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Evolving Trends: A Bibliometric Analysis of Academic Librarians’ Publications at Twelve AAU Member Universities
No full textThe goal of this bibliometric study was to explore the broader publication patterns of academic librarians in both information and library science (ISLS) and interdisciplinary research for the years 2009 - 2023. Web of Science data were collected for twelve academic libraries. The results showed that while the number of ISLS publications has dropped, interdisciplinary publications have increased dramatically with a broad range of disciplines represented, and collaborations in the medical sciences were a major contributor to this increase. The study suggests that some academic libraries have shifted their priorities over the past fifteen years and that the assessment of libraries’ scholarly publications must evolve to capture this shift
Melodramatic Joy in Ibrahim Nasrallah’s \u3cem\u3eTrilogy of the Bells\u3cem\u3e
Get PDFThis essay argues that absurdist humor, so often theorized as a challenge to metaphysical and identitarian claims, in fact supports such claims within the context of anticolonial nationalist melodrama. In his Trilogy of the Bells [2019], Palestinian writer Ibrahim Nasrallah uses the conventions of melodrama to make an epistemological claim specific to Palestinian experience. Confronting a regime that has been largely successful in determining the internationally accepted common sense about the conflict, Nasrallah aims to present the external world with a narrative of Palestinian history, experience, and aspirations. The Manichean distinctions, spectacular displays of pathos, and manifestations of suppressed secrets proper to melodrama constitute a dramaturgy of the truth amidst a situation in which such truth-claims often cannot be heard. Rather than undermining the totalizing claims about national identity and justice that melodrama stages, humor indexes and manages the tensions that emerge to trouble these understandings. In particular, humor here responds to two kinds of dangers, the collaborator and the seemingly invincible oppressor. By representing the collaborator as a guileless figure, more ridiculous than dangerous, Nasrallah affirms that national unity cannot be threatened by internal prevarications; conversely, by depicting an overbearing Israeli military commander as susceptible to humiliation by Palestinian cunning, he suggests that the barriers to the manifestation of Palestinian truth-claims in the international public sphere are not insuperable. Absurdist humor may thus corroborate melodramatic ends by satirizing colonial rule as unreasonable and by identifying the truths suppressed by such rule as a source of collective joy
Example of trot and canter for stock-type Hunter Under Saddle
No full textThis video shows an example of the trot and canter for a hunter under saddle class
A Technical and Statistical Analysis of Unleaded Aviation Fuel (UL94) Adoption in a High- Volume Collegiate Aviation Environment
Get PDFThe University of North Dakota (UND) adopted unleaded aviation fuel (UL94) for approximately a four-month period in the summer and early fall of 2023. The UL94 fuel was used in all reciprocating engine fleets based at the university’s primary training airport, Grand Forks International Airport in North Dakota. During the operational implementation of UL94, the UND flew 46,600 flight hours, consuming 386,778 gallons of fuel across all fleets powered by Lycoming engines. After approximately two months of using UL94, operational reports and maintenance inspections began to indicate potential for exhaust valve seat recession (EVSR), although early indications were limited in number and could not be attributed to one specific causal relationship. After additional reports and inspections suggested a potential for a larger trend in EVSR and upon recommendation by both Lycoming and Swift Fuels, the university elected to switch back to 100 octane low-lead aviation fuel (100LL) on October 26, 2023. Post hoc analysis of engine exhaust valve tappet clearance measurements (an indication of EVSR) showed a statistically significant negative correlation to hours of UL94 usage (r = –0.52**, p \u3c .001), suggesting EVSR developing with consumption of UL94. Additional analysis of time since overhaul, percent mix of 100LL, aircraft type, and several other metrics were performed as a part of this study. It should be noted that this publication and the UND’s decision to switch to UL94 or back to 100LL were not funded by any private or government organization and should be considered an operational case study in adoption of unleaded aviation fuel
Visual Programming Language (VPL) for Generative Architecture Design: A Literature Review
