Agents of Change in the Domestic Built Environment

As our cities age, a large number of spatial structures experience physical change. A better understanding of what this process may entail and the agents involved in it can extend the knowledge of practitioners, activists, and policy experts regarding the resilience of our domestic building stock and cities. Awan et al. (2013) explain that agents are not entirely free from societal and spatial constraints; instead, they are characterised by intent, shaped by their own visions and actions, and context, the spatial and social structures of which they are part and which they negotiate. This article discusses the intent and context of the agents involved in the construction and transformation of the Cité Ouvrière in Mulhouse in Eastern France from the mid-19th century to date. With 1,253 houses built for the workers of the Dollfus-Mieg et Compagnie (DMC) textile factory between 1853 and 1897, Cité Ouvrière was the largest and most successful employer-constructed housing scheme of its time, setting an example for many other European company towns. Through this exceptional case study, the article identifies the levels at which spatial agents operate, the means they use to instigate change, their dynamic relations, and the ways these are influenced by the wider historical context while influencing the making and evolution of the built form. Using historical and archival documents, it amounts to recognise an interplay of individuals and public and private groups, who have been responsible for taking decisions at different scales—the city, the neighbourhood, and the houses—and have instigated changes of different effect—from more localised to more aggregate.

Pengaruh Kecepatan Pengadukan dan Jarak Elekroda terhadap Penurunan Kadar COD dan TSS pada Limbah Batik Menggunakan Metode Elektrokoagulasi

The existence of the textile industry, especially in batik production in the region, will certainly provide benefits to the area, because it can absorb labor from the area. However, where there are advantages, there will also be disadvantages, as is the case in this textile factory where the liquid waste produced has a negative impact on the environment. This liquid waste comes from the washing and coloring process which contains dyes, heavy metals, and high salt concentrations. This study examines batik waste from a textile factory using the electrocoagulation method with aluminum electrodes. Research on batik wastewater treatment has been carried out. The results of this study prove that the electrode distance and stirring speed variables affect the COD reduction efficiency and TSS reduction in batik waste. In general, the higher the stirring speed and the closer the electrode spacing, the higher the TSS and COD reduction efficiency. There is an optimal point for stirring speed, where the highest reduction in TSS and COD efficiency is obtained at a stirring speed of 200 rpm. From the variables studied, the optimal value for both variables was obtained, namely at the electrode distance of 1.6 and at a stirring speed of 200 rpm, with the result that the efficiency value obtained was a decrease in COD of 89.39% and a decrease in TSS of 90.45 %.

The Secret of the Main Campus Water-Wells, Arba Minch University, Ethiopia

Groundwater is one of the precious water sources for domestic, irrigation, and industrial demands in arid and semiarid regions of the world. The same is true in Ethiopia context. In this study, seven groundwater samples were collected and analyzed for various chemical constituents (pH, TDS, Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, SO42−, Cl−, HCO3−, and NO3−) to assess the hydrogeochemical characteristics and water types of the groundwater wells. Among the seven sampled groundwater wells, five wells are found and used for domestic water supply in Arba Minch University (AMU) main campus. The remaining two are used for industrial and irrigation demands located at the compound of Textile Factory and Haile Resort, respectively. Results showed that the main campus groundwater wells are saline and harder than the two wells from Textile Factory and Haile Resort. Moreover, elevated concentration of nitrate and potassium (greater than the maximum permissible level allowed in Ethiopia) were obtained in the groundwater sources used mainly in the AMU main campus wells. These elevated concentrations of potassium and nitrate beyond the enriched salt contents in the AMU main campus wells could pose kidney, cardiovascular, and other related health problems. This study, therefore, recommends the AMU to find other groundwater sources for drinking purpose other than the studied water-well field.

Influence of fly ash, glass fibers and wastewater on production of recycled aggregate concrete

To encounter the issues of waste materials, low tensile strength of concrete and environmental impacts of cement production, research is needed to develop a sustainable concrete. This study has endeavored to investigate the effects of using recycled coarse aggregates (RCA), various types of wastewater effluents, fly ash, and glass fibers on the mechanical and durability behavior of recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) incorporating with fly ash and glass fibers (FGRAC). Six different kinds of wastewater effluents for the mixing of concrete, 100% replacing the natural coarse aggregates with RCA, and 30% replacement of cement with fly ash were used for the development of concrete. The experimental measurement portrayed that the textile factory effluent presented the highest compressive and tensile strengths of concrete. Fertilizer factory effluent portrayed the highest water absorption, mass loss due to acid attack, and chloride penetration to concrete.

Registered health problems and demographic profile of integrated textile factory workers in Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study

Background Textile and garment factories are growing in low and middle-income countries as worldwide demand for inexpensive clothing increases each year. These integrated textile and garment production factories are often built-in areas with few workplaces and environmental regulations, and employees can be regularly exposed to workplace hazards with little regulatory oversight. Consequently, workers’ health may be significantly affected due to long term exposure to hazards. This study describes registered health problems and their association to work-related and personal factors among workers in integrated textile factories in Ethiopia. Methods Institution-based cross-sectional study design was employed for this analysis. A one-year recording of worker’s clinical diagnoses (between March 2016 and February 2017) was gathered from the factory clinics of three integrated textile factories. Clinical diagnosis data was obtained as factory workers visited the clinics if feeling unwell. Sociodemographic characteristics and work-related information were obtained from the factory’s human resource departments. The sociodemographic and clinical diagnosis statuses of 7992 workers were analyzed. The association between the registered diagnoses and workplace factors (work in textile production, garment production and support process) and personal factors (age, sex and educational status) were studied using logistic regression analysis. Results The average employee age and years of service were 40 years and 11 years respectively. 60% of workers were females, comprising of 4778 women. 66% of all workers (5276) had 27,320 clinical diagnoses. In total, this caused 16,993 absent working days due to sick leave. Respiratory diseases (34%) and musculoskeletal disorders (29%) were the most prevalent diagnoses, while bodily injuries were the cause of most work absences. Work department, sex and educational status are variables that were most significantly associated with higher prevalence of disease groups. Conclusions About two-thirds of the integrated textile factory workers were diagnosed with different types of disease. The textile and garment production department workers were affected at a greater rate than the support process workers, indicating that some diseases may be related to workplace exposure. Further study should investigate rare chronic diseases such as cancer, heart diseases, renal diseases and diabetes.

THE ENVIRONMENTAL DRIVERS BEHIND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE VICTORIAN TEXTILE FACTORY

Textile industry in the nineteenth century of the British empire was one of the milestone industries which center around cotton mills. The development of this industry attracted many people who wished to increase their life’ standard to migrate to area near the factories located in order to work there. As much as giving revenue for the country, these factories also gave impact to the environment as well as people living and working in it. There were three things behind the environmental impact during the Victorian era of textile industry, fire hazard, mills’ poor conditions and factory bill. Flammable materials, like raw cotton which mainly used in this industry, and high temperature room caused the factories engulfed in fire. The lacked protection from fire of the factories’ construction then led to a new building method being introduced and applied called the “Fireproof Construction”. Poor health condition of the workers who worked in high humidity and temperature of cotton mills brought a creation of factory bill (Factory Act) being passed. However, the act that was supposed to act as a regulation for factories owners to offer their worker a much more suitable place to work was hardly fully implied during this time. The writer used literature review method in collecting data. This article therefore intended to deliver the reader about the environment situation in the cotton factories while also giving the idea on how hardly an ideal comfort was achieved.