scholarly journals The use of ceramics as an aesthetic element in Durban architecture (1914-2012)

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Raksha Padaruth
Keyword(s):  
Historical Background ◽  
Art Practice ◽  
Local Identity ◽  
Architectural Elements ◽  
Architectural Element ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Contemporary Practice ◽  
Insight Into

This paper documents and evaluates the use of ceramics as an aesthetic architectural element in Durban from 1914-2012 with special reference to James Hall (1916-2006), Andrew Walford (b.1942) and Jane du Rand (b.1969). These artists were selected because their work demonstrates a wide range of the use of decorative tiles and mosaics as aesthetic elements in Durban architecture over a period of more than fifty years. Reference is made to the historical use of tiles and mosaics as aesthetic architectural elements in Durban from 1914-1955 in order to provide a context to an investigation and evaluation of the contribution of Hall, Walford and du Rand to the use of tiles and mosaics as an aesthetic architectural element in Durban. The paper begins by highlighting the importance of this study, discusses the role of ceramic architectural adornment and defines terminology for the purpose of this research. In addition an explanation of the research methodology used, research questions and literature review is provided. The study is contextualised through an overview of the historical background of the use of ceramics (tiles and mosaics) as an aesthetic element in architecture. The importance of the use of ceramic elements in relation to architecture, as well as the different techniques and methods of production, are highlighted and related to contemporary practice. The overview provides insight into how the use of ceramic elements in the past has influenced the approach of contemporary practice. My contribution to the use of mosaics as an aesthetic architectural element in Durban and my art practice, in the form of an installation titled passage is discussed and evaluated. The paper concludes by noting that the historical use of tiles and mosaics as aesthetic elements in architecture persists in contemporary art practice. However, the methods of tiled mosaic production and tiled mosaic techniques have been revolutionised extensively. It is evident that, the use of ceramics as an aesthetic element in Durban architecture reflects, both a strong European design influence and a distinctive local identity.

scholarly journals Towards a Glass New World: The Role of Ion-Exchange in Modern Technology

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 4610
Author(s):  
Simone Berneschi ◽  
Giancarlo C. Righini ◽  
Stefano Pelli
Keyword(s):  
Ion Exchange ◽  
Communication Networks ◽  
High Speed ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Modern Technology ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Happy Marriage

Glasses, in their different forms and compositions, have special properties that are not found in other materials. The combination of transparency and hardness at room temperature, combined with a suitable mechanical strength and excellent chemical durability, makes this material indispensable for many applications in different technological fields (as, for instance, the optical fibres which constitute the physical carrier for high-speed communication networks as well as the transducer for a wide range of high-performance sensors). For its part, ion-exchange from molten salts is a well-established, low-cost technology capable of modifying the chemical-physical properties of glass. The synergy between ion-exchange and glass has always been a happy marriage, from its ancient historical background for the realisation of wonderful artefacts, to the discovery of novel and fascinating solutions for modern technology (e.g., integrated optics). Getting inspiration from some hot topics related to the application context of this technique, the goal of this critical review is to show how ion-exchange in glass, far from being an obsolete process, can still have an important impact in everyday life, both at a merely commercial level as well as at that of frontier research.

scholarly journals Playing with Fire: Analysing the Role of Fire in Architecture

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Joanita Goei
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Modern Science ◽  
Living Organism ◽  
Architectural Elements ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Architectural Element ◽  
Contemporary Architecture ◽  
Basic Level ◽  
Living Being

<p>This research addresses the four inherent themes within fire. Fire has an association with myth due to its complexity in nature and existence long before modern science. Even today these myths live on as a way to describe the characteristics of fire as an architectural element. Bachelard’s book The Psychoanalysis of Fire looks at how fire connects with our primitive self through reverie. Fire’s contemplative character allows us to escape the surrounding world, and transport us to a kind of subconscious level. An extension of the reverie of fire is fire’s relation to the primitive. Although we have evolved into advance species, at a basic level we are all still animals. There are certain primal needs inherent within us such as sense of safety and community. Fire fulfils these needs architecturally by providing the setting for ‘primitive experiences.’ The last theme I will look at has to do with fire’s association with living beings. Even though fire is not scientifically a living organism, it is often compared to a living being due to its complexity in character. Moreover, it often symbolises life in many levels of society such as the civic hearth during the Greco-Roman era. Several case studies are looked at to see the application of the ideas represented within the themes of fire. A range of contemporary architecture is chosen to show how the ideals associated with fire are still applicable in architecture even today. In the case studies fire has either been excluded physically but present symbolically, or its presence has been reduced to the bare minimum. The case studies aim to show how fire can be addressed architecturally using other architectural elements that are traditionally associated with fire, such as chimneys and hearth. Due to current issues such as sustainability, having fire physically within a space is becoming more difficult. Many places around the world have banned open fires. An option to continue celebrating fire within architecture is through the symbolic representation of the element. This can be done by using other architectural elements that we traditionally associate with fire ...</p>

