.
Authors: Beltrán Rivas Julián Daniel , Vargas Jiménez Carlos Alberto
Published: March 2015

The present research work examines three aspects of great importance for the future supply of oil and gas in Colombia. 1) The geographic and stratigraphic distribution of hydrocarbon resources for use in estimations of the contribution of different field sizes to the total supply of oil and gas in Colombia. 2) The current state of the hydrocarbon reserves in Colombia and factors that influence their increase or decrease; statistical tools are used to calculate the volume of hydrocarbons that may be found in the future. 3) The observed decline of hydrocarbon production in Colombia, which is used to estimate the amount of resources that may be extracted in the future once peak production has been reached. Based on these three aspects, we constructed different scenarios to forecast the potential production of oil and gas in Colombia. In addition, we calculated the amount of hydrocarbon reserves in these scenarios. 

Resumen

El presente trabajo resume tres aspectos considerados de gran importancia para el futuro suministro de petróleo y gas en Colombia. Estos son: 1) La distribución ¿geográfica y estratigráfica? de los recursos hidrocarburiferos como herramienta para conocer la contribución de los diferentes tamaños de campo a la producción total de hidrocarburos en Colombia; 2) El estado actual de las reservas de hidrocarburos en Colombia y los factores que inciden en el incremento o disminución de las reservas, que son dos asuntos temas que inciden en el futuro suministro de estos recursos. Al respecto, por medio de herramientas estadísticas se calcula el volumen de hidrocarburo que puede ser encontrado en el futuro. 3) Las tasas de declinación en la producción de hidrocarburos observados observadas en Colombia, permiten modelar los recursos que pueden ser recuperados en el futuro una vez alcanzados los picos de producción. Bajo esta hipótesis, se construyen diferentes escenarios que resumen pronostican la posible producción de petróleo y gas en Colombia para los próximos años, además se calculan las reservas de hidrocarburos para los mismos escenarios. 
Sand dunes of the Gaza Strip (southwestern Palestine): morphology, textural characteristics and associated environmental impacts
Authors: Ubeid Khalid Fathi , Albatta Alhasan S.
Published: March 2015

Sand dunes are wide spread in the Gaza Strip and are present in its northern, central and southern regions. Thirty sand samples were collected at seven locations along the middle region of the Strip. The coordinates for each sampling site were positioned using GPS and processed with ArcGIS software.

Mechanical and chemical properties were examined to determine the textural characteristics and carbonate contents of the dune sands. The mean grain size is fine to medium, and the sands range from moderate- to well-sorting. The skewness is fine to very fine, and the kurtosis ranges from mesokurtic to very leptokurtic. Additionally, the results show that the carbonate content ranges from 1.5% to 5%.

The high permeability, good porosity, and low carbonate content of the sand dunes in the Gaza Strip have led to more groundwater pollution via leachates percolating from the solid waste landfills and basins from wastewater treatments constructed above the sand dunes. Sand quarries have also changed the natural landscape of the Gaza Strip. These quarries were excavated randomly, used for a short period and then disused. This random and unregulated excavation has led to the destruction of natural habitats for flora and fauna.

 

Resumen

Las dunas de arena se extienden ampliamente en la Franja de Gaza y hacen presencia en las regiones del norte, centro y sur. Para este trabajo se recolectaron treinta muestras de arena en siete puntos a lo largo de la región media de la Franja. Las coordenadas de cada muestra se marcaron con el GPS y se procesaron con el programa ArcGIS. Se examinaron las propiedades químicas y mecánicas para determinar las características de textura y los contenidos de carbonato de las dunas de arena. El tamaño del grano está entre fino y medio y las arenas oscilan entre moderadas y bien definidas. La asimetría estadística va desde fina hasta muy fina y la variedad de la curtosis se ubica entre mesocúrtica y muy leptocúrtica. Adicionalmente, los resultados muestran que los rangos de contenido de carbonato están entre 1,5 % y 5 %. La alta permeabilidad, la buena porosidad y el bajo contenido de carbonato en las dunas de arena de la Franja de Gaza han permitido una mayor contaminación a través de lixiviados que se filtran desde vertederos de desechos sólidos y desde estaciones de tratamiento de aguas residuales construidas sobre las dunas de arena. Las canteras de arena, además, han cambiado el paisaje natural de la Franja de Gaza. Estas canteras fueron excavadas de manera aleatoria, utilizadas por un tiempo corto y luego cayeron en desuso. Estas excavaciones aleatorias y sin regulación han llevado a la destrucción de hábitats naturales de flora y fauna.
EXPERIMENTOTECA DE FÍSICA: UMA PROPOSTA ALTERNATIVA PARA O ENSINO DE FÍSICA NO ENSINO MÉDIO
Authors: Sales Fábio Henrique Silva , Oliveira Raisa Marya Souza , Pontes Luciana Raquel Silva
Published: March 2015

