Innovating the Construction Life Cycle through BIM/GIS Integration: A Review

The construction sector is in continuous evolution due to the digitalisation and integration into daily activities of the building information modelling approach and methods that impact on the overall life cycle. This study investigates the topic of BIM/GIS integration with the adoption of ontologies and metamodels, providing a critical analysis of the existing literature. Ontologies and metamodels share several similarities and could be combined for potential solutions to address BIM/GIS integration for complex tasks, such as asset management, where heterogeneous sources of data are involved. The research adopts a systematic literature review (SLR), providing a formal approach to retrieve scientific papers from dedicated online databases. The results found are then analysed, in order to describe the state of the art and suggest future research paths, which is useful for both researchers and practitioners. From the SLR, it emerged that several studies address ontologies as a promising way to overcome the semantic barriers of the BIM/GIS integration. On the other hand, metamodels (and MDE and MDA approaches, in general) are rarely found in relation to the integration topic. Moreover, the joint application of ontologies and metamodels for BIM/GIS applications is an unexplored field. The novelty of this work is the proposal of the joint application of ontologies and metamodels to perform BIM/GIS integration, for the development of software and systems for asset management.

Estimation of the Energy Consumption of an All-Terrain Mobile Manipulator for Operations in Steep Vineyards

A heterogeneous robotic system that can perform various tasks in the steep vineyards of the Mediterranean region was developed and tested as part of the HEKTOR—Heterogeneous Autonomous Robotic System in Viticulture and Mariculture—project. This article describes the design of hardware and an easy-to-use method for evaluating the energy consumption of the system, as well as, indirectly, its deployment readiness level. The heterogeneous robotic system itself consisted of a flying robot—a light autonomous aerial robot (LAAR)—and a ground robot—an all-terrain mobile manipulator (ATMM), composed of an all-terrain mobile robot (ATMR) platform and a seven-degree-of-freedom (DoF) torque-controlled robotic arm. A formal approach to describe the topology and parameters of selected vineyards is presented. It is shown how Google Earth data can be used to make an initial estimation of energy consumption for a selected vineyard. On this basis, estimates of energy consumption were made for the tasks of protective spraying and bud rubbing. The experiments were conducted in two different vineyards, one with a moderate slope and the other with a much steeper slope, to evaluate the proposed estimation method.

The search for baseline events for assessing the safety of nuclear refueling operations at nuclear power plants

The relevance of the topic of the safety of nuclear refueling operations is associated with the specificity of exploitation of RBMK units. One of the most hazardous, from the perspective of accidents at modern nuclear power plants, is the process of nuclear fuel reloading. The operations on rearrangement of fuel cartridges entail the risk of fuel damage, and thus, the likelihood of the release of radioactive substances exceeding the permissible limits. The process of reloading RBMK, if the reactor is at full capacity, consists of the vast number of complex operations characterized by a range parameters. Non-observance of the criteria for carrying out operations, or if the parameter values exceed permissible limits, with high probability leads to an accident. This article explores the possibility of application of formalized approach towards determination of the baseline events that may cause accidents for the purpose of the development of essential protection instruments. The formal approach would allow detecting the excessiveness in protection instruments on the existing blocks, as well as revealing the accident situations that cannot be prevented using these protection instruments. The author formulated systemic approach towards comprehensive assessment of the accident rate of structurally complex systems. Adaptation of this method relative to REM allows systematizing the search for baseline vents that entail uncontrolled situations, as well as optimizing the protection instruments that would ultimately enhance reliability of the system, simplify the exploitation process, and reduce the time of operating cycle of the controller for processing of the protection.

Promoting Sustainability through Corporate Social Responsibility

The current study aims to explore if effective corporate social responsibility leads to corporate sustainability in medium-sized manufacturing enterprises. Using the factors, an exploratory examination was performed to assess their suitability in Indian context and data was collected from 121 manufacturing companies using a structured questionnaire based on pretested scale and the proposed relationships were tested through partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The results show overall model fit, and empirical examinations support causal relationships between effective corporate social responsibility and corporate sustainability (CS). The results indicated that effective CSR mediated the relationships between corporate sustainability and integration of CSR into corporate policy and priority of the board towards CSR. The results of this study are useful for medium-sized enterprises to establish a formal approach towards CSR and meet the needs of business and society in the twenty-first century.

What Is ‘Marshallianism’?

Marshall’s intellectual heritage is often described as ‘Marshallianism’, a general designation of his intellectual style as teacher and writer. But what exactly might this mean? While it is not necessarily wrong to describe his work in this way, it is necessary to have a clear idea of what the term denotes. To begin with, the work of Marshall is distinguished from that of his near (senior) contemporary, Stanley Jevons; but his death in 1882 came at a point when his version of economics had been gaining ground in Britain. While soon eclipsed by Marshall, this more formal approach later became the trademark of the London School of Economics in the 1920s, mediated by its Professor of Political Economy, Edwin Cannan. Then the work of Marshall as a teacher is examined, identifying an approach that sought to encourage students to apply their economic knowledge to the contemporary world. What he sought to inculcate in his students is shown by a discussion of the work of two of his students, A. C. Pigou and Sydney Chapman. This is then followed by a consideration of the composition and editorial changes to Marshall’s Principles of Economics, first published in 1890 and reaching a very much changed final edition in 1920, in which form it continued to be reprinted for much of the twentieth century. Notwithstanding the long life of this work, it can then be shown that, by the 1920s, criticism of Marshall’s approach to economic analysis was increasing, signalling the demise of the Marshallian heritage.

