Strategies for a better world

2008 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-133
Author(s):  
Emiliano Gandolfi
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Social Interest ◽  
Past Century ◽  
Political Role ◽  
The Past ◽  
Team 10 ◽  
Collective Processes ◽  
Sensitisation Campaign ◽  
New Instruments

A different world is possible [1]. The work of an increasing number of architects reveals a renewed social interest and aspiration to define new instruments for coping with the issues of our cities. These architects do not subscribe to the agendas of bureaucrats, authorities and market players. Instead they listen to people's remarks, understand their problems and develop tools that stimulate people to think critically and actively about the built environment. For these activists, architecture goes beyond just designing buildings. It has to identify the needs of people and possible forms of aggregation, while stimulating processes that will enable us to live better. Groups like Team 10 and the movements of the '70s laid the bases of these practices, but unlike the past century, today every project becomes a sensitisation campaign that involves the community at the local level and that stimulates collective processes, spontaneous creativity and activism in order to incite a new political role for architecture.

scholarly journals Assessing the Prospects of Transboundary Multihazard Dynamics: The Case of Bhotekoshi—Sunkoshi Watershed in Sino—Nepal Border Region

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 3670
Author(s):  
Suraj Lamichhane ◽  
Komal Raj Aryal ◽  
Rocky Talchabhadel ◽  
Bhesh Raj Thapa ◽  
Rabindra Adhikari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Natural Hazards ◽  
Complex Dynamics ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Individual Case ◽  
Border Region ◽  
Multiple Hazards ◽  
The Past ◽  
Transboundary Watersheds ◽  
Underlying Causes

The impacts of multihazards have become more pronounced over the past few decades globally. Multiple hazards and their cascading impacts claim enormous losses of lives, livelihoods, and built environment. This paradigm prompts integrated and multidisciplinary perspectives to identify, characterize, and assess the occurrence of multihazards and subsequently design countermeasures considering impending multihazard scenarios at the local level. To this end, we considered one of the most egregious transboundary watersheds, which is regarded as a multihazard hotspot of Nepal, to analyze the underlying causes and cascade scenarios of multihazards, and their associated impacts. In this paper, geophysical, hydrometeorological, and socioeconomic perspectives are formulated to characterize the watershed from the dimension of susceptibility to multihazard occurrence. To characterize the complex dynamics of transboundary multihazard occurrence, insights have been presented from both the Nepali and the Chinese sides. Individual case studies and the interrelation matrix between various natural hazards are also presented so as to depict multihazard consequences in the transboundary region. The sum of the observations highlights that the watershed is highly vulnerable to a single as well as multiple natural hazards that often switch to disasters.

Psychiatry, Psychology, and Human Sterilization Then and Now: “Therapeutic” or in the Social Interest?

2007 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-108
Author(s):  
Deborah V. Dolan
Keyword(s):  
Social Interest ◽  
Past Century ◽  
Ethical Concerns ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Social ◽  
Individual Potential ◽  
The Individual

Practitioners of psychiatry and psychology have played an important role in the sterilization of tens of thousands of Americans throughout the past century. This article examines a number of questions relating to the origin and continuation of sterilization as a treatment and preventive. What social and medical beliefs lead to the use of sterilization as a treatment and preventive for both the individual and society? What ills are being treated and prevented? Who becomes a candidate for sterilization? To what degree are ethical concerns raised, and what is the response to these concerns? And finally, Who is the client—the individual, potential children, or society?—and how do practitioners distinguish the interest of the individuals from that of their potential children and society?

scholarly journals Inhabitable Bridge Infrastructure: A Reappropriation of the Street from Vehicular to Pedestrian Scale

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sacha Marthinez
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Urban Environment ◽  
Past Century ◽  
The Road ◽  
The Past ◽  
Human Scale ◽  
History Of ◽  
Pedestrian Traffic ◽  
Automobile Use ◽  
St Lawrence River

For the past century urban infrastructures have been designed primarily with automobile use in mind. The built environment consequently reflects a neglect of the human scale, that is, pedestrians. This thesis looks at existing contemporary bridges and explores ways of bringing pedestrian-scaled activity and vitality back onto the bridge, thereby breaking the confines of vehicular bridges to create a continuum of the urban environment on both ends. This thesis investigates methods of integration and coordination of vehicular and pedestrian traffic as a way to maintain the bridge as a “connector” for transport purposes, resulting in a future where bridges may facilitate a higher quality urban environment. The site for this thesis is the Jacques Cartier Bridge, a vehicular bridge that spans the St. Lawrence River in Montreal. This thesis examines the history of the street versus the road, place versus non-place, mobility versus transport and the influence of the Megastructuralist movement in Montreal as applicable elements for future bridge design. This thesis will also find ways to reacquaint itself with the estranged concept of the inhabitable bridge and demonstrating how it can be reintegrated into current and future infrastructural bridge concepts.

