The Teaching of the Philosophical Concepts Underlying Hermeneutical Phenomenology

Researchers who plan to utilize the methodological approach of hermeneutical phenomenology must first understand the philosophical assumptions that provide the epistemological foundation for this methodology. The objective of this chapter is to present a set of resources for instructors of research methodology coursework, specifically instructors who aim to introduce students to the research methodology of hermeneutical phenomenological inquiry. The core philosophical concepts discussed in this chapter are 1) the phenomenological attitude, 2) hermeneutics as way of being, 3) the four lifeworld existentials, and 4) the significance of mood. This chapter will begin by presenting a brief summary of these four philosophical concepts. Then, this chapter will introduce three frameworks of curriculum theory, specifically as related to the use of curricular objectives in the practice of teaching. Finally, this chapter will present five distinct approaches to lesson planning and will apply each lesson planning approach to the teaching of these four core philosophical concepts.

Environmental Sensitivity of Planning Practices in Bangladesh vis-à-vis Evolution of Planning Theories

Bangladesh has a long history of physical planning. It started with blueprint-based master planning approach in the 1950s. Since the late 1970s, it has slowly shifted to the rational planning approach following the path laid down by the United Kingdom. Lately, infusion of the North American planning thoughts is observed. Thus, Bangladeshi physical planning never had its own identity. Structure plans are loosely tied to the other tiers of planning packages that are used for development management. Though most of the structure plans address environmental issues, lower tiers of plans often lack their reflection. Often policies are laid down based on popular belief rather than scientific evidence. To establish these arguments, the evolution of the planning practices of Bangladesh is illustrated briefly in the context of the evolution of planning theory. Additionally, environmental sensitivity of a physical plan covering one of the most ecologically sensitive and economically potential areas of Bangladesh, namely Mongla master plan (MNP) is evaluated, as an example, considering the spatial dispersion of sulfur dioxide to be discharged by the coal-fired thermal power plant at Rampal. Unfortunately, MMP failed to stand out from all the rest to prove its soundness.

Transformation pathways towards sustainable urban development by the inclusion of peri-urban farmland in green infrastructure strategies

Urbanization and agricultural land use are two of the main drivers of global changes with effects on ecosystem functions and human wellbeing. Green infrastructure is a new and promising approach in spatial planning contributing to sustainable urban development, but rarely considers spatial and functional potentials of utilizable agricultural land as an integral part. This doctoral thesis addresses this gap and investigates how peri-urban farmland can promote green infrastructure and sustainable urban development. The results contribute to the conceptual understanding of urban green infrastructures as a strategic spatial planning approach that incorporates inner-urban utilizable agricultural land and the agriculturally dominated landscape at the outer urban fringe. Four strategies are introduced for spatial planning with the contribution to a strategically planned multifunctional network. Finally, this thesis sheds light on the opportunities that arise from the integration of peri-urban farmland in the green infrastructure concept to support transformation towards a more sustainable urban development. This work concludes that the linkage of peri-urban farmland with the green infrastructure concept is a promising action field for the development of new pathways for urban transformation towards sustainable urban development. Along with these outcomes, attention is drawn to limitations that remain to be addressed by future research.

Integrated zone picking and vehicle routing operations with restricted intermediate storage

The competitiveness of a retailer is highly dependent on an efficient distribution system. This is especially true for the supply of stores from distribution centers. Stores ask for high flexibility when it comes to their supply. This means that fast order processing is essential. Order processing affects different subsystems at the distribution center: orders are picked in multiple picking zones, transferred to intermediate storage, and delivered via dedicated tours. These processing steps are highly interdependent. The schedule for picking needs to be synchronized with the routing decisions to ensure availability of orders at the DC’s loading docks when their associated tours are scheduled. Concurrently, intermediate storage represents a bottleneck as capacity for order storage is limited. The simultaneous planning of picking and routing operations with restricted intermediate storage is therefore relevant for retail practice but has not so far been considered within an integrated planning approach. Our work addresses this task and discusses an integrated zone picking and vehicle routing problem with restricted intermediate storage. We present a comprehensive model formulation and introduce a general variable neighborhood search for simultaneous consideration of the given planning stages. We also present two alternative sequential approaches that are motivated by the prevailing planning situation in industry. Numerical experiments and a case study show the need for an integrated planning approach to obtain practicable results. Further, we identify the impact of the main problem characteristics on overall planning and provide valuable insights for the application of these findings in industry.

Intelligent Path Planning Approach for Autonomous Mobile Robot

This paper presents a new path planning algorithm for an autonomous mobile robot. It is desired that the robot reaches its goal in a known or partially known environment (e.g., a warehouse or an urban environment) and avoids collisions with walls and other obstacles. To this end, a new, efficient, simple, and flexible path finder strategy for the robot is proposed in this paper. With the proposed strategy, the optimal path from the robot’s current position to the goal position is guaranteed. The environment is represented as a grid-based map, which is then divided into a predefined number of subfields to reduce the number of required computations. This leads to a reduction in the load on the controller and allows a real-time response. To evaluate the flexibility and efficiency of the proposed strategy, several tests were simulated with environments of different sizes and obstacle distributions. The experimental results demonstrate the reliability and efficiency of the proposed algorithm.

A spacecraft attitude manoeuvre planning algorithm based on improved policy gradient reinforcement learning

To solve the problem of spacecraft attitude manoeuvre planning under dynamic multiple mandatory pointing constraints and prohibited pointing constraints, a systematic attitude manoeuvre planning approach is proposed that is based on improved policy gradient reinforcement learning. This paper presents a succinct model of dynamic multiple constraints that is similar to a real situation faced by an in-orbit spacecraft. By introducing return baseline and adaptive policy exploration methods, the proposed method overcomes issues such as large variances and slow convergence rates. Concurrently, the required computation time of the proposed method is markedly reduced. Using the proposed method, the near optimal path of the attitude manoeuvre can be determined, making the method suitable for the control of micro spacecraft. Simulation results demonstrate that the planning results fully satisfy all constraints, including six prohibited pointing constraints and two mandatory pointing constraints. The spacecraft also maintains high orientation accuracy to the Earth and Sun during all attitude manoeuvres.

A Procedure Model for Low Emission Transportation Chain Planning

Low-emission planning in freight transportation is one of the main levers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. For a sustainable planning approach, a strategic solution for this planning problem is needed. Based on several literature reviews, a procedure model is developed, which is meant to be used for the development and adjustment of a low-emission transportation chain reference model. The procedure model consists of the decision steps needed to develop a low-emission transportation chain (LETC) reference model and it is structured into main decision processes and sub-decision processes. A first draft of the LETC-Model is presented in form of an ARIS-Express model.