O presente trabalho propõe a utilização de uma experimentoteca de Física feita com materiais alternativos e do cotidiano do aluno para o ensino de Física no Ensino Médio. Esta proposta tem como base um levantamento feito sobre a situação do ensino de Física no “Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Maranhão”, “Centro de Ensino Gonçalves Dias” e “Centro de Ensino Humberto de Campos”.
DIAGNÓSTICO DA QUALIDADE SANITÁRIA DE PLANTAS MEDICINAIS COMERCIALIZADAS NO MUNICÍPIO DE CURRAIS NOVOS, RN.
Authors: Rocha Francisco Angelo Gurgel da , Medeiros Fábio Gonçalves Macedo de , Silva Jonas Luiz Almada da
Published: March 2015

Graças ao seu baixo custo e facilidade de acesso por parte da população, o uso de plantas medicinais como recurso terapêutico é uma constante em todo o território nacional. Dadas as condições inadequadas de coleta, processamento, transporte, armazenamento, exposição e manipulação do material, é possível que possa ocorrer a contaminação por microrganismos patogênicos, resultando em riscos à saúde humana. O presente trabalho objetivou di-agnosticar a qualidade microbiológica de amostras de pata de vaca (Bauhinia forticata), quixabeira (Bumelia sertorum) e umburana (Amburana cearensis) no município de Currais Novos, RN. Foram quantificados: aeróbios mesófilos (ágar Padrão de Contagem, 35±1°C/24h), coliformes totais/Escherichia coli (teste presuntivo: caldo LST, 35±0,5°C/24-48±2; CT: caldo VB, 35±0,5°C/24-48±2; E. coli: caldo EC, 44,5±0,2°C/24±2h; ágar L-EMB, 35±0,5°C/24±2h), bolores e leveduras (ágar Batata Dextrosado Acidificado, 25±1°C/5 dias) e Staphylococcus aureus (ágar Baird-Parker, 35-37°C/24±2h). Para a con-firmação de E. coli, colônias foram submetidas às provas bioquímicas da série IMViC. To-das as amostras analisadas apresentaram contagens de bactérias do grupo dos coliformes totais. E. coli foi detectada em 34% das amostras. Níveis de bolores e leveduras e aeróbios mesófilos acima dos recomendados foram observados em 100% e 84% das amostras, res-pectivamente. S. aureus foi detectado em 25% das amostras. Os níveis de contaminação registrados apontam o material analisado como potencialmente danoso à saúde humana.
DESAFIOS PARA IMPLEMENTAR A ALFABETIZAÇÃO CIENTÍFICA NUMA COMUNIDADE DE ARTESÃOS DE FILÉ
Authors: Mello Leonides Silva Gomes , Guazzelli Iara Regina Bocchese
Published: March 2015

Este artigo tem como objetivo apresentar alguns caminhos percorridos e desafios encontrados para possibilitar a uma comunidade, constituída essencialmente por pescadores e artesãos , incrustada à beira da lagoa Mundaú, no bairro do Pontal da Barra, na cidade de Maceió, Estado de Alagoas, conhecimentos que favoreçam ao exercício da cidadania, por meio de uma alfabetização científica, trabalhados naquela comunidade, através de uma educação não escolar onde foram estabelecidos laços entre o saber popular e científico. O artigo encontra-se fundamentado em pesquisa in loco, bem como em autores como Candau, Chassot, Fourez, Freire e Vazquez.
TEMAS SOCIOCIENTÍFICOS (CERVEJA) EM AULAS PRÁTICAS DE QUÍMICA NA EDUCAÇÃO PROFISSIONAL: UMA ABORDAGEM CTS
Authors: Santos Míriam Stassun , Amaral Carmem Lúcia Costa , Maciel Maria Delourdes
Published: March 2015

