scholarly journals The Courtyard House: Can a Sustainable Future Learn from a Context Relevant Past

Author(s):  
Hocine Bougdah

This paper looks at the courtyard house as a traditional urban dwellings of yesteryears with a view to explore its potential in informing the housing developments of the future.  In order to address the question, the paper starts with a historical overview of this built form as an urban dwellings that fulfilled its functional and spatial requirements in times gone by. It then goes on to highlight the inadequcy of post colonial housing solutions in Algeria and to look into two important aspects of this traditional housing typology; its socio-cultural relevance and environmental performance. The analysis is carried out using both secondary research in the form of three examples from the literature. and primary research carried out as field work in the form of temperature measurements inside a house, during the hot season, in Boussaada (Algeria). The discussion and concluding remarks attempts to make an arguments for re-considering what could be learned from such traditional housing typology to inform future urban development that would subscribe to the values of sustainable development.  Courtyard house, urabn development, typology, cultural relevance, environmental performance, traditional architecture, sustainable development

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tegwen Gadais ◽  
Laurie Décarpentrie ◽  
Andrew Webb ◽  
Marie Belle Ayoub ◽  
Mariann Bardocz-Bencsik ◽  
...  

Much has been written about sport as a tool for development and peace. But more research on Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) organizations, is needed to better understand their actual contributions to the UNs sustainable development goals. Yet, the unstable, risky, and restricted contexts in which many NGOs and SDP agencies operate often leaves researchers struggling to find effective yet feasible methods through which to examine agencies in these fields. Indeed, conducting field work on and with SDP agency often implies allocating significant quantities of researcher’s limited time, funding, and other vital resources. And as limited resources need to be invested wisely, SDP researchers will clearly need to prepare their fieldwork. Nevertheless, there are but a handful of methodological papers that address the question of how to prepare for SDP field work. In other words, the question of how we know if it is worthwhile, and safe enough, to proceed with SDP field work remains. Building on previous research, the purpose of this study is to raise important ontological and epistemological questions about what can be known about a given context, before setting off on fieldwork. We further explore the use of the Actantial Model as a research method for analyzing existing data before deciding whether to conduct fieldwork in complex and frequently insecure situations. In other words, will the cost (material, temporal, financial, and physical) of conducting fieldwork be worth it? By applying the Actantial Model, with the specific aim of informing decisions regarding subsequent fieldwork, to one specific case, contributions regarding the pertinence of conducting fieldwork are provided.


Symmetry ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 549 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zilong Song ◽  
Shiwei He ◽  
Baifeng An

This paper investigated, for the first time, the game and coordination of a dual-channel, three-layered, green fresh produce supply chain, with regard to its economic, social, and environmental performance. Considering that the market demand is dual-channel priced and sensitive to the degree of greenness and the freshness-level, four game models, under different scenarios have been established. These included a centralized scenario, a decentralized scenario, and two contractual scenarios. The equilibrium solutions under the four scenarios were characterized. From the perspective of a sustainable development, the economic, social, and environmental performance of the supply chain was analyzed. To enhance the supply chain performance, two contract mechanisms were designed and the conditions for a multi-win outcome were obtained. Accordingly, many propositions and management implications were provided. The results showed that, (1) compared to the centralized supply chain case, the performance of the decentralized supply chain case is inferior; (2) in addition to increasing the concentration of the supply chain decisions, the two contracts proposed can effectively coordinate the green supply chain and improve its sustainable performance; and (3) the performance of the supply chain is positively driven by the consumers’ sensitivity to greenness degree and the freshness level of fresh produce. This paper fills a research gap and helps the participants of the channel recognize the operational decision principle of a complex green supply chain, in order to achieve a higher and a long-term sustainable-development performance.


2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tetyana Pimonenko ◽  
Oleksii Lyulyov ◽  
Olena Chygryn ◽  
Maksim Palienko

The paper deals with the analysis of methodology of Environmental Performance Index. The authors analyzed and systematized the main existing integrated indices, which were used for evaluation of environmental, social and economic situation in the countries. The authors allocated the environmental performance index as a basis for analyzing the environmental policy of the country. In this direction, the authors analysed the main features, structure and indicators of environmental performance index. The authors allocated the world-leader countries with huge level of CO2 emissions. According to the results, the authors aproved that these countries should improve their environmental policy. Accordingly, they occupied less position in environmental performance index. For the purpose to analyze the relation between ecological, social and economic welfare, the authors analyzed score of sustainable development goal index, social progress index and gross domestic product per capita. The comparison analysis of findings showed that countries with good position on environmental performance index have the strong position on sustainable development goal index and social progress index. The authors suggested that Ukraine should orient to the EU countries with purpose to improve the environmental policy.


