The International Journal of the Constructed Environment

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Constructed Environment

scholarly journals Why developmental niche construction is not selective niche construction: and why it matters

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 20160157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karola Stotz
Keyword(s):  
Niche Construction ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Evolutionary Significance ◽  
Heritable Variation ◽  
Developmentally Regulated ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Developmental Niche ◽  
Constructed Environment ◽  
Selective Environment

In the last decade, niche construction has been heralded as the neglected process in evolution. But niche construction is just one way in which the organism's interaction with and construction of the environment can have potential evolutionary significance. The constructed environment does not just select for , it also produces new variation. Nearly 3 decades ago, and in parallel with Odling-Smee's article ‘Niche-constructing phenotypes', West and King introduced the ‘ontogenetic niche’ to give the phenomena of exo genetic inheritance a formal name. Since then, a range of fields in the life sciences and medicine has amassed evidence that parents influence their offspring by means other than DNA (parental effects), and proposed mechanisms for how heritable variation can be environmentally induced and developmentally regulated. The concept of ‘developmental niche construction’ (DNC) elucidates how a diverse range of mechanisms contributes to the transgenerational transfer of developmental resources. My most central of claims is that whereas the selective niche of niche construction theory is primarily used to explain the active role of the organism in its selective environment, DNC is meant to indicate the active role of the organism in its developmental environment. The paper highlights the differences between the construction of the selective and the developmental niche, and explores the overall significance of DNC for evolutionary theory.

scholarly journals Typology of housing arrangements of Upper Silesia in 1848-2013 years – archetypes and their modernization flexibility

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 085-093
Author(s):  
Jerzy Cibis
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Research ◽  
Time Range ◽  
Social Phenomena ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Distinctive Features ◽  
Polish Literature ◽  
Residential Architecture ◽  
The Social ◽  
Constructed Environment

In the Polish literature of the subject granted to the residential architecture the most common is the theme of constructed environment, the problem of new trends both in form and design, most often in the context of the sustainable development. More and more frequent are the works on analyzing and describing the sociological perspective of dwelling. Basing on the long-term international and domestic publications and scientific research the spread and often interdisciplinary, complex works and articles concerning the social phenomena in architecture and its surrounding have recently appeared. Despite the huge in amount and the valuable literature as well as the scientific research being led in the last few years the lack of works presenting the complex condition of the residential stock shaped through centuries, in context of usability and needs of the residents, based on the possibilities and real modernisation activities is significant. The time range of the work covers the period from 1848-2013. The broad framework allows the recognition of the vast majority of the existing residential stock and gives the larger spectrum of evaluation in the spotted transformations. Industry initiated the process of the development of the number of contemporary cities.The work tries to gain the answer for:● what changes were done to the researched residential stock● in which period the changes were the most intensive● in which period the changes were the greatest in the area (both historically and in context of the usability)Author is also interested in the problem of similarity of the changes to the notes and descriptions of other authors concerning the values of durability and time (so the equipment, the interior divisions, installations, facades and constructions). The present article is used for a projection of these changes on the base of distinctive features of these arrangements and the attempt formulated of characteristic archetype in individual temporary sequences determined in examinations

Fantastic Fauna in a Global Perspective: understanding composites in early Eurasian Antiquity

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Petya Andreeva
Keyword(s):  
Visual Rhetoric ◽  
Ancient World ◽  
Global Perspective ◽  
Dynamic Scenes ◽  
World Views ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Eurasian Steppe ◽  
Organic Composites ◽  
Constructed Environment

Abstract Ancient tombs and hoards across the Eurasian steppe call for a thorough revision of art-historical categories associated with pastoral societies from Mongolia to Crimea. This study focuses on one such category. “Animal style” is an umbrella term traditionally used to categorise portable precious metalwork ornamented with dynamic scenes of vigorous animal fights and entwined zoomorphic designs. With its emphasis on irregular animal anatomies and deeply rooted in a “pars-pro-toto” mode of expression, steppe imagery of fantastic fauna presents a useful case study in broader investigations of composites in the ancient world and their diffusion across cultural spheres. This study views beasts through a binary lens, the structured monsters of Greco-Roman thinkers and the organic composites of nomadic steppe artisans. In the Western canon, “composites” existed within a politically-manufactured framework of governable “otherness”, in which fantastic fauna conveys a certain tension with the exotic, unknown and uncontrollable East. Meanwhile, in the visual rhetoric of steppe artisans, monsters represented a tension with the (cyclical) shifts occurring in one's biota rather than the tumultuous events in one's constructed environment. This paper explores how the contrasting steppe pastoralist and sedentary imperial world-views came to define the various functions and meanings of “composites” in Eurasian Antiquity.