Apresentaremos resultados de uma pesquisa qualitativa, método “estudo de caso”, com observação sistemática durante as aulas práticas de Química Orgânica Aplicada, que adotou como programa curricular, alguns temas sociocientíficos (TS) com enfoque Ciência, Tecnologia e Sociedade - CTS. Participaram alunos do 30 ano do ensino profissional técnico de Química integrado ao ensino médio, do CEFET-MG. Produzimos dados partindo de questionários (inclusive o internacional - PIEATCTS), anotações, aulas gravadas e filmagens. Consideramos como pressupostos básicos a centralidade no trabalho prático, a percepção dos alunos sobre abordagem metodológica, o desenvolvimento de atitudes, valores e habilidades. Evidenciamos a importância da formação e da experiência do professor conduzindo as discussões, o aumento de interações dialógicas e a promoção de situações vivenciais dos alunos, principalmente em relação às atitudes e aos valores. Os resultados apontaram a importância de adotar estratégias envolvendo alunos em discussões de temas reais, e a inserção de TS nos currículos do ensino profissional técnico de Química de nível médio, como condições fundamentais para o alcance do objetivo da formação da cidadania. E ainda, mostraram o enfoque CTS, como fonte fecunda para a análise do processo educacional das áreas técnicas, com potencialidades transformadoras, para cursos que visem à alfabetização científica na perspectiva humanística, reflexiva e crítica.
Breast Cancer With Brain Metastases: Clinicopathologic Features, Survival, and Paired Biomarker Analysis
Authors: Shen Qi , Sahin Aysegul A. , Hess Kenneth R. , Suki Dima , Aldape Kenneth D. , Sawaya Raymond , Ibrahim Nuhad K.
Published: March 2015

Background.

The aim of this study was to describe clinicopathologic features of patients with breast cancer brain metastasis (BCBM); to evaluate survival after diagnosis of BCBM; and to compare estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and HER2 expression in the paired primary and brain tumors.

Materials and Methods.

We identified 140 consecutive patients who underwent craniotomy for BCBM (either for diagnostic purpose or with therapeutic intent) at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center between 2002 and 2009.

Results.

Most patients had invasive ductal histology (91%), grade 3 tumors (67%), and positive axillary lymph node (64%). Of the tumors, 56% were ER-negative, 62% were PR-negative, 44% were HER2-positive, and 28% were triple negative (TN). Brain metastasis (BM) was solitary in 51% of patients. Median interval from breast cancer diagnosis to BM was 46 months; median survival after BM was 14.1 months. In the univariate analysis, younger age, solitary brain metastasis, and ER or PR positivity in the breast tumors were associated with longer survival. There was a statistical trend toward increased survival in HER2-positive patients compared with HER2-negative patients (18 vs. 11 months). In the multivariate analysis, predictors for longer survival included younger age, solitary brain lesion, and HER2 positivity in the breast cancer. Biomarkers were evaluated in paired primary and brain tumors in 35 patients for ER status, 34 for PR status, and 36 for HER2 status. Discordant rates were 28% for ER, 20% for PR, and 3% for HER2.

Conclusion.

Compared with unselected breast cancer patients at the same institution, patients with breast cancer who had brain metastases had a higher proportion of hormone receptor-negative, HER2-positive, and TN tumors. Younger age, solitary brain lesion, and HER2 expression were independent predictors of better survival in patients with BCBM. HER2 status was highly concordant between the paired primary and brain tumors, whereas changes of ER and PR status occurred in a substantial proportion of the patients. These findings are important for making effective treatment decisions for patients with BCBM.
Effect of Metformin on Progression of Head and Neck Cancers, Occurrence of Second Primary Cancers, and Cause-Specific Survival
Authors: Kwon Minsu , Roh Jong-Lyel , Song Jihyun , Lee Sang-Wook , Kim Sung-Bae , Choi Seung-Ho , Nam Soon Yuhl
Published: March 2015

Background.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of metformin on progression of head and neck cancers, occurrence of second primary cancers, and cause-specific survival.

Methods.

This study analyzed a retrospective cohort of 1,151 consecutive patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma who were treated at our hospital. Patients were divided into three groups: nondiabetic, nonmetformin, and metformin. Clinical characteristics, recurrence of index head and neck cancer, occurrence of second primary cancer, and survival were compared among the different groups.

Results.

Of 1,151 patients, 99 (8.6%) were included in the metformin group, 79 (6.8%) were in the nonmetformin group, and 973 (84.5%) were in the nondiabetic group. Diabetic status and metformin exposure had no significant impact on index head and neck cancer recurrence or second primary cancer development (p > .2). The nonmetformin group showed relatively lower overall (p = .017) and cancer-specific (p = .054) survival rates than the other groups in univariate analyses, but these results were not confirmed in multivariate analyses.

