scholarly journals Iranian innovations in mosque lighting techniques: A historical survey

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 18-26
Author(s):  
Ahmad Moghaddasi ◽  
Mohammad Hossein Moghaddasi ◽  
Seyed Behshid Hosseini
Keyword(s):  
Historical Period ◽  
Islamic Architecture ◽  
Islamic Period ◽  
Semantic Concepts ◽  
Dry Climates ◽  
Qajar Period ◽  
Architectural Research ◽  
Innovative Techniques ◽  
Theoretical Foundations

Abstract From the viewpoint of preserving the values of sustainable architecture, daylight in the interiors of mosques in hot and dry climates has always faced limitations. The need to use daylight to provide the required lighting and, in contrast, to prevent the scorching desert sun from entering the spaces led to innovative techniques in Iranian architecture. These techniques have gradually evolved along with the development of semantic concepts of space in different periods of Islamic architecture, which has resulted in slight differences in their application in mosque buildings. In this article, while analysing the place of light in mosque architecture, the standard techniques in lighting mosques located in Iran’s hot and dry climate are studied. The employed research method is a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches. As the current historic-architectural research cannot be based solely on perception-based definitions, authors had to convert the conceptual features into a measurable index. To achieve this, a numerical index with the scale from 0 to 3 has been defined. The scoring was based on documents such as plans, images, etc. Although most case study objects were built over the centuries, they have general characteristics that distinguish them from a specific historical era. The authors studied the application of these techniques in some examples of selected mosques from four periods of Islamic architecture and present the results in the form of trend charts. Furthermore, they observed the principle of continuity in Iranian architecture from the historical period from the beginning of the Islamic period to the Qajar period, and, in accordance with the theoretical foundations of research, analysed the reasons for the ups and downs of each of the techniques.

Entrepreneurship and self-employment for mature-aged people

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-14
Author(s):  
Alex Maritz ◽  
Bronwyn Eager ◽  
Saskia De Klerk
Keyword(s):  
Social Health ◽  
Active Ageing ◽  
Entrepreneurial Ecosystem ◽  
Aged People ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
Australian Economy ◽  
Embedded Case Study ◽  
Theoretical Foundations ◽  
Research Recommendations

Not only do Australian mature-aged entrepreneurs contribute $11.9 billion per annum to the Australian economy in over 379,000 businesses, they launch approximately 14,000 new businesses each year and actively contribute to fiscal, social, health, and active ageing outcomes in their communities. Thirty-four per cent of all young businesses in Australia are now led by mature-aged entrepreneurs, identifying mature-aged entrepreneurship as the fastest growing sector of entrepreneurship. This study is the first of its kind to examine mature-aged entrepreneurship in Australia using five pragmatic and embedded case-study examples. Aligning to Cartensen's sociomotional selection theory, we adopted an interpretivist philosphical framework of emergent enquiry action research. The paper includes benefits and challenges associated with mature-aged entrepreneurship, including contextual and theoretical foundations. We provide policy and research recommendations to enhance the development of a dedicated entrepreneurial ecosystem for mature-aged people.

Irrigation in the Medieval Islamic Fayyum: Local Control in a Large-Scale Hydraulic System

2012 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yossef Rapoport ◽  
Ido Shahar
Keyword(s):  
Water Supply ◽  
Local Control ◽  
Water Allocation ◽  
Hydraulic System ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Close Reading ◽  
Unique Case ◽  
Islamic Period ◽  
Distinctive Aspect

Abstract Because of the unique set of sources available, the Fayyum in Middle Egypt offers a unique case study of large-scale irrigation from antiquity to the Islamic period. A close reading of a cadastral survey of the province from 641/1243-4 shows that the distinctive aspect of the Islamic period was the local control of water supply and management. Drawing on the engineering experience of the villagers, water allocation and management in the gravity-fed canals of the Fayyum were in the hands of iqṭāʿ holders and tribal groups along the main canals, a pattern similar to that which pertained in mediaeval al-Andalus.

scholarly journals Enclaving the City; New Models of Containing the Urban Populations: A Case Study of Cairo