Of Questionable Legality: The Military Use of Cluster Bombs in Iraq in 2003

2004 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
pp. 143-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Hulme
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Biological Weapons ◽  
Environmental Concerns ◽  
Past Century ◽  
The Past ◽  
Cluster Bombs ◽  
High Propensity ◽  
Chemical And Biological Weapons ◽  
The Military ◽  
New Instruments

SummaryOver the past century, the laws of armed conflict have limited or prohibited the use of a number of weapons, principally due to their cruel effects or indiscriminate nature. Among the examples are chemical and biological weapons, anti-personnel mines, and blinding laser weapons. In recent years, one of the most controversial armaments used by states has been the cluster bomb. Cluster weapons are inexpensively produced area weapons with a high propensity for failure. The source of constant condemnation since the Vietnam conflict, the legality of cluster weapons remains highly questionable. With such weapons, the question is not so much whether there is a need to create new instruments of limitation, or indeed prohibition, but whether the existing laws of armed conflict are already sufficient to address any human and environmental concerns.

scholarly journals Inhabitable Bridge Infrastructure: A Reappropriation of the Street from Vehicular to Pedestrian Scale

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sacha Marthinez
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Urban Environment ◽  
Past Century ◽  
The Road ◽  
The Past ◽  
Human Scale ◽  
History Of ◽  
Pedestrian Traffic ◽  
Automobile Use ◽  
St Lawrence River

For the past century urban infrastructures have been designed primarily with automobile use in mind. The built environment consequently reflects a neglect of the human scale, that is, pedestrians. This thesis looks at existing contemporary bridges and explores ways of bringing pedestrian-scaled activity and vitality back onto the bridge, thereby breaking the confines of vehicular bridges to create a continuum of the urban environment on both ends. This thesis investigates methods of integration and coordination of vehicular and pedestrian traffic as a way to maintain the bridge as a “connector” for transport purposes, resulting in a future where bridges may facilitate a higher quality urban environment. The site for this thesis is the Jacques Cartier Bridge, a vehicular bridge that spans the St. Lawrence River in Montreal. This thesis examines the history of the street versus the road, place versus non-place, mobility versus transport and the influence of the Megastructuralist movement in Montreal as applicable elements for future bridge design. This thesis will also find ways to reacquaint itself with the estranged concept of the inhabitable bridge and demonstrating how it can be reintegrated into current and future infrastructural bridge concepts.

scholarly journals Energy policy and conservation planning in Sweden: a longitudinal evaluation

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 555-572
Author(s):  
Mattias Legnér ◽  
Gustaf Leijonhufvud ◽  
Martin Tunefalk
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Energy Saving ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Energy Subsidies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Past ◽  
Policy Measures ◽  
High Degree

PurposeSweden, like other countries, has set ambitious national targets for both energy efficiency and conservation of heritage values in the built environment. However, how these policies are implemented on a local level and how they affect each other is not known. This study aims to argue that extensive energy-saving policies can have unintentional impacts not just on the built environment but also on conservation practice.Design/methodology/approachBy using a longitudinal approach, the aim is to investigate the possibilities of conserving the built environment when policies for increased energy efficiency are implemented in existing urban areas. The methodology used is qualitative, applying a combination of study of public records, policy documents, interviews with public officials and ocular investigation of buildings in three areas located in two different municipalities.FindingsThe study suggests that extensive refurbishments not only have effects on the character of an area, but in extension, affect how urban planners and local authorities approach the development in the same area. Urban areas affected by extensive retrofits in the past seem to be managed in less detail, leaving existing policy measures on both energy and heritage untapped.Research limitations/implicationsThis is a study concerning two Swedish municipalities. Furthermore, it is limited to one specific policy measure, energy-saving subsidies provided in the 1970s and 1980s. The generalisability of the findings may, therefore, be limited. Despite this, the findings provide an important indication of the relationship between energy-saving policies in the past and urban planning practice of existing urban areas today, as well as the importance of alignment between policy-making and implementation.Practical implicationsPolicy instruments for the building stock and the practice of conservation planning have not worked well together. Due to local practice, energy subsidies provided in the 1970s and 1980s still today have a negative effect on both heritage conservation and energy efficiency in existing areas.Social implicationsThere is a discrepancy between expectations and outcome of policy measures. National decision-makers overestimate the possibilities to control the development on a local level, for both energy efficiency and heritage values. By examining an innovative set of sources, acknowledging long-term effects and entanglements of policies and practice, this study contributes to a better understanding of the complexity of different values in the built environment.Originality/valueBy comparing the share of approved applications, as well as completed energy retrofits, this study demonstrates that the effects of the national energy subsidy policy differed significantly between urban areas. Areas with a high degree of approved subsidies also had a high degree of retrofits, suggesting that the policy had intended effects. In these areas, the number of retrofits were also significantly higher than the number of subsidies. This was not the case where energy subsidies were fewer, which indicates that energy retrofits are performative, meaning that they accelerate further retrofits in the same area.