Conclusion.

Metformin use did not show beneficial effects on index tumor progression, second primary cancer occurrence, and cause-specific survival in patients with head and neck cancer compared with nonmetformin users and nondiabetic patients.
Embodied energy evaluation for the Hong Kong MTR South Island Line
Authors: Hon Ru J. , Kwok Chung Y. , Lee Tse H. L.
Published: March 2015

Over the past two decades, research on embodied energy has been associated with construction projects in an effort to tackle sustainability issues. In this study, the embodied energy of two types of tunnels of the South Island Line (East) contract 904 in Hong Kong were evaluated. The results show that the cut-and-cover tunnel has a higher embodied energy than the drill-and-blast tunnel, at 243 and 157 GJ/m, respectively. By breaking down the analysis of embodied energy consumption into different categories (i.e. materials, transportation and construction), it is shown that, in both tunnels, materials dominate approximately 63% of the total embodied energy, as steel has the highest embodied energy intensity among all construction materials. Tunnels require direct energy-intensive construction, as transportation and construction can collectively account for as much as 37% of the total embodied energy. The total embodied energy of both tunnels is equivalent to approximately 4700 per-capita annual energy consumption and almost one 40-storey residential building of embodied energy in Hong Kong.
Effects of preloading with consolidation on undrained bearing capacity of skirted circular footings
Authors: Fu D. , Gaudin C. , Tian C. , Bienen B. , Cassidy M.J.
Published: March 2015

This paper reports a set of centrifuge tests to investigate the increase in bearing capacity of a skirted circular foundation that results from preloading with consolidation. Results are compared with coupled numerical analyses using the modified Cam Clay model. Fundamental mechanisms are revealed from the stress paths followed during preloading and consolidation at the element level, accounting for both the change in mean normal effective stress and in the hardening parameter. A formulation is developed to predict the gain in bearing capacity as a function of the level of preloading applied on the foundation and the degree of consolidation achieved. The formulation provides good agreement with the centrifuge results.
Innovation and Creativity in Public Sector
Authors: Kozáková Viera
Published: March 2015

The position of public sector in European countries is significant, especially now when Europe has a goal of smart, inclusive and sustainable growth. The paper examines manners how public sector can contribute to achievement of this goal. The aim of the paper is to investigate the existing modern perspectives on public sector and find out the linkages between them. It deals with the role and importance of intelligence, innovation and creativity in public sector processes. It examines the nature of smart, innovative and creative approach to public sector, their main factors, indicators and variables. The purpose of the paper is to introduce and point out the mentioned approaches that may provide alternatives to previous procedures in public sector. The main findings are based on the main aim of this article, which is to develop a better understanding of innovative, smart and creative approach in public sector with a particular focus on the public involvement.
Principles of Public Management in Scandinavian Countries: A Theoretical Assessment
Authors: Vanebo Jan Ole , Andersen Jon Aarum
Published: March 2015

strengthen leadership practices in the public sector. The policy documents ”Code for Chief Executive Excellence” (Denmark) and ”Leadership in Norway’s Civil Service” pertain to how the public sector ought to be managed. This article addresses two problems concerning these documents. To what degree does New Public Management (NPM) influence them? To what degree does management and leadership theory and research support the principles proposed by these documents? This article concludes that NPM has had a significant impact on public management in the Scandinavian countries. The policy documents are based on leadership research and are in accordance with mainstream management theory. The idea of formulating a principle of management that would characterize the classical contributions is also evident in these documents.
The Scientific Analysis of Hungarian Public Administration. New Trends and Methods.
Authors: Rixer Ádám
Published: March 2015

The purpose of this paper is to introduce those scientific methods and new paradigms that are to overcome the one-sided jurisprudential methods of analysis of public administration. On the one hand, as it has been obvious for a long time, a sort of inter- or multidisciplinary method is needed for a strong scientific and material framework which allows further conclusions. And on the other hand, beyond multi- and interdisciplinarity, it is unavoidable to reestablish the philosophic synthesis between the legal norms regulating public administration and the facts of the real operation. Probably this direction will/may be the basis and the realiser of the change of paradigm (also) in Hungarian sciences of public administration. In general it may be stated that due to the crises social sciences more and more shall start examining the real meaning of things, the broader examination frameworks of the analysed phenomena, instead of descriptive questions analysing the ways of operation. In the era of crises, when everyday experiences falsify our expectations, legal and political science become more radical: it shall examine and revise the validity of its preassumptions – which it had considered firm before.
Participation of Citizens in Pre-Trial Hearings. Review of an Experiment in the Netherlands
Authors: Brink Barbara , Marseille Albert T.
Published: March 2015