Get PDFAdvancements in the construction sector have revolutionized design and project management processes with the contribution of cutting-edge technologies. Generative design is a transformative design process that uses algorithms and computational tools to automatically explore and generate multiple design options. By defining specific constraints, goals, and input parameters, the process would be able to create, analyze, and optimize the designs to meet alternative requirement. The Visual Programming Language (VPL) and Textual Programming Language (TPL) are two dominant approaches in the field of generative design. However, the use of TPL require users to understand coding process with one or more programming languages, such as such as Python, C++, Java and others. These limit the ability of professional architects to integrate TPL for their generative design workflow. This study aims to explore and identify methods that enable architects to efficiently utilize VPL tools, such as Grasshopper and Dynamo, to realize their generative design goals. For this purpose, a literature review was conducted to examine the application of VPL in generative design during the architectural design stage. By analysing the selected papers based on the literature’s methodology and achieved results, the study collects findings to provide insights for architectural design processionals. The result illustrates that the VPL with other integrated methods could enhanced all design stages of various project types with or without the knowledge of the TPL
Examining The Impact of Socio-Economic Factors on Residential Water Use in An Aquifer-Based Urban Environment, Assessing Urban Hydrology: A Case Study of Four Communities in Alachua County, Florida
Get PDFOne of the key challenges to urban development is balancing water demand with availability, particularly in rapidly growing populations, which is central to the United Nations\u27 sustainable development goals. In aquifer-dependent water delivery systems, addressing water shortages requires a focus on urban hydrology, preserving groundwater levels, and understanding the interactions within the water cycle. Additionally, socio-economic dynamics significantly impact water use and must be considered in this balance.
This study developed a GIS-based Python simulation to assess the water cycle components using an urban water balance model. The simulation examined land use changes and cultural factors affecting water use, including variations in aquifer extraction and wastewater treatment over time. It incorporated potable and reclaimed water supply, wastewater distribution, land cover data, meteorological data, and socio-economic variables from census data to compute the results.
The analysis, performed at a county scale, demonstrated that continued urban development increases water demand and impervious surfaces, disrupting the natural water cycle compared to undeveloped land. Pristine land cover, with its higher infiltration rates, helps replenish aquifers. Sustainable practices, such as the use of injection wells and wetlands for water treatment, were found to support aquifer sustainability. The study also highlighted the significant impact of reclaimed water use for irrigation and identified socio-economic factors, such as poverty, income, and household structure, as important determinants of water consumption patterns
Decentralising Flow Conversations: Improving Productivity through Collaboration with Site Operatives
Get PDFLow productivity remains a persistent challenge in the construction industry, often stemming from fragmented workflows, poor integration, and collaboration across the supply chain. This study aimed to investigate how site operatives can be actively engaged in identifying and resolving constraints to site workflow through a structured collaborative practice using the eight-flow model as a framework. The study adopts an Ethnographic Action Research (EAR) methodology, encompassing three iterative stages—observation, action, and reflection. EAR was applied through 3 rounds of workshops with 30 site operatives on a live construction site in the UK focusing on collaborative risk management using a flow activity. Data was collected using observation notes, the output of the flow activity and post-workshop feedback comments and analysed using content analysis. Findings reveal that constraints relating to information, materials, and equipment flows were often compounded by poor communication, unrealistic programming, and inefficiencies in material logistics, while collaboration with site operatives is central to success. By embedding site operatives into flow conversations, the study emphasises the transformative potential of leveraging the expertise and insights of operatives at the workface to address workflow inefficiencies and improve productivity. As a wider implication, tools like WhatsApp and site-level flow task boards were suggested as potential platforms for ongoing engagements with site operatives in conversations about flow on the site using the eight-flow framework. Further research is needed to embed flow conversations as part of standard practice, through toolbox meetings and daily hurdles, to create a culture of proactive engagement that fosters shared understanding
Sustainable healthy communities: the contested role of ‘region’ in the housing development sector