Author(s):  
Vimal K. E. K. ◽  
Nishal M. ◽  
Jayakrishna K.

The integration of sustainable development concepts with the traditional supply chain improves the environmental performance and green image among its stakeholders. During adoption of sustainability concepts in traditional supply chain management, some hurdles can be anticipated. These hurdles are called barriers, and industries must equip themselves to remove them. The difficulties associated with removal of barriers are identification and analysis for selection significant barriers. In this chapter, the significant barriers for incorporating sustainability in supply chain of high volume manufacturing are consolidated from the literature and categorized into seven groups: people, strategic, environmental, economic, societal, regulatory, and functional. The widely used evaluation methods are interpretive structural modeling and DEMATEL for which the procedure and guidance to infer the results are detailed. The chapter is expected to support the practicing engineers involved in implementation of sustainable concepts in supply chain.


Author(s):  
Ian Taylor

Africa is a continent of over a billion people, yet questions of underdevelopment, malgovernance, and a form of political life based upon patronage are characteristic of many African states. ‘Introduction to Africa and its politics’ explains that the core questions underpinning this VSI centre on how politics is typically practised on the continent; the nature of the state in Africa; and what accounts for Africa’s underdevelopment. This VSI aims to appraise sub-Saharan Africa’s recent political history, examining post-colonial political structures, the impact of colonialism, and the form and nature of post-colonial states. The type of politics practised in many African states continues to be hostile to genuine nation building and broad-based, sustainable development.


2001 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 1003-1017
Author(s):  
Julie Boudreau ◽  
Roland Leduc ◽  
James R Wilson

Since the beginning of the 1990s, many researchers and several organizations concerned with development- and environment-related issues have devised methods to evaluate sustainable development at national and international scales. To that effect, they have identified sustainable development indicators. To date, however, very little work has focused on industrial activities. This paper presents a semi-quantitative method allowing evaluation of the environmental aspect to sustainable development, with an application on the environmental performance of the effluent treatment procedure of a paper mill. Eight environmental indicators for sustainable development are considered for evaluation. These indicators are linked to the strategic requirements for sustainable development as stated in the Bruntdland Commission. They are also acknowledged by many authors and organizations. The environmental performance evaluation on the effluent treatment procedure of the paper mill under study shows that this activity meets a relative degree of sustainability. This evaluation allows the identification of the strengths and weaknesses of the effluent treatment with respect to sustainable development.Key words: indicators, sustainable development, measure, environmental performance, biologic treatment, effluents, paper mills.[Journal translation]


2014 ◽  
Vol 675-677 ◽  
pp. 1815-1818
Author(s):  
Ying Zhang

The enterprise is the main body of the market economy, impact of business activities on the environment is multifaceted, the effective management of the environmental performance of enterprises is the basis of circular economy construction, social sustainable development implementation. This article is based on theory of circular economy and sustainable development, analysis of existing problems and shortcomings of enterprise performance evaluation, combined with China's reality, discusses the value orientation of corporate environmental performance management and performance evaluation of the target under the Circular Economy , research building enterprise environmental performance evaluation system, in order to provide reference for decision-making and practice of enterprises.


2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-42
Author(s):  
Irena Rajković ◽  
Marija Bojović

Abstract Traditional architecture is one of the most important segments in the preservation and development of cultural identity. The Lake Skadar region abounds in examples of vernacular building activity that provide the clearest evidence of the creation of settlements and houses as a result of adaptation to natural environment. The study of vernacular architecture on the shores of Lake Skadar is related to the identification and potential evaluation of its local traditional features, as ecological building forms which express the principle of sustainability. Within the framework of research on vernacular architecture of this area, analysis is undertaken with the aim of defining guidelines for revitalizing traditional settlements in this region. In this respect the emphasis of this work is on recognizing the potential and possible directions in revitalization of cultural heritage of traditional settlements in keeping with the principles of sustainable development.


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