In 2011 the Dutch Central Appeals Tribunal, the highest Dutch court of appeal in legal areas pertaining to social security and the civil service, started consulting the parties of a dispute at an early stage in the procedure, in order to include them in the decisions about the procedural steps to be taken in the settlement of the appeal. One of the underlying rationales is that the involvement of the parties will lead to more acceptance of and contentment with the result. Since the acceptance of court decisions is considered as a criterion for the quality of the procedure, this approach should result in a better quality of the case treatment. In this article the initial results of this new case treatment are presented in the light of expectations from the literature on citizen participation in policy processes of public agencies. The data indicate that the New Case Management Procedure at the Central Appeals Tribunal can lead to an improvement of the quality of the case treatment, by inviting citizens to discuss with the judge about the case treatment. However, the procedure itself does not guarantee this increased quality.
Public Participation in Environmental Decision Making in Romania
Authors: Neamtu Bogdana , Dragos Dacian C. , Capraru Laura
Published: March 2015

This article researches the manner in which the participation pillar from the Aarhus Convention was transposed into Romanian legislation and how its provisions were applied to a highly controversial case. Thus, the paper will firstly address the general legal framework concerning participation in environmental matters as well as the challenges for the implementation of Aarhus Convention, followed by requirements for effective participation and NGOs involvement in the process. The main conclusion drawn is that public participation is generally seen only as a bureaucratic requirement that both authorities and the developer must meet before the project is adopted. In this context, the NGOs play a crucial role by acting as a real watchdog in identifying deficiencies in the application of the Convention. In order for enhancing implementation the authors emphasize the more proactive role that public authorities should have both with regard to the quality of environmental reports and with applying sanctions coupled with a stronger cooperation with the NGOs in the field.
Improving Environmental Permitting Systems: Integrated Permits in the Netherlands
Authors: Tolsma Hanna Dürtge
Published: March 2015

Environmental law originally developed in a fragmented way (sectoral legislation protecting water, soil or air). This fragmented approach towards environmental protection caused problems. Citizens and businesses applying for a permit are confronted with a range of procedures with a variety of different time limits, assessment criteria and legal remedies. Comparative law research shows that the integration of legislation in the field of environmental law is a growing trend. Policymakers feel the necessity to integrate decision-making in order to optimise the protection of the environment. The first part of this article contains a brief overview of the concept of an integrated process for the granting of environmental permits. The second part discusses the idea of environmental model 4 permit, which has been but forward in the Netherlands. It is questionable if this specific concept of integrated environmental permitting can be achieved within the constraints of Dutch administrative law.
The silenced voices of architectural discourse: promoting inclusion through qualitative research
Authors: Trefry John H. , Watson Laurel B.
Published: March 2015

Contemporary architectural discourse is primarily framed by institutional hegemony. Scholarly works written in a voice derived from this privilege inherently exclude the voices of those untrained individuals who inhabit the built environment. The field of architecture, most notably in the AIA's policies and positions, calls for more diverse viewpoints and a more complex understanding of the public's relationship with architecture. It is not possible to make this complexity apparent through the monolithic viewpoints of institutional scholarship. This essay explores a variety of more inclusive research methods established in the social sciences under the banner of qualitative research. We focus on how qualitative research satisfies contemporary research expectations more effectively than positivist institutional scholarship and how qualitative research has a specific congruency with the field of architecture.
Style and Architecture in a Democratic Perspective
Authors: De Bleeckere Sylvain
Published: March 2015

