New Housing Concepts: Modular, Circular, Biobased, Reproducible, and Affordable

For a moment, it seemed that the architect had disappeared from the construction supply chain for sustainable and affordable housing provided by Dutch housing associations. Large contractors were making direct agreements with housing associations and wanted to scale up production with their housing factories. However, with the ‘So You Think You Can BUILD’ challenge, architects, consultancies, and contractors reinvented themselves within the construction supply chain and acquired a position as providers of circular building concepts. The aim of this challenge is to stimulate providers of homes to design and produce (in great numbers) affordable and sustainable houses. This not only scales up building production in empty fields but also within difficult and dense build urban areas. A whole new generation of Dutch architects, consultancies, and contractors working in collaboration are now intensively involved with circular and biobased residential buildings, innovative materials and production processes. They are managing to provide attractive products for housing associations and other clients. In the first part of 2021, ‘So You Think You Can BUILD’ challenged teams of designers, engineers and contractors to develop new concepts, with the three winners applying the principles of the ‘passive house’, which is modular and circular, as well as a smart building skin and smart core with open floor space in between.

Multimodal Listening

This chapter aims to uncover how students display (non)participation and (dis)engagement when they are meant to be listening, focusing on how students’ embodied actions can make their engagement and participation in listening public. In tracing how students’ participation displays ebb and flow over the course of extended listening episodes, the analysis shows their orientation to the need to “do listening” in some visible way, even when interactional expectations are unclear. Repair is proposed as an element of active listenership, itself a constitutive part of classroom interactional competence. Finally, the analysis in this chapter demonstrates how students engage in multiactivity during multimodal listening episodes, focusing on their own “parallel activities” (Koole, 2007) as well as the main activity occurring on the open floor of the classroom.

Why Does a High Humidity Level Form in Low-Income Households Despite Low Water Vapor Generation?

This study uses long-term field measurements to quantify the indoor humidity generation rates of low-income households vulnerable to condensation and related problems. We found that the mean internal moisture excess of low-income households in Korea was 4.69 g/m3 higher than those of prior studies. Indoor water vapor generation rates of various activities considering the life style of low-income households were also quantified. The moisture generation rates of the shower and bath were 125.3 g/event and 51.1 g/event, respectively, and showed a similar or lower value compared to the existing results. The moisture generation rate of cooking showed the largest difference due to the residential characteristics of low-income households, such as cooking less frequently due to meal delivery services from the welfare center and the lower number of residents per household. Even though the moisture generation rates of low-income households for certain activities showed lower values compared to the results of prior studies, the indoor conditions were very humid due to the lower ventilation rates and studio-type open floor plan.

Probable Exit Strategy Against COVID-19 of Low Resource Country like Nepal: Open Floor Discussion

Lockdown is essential for containing the spread of SARS-CoV-2. It is the best measure to maintainextreme social distancing which has been effective in controlling the infection and saving lives.But they are causing huge loss economically, disrupting social life and causing distress around theworld. Reopening too quickly or too boldly without a goal-oriented strategy could mean a secondwave of infection as fierce or even worse as the first. The fundamentals of the virus remain the same –one infected person will, without a lockdown pass it onto three others on average. The consequencesof lifting the lockdown are unforeseeable and the stakes are high. Due to the different spectrumof severity with same strain of virus and uncertainty of post lockdown era, lifting the lockdownwill be a trial and error approach. Nevertheless, at some point the lockdown has to be lifted. Thestrategic approach would be innumerable testing, investigations, strong contact tracing, isolationand follow-up. In a low-income country like Nepal, this will mean negotiating a tricky balancebetween terminating the spread of SARS-CoV-2, and allowing people to recover their livelihoodsbefore they slip into extreme poverty and anguish.

RAINWATER HARVESTING SYSTEM FOR TECHNO INDIA NJR INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY ENGINEERING COLLEGE, UDAIPUR

Rainwater harvesting is a process of saving rainwater through the roof and open floor along the proper slope. Rajasthan is facing crises of water due to less rainfall every year. It is required to develop systems for collecting the rainwater from existing structures for fulfills water demand throughout the year. In this project, a rainwater harvesting system has been made for Techno India NJR campus through visual inspection, total station, theodolite, and GIS survey. Visual inspection has been done. Rainwater can be harvested through roofs of the academic block, workshop, hostel building, and I3 lab of the college. Some more area which is occupied by tiles and road was also considered for rainwater harvesting. The total built-up area for collecting rainwater is 9138.824 m2. Average rainfall in Udaipur is 689 mm/year and 6296.138 m3 volume of water can be saving through recharge in bore well. Two points have been selected based on the survey of the campus.

Development of a Coding Scheme for Qualitative Analysis of Student Motivation in Senior Capstone Design

Senior Capstone Design courses offer two major types of projects: industry sponsored projects and non-industry sponsored projects. Previous studies show changes in student motivation based on the type of project they select. However, the quantitative data analysis fails to capture the reasoning behind the student’s inclination towards a certain type of project in the beginning of the selection phase. Also, little is known about the personal experiences of the student working on the team and project they choose. This paper addresses the gap in the examination of student motivation based on the type of projects they select. This paper outlines a coding scheme developed to analyze the qualitative interview data gathered during an open-floor style exit interview with all of the senior design teams. The thirty minute exit interviews were conducted at the end of the semester to capture their experiences and reflections about the course. A coding manual is generated which highlights the codes observed frequently among the teams. Themes are developed highlighting the important phases of the course. The objective is to develop a coding scheme for senior capstone design courses which would serve as a guide to the educators to determine various factors that influence student motivation and improve the senior design experience for all students.

Free-range laying hens: using technology to show the dynamics and impact of hen movement

Free-range laying hens are provided with the opportunity to access various structural areas, including open floor space, feed areas, water lines, next boxes, perches, aviary tiers, winter gardens and ranges. Different individual location preferences can lead to the development of hen subpopulations that are characterised by various health, welfare and performance parameters. Understanding the complexity of hen movement and hen interactions within their environment provides an opportunity to limit the disadvantages that are associated with housing in loose husbandry systems and aids in decision-making. Monitoring hen movement using modern technologies such as radio-frequency identification (RFID), optical flow patterns, image analysis and three-dimensional (3D) cameras allows the accumulation of big data for data mining, clustering and machine learning. Integrating individual-based management systems into modern flock management will not only help improve the care of under-performing hens, but also ensure that elite hens are able to use their full genetic potential, allowing an ethical, sustainable and welfare friendly egg production. This review highlights the dynamics and impact of hen movement in free-range systems, reviews existing knowledge relevant for feeding hens in non-cage systems, and outlines recent technological advances and strategies to improve the management of free-range laying hens.

Exploring Innovative Pedagogy To Deliver Financial Education: A Peer-To-Peer Event With Students

An innovative 2015 Financial Education Event utilized collaborative learning, peer-to-peer learning strategies, and multimedia to engage students and deliver financial content. Thirty-three students in a financial counseling class hosted the event for students from a personal finance course as well as the university community. For the event, the financial counseling class conducted research and created six financial infographics that were presented in an open-floor setting on six 70-inch monitors. The six financial topics included budgeting basics, conquering credit, how to be a smart shopper, how to manage student loan debt, kick-starting your first job, and life after college. The financial education event was an opportunity for students to interact and engage in financial dialogue in a fun, enthusiastic, and interactive environment. During this peer-to-peer educational event, students were able to explore, engage, and learn beyond the traditional classroom setting.