An Analysis of the Historical Texture of Kandovan from the Viewpoint of Green Architecture

2013 ◽  
Vol 689 ◽  
pp. 75-80
Author(s):  
Hassan Ebrahimi Asl ◽  
Dariush Sattarzadeh
Keyword(s):  
Green Architecture ◽  
Natural Factors ◽  
The World ◽  
The Face ◽  
Constructed Environment

Kandovan is one of the unique and magical rocky villages in the world. This organic village is located near Tabriz, Iran. There are some other rocky architectures in the world which there isn’t any residency in them and have been deserted but Kandovan in terms of the life and residency is different from all of them and this 850-years-old place is home to some 700 people. The architecture of Kandovan is a clear sample of harmonization with nature. In this place, the skeletal factors of constructed environment have completely been chosen from the natural factors [1], in other words, there is a great relation between constructed environment and natural aspects in Kandovan. Despite most of the modern constructed environments, residents of Kandovan never tend to erode and change the face of nature. They try to adapt themselves to nature and maintain harmony with it; this harmonization leads the architecture of this place to use the least possible fossil energies. Our aim is analyzing this historical texture and find out the climatic strategies which have been applied here. We will find out, instead of confronting the nature, how man can adapt himself and foster harmony with his surroundings. Our methodology in this paper is analytical and descriptive; for this aim, we have used the various types of architectural software; moreover, for gathering information we used library sources and also visited the place.

Dukha Mobility in a Constructed Environment: Past Camp Use Predicts Future Use in the Mongolian Taiga

2019 ◽  
Vol 84 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Randall Haas ◽  
Todd A. Surovell ◽  
Matthew J. O'Brien
Keyword(s):  
Human Behavior ◽  
Tool Use ◽  
Strong Influence ◽  
Emergent Property ◽  
Strong Tendency ◽  
Mobility Patterns ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
Constructed Environment

Diverse theoretical perspectives suggest that place plays an important role in human behavior. One recent perspective proposes that habitual and recursive use of places among humans may be an emergent property of obligate tool use by our species. In this view, the costs of tool use are reduced by preferential occupation of previously occupied places where cultural materials have been discarded. Here we use the model to generate five predictions for ethnographic mobility patterns. We then test the predictions against observations made during one month of coresidence with a residentially mobile Dukha family in the Mongolian Taiga. We show that (1) there is a strong tendency to occupy previously used camps, (2) previously deposited materials are habitually recycled, (3) reoccupation of places transcends kinship, (4) occupational hiatuses can span decades or longer, and (5) the distribution of occupation intensity among camps is highly skewed such that most camps are not intensively reoccupied whereas a few camps experience extremely high reoccupation intensity. These findings complement previous archaeological findings and support the conclusion that the constructed dimensions of human habitats exert a strong influence on mobility patterns in mobile societies.

Let’s change tack, not wind direction: a response to Kog and Yaman (2016)

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 335-341
Author(s):  
Gary D. Holt
Keyword(s):  
Selection Process ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Process Models ◽  
Personal View ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Change Of Direction ◽  
Project Outcomes ◽  
Life Impact ◽  
Financial Interests ◽  
Constructed Environment

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to field a critical response to Kog and Yaman (2016) specifically; and more widely, to strengthen debate on contractor selection (CS) research. Design/methodology/approach Critical narrative and opinion based on personal worldview, experiential knowledge and future insight/vision. Findings It is argued that enduring CS research has become somewhat stagnated. It has over-emphasised selection process models vis-à-vis the reliability and currency of their processing components, and has inadequately focused on achieving real-life impact. Research limitations/implications The principal implication is to engender constructive debate in the field and encourage a change of direction in CS research. The limitation is that this response reflects a personal view and so will be open to “challenge”. Practical implications Potential to encourage increased practicability, accessibility and generalisability of CS research products, leading to their increased real-life take-up and improved impact on practice. Social implications For society, the optimal implications would be improved project outcomes; healthier stakeholders’ financial interests; and an enhanced constructed environment. Originality/value The content is entirely original insofar as it comprises a personal viewpoint.

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