The paper deals with research on structural relations between architectural education andcultural and human sciences. The paper addresses two major premises. Firstly the cultural role that architecture can play in the shaping of the ongoing process of democratisation of the global society. Derived here of is thesecond one: "What are the implications for our currentarchitectural education?” The argument develops over three stages.The first one concerns a subject in the field of cultural history, stating that, historically, architecture was commonly an expression of the ruling powers. The first paradigm is that of the earliest modern democracy, the USA. Its initial architectural expression was inspired by Thomas Jefferson who adapted the language of the classical order. The neoclassical style became the canon for the new state buildings: the capitols and the courthouses. This paradigm shows a contradiction and failure to project concepts of democracy and revolution into architecture. The second paradigm comes from the modern architectural movement of the interbellum period. It was inspired by revolutionary ideas of radical socialism and equal right movement, proclaimed and empowered by the USSR. This paradigm again shows ” albeit of another nature ” the failure to express the modern concept of democracy into an adequate architectural form. Both paradigms learn how astylistic canon dominated and misled the architectural shaping of a young, democratic society. In a second step, the paper focuses on two fundamental reflections. The first one highlights the relationship between democracy and style. A modern concept of liberty, for example, becomes visible in an architectural interpretation of Jefferson's original design for the first Academic Village, Virginia. In the analysis of this architectural realisation, a more subtle image of Thomas Jefferson emerges. He was the founder of the Declaration of Independence, the philosophical basis for the first modern, democratic state. The second reflection dwells on the only consistent democratic philosophy of the 20th century, that of John Dewey. His concept of creative democracy is relevant to educate the 'democratic consciousness' of young architects. It is further assumed that thinking in such a'democratic way' can help to release architecture from a dogmatic stylistic canon.The third and final step addresses the implications for architectural education. The challenge is the shaping of the student's social and political consciousness via an analysis of historical buildings freed from an encyclopaedic and uncritical approach.
Transparent Façade Panel Typologies Based on Recyclable Polymer Materials
Authors: Giles Harry , Kim Kyoung-Hee
Published: March 2015

Buildings are large consumers of energy. In the United States of America; they constitute over 33% of the total annual energy consumption, produce 35% of the total carbon dioxide emissions and attribute 40% of landfill wastes. The building industry is also a large consumer of non-renewable materials and this trend has escalated dramatically over the past century. It is essential that we find ways to save on energy consumption through the use of solar energy, improved thermal insulation, and alternative efficient glazed façade systems. In this paper, we demonstrate how alternative typologies of transparent and translucent load-bearing façade systems based on biocomposite and recyclable materials, are structurally and thermally efficient at the same time they contribute towards reduced pollutant emissions and non-renewable material uses.Composite insulated panel systems are used extensively in the engineering and building industry, owing to their structural and thermal efficiency. However, these systems are generally opaque and offer little flexibility in building applications. As an alternative, we demonstrate how building products comprised of hybrid material typologie scan be made to perform efficiently as load-bearing façade systems that substitute for current glazing systems with adequate thermal and structural performance, which also possess good light transmission characteristics and integral shading capability. The materials are configured to work as composite panel systems made from a combination of biocomposite and recyclable polymer materials. These materials are environmentally sustainable, because they either originate from naturally grown renewable resources or are recyclable. Our research program includes the design and development of prototype panel systems; the evaluation of structural and thermal performance, together with their role in reducing energy consumption and pollution emission through life cycle analysis. The paper describes relevant applications and related current research activities, being carried out by the authors, under an EPA/NSF funded grant project, titled People, Prosperity and Planet, in relation to prototypical composite panel systems. Our current area of investigation relates totypologies that use thermoplastic polymers (as skin material) and biocomposites (as a core material). Our evaluations have demonstrated viable applications and improved performance compared to conventional single and double glazing systems in buildings. The paper also discusses the fundamentals of the research investigations and predicts good energy efficiency, making the product a sustainable alternative when used in building applications. The paper highlights areas of ongoing research and applications for hybrid composite façade systems, which will make the approach a viable option for the building industry, in the future.
What Went Wrong? Reflections on the Condition of Architecture and Urbanism in Lebanon
Authors: Haddad Elie
Published: March 2015

In a short article presented at a conference in New York City two years ago, Joan Ockman lucidly diagnosed the contemporary dilemma faced by architecture, i.e. how to insert itself between a pessimistic discourse that warns of the end of time, and an uncritical surrender to globalization. This dilemma is now universal(i). It applies to New York City, where in the same context Kenneth Frampton commented on the dystopia of an "oddly paranoid, rather ruthless, instrumental and resentful landscape”(ii), as well as to other cities around the world, especially in the Third World, where more difficult conditions permeate architectural practice, resulting in even more devastated landscapes. This article will discuss issues that relate to architectural practice and pedagogy, drawing on specific examples in the context of Beirut, Lebanon, and reflecting on the impact of‘architectural education' and the transformations within the architectural profession in this context. One can no longer deny the negative impact of economics on a profession that has been, for the most part, idealistic in its approach to the built environment, but the responsibility of architects and architectural education, can no longer beminimized in assessing the problems that cities like Beirut face today. i The conference was organized at Columbia University, andpublished as The State of Architecture at the Beginning of the21st Century, New York: Monacelli Press, 2003. See JoanOckman's "Criticism in the Age of Globalization” [78-9]ii "Brief Reflections on the Predicament of Urbanism” , ibidem[13]
Metaphor, Architectural Design, and Environmental Response
Authors: Muller Brook
Published: March 2015

