A Multi-Level Approach to Concept Selection in Sustainable Design

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Stratton ◽  
Sara Behdad ◽  
Kemper Lewis ◽  
Sundar Krishnamurty
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Utility Score ◽  
Concept Selection ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Design Alternatives ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Early Phases ◽  
Different Levels ◽  
Selection Of ◽  
Lca Results

The motivation behind this work is to integrate economic and environmental sustainability into decision making at the early phases of design through the development of a hierarchical concept selection method. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a frequently implemented technique used to assess the environmental impacts of products, but it does not provide a simple means for including preference at different levels that can be used for comparison across design alternatives. A method is proposed to accommodate this issue expanding the Hypothetical Equivalents and Inequivalents Method (HEIM) to handle multi-level and multi-attribute trade-offs. The selection of a coffee maker design is used as an example to illustrate the implementation of the method with actual LCA results. The example provides valuable insights into how preferences may be elicited at different hierarchical levels and then combined to create a single utility score that represents to what extent each design alternative is preferred by the decision maker.

Multi-objective optimization for safety and reliability trade-off: Optimization and results processing

2018 ◽  
Vol 232 (6) ◽  
pp. 661-676
Author(s):  
Cristina Johansson ◽  
Johan Ölvander ◽  
Micael Derelöv
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Solid Base ◽  
Multi Objective Optimization ◽  
Specific System ◽  
Multi Objective ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Design Alternatives ◽  
Safety And Reliability ◽  
Potential Issue ◽  
Selection Of

In early design phases, it is vital to be able to screen the design space for a set of promising design alternatives for further study. This article presents a method able to balance several objectives of different mathematical natures, with high impact on the design choices. The method (MOSART) handles multi-objective optimization for safety and reliability trade-offs. The article focuses on optimization problem approach and processing of results as a base for decision-making. The output of the optimization step is the selection of specific system elements obtaining the best balance between the targets. However, what is a good base for decision can easily transform into too much information and overloading of the decision-maker. To solve this potential issue, from a set of Pareto optimal solutions, a smaller sub-set of selected solutions are visualized and filtered out using preference levels of the objectives, yielding a solid base for decision-making and valuable information on potential solutions. Trends were observed regarding each system element and discussed while processing the results of the analysis, supporting the decision of one final best solution.

When Are Designers Willing to Take Risks? How Concept Creativity and Prototype Fidelity Influence Perceived Risk

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth M. Starkey ◽  
Jessica Menold ◽  
Scarlett R. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Perceived Risk ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Risk Attitude ◽  
Individual Risk ◽  
Concept Selection ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Different Levels ◽  
Selection Of

Building prototypes is an important part of the concept selection phase of the design process, where fuzzy ideas get represented to support communication and decision making. However, previous studies have shown that prototypes generate different levels of user feedback based on their fidelity and aesthetics. Furthermore, prior research on concept selection has shown that individual risk attitude effects how individuals select ideas, as creative ideas are perceived to be riskier in comparison to less creative ideas. While the role of risk has been investigated in concept selection, there is lack of research on how risk is related to the selection of prototypes at various levels of fidelity. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of prototype fidelity, concept creativity, and risk aversion, on perceived riskiness and concept selection through a between-subjects study with 72 engineering students. The results revealed that there was a “goldilocks” effect in which students choose concepts with “just the right amount” of novelty, not too much and not too little, as long as quality was adequate. In addition, the prototype fidelity of a concept had an interaction with uniqueness, indicating that unique concepts are more likely to be perceived as less risky if presented at higher levels of fidelity.

scholarly journals Scale-related governance challenges in the water–energy–food nexus: toward a diagnostic approach

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Pahl-Wostl ◽  
Philipp Gorris ◽  
Nicolas Jager ◽  
Larissa Koch ◽  
Louis Lebel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Institutional Design ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Multi Scale ◽  
Space And Time ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Governance Challenges ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Multiple Levels ◽  
Different Levels

AbstractThe notion of a water–energy–food (WEF) nexus was introduced to encourage a more holistic perspective on the sustainable development of natural resources. Most attention has been directed at identifying potential synergies and trade-offs among sectors that could be addressed with improved technologies and management. The governance of the WEF nexus more broadly has received comparatively little attention, and the importance of scale in space and time has been largely ignored. Inspired by scholarship on multi-level governance in individual sectors, this paper identifies four scale-related governance challenges in the WEF nexus, namely: (1) scalar fit, which arises when planning and operating procedures work at different levels along the scales of space and time in different sectors; (2) scalar strategies, wherever the levels at which actors have influence and in which action takes place are contested and negotiated; (3) institutional interplay, where rules and norms in different sectors influence each other at different levels; (4) scalar uncertainty, arising out of the complexity of multi-level and multi-scale interactions. The relevance of these four challenges is illustrated with case studies from developed and developing countries. These examples show the importance of considering multiple levels and scales when assessing the likely effectiveness of WEF nexus governance mechanisms or proposals. The cases underline the need to pay close attention to issues of power, contestation, and negotiation, in addition to the analysis of institutional design. Thus, this paper recommends that nexus governance efforts and proposals be scrutinized for scale assumptions. The four identified challenges offer a suitable starting point for diagnosis.