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 202-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Safa H. Ashoub ◽  
Mohamed W. Elkhateeb
Keyword(s):  
Arab Spring ◽  
Development Project ◽  
Spatial Transformation ◽  
Road Infrastructure ◽  
Road Development ◽  
Planning Processes ◽  
The Arab Spring ◽  
The City ◽  
Theoretical Foundations

This article builds on theoretical foundations from enclave urbanism, authoritarian planning and neoliberal urbanisation to explore contemporary socio-spatial transformation(s) happening in Cairo, Egypt. Relying on a nationwide road development project, inner-city neighbourhoods in Cairo are turning into urban enclaves, whereby populations are being separated by a multiplicity of transport-related infrastructure projects. As these rapid planning processes are occurring, our article aims to explain why these developments are crucial and unique in the context of the post-Arab Spring cities. We argue that the new road infrastructure is creating a spatially and socially fragmented city and transforming the urban citizenry into a controllable and navigable body. We use an inductive approach to investigate the effects of the new road infrastructure and its hegemonic outcomes on the city. On a conceptual level, we propose that the enclaving of the city is a containment method that has erupted since the mass mobilisations of the Arab Spring. In doing so, we use qualitative analysis to explain empirical evidence showing how the city is being transformed into nodes of enclaves, where communities are getting separated from one another via socio-spatial fault lines.

The evolution of the pathways of innovation strategies in the automotive industry. The case of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Candelo ◽  
Ciro Troise ◽  
Diego Matricano ◽  
Amedeo Lepore ◽  
Mario Sorrentino
Keyword(s):  
Automotive Industry ◽  
Open Innovation ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Knowledge Flows ◽  
Historical Period ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Innovation Activities ◽  
Innovation Strategies

PurposeFundamental management innovations have been ideated and developed in the automotive industry. Over the years, carmakers have radically modified their innovation strategies. Currently, carmakers are increasingly adopting open innovation approaches, moving from a closed to open innovation paradigm. The aim of this paper is to reconstruct the evolution of the innovation activities performed by carmakers and to propose an original periodisation of innovation strategies in the automotive industry since its origins.Design/methodology/approachThis paper analyses the relevant literature and proposes a theoretical framework that defines how innovation strategies have changed from the birth of the automotive industry to current times. A detailed in-depth case study of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), one of the top ten global carmakers, is used to corroborate the theoretical framework. The case study reconstructs the entire evolution of the innovation strategies of the company from its origins to the present day.FindingsThe paper proposes an original periodisation by identifying three evolutionary phases of innovation strategies pursued by carmakers: “internal innovation”, “collaborative innovation” and “towards open innovation”. Each phase embraces a historical period, and for each period, the most relevant managerial aspects, as well as the types and direction of knowledge flows for fostering innovation, are analysed. The case study provides clear evidence that FCA has undergone the three above-cited phases in fostering its innovation strategies.Originality/valueThe study reconstructs the evolution of the innovation strategies performed by global carmakers, proposing an original periodisation of the transitions that occurred in practice in the automotive industry. This paper is among the first to explore the evolution of innovation strategies in the automotive industry since its origins to date and to highlight the salient differences that have occurred over time.

scholarly journals Houses and Daily Life in Islamic Portugal (12th–13th Century): Mértola in the Context of Gharb

Arts ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 77
Author(s):  
Santiago Macias
Keyword(s):  
Daily Life ◽  
13Th Century ◽  
Islamic Period ◽  
Southern Portugal

This is an overview of the houses in southern Portugal, at the final stages of the Islamic period, using Mértola as the case study. Recent archaeological works, performed in different places, give us information on the houses’ organization, as well on the daily life of the population. Alimentary habits have been disclosed through a series of analyses.

scholarly journals The new towns in the Agro Pontino: a literature review and critical bibliography

2019 ◽  
Vol 63 ◽  
pp. 08003
Author(s):  
Emanuela Margione
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Morphological Structure ◽  
Capital City ◽  
Medium Size ◽  
Historical Period ◽  
Urban Centre ◽  
New Towns ◽  
Reclamation Project ◽  
The Relationship