scholarly journals TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT IN CONSTRUCTION: A CONTINUUM FROM DISTANT PAST INTO THE FUTURE

2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 136-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirosław J. Skibniewski ◽  
Edmundas K. Zavadskas
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Systems Engineering ◽  
Materials Science ◽  
Technology Development ◽  
Past Century ◽  
Creative Thought ◽  
The Past ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of

This paper deals with the historical and current trends in the development of civil engineering and construction technologies. The authors demonstrate the continuity of creative thought and effort among early master builders and technology developers throughout the history of civilizations that created the most iconic structures remaining in the world heritage of the built environment to the contemporary times. Recent concepts and ongoing efforts in the development of advanced construction technologies based on automation and information sciences, materials science and systems engineering are highlighted in the context of historical ideas and achievements of past architects and construction engineers of the past century.

The zoonotic potential of bat-borne coronaviruses

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 365-381
Author(s):  
Ny Anjara Fifi Ravelomanantsoa ◽  
Sarah Guth ◽  
Angelo Andrianiaina ◽  
Santino Andry ◽  
Anecia Gentles ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Material ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Sympatric Species ◽  
Animal Origin ◽  
Mammalian Host ◽  
Past Century ◽  
The Past ◽  
Novel Host ◽  
Horseshoe Bat ◽  
Human Infections

Seven zoonoses — human infections of animal origin — have emerged from the Coronaviridae family in the past century, including three viruses responsible for significant human mortality (SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2) in the past twenty years alone. These three viruses, in addition to two older CoV zoonoses (HCoV-229E and HCoV-NL63) are believed to be originally derived from wild bat reservoir species. We review the molecular biology of the bat-derived Alpha- and Betacoronavirus genera, highlighting features that contribute to their potential for cross-species emergence, including the use of well-conserved mammalian host cell machinery for cell entry and a unique capacity for adaptation to novel host environments after host switching. The adaptive capacity of coronaviruses largely results from their large genomes, which reduce the risk of deleterious mutational errors and facilitate range-expanding recombination events by offering heightened redundancy in essential genetic material. Large CoV genomes are made possible by the unique proofreading capacity encoded for their RNA-dependent polymerase. We find that bat-borne SARS-related coronaviruses in the subgenus Sarbecovirus, the source clade for SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2, present a particularly poignant pandemic threat, due to the extraordinary viral genetic diversity represented among several sympatric species of their horseshoe bat hosts. To date, Sarbecovirus surveillance has been almost entirely restricted to China. More vigorous field research efforts tracking the circulation of Sarbecoviruses specifically and Betacoronaviruses more generally is needed across a broader global range if we are to avoid future repeats of the COVID-19 pandemic.

PCSK9 inhibition for LDL lowering and beyond – implications for patients with peripheral artery disease

VASA ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 165-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrin Gebauer ◽  
Holger Reinecke
Keyword(s):  
Cardiovascular Risk ◽  
Risk Reduction ◽  
Ldl Receptor ◽  
Density Lipoprotein ◽  
Past Century ◽  
Pcsk9 Inhibitors ◽  
Cardiovascular Risk Reduction ◽  
Simultaneous Application ◽  
The Past ◽  
Pcsk9 Inhibition

Abstract. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) has been proven to be a causal factor of atherosclerosis and, along with other triggers like inflammation, the most frequent reason for peripheral arterial disease. Moreover, a linear correlation between LDL-C concentration and cardiovascular outcome in high-risk patients could be established during the past century. After the development of statins, numerous randomized trials have shown the superiority for LDL-C reduction and hence the decrease in cardiovascular outcomes including mortality. Over the past decades it became evident that more intense LDL-C lowering, by either the use of highly potent statin supplements or by additional cholesterol absorption inhibitor application, accounted for an even more profound cardiovascular risk reduction. Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9), a serin protease with effect on the LDL receptor cycle leading to its degradation and therefore preventing continuing LDL-C clearance from the blood, is the target of a newly developed monoclonal antibody facilitating astounding LDL-C reduction far below to what has been set as target level by recent ESC/EAS guidelines in management of dyslipidaemias. Large randomized outcome trials including subjects with PAD so far have been able to prove significant and even more intense cardiovascular risk reduction via further LDL-C debasement on top of high-intensity statin medication. Another approach for LDL-C reduction is a silencing interfering RNA muting the translation of PCSK9 intracellularly. Moreover, PCSK9 concentrations are elevated in cells involved in plaque composition, so the potency of intracellular PCSK9 inhibition and therefore prevention or reversal of plaques may provide this mechanism of action on PCSK9 with additional beneficial effects on cells involved in plaque formation. Thus, simultaneous application of statins and PCSK9 inhibitors promise to reduce cardiovascular event burden by both LDL-C reduction and pleiotropic effects of both agents.

Archaeology in the Past Century

1901 ◽  
Vol 51 (1309supp) ◽  
pp. 20976-20977
Author(s):  
W. M. Flinders Petrje
Keyword(s):  
Past Century ◽  
The Past
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