When Are Designers Willing to Take Risks? How Concept Creativity and Prototype Fidelity Influence Perceived Risk

2019 ◽  
Vol 141 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth M. Starkey ◽  
Jessica Menold ◽  
Scarlett R. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Perceived Risk ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Risk Attitude ◽  
Individual Risk ◽  
Concept Selection ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Different Levels ◽  
Selection Of

Building prototypes is an important part of the concept selection phase of the design process, where fuzzy ideas get represented to support communication and decision making. However, the previous studies have shown that prototypes generate different levels of user feedback based on their fidelity and esthetics. Furthermore, prior research on concept selection has shown that individual risk attitude effects how individuals select ideas, as creative ideas are perceived to be riskier in comparison to less creative ideas. While the role of risk has been investigated in concept selection, there is lack of research on how risk is related to the selection of prototypes at various levels of fidelity. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of prototype fidelity, concept creativity, and risk aversion on perceived riskiness and concept selection through a between-subjects study with 72 engineering students. The results revealed that there was a “goldilocks” effect in which students choose concepts with “just the right amount” of novelty, not too much and not too little, as long as quality was adequate. In addition, the prototype fidelity of a concept had an interaction with uniqueness, indicating that unique concepts are more likely to be perceived as less risky if presented at higher levels of fidelity.

The Selection of Children's Books Translated from Spanish to Galician, Basque and Catalan (1940–80)

2009 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 243-258
Author(s):  
Mónica Domínguez Pérez
Keyword(s):  
Social Economic ◽  
Children’S Literature ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Intercultural Relations ◽  
Children's Books ◽  
Source Text ◽  
The Status ◽  
Castilian Spanish ◽  
Different Levels ◽  
Selection Of

This study deals with children's literature translated from Castilian Spanish into Galician, Basque and Catalan by a different publisher from that of the source text, between 1940 and 1980, and with the criteria used to choose books for translation during that period. It compares the different literatures within Spain and examines the intersystemic and intercultural relations that the translations reflect. Following the polysystems theory, literature is here conceived as a network of agents of different kinds: authors, publishers, readers, and literary models. Such a network, called a polysystem, is part of a larger social, economic, and cultural network. These extra-literary considerations play an important role in determining the selection of works to be translated. The article suggests that translations can be said to establish transcultural relations, and that they demonstrate different levels of power within a specific interliterary community. It concludes that, while translations may aim to change the pre-existent relationships, frequently they just reflect the status quo.

The Logical and Compositional Organization of the Lecture (Based on a Lecture from M. Mamardashvili’s Course “Lectures on Proust”)

2020 ◽  
pp. 72-81
Author(s):  
Aleksandra A. Talanina ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Academic Discourse ◽  
Basic Function ◽  
Literary Language ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Specific Nature ◽  
Teaching Process ◽  
Discourse Studies ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Spatiotemporal Coordination ◽  
Different Levels

Functional and stylistic studies give us an idea of linguistic features of speech products, thus enabling style identification. These specific features become most recognizable when comparing styles. Discourse studies, on the contrary, are mainly focused on understanding and describing basic factors of creating a form of a literary language (style) and factors that determine the characteristics of speech products in individual situations within a socially significant sphere. This article presents an analysis of the logical and compositional organization of the lecture as a genre of academic discourse, taking a university lecture from M. Mamardashvili’s course on M. Proust as an example. The specific nature of the lecture genre in academic discourse is determined by its basic function in the teaching process implemented in direct dialogue with the audience. The research is based on the thesis that a lecture is an event that can be analysed using the concept of chronotope. The use of this concept beyond the analysis of fiction is relevant since spatiotemporal coordination is mandatory for any speech product, regardless of the sphere it is created in or the functions it performs. The main feature of the lecture chronotope is multi-level organization, since a lecture has its own internal spatiotemporal coordinates. The lecture chronotope is explicated at different levels of the text (compositional, lexical and grammatical), which are interconnected. Considering this, two interconnected frameworks of the lecture – structural and semantic – are singled out; they provide the logical and compositional organization of the material, which is important to ensure students’ understanding.