This literature review intends to focus on how the settlements system of the Agro Pontino, newly designed in a geographic area contiguous to the capital city and directly connected to the integral reclamation project elaborated by the agricultural economist Arrigo Serpieri starting from 1923, is narrated. The reclamation of the Agro Pontino is one of the most important territorial transformations carried out by Fascism under direct public control. Also, this case study is particularly significant due to the relationship between the capital city, Rome, as large urban centre, the new medium size cities, villages and the morphological structure of agricultural holdings, into a historical context where the concept of agricultural property is defined. Today we have an enormous number of books, paper and documents written in different historical period that can help us to understand the evolution of the Italian new towns but at the same time the large number of these materials can also make it difficult for understanding the project and its meaning through time. The aim of this paper is, therefore, to explain how to prepare a critical bibliography able to show the evolution of the reclamation project and the construction of new towns and the changing of its meaning over time. Also, thanks to this bibliography it’s possible to extract the main issues related to the Italian case study: the relationship between the existing landscape and the network of roads; the relationship between the plans for villages, towns and the architectural features of the new settlements, and finally, the role of public buildings as a system of public facilities promoting new behaviour patterns, and their bold modernist architecture symbolized the conquest of the land.

Positive deviance: learning from positive anomalies

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul G. LeMahieu ◽  
Lee E. Nordstrum ◽  
Dick Gale
Keyword(s):  
Quality Improvement ◽  
Dropout Prevention ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Action Learning ◽  
Positive Deviance ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Success Stories ◽  
Theoretical Foundations

Purpose This paper is one of seven in this volume, each elaborating different approaches to quality improvement in education. The purpose of this paper is to delineate a methodology called positive deviance. Design/methodology/approach The paper presents the origins, theoretical foundations, core principles and a case study demonstrating an application of positive deviance in US education, specifically dealing with the problem of high school dropout prevention in a California school district. Findings The six phases of this “asset-based” improvement approach are: define the organizational or community problem and desired outcomes; determine common practices relevant to the problem; discover uncommon but successful behaviors and strategies that solve the problem (the positive deviants), through inquiry and observation; design an action learning initiative based on findings; discern (monitor) progress of the initiative by documenting and evaluating regularly; and disseminate results through sharing, honoring and amplifying success stories. Originality/value Few theoretical treatments and demonstration cases are currently available on commonly used models of quality improvement from business, manufacturing and other fields that have potential value in improving education systems internationally. This paper fills this gap by elucidating one promising approach. By facilitating a comparison of the positive deviance approach to other quality improvement approaches treated in this volume, the paper provides added value.

Networked improvement communities

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul G. LeMahieu ◽  
Alicia Grunow ◽  
Laura Baker ◽  
Lee E. Nordstrum ◽  
Louis M. Gomez
Keyword(s):  
Quality Improvement ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
New Teacher ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Public School Systems ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Theoretical Foundations

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to delineate an approach to quality assurance in education called networked improvement communities (NICs) that focused on integrating the methodologies of improvement science with few of the networks. Quality improvement, the science and practice of continuously improving programs, practices, processes, products and services within organized social systems, is a still-evolving area in education. This paper is the first of seven elaborating upon different approaches to quality improvement in education[1]. It delineates a new methodology called the NICs model. Developed by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, the approach is aimed at continuously improving the quality of practices, processes and outcomes in targeted problem areas in education systems. Design/methodology/approach The paper presents the historical development, theoretical foundations, core principles and adaptation of key elements of the NICs model for quality improvement in education. A case study specifically examines the problem of fostering new teacher effectiveness and retention in large public school systems in the USA. Findings The six principles underlying the NICs model are as follows: make the work problem-specific and user-centered, focus on variation in performance, see the system that produces outcomes, improve at scale what you can measure, use disciplined inquiry to drive improvement and accelerate learning through networked communities. Originality/value Few theoretical treatments and demonstration cases are currently available that examine the application of common models of quality improvement in education. This paper elaborates on one promising approach. In addition to examining the NICs model, the paper derives added value by allowing comparisons with seven widely used quality improvement approaches treated in this volume.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document