Value-laden articulations of the task of the architect guide manners of working - the concerns, inspirations and procedures given priority. Architectural practices in turn determine the nature of the physical constructs that result. If architects are contributing to environmental degradation by designing buildings that are inefficient and unhealthy, and a pressing need exists to advance more life enhancing, sustaining practices, then perhaps environmentally concerned architects ought not only work towards the creation of better performing, more resourceful building assemblies, but also to engage in basic reflection as to how design problems are expressed and the environmental receptivity such expressions reveal. By tracing the lineage binding utterance to practice to making, we might come to recognize that even subtle shifts in articulation can alter outcomes dramatically. Through such newfound awareness, we are open and encouraged to reexamine the architect's role, to new descriptions of architecture, and to the possibility of deeper attunement and constructive engagement with our world. In their recent edited anthology on sustainable architectures, Simon Guy and Steven Moore suggest "while we might support and even encourage critical engagement with abstract theory about environmentalism, we are not interested in simply playing language games.” Although word play should not be the sole focus of our efforts, in a profession so reliant on effective communication, we should not underestimate the facility of language as constitutive of meaning. This paper explores metaphors as one potentially transformative means by which designers come to understand and describe the works they undertake. It examines the role of metaphors as agents of innovation, capable of heightening awareness of attributes often overlooked or undervalued, yet perhaps of critical significance given the particularities of a design problem seeking explication. This paper summarizes research into the process by which architects "respatialize” metaphors, how novel metaphorical insights have affected thought and practice in the past, and in our era of environmental crises how new categories of metaphor are reshaping and expanding our visions. The paper concludes with a consideration of what makes "green” metaphors effective and how awareness of such characteristics provides the impetus for future research in identifying and utilizing new metaphorical schemas in architectural design.
Innovative Sustainable Water Management Practices in Solar Residential Design
Authors: Mabry C. Jason , Trubiano Franca
Published: March 2015

This paper communicates the results of an architectural research project which sought innovative design strategies for achieving energy and resource efficiencies in water management systems traditionally used in single-family housing. It describes the engineering of an efficient, multifaceted, and fully integrated water management system for a domesticenvironment of 800 sq. ft., entirely powered by solar energy. The four innovations whose details are conveyed include the use of alternate materials for piping distribution and collection, the use of water in solar energy generation, the design of a building skin which capitalizes on water's capacity to store heat as well as the design of a ecological groundscape which re-usesand filters waste water and rain water.Keywords: energy, plumbing, home design
The Green Studio Handbook: Environmental Strategies for Schematic Design
Authors: Kwok Alison G. , Grondzik Walter T.
Published: March 2015

In design studio projects we often see schemes with inspired, yet unvalidated, gestural sketches related to wishful green strategies. Yellow and blue magic arrows represent hypotheses about the behavior of daylight and/or air flow in and about buildings. This paper provides an overview of The Green Studio Handbook, recently published as a resource for designers seeking clear guidelines for integrating green design strategies into the conceptual and schematic phases of design. The book contains a discussion of the integration of green strategies and how building form, orientation, and spatial layout are critical to the proper performance of certain green strategies; 40 green design strategies in six broad topic areas, each providing acatalog of information for common strategies that must be implemented at the schematic design phase; and nine case studies that show how various green strategies work together in a finished building. This paper provides excerpts of several design strategies and one case study and suggests a variety of ways that the book may be used.Keywords: green design, case studies, education, schematic design
Phantom Housing: The Rise and Fall of Public Housing in North America
Authors: Gianni Benjamin
Published: March 2015

This paper examines the rise and fall of public housing in North America in order to explore the principle of sustainability. By extension, it addresses the concept of sustainability as it relates to the city. Urbanity is simultaneously the most and least sustainable form of development. While extremely sustainable from the point of view of density (economies of scale, efficient use ofinfrastructure, etc.), it is highly vulnerable to social, political and economic forces. Such forces can easily trump the environmental sustainability of any building or community.The death and transfiguration of key portions of our public housing stock provides insights into this phenomenon – for which I will use Toronto's Regent Park as a case study. The redevelopment ofthis 69-acre parcel aims to transform a failed social vision into a model for sustainable community development.
The Planetary Collegium: Master Plan for a Distributed Mixed Reality Campus
Authors: Anders Peter
Published: March 2015