Turnout in Multi-Level Systems

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sona N. Golder ◽  
Ignacio Lago ◽  
André Blais ◽  
Elisabeth Gidengil ◽  
Thomas Gschwend
Keyword(s):  
National Level ◽  
The Body ◽  
Political Community ◽  
The Political ◽  
European Level ◽  
National Elections ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
European Elections ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Different Levels

Voters face different incentives to turn out to vote in one electoral arena versus another. Although turnout is lowest in European elections, it is found that the turnout is only slightly lower in regional than in national elections. Standard accounts suggest that the importance of an election, in terms of the policy-making power of the body to be elected, drives variation in turnout across elections at different levels. This chapter argues that this is only part of the story, and that voter attachment to a particular level also matters. Not all voters feel connected to each electoral arena in the same way. Although for some, their identity and the issues they most care about are linked to politics at the national level, for others, the regional or European level may offer the political community and political issues that most resonate with them.

Parties, Voters, and Multi-Level Elections

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sona N. Golder ◽  
Ignacio Lago ◽  
André Blais ◽  
Elisabeth Gidengil ◽  
Thomas Gschwend
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Driving Force ◽  
Party System ◽  
Voting Behaviour ◽  
Electoral Institutions ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Different Levels

This chapter argues that individual voting behaviour and the strategies chosen by political parties across multiple electoral arenas should be considered jointly. Existing literature points to the importance of an election as a major driving force in voting behaviour, but it is argued that voters and parties may differ in their assessments of the importance of elections at different levels. The chapter discusses how the effect of the importance of an electoral arena, for both voter and party behaviour, will be conditioned by electoral institutions and characteristics of parties and the party system, in addition to individual voter characteristics contributing to it.

scholarly journals Potential for Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) in South Bihar, India

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 3502
Author(s):  
Somnath Bandyopadhyay ◽  
Aviram Sharma ◽  
Satiprasad Sahoo ◽  
Kishore Dhavala ◽  
Prabhakar Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Hard Rock ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Aquifer Storage And Recovery ◽  
Aquifer Recharge ◽  
Aquifer Storage ◽  
Cropping Season ◽  
Selection Of ◽  
Surface Technique

Among the several options of managed aquifer recharge (MAR) techniques, the aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) is a well-known sub-surface technique to replenish depleted aquifers, which is contingent upon the selection of appropriate sites. This paper explores the potential of ASR for groundwater recharge in the hydrological, hydrogeological, social, and economic context of South Bihar in India. Based on the water samples from more than 137 wells and socio-economic surveys, ASR installations were piloted through seven selected entrepreneurial farmers in two villages of South Bihar. The feasibility of ASR in both hard rock and deep alluvial aquifers was demonstrated for the prominent aquifer types in the marginal alluvial plains of South Bihar and elsewhere. It was postulated through this pilot study that a successful spread of ASR in South Bihar can augment usable water resources for agriculture during the winter cropping season. More importantly, ASR can adapt to local circumstances and challenges under changing climatic conditions. The flexible and participatory approach in this pilot study also allowed the farmers to creatively engage with the design and governance aspects of the recharge pit. The entrepreneurial farmers-led model builds local accountability, creates avenues for private investments, and opens up the space for continued innovation in technology and management, while also committing to resource distributive justice and environmental sustainability.

scholarly journals A Multiple and Multi-Level Substructure Method for the Dynamics of Complex Structures

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 5570
Author(s):  
Binbin Wang ◽  
Jingze Liu ◽  
Zhifu Cao ◽  
Dahai Zhang ◽  
Dong Jiang
Keyword(s):  
Structural Characteristics ◽  
Complex Structure ◽  
Complex Structures ◽  
System Matrix ◽  
Substructure Method ◽  
Residual Structure ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Fixed Interface ◽  
Selection Of

Based on the fixed interface component mode synthesis, a multiple and multi-level substructure method for the modeling of complex structures is proposed in this paper. Firstly, the residual structure is selected according to the structural characteristics of the assembled complex structure. Secondly, according to the assembly relationship, the parts assembled with the residual structure are divided into a group of substructures, which are named the first-level substructure, the parts assembled with the first-level substructure are divided into a second-level substructure, and consequently the multi-level substructure model is established. Next, the substructures are dynamically condensed and assembled on the boundary of the residual structure. Finally, the substructure system matrix, which is replicated from the matrix of repeated physical geometry, is obtained by preserving the main modes and the constrained modes and the system matrix of the last level of the substructure is assembled to the upper level of the substructure, one level up, until it is assembled in the residual structure. In this paper, an assembly structure with three panels and a gear box is adopted to verify the method by simulation and a rotor is used to experimentally verify the method. The results show that the proposed multiple and multi-level substructure modeling method is not unique to the selection of residual structures, and different classification methods do not affect the calculation accuracy. The selection of 50% external nodes can further improve the analysis efficiency while ensuring the calculation accuracy.

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