Litwa Środkowa jako państwo marionetkowe z perspektywy prawa międzynarodowego

The article concerns the legal status of Central Lithuania as a so-called puppet state from the point of view of international law. The very concept of a puppet state is based upon the apparent fulfilment of the Montevideo criteria — which boils down to the lack of effectiveness. The reasons for establishing such an entity are varied, but they are all politically biased. The points of reference are primarily Bantustans and Manchukuo — they are key instances of puppet states discussed in legal literature. In the case of Poland, the establishment of Central Lithuania was an imminent effect of the Polish-Soviet War. On the one hand, the goal of setting up the Central Lithuania as a puppet state was undoing the effects of the war with totalitarian Soviet Russia using the fait accompli method. On the other hand, it was about the legitimacy of territorial change which occurred as a result of a territorial referendum on the future of the Vilnius region. The key issue related to establishing puppet states is a need to refer to a very formal approach to international law. However, such an approach is not widely supported by legal writings on international law. As the result a puppet state has to face the allegation of being contrafactual since the very moment of its emergence. That means that a territorial change done by establishing a puppet state cannot be eventually legitimized. One of the criteria mentioned in the Montevideo Convention is a “capacity to enter into relations with the other states”. Notwithstanding, it is a precondition or an effect of statehood that capacity reflects the attitude of the international community to the “newly emerged state”. If can clearly be seen in the cases of Bantustans and Manchukuo. So, e.g., Manchukuo maintained consular relations with a few states, including Poland. However, Central Lithuania did not maintain international relations, but it was not relevant in this very case. That is because Central Lithuania existed for a year and a half. In addition, it took place shortly after the end of the First World War and the Polish-Soviet War, and during an ongoing armed conflict between Poland and Lithuania. The illusion of statehood of Central Lithuania was manifested by the establishment of Department of Foreign Affairs, which was not in the position to represent Central Lithuania in the realm of international relations. Most of all, Central Lithuania did not participate in Polish-Lithuanian negotiations — that entity was an object here. Above all, these negotiations concerned the future status of Central Lithuania. The fact that relations with Central Lithuania were within the competencies of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the only argument in favour of acknowledging Central Lithuania as a foreign state in relation to Poland. There was a delegate of Poland at the Provisional Governing Commission. Members of the Provisional Governing Commission were communicating with that delegate, without the need of involving the Department of Foreign Affairs, which made the department completely unnecessary. The correspondence of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the authorities of Central Lithuania reveals that the relations between the two entities were not diplomatic. Poland did not recognize the statehood of Central Lithuania but rather acknowledged the fact that it is abroad. At the same time, Central Lithuania was dependent upon Poland, e.g. for food supplies. Central Lithuania can be seen as shaping stage Polish of east border after ending of war with Soviet Russia based on totalitarian ideology. That is an interesting example of Poland instrumentalizing international in its critical moment. However, such an approach to international law is a two-edged sword.

Beyond the Binary: What does it take to tread the ‘Third Way’ of Urban 12 Regeneration in India?

Urbanisation is an inevitable part of India’s growth, which places enormous strain on existing infrastructure and settlements. Although the need for urban renewal or urban regeneration (as contrasted with greenfield development) is clear, it seems current policy and institutional frameworks have yet to offer any significant results. Lack of financial resources is one of the most critical challenges being faced by governments at various levels, and despite sufficient financial means and instruments to develop new infrastructure (such as the FDI, PPP, TDR, and so on), funding channels for urban renewal projects remain almost non-existent within an environment of mutual distrust. Through a discussion of three ongoing projects, the need to explore outside of conventional models will be demonstrated. In essence, this article advocates for an intermediary working structure of PPPP (Public-Private Partnership with the fourth P standing for People), which can be situated between a strict / formal approach and an unregulated / informal one, often referred to in the Indian context to as Jugaad. Though jugaad is typically characterized by ‘ad-hoc-ism’ and informality, the outcomes still provide affordable solutions for stakeholders. Jugaad is notable for both its process-driven approach involving people-to-people collaboration, and its circumvention of the need for reform of the prevailing systemic environment. We suggest, therefore, that Jugaad in urbanism be reconceived as going beyond quick-fixes to serve as a possible model for resolving challenges in a participatory manner, without resorting to rule-bound contracting methods. *Jugaad is a term applied to a creative or innovative idea providing a quick, alternative way of solving or fixing a problem.

The Middle–Out Perspective — an approach to formalise 'normal practice' in public health advocacy

Background: The Middle–Out Perspective (MOP) provides a lens to examine how actors positioned between government (top) and individuals (bottom) act to promote broader societal changes from the middle–out (rather than the top–down or bottom–up). The MOP has been used in recent years in the fields of energy, climate change, and development studies. Public health practitioners involved with advocacy activities and creating alliances to amplify health promotion actions will be familiar with the general MOP concept if not the formal name. Methods: This paper introduces the MOP conceptual framework and customises it for a public health audience by positioning it among existing concepts and theories for actions within public health. Using two UK case studies (increasing signalised crossing times for pedestrians and the campaign for smoke–free legislation), we illustrate who middle actors are and what they can do to result in better public health outcomes. Results: These cases studies show that involving a wider range of middle actors, including those not traditionally involved in improving the public's health, can broaden the range and reach of organisations and individuals involving in advocating for public health measures. They also demonstrate that middle actors are not neutral. They can be recruited to improve public health outcomes, but they may also be exploited by commercial interests to block healthy policies or even promote a health-diminishing agenda. Conclusions: Using the MOP as a formal approach can help public health organisations and practitioners consider potential 'allies' from outside traditional health-related bodies or professions. Formal mapping can expand the range of who are considered potential middle actors for a particular public health issue. By applying the MOP, public health organisations and staff can enlist the additional leverage that is brought to bear by involving additional middle actors in improving the public's health.