Robots in recycling and disassembly

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 461-466 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Bogue
Keyword(s):  
Research Effort ◽  
Electronic Waste ◽  
Waste Recycling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Electronic Waste Recycling ◽  
Product Disassembly ◽  
Insight Into

Purpose This paper aims to illustrate the growing role robots are playing in recycling and product disassembly and provide an insight into recent research activities. Design/methodology/approach Following a short introduction, this first considers robotic waste sorting systems and then describes two systems for the disassembly of electronic products. It then provides details of some recent research activities. Finally, brief conclusions are drawn. Findings Robotic systems exploiting artificial intelligence combined with various sensing and machine vision technologies are playing a growing role in the sorting of municipal and industrial waste, prior to recycling. These are mostly based on delta robots and can achieve pick rates of 60-70 items/min and be configured to recognise and select a wide range of different materials and items from moving conveyors. Electronic waste recycling is yet to benefit significantly from robotics although a limited number of systems have been developed for product disassembly. Disassembly techniques are the topic of a concerted research effort which often involves robots and humans collaborating and sharing disassembly tasks. Originality/value This provides an insight into the present-day uses and potential future role of robots in recycling which has traditionally been a highly labour-intensive industry.

scholarly journals The Role of the Fibronectin IGD Motif in Stimulating Fibroblast Migration

2007 ◽  
Vol 282 (49) ◽  
pp. 35530-35535 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher J. Millard ◽  
Ian R. Ellis ◽  
Andrew R. Pickford ◽  
Ana M. Schor ◽  
Seth L. Schor ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fibroblast Migration ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Migration Stimulating Factor ◽  
Function Relationship ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
Stimulating Factor ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Stimulation Of

The motogenic activity of migration-stimulating factor, a truncated isoform of fibronectin (FN), has been attributed to the IGD motifs present in its FN type 1 modules. The structure-function relationship of various recombinant IGD-containing FN fragments is now investigated. Their structure is assessed by solution state NMR and their motogenic ability tested on fibroblasts. Even conservative mutations in the IGD motif are inactive or have severely reduced potency, while the structure remains essentially the same. A fragment with two IGD motifs is 100 times more active than a fragment with one and up to 106 times more than synthetic tetrapeptides. The wide range of potency in different contexts is discussed in terms of cryptic FN sites and cooperativity. These results give new insight into the stimulation of fibroblast migration by IGD motifs in FN.

The role of augmented reality in robotics

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (6) ◽  
pp. 789-794
Author(s):  
Robert Bogue
Keyword(s):  
Augmented Reality ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Haptic Feedback ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Virtual Fixtures ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Positional Control

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an insight into how augmented reality (AR) technologies are being applied to robotics. Design/methodology/approach Following an introduction and a brief historical background to AR, this first provides examples of AR applications in robot programming. It then gives examples of recent research into AR-based robot teleoperation. Research activities involving the virtual fixtures (VF) technique are then discussed and finally, brief conclusions are drawn. Findings Because AR concepts were first investigated in the 1990s, applications involving robotics have been widely studied. Programming with the aid of AR devices, such as the HoloLens headset, can be simplified and AR methods, including the VF technique, can improve the accuracy and speed of teleoperation, manipulation and positional control tasks. They can also provide visual or haptic feedback which leads to more intuitive operation and significantly reduces the cognitive load on the operator. Originality/value This provides an insight into the growing role of AR in robotics by providing examples of recent research in a range of applications.

scholarly journals Short-Term Effects of Pacifier Texture on NNS in Neurotypical Infants

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Austin L. Oder ◽  
David L. Stalling ◽  
Steven M. Barlow
Keyword(s):  
Short Term ◽  
Compression Pressure ◽  
Term Infants ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Postmenstrual Age ◽  
Array Density ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Dense Representation ◽  
Short Term Effects

The dense representation of trigeminal mechanosensitive afferents in the lip vermilion, anterior tongue, intraoral mucosa, and temporomandibular joint allows the infant’s orofacial system to encode a wide range of somatosensory experiences during the critical period associated with feed development. Our understanding of how this complex sensorium processes texture is very limited in adults, and the putative role of texture encoding in the infant is unknown. The purpose of this study was to examine the short-term effects of a novel textured pacifier experience in healthy term infants (N=28). Nonnutritive suck (NNS) compression pressure waveforms were digitized in real time using a variety of custom-molded textured pacifiers varying in spatial array density of touch domes. MANCOVA, adjusted for postmenstrual age at test and sex, revealed that infants exhibited an increase in NNS burst attempts at the expense of a degraded suck burst structure with the textured pacifiers, suggesting that the suck central pattern generator (sCPG) is significantly disrupted and reorganized by this novel orocutaneous experience. The current findings provide new insight into oromotor control as a function of the oral somatosensory environment in neurotypically developing infants.

