694 research outputs found
Plumbing, electricity, acoustics : sustainable design methods for architecture / Norbert Lechner.
No full textIncludes index.xi, 289 pages :Discover sustainable methods for designing crucial building systems for architects.
This indispensable companion to Norbert Lechner's landmark volume Heating, Cooling, Lighting: Sustainable Design Methods for Architects, Third Edition completes the author's mission to coverall topics in the field of sustainable environmental control. It provides knowledge appropriate for the level of complexity needed at the schematic design stage and presents the most up-to-date information available in a concise, logical, accessible manner and arrangement. Although sustainability deals with many issues, those concerning energy and efficiency are the most critical, making an additional goal of this book one of providing architects with the skills and knowledge needed to create buildings that use electricity and water efficiently. Guidelines and rules-of-thumb are provided to help designers make their buildings use less energy, less water, and less of everything else to achieve their primary objectives.
In addition, this book:
Addresses ways to reduce electricity usage through more efficient lighting systems and appliances and by incorporating automatic switches and control systems that turn off systems not in use.
Covers the design of well-planned effluent treatment systems that protect against potential health hazards while also becoming a valuable source of reclaimed water and fertilizer
Provides coverage of fire protection and conveyance systems, including very efficient types of elevators and escalators and designs that encourage the use of stairs or ramps.
Complete with case studies that illustrate how these systems are incorporated into large-project plans, Plumbing, Electricity, Acoustics is an indispensable resource for any architect involved in a sustainable design project
The competitiveness of entrepreneurial firms from a network perspective
No full textThis book sheds light on how the competitiveness of entrepreneurial firms can be understood from a relational perspective. The relational perspective complements internally focused approaches to explain firm competitiveness. Through the review of publications of the author, it will be shown how the relational view extends the classic notion of strategic management and how different types of networks matter in time for the competitiveness of firms but also how the spatial distribution of relationships matter for firms. The latter leads also to an investigation of the nature of clusters and how they are born and developed but most importantly how differential firm performance within clusters can be explained (allowing firms to develop a competitive advantage). If we consider that the network model is relevant for the development of entrepreneurial firms, the question arises what the limits of this model are and what the consequences are for firm development. Moreover, while research stretches the positive effects of networks, the negative effects are somehow under-researched. Research is presented that sheds some light on network liabilities. Understanding networks as an organizational configuration, the perspective is extended to other organizational configurations that drive firm competitiveness: they include research on teams as sub-units and small business groups. Concluding remarks will finally link the idea of competitive advantage to entrepreneurship
Supplemental Material - Systematic Review of GIS and Remote Sensing Applications for Assessing the Socioeconomic Impacts of Mining
No full textSupplemental Material for Systematic Review of GIS and Remote Sensing Applications for Assessing the Socioeconomic Impacts of Mining by Michelle Li Ern Ang, John R. Owen, Christopher N. Gibbins, Éléonore Lèbre, Deanna Kemp, Muhamad R. U. Saputra, Jo-Anne Everingham, and Alex M. Lechner in The Journal of Environment & Development</p
Assessment of ALOS-2 PALSAR-2L-band and Sentinel-1 C-band SAR backscatter for discriminating between large-scale oil palm plantations and smallholdings on tropical peatlands
No full textOil palm agriculture is rapidly expanding across the tropics, particularly on peatlands to meet increasing global demand for palm oil based products. Oil palm production systems can be divided into two broad categories of management system: large-scale monoculture plantations and smallholdings. Both categories are separated by large differences in environmental and social impacts. These oil palm production systems are often characterized by different agricultural practices and vegetation characteristics and therefore land cover. To date, there are no examples of radar remote sensing studies in oil palm production landscapes assessing differences between large-scale plantations and smallholdings. Here, we investigate whether these management systems have distinct radar signatures that can be identified through backscattering intensity using ALOS (Synthetic Aperture Radar) – PALSAR (Phased Array L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar) L-band and Sentinel-1 C-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). SAR has been shown to be superior to other remote sensing sensors in the tropics for monitoring oil palm expansion due to its all-weather capabilities. In this study we measured backscattered intensity of 196 plots planted with oil palm that were established on peatland in Peninsular Malaysia. Our results indicated that backscattered intensity was significantly influenced by the management systems. We found that canopy and soil moisture was greater in smallholdings compared to large-scale plantations. With the exception of HV polarization method, season had significant effect on backscattered intensity. Irrespective of management systems, canopy and soil moisture was greater in wet months compared to dry months. Our findings suggest that ALOS-2-PALSAR-2L-band and Sentinel-1 C-band have great potential to discriminate oil palm production landscapes managed under different management systems. Further investigation is needed to determine whether the current findings are consistent for oil palm in mineral soils
Selective logging causes the decline of large-sized mammals including those in unlogged patches surrounded by logged and agricultural areas
No full textLegal and illegal logging is prevalent throughout the tropics, impacting on natural habitat and wildlife. This study aimed to investigate the sensitivity of forest mammals to selective logging in the lowland dipterocarp forests of South-West Peninsular Malaysia and identify the underlying factors that determine species occurrence. A total of 120 camera trap locations were deployed within selectively logged and unlogged forests. We found that unlogged forest had greater wildlife occurrences compared to selectively logged forests, including two endangered mammal species not found in logged forest. Forest vegetation structure characteristics such as the abundance of lianas, large trees, saplings, palms, bamboo and seedlings were associated with mammal species richness. Mammal species richness increased with number of forest trees, particularly those with a DBH of >45 cm, but this was limited to high altitude forest. Worryingly, we did not detect any large mammalian apex predators such as leopards or tigers in either unlogged or selectively logged forests. The absence of these animals may be the result of poaching, habitat degradation or other pressures; these mammals are expected to be present in intact forests in Peninsular Malaysia. Restoring logged forests and preserving the remaining unlogged lowland dipterocarp forests are critically important to safeguard mammalian biodiversity in the region. Besides that, we recommend that conventional logging practices are replaced with reduced impact logging methods
Forma y razón histórica del Estado en el pensamiento de Norbert Lechner
No full textThis article examines one of the central approaches
in Norbert Lechner’s theory, who was
one of the most emblematic intellectuals in
Latin America’s studies of political subjectivity.
Based on the diagnosis of a State crisis due to its
functioning as an instrument of domination, the
author conceives it as form and historical reason.
That is, as an imaginary referent that mediates
the social relations between everyday praxis
and institutionality. For him, it is in the microphysical
spaces where the hegemonic struggle,
which must be represented by a general interest,
unfolds. Without this mediation and ethical
content, the State becomes a simple reproductive
device of capitalist relations. Therefore, we
propose that the search for a historical perspective
within the conceptualization of the State
constitutes one of the bases that support Norbert
Lechner’s theory of political subjectivity.El presente artículo revisa uno de los planteamientos
centrales en la teoría de Norbert
Lechner, quien fue uno de los intelectuales más
representativos de los estudios de subjetividad
política en América Latina. A partir del diagnóstico
de una crisis de Estado operada por
su funcionamiento como instrumento de dominación,
el autor formula una concepción
de éste como forma y razón histórica, es decir,
como un referente imaginario que medie las relaciones
sociales entre la praxis cotidiana y la
institucionalidad. Para Lechner, es en los espacios
microfísicos donde se despliega la lucha
hegemónica que debe ser representada por un
interés general. Sin esa mediación y sin contenido
ético, el Estado deviene en mero aparato
reproductor de relaciones capitalistas. Proponemos
que la búsqueda de una conceptualización
con perspectiva histórica, se constituye en una
de las bases que sustentan la teoría de la subjetividad
política de Norbert Lechner
Urban forest fragmentation impoverishes native mammalian biodiversity in the tropics
No full textUrban expansion has caused major deforestation and forest fragmentation in the tropics. The impacts of habitat fragmentation on biodiversity are understudied in urban forest patches, especially in the tropics and little is known on the conservation value of the patches for maintaining mammalian biodiversity. In this study, camera trapping was used to determine the species composition and species richness of medium- and large-sized mammals in three urban forest patches and a contiguous forest in Peninsular Malaysia. We identified the key vegetation attributes that predicted mammal species richness and occurrence of herbivores and omnivores in urban forest patches. A total number of 19 mammal species from 120 sampling points were recorded. Contiguous forest had the highest number of species compared to the urban forest patches. Sunda Pangolin and Asian Tapir were the only conservation priority species recorded in the urban forest patches and contiguous forest, respectively. Top predators such as Malayan Tiger and Melanistic Leopard were completely absent from the forest patches as well as the contiguous forest. This was reflected by the abundance of wild boars. We found that mammal species richness increased with the number of trees with DBH less than 5\ua0cm, trees with DBH more than 50\ua0cm, and dead standing trees. In the future, the remaining mammal species in the urban forest patches are expected to be locally extinct as connecting the urban forest patches may be infeasible due to land scarcity. Hence, to maintain the ecological integrity of urban forest patches, we recommend that stakeholders take intervention measures such as reintroduction of selected species and restocking of wild populations in the urban forest patches to regenerate the forest ecosystems
O PENSAMENTO POLÍTICO DE NORBERT LECHNER E O PAPEL DA IDEIA DE UTOPIA DO CONSENSO COMO FUNDAMENTO DA DEMOCRACIA
No full textThis article analyzes the contributions of Norbert Lechner\u27s political thinking to the understanding of the democratic political order, its role in the constitutions of the symbolic sense of collective life and its fundament from the secularization of power by modernity. The text initially highlights the relevance of the theme of political order and its role in fixing the idea of certainty and security for collective coexistence. Then, it emphasizes the links established by the author\u27s thinking between democratic political order, pluralism and secularization of the world. Finally, it analyzes consensus as a possible utopia that fundament the democratic political order. For the realization this research, the hypothetical-deductive method and the bibliographic technique were used.O presente artigo analisa as contribuições do pensamento político de Norbert Lechner para a compreensão da ordem política democrática, seu papel nas constituições do sentido simbólico da vida coletiva e seu fundamento a partir da secularização do poder pela modernidade. O texto destaca inicialmente a relevância do tema da ordem política e seu papel na fixação da ideia de certeza e de segurança para a convivência coletiva. Em seguida, enfatiza os vínculos estabelecidos pelo pensamento do autor entre ordem política democrática, pluralismo e secularização do mundo. Por fim, analisa o consenso como uma utopia possível que fundamenta a ordem política democrática. Para a realização desta pesquisa, foram utilizados o método hipotético-dedutivo e a técnica de pesquisa bibliográfica
Author Response: Chemical Considerations Regarding the H-Value Methodology and Its Relation With Toxicity Determination
No full textConnectivity Modelling of the Karuah-Myall Catchments
No full textThe objective of this study is to characterise connectivity within the Karuah-Myall Catchments, New South Wales, Australia, using the GAP CLoSR framework (Lechner and Lefroy 2014) in order to provide a strategic overview of connectivity to support the MidCoast council’s regional planning efforts. We modelled connectivity for a “general representative species†dependent on woody vegetation. This method characterises connectivity for the majority of native fauna which utilises woody vegetation, and the plant species that rely on these fauna for dispersal. Connectivity was modelled using a graph theoretic connectivity model, Graphab (Foltête et al., 2012) where movement was characterised by least-cost paths and the importance of patches was quantified using graph metrics. The results of this study were discussed in terms of the