This paper describes the design for a Mixed Reality campusfor the Planetary Collegium. The Collegium is an international research network centered at Plymouth, U.K. Its plans call for seven sub-centers, or nodes, to be builtin different parts of the world. These nodes would be linked by shared virtual spaces and digital networks. The paper describes how the Collegium's seeming contradictions (distributed/unified, simulated/physical, local/remote) can be reconciled. The resulting project is a mixed reality that transcends scales from global to local and, ultimately, to the constituent buildings and their digital spaces.
Semiotics of making: beginnings of a theoretical frame
Authors: Monson Christopher
Published: March 2015

The contemporary problem of semiotics in architecture is an inherited struggle, not a chosen one. We consider the question of architectural communication because we inevitably recognize its centrality to the problem ofarchitecture itself. While the twentieth-century impact of Saussure and his birthing of structuralism gave architecture a new ground from which to reconceive its own semiotic functions, it was probably never possible that such a synchronic and undialogic theory would suit such a disparate and intersubjective activity. This is not to say that semiotics offers no guidance for the problem of architecture. It may say, however, that to use semiotics productively is not to start from its constructs but instead from architecture's own.To that end, this study intends to establish a conceptualbasis for communication and meaning in architectural form by an inquiry into making. The initial judgment about why making might prove to be more useful than otherarchitectural characteristics is due to is its essential dialogicnature; it already is a semiotic. In that sense what follows is an opportunistic examination. It arises from what should be considered a powerful”if somewhat neglected”text on making: Elaine Scarry's 1985 The Body in Pain. A deeper consideration of this work is long overdue. While Scarry'sbook seems to enjoy a rather wide readership, its potential impact has been largely unrealized since few scholars have developed its implications. Given the extraordinary originality of its argument, the artful construction of its prose, and the complex sophistication of its logic, it offers a rich”albeit demanding”place from which to begin.The objective of this study is to schematize Scarry's theory of making such that connections to a semiotic understanding of its potentials may be realized. Following this effort, a short examination of one particular semiotic aspect of making will be argued as a tentative ground from which to guide further investigation.
Formal Modulation for Acoustic Performances of a Bridge
Authors: Tiazzoldi Caterina , Tixier Nicolas
Published: March 2015

In the last fifteen years in architecture the frequent use of design instruments such as algorithms,dynamical relations, parametric systems, mapping, morphogenesis, cellular automata and bifurcationwith broken symmetry shows clearly how contemporary thinking in mathematics andphysical sciences, dealing with complex dynamics, non-linear systems, chaos, emergent properties,resilience, etc., has changed the way we think about design and the life of today's cities.
The simultaneity of complementary conditions: Re-integrating and balancing analogue and digital matter(s) in basic architectural education
Authors: Wiesner Thomas
Published: March 2015

The actual, globally established, general digital procedures in basic architectural education,producing well-behaved, seemingly attractive up-to-date projects, spaces and first general-researchon all scale levels, apparently present a certain growing amount of deficiencies. These limitations surface only gradually, as the state of things on overall extents is generally deemed satisfactory. Some skills, such as "old-fashioned” analogue drawing are gradually eased-out ofundergraduate curricula and overall modus-operandi, due to their apparent slow inefficiencies in regard to various digital media's rapid readiness, malleability and unproblematic, quotidian availabilities. While this state of things is understandable, it nevertheless presents a definite challenge. The challenge of questioning how the assessment of conditions and especially their representation,is conducted, prior to contextual architectural action(s) of any kind.
Designing student learning outcomes in undergraduate architecture education: Frameworks for assessment
Authors: Bachman Leonard R. , Bachman Christine
Published: March 2015

On the cusp of transition to the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) 2009 Conditions for Accreditation, and at the juncture of higher education's transition into a culture of assessment, this paper addressesthe rationale and frameworks for the design of student learningobjectives. The circumstances of undergraduate architectural education are the primary target here, but the same principles will apply to graduatelearning as well. The discussion is itself framed by a comparison to aset of model student learning objectives published by the American Psychology Association, and is structured within the conventionalplanning model of mission, values, goals, objectives, tactics, and strategies. For the purpose of discussion, the authors propose severalhypothetical examples.