Qualitative perspectives: through a methodological lens

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee Parker
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Significant Contribution ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Management Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Qualitative Methodologies ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Management Scholarship

Purpose – This paper aims to offer an insight into the emergent qualitative methodological profile and its distinctive contribution to accounting and management scholarship, particularly reflecting upon the contribution of Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management (QRAM). Design/methodology/approach – It examines the range of qualitative methodologies employed in the research published across the ten years of QRAM and analyses the methodological discourse and its contribution to the armoury available to qualitative researchers. In association with these methodological developments, the paper offers a critique of the articulated role of theory in contemporary accounting and management qualitative research. Findings – A wide range of qualitative methodologies are found to be in evidence, with considerable scope for further adoption and development of some. Methodological exposition papers are found to be a significant contribution in the past decade and include methodological framework building, methodological applications, methodological critiques, and methodological development exemplars. Alongside methodology, the dual role of theory as either informing or reflecting methodology is presented. Originality/value – The paper provides a critical analysis and consideration of qualitative methodological literature development in the last ten years of accounting and management research literature, particularly reflected in QRAM. It identifies dominant methodologies in use, as well as opportunities for expanding the methodological menu in accounting and management research. Furthermore, it classifies groups of methodological papers and their contributing perspectives, as well as addressing the often-vexed relationship between theory and methodology.

Local modes

2002 ◽  
Vol 80 (12) ◽  
pp. 1635-1642 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan R Henry ◽  
Henrik G Kjaergaard
Keyword(s):  
Atmospheric Chemistry ◽  
Molecular Conformation ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
Local Mode ◽  
Local Modes ◽  
Band Profile ◽  
Methyl Rotation ◽  
Insight Into

The historical background for the development of the local mode approach is reviewed, including the critical role of the radiation field. The harmonically coupled anharmonic oscillator model is described. Local modes have been used in the interpretation of XH stretching overtone spectra. These spectra can be used as sensitive probes of molecular properties such as bond length and molecular conformation. Examples of these spectral features are discussed. An intensity theory has been developed that permits the accurate calculation of relative and absolute overtone intensities. In molecules with low barriers to methyl rotation, torsional states contribute to the XH stretching band profile. A successful theoretical approach is presented that accounts for these effects and provides insight into the vibrational dynamics. The application of calculated local mode overtone spectra to atmospheric chemistry is discussed.Key words: local mode, overtone, vibrational intensity.

scholarly journals The Role of Small Towns in Local Place Making

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 427-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernadett Csurgó ◽  
Boldizsár Megyesi
Keyword(s):  
Local Community ◽  
Small Towns ◽  
Central Position ◽  
Local Identity ◽  
Place Making ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Image Building ◽  
Innovative Capacity ◽  
Local Image

Abstract Self-promotion and reinterpretation of local identity is becoming increasingly important in rural communities. Local identity building is succeeded very differently by rural municipalities and regions. The paper analyses the role of small towns in local identity creation. There are varying interpretations of places in Hungary as ways of achieving meaningful territorialisation. Small towns based on their leading and central position within the micro regions can dominate the place-making processes. Using the example of six Hungarian rural micro-regions we analyse how rural small towns position themselves by local image building. The aim of this paper is to investigate interactions between territorial position and innovative capacity of rural towns through the analysis of symbolisation process and image building. We purpose to introduce a concept of a place oriented approach and demonstrate its usefulness for analysis of rural innovation and place-based development. The case-studies are based on qualitative methods: document-analysis, semi-structured interviews, transect walking and participatory observation. The paper analyses the process of local community and identity building in six rural micro-regions. We seek to understand how small towns position themselves in place-making, the aim of ‘placing’ themselves in the territorial hierarchy of the settlements of micro region. Our results suggest that small towns play very different roles in local image building. Characteristics and territorial scope of local cultural heritage significantly determine the innovative capacity of small towns in local image building where there is a wide range of meanings procedures and processes of place-making.

A Discussion of Alexander Cooley and Jack Snyder's Ranking the World: Grading States as a Tool for Global Governance

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 166-167
Author(s):  
Bo Rothstein
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Global Governance ◽  
Comparative Politics ◽  
Science Inquiry ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The World ◽  
Contemporary Practice

Ranking the World: Grading States as a Tool of Global Governance, edited by Alexander Cooley and Jack Snyder, assembles an impressive group of political scientists to critically discuss “the important analytical, normative, and policy issues associated with the contemporary practice of ‘grading states.’” The volume addresses a topic of importance to a wide range of political scientists in comparative politics, international relations, and political theory, and raises some fundamental questions about the role of political science at the nexus of theory and practice. We have thus invited a number of colleagues to discuss the volume and its broader implications for political science inquiry.

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