Get PDFThe English housing development sector is frequently described as being in a state of crisis, presenting challenges for a range of stakeholders. The research is tensioned against structural shifts in the housing development sector, with an agglomeration of a handful of large housing developers shaping the narrative, set against the decline of regional SMEs developers. The aim is to unpack the prevailing discourse and the common reductionist metric of ‘units’ built, in order to reintroduce notions of regionalism, place and sustainable healthy community into the debate. Central to this is unpacking what is meant by ‘region’ or ‘regional’. Contemporary perspectives on regionality are critiqued, questioning the criteria by which regions are defined and understood. Methodologically the research considers through a desk study how regional identities are mobilised within various institutional contexts. A central theme that emerges is the importance of regional identity and its complex interplay with changing stakeholder interests. Findings illustrate that regions and identities are shaped by historical and spatial themes, requiring a contextually grounded approach. Such themes are currently missing from much of the debates around housing development, with large national housing developers shaping the rhetoric, often to suit their agendas. The research concludes by proposing that the definition of a region is inherently fluid, shaped by the needs and agendas of those involved in its conceptualisation. This nuanced understanding of regionality challenges the dominant narratives in housing development and underscores the potential of regional SME house builders to contribute to more sustainable and contextually appropriate solutions
Using Blockchain and Digital Land Registries to Enhance Land Management and Tenure
Get PDFIn many cases, land tenure and rights are not formally recorded, and land administration systems are inaccessible to rural communities. This research study examined the benefits and attendant challenges of using blockchain and digital land registries for land tenure security and management/administration processes. Secondary research using an integrative review was undertaken with materials identified from Google Scholar. Thematic analysis revealed that the benefits include increased transparency and verifiability, automation, increased efficiency, reduced cost and time, simplified processes, reduced conflicts and better access to credit. The challenges include institutional/political factors, market settings, technical and legal requirements, cyber security risks and data privacy concerns. A comprehensive strategy including outreach programmes, capacity building community engagement, necessary infrastructure, hybrid platforms, cybersecurity systems, and supporting institutional (public and private sector collaboration), regulatory and political settings could help to encourage adoption and ensure smooth transition to digital ledgers and land registry. The study provides evidence regarding benefits and challenges associated with adopting blockchain and digital land registries in land management systems, and the implications for property rights, land tenure, and land use
A Data-as-an-Asset Facility Management Framework to Support Hybrid Workplaces and Advance Sustainable Development: Case Studies at Hospitals in China
Get PDFHybrid working that combines home, remote, and in-office working has surged after the COVID-19 pandemic. This working model is disrupting existing facility management practices to (re)shape people-centered hybrid workplaces and advance sustainable development. Collecting, integrating, processing, sharing and analyzing volume and variety of facilities and workspaces data, behavioral and activity data of occupants, environmental data and operational analytics insights remains a major challenge for stakeholders to leverage emerging technologies and digital solutions including digital twin and artificial intelligence to enhance the productivity, operational intelligence, and sustainability of hybrid workplaces. This research proposed a data-as-an-asset facility management framework to support the management and decision-making of hybrid facilities and workplaces. The framework consists of a digital twinning methodology for encoding, processing and managing static and dynamic data and domain knowledge; a service-oriented, asset-based mechanism to share and exchange hybrid workplaces data; a method to evaluate the value of collected data assets; and a cloud-based software reference architecture. The framework is developed through desktop research; interview and focus group meetings with industry leaders, facility managers and professionals; field trips; prototype development; and pilot projects. Case studies are being conducted at the hybrid workplaces of two hospitals to verify the practicality and limitations of the framework. The preliminary results show that the proposed framework can assist the stakeholders in harvesting data essentials for improving the total performance and productivity of hybrid workplaces and facilitate the engagement and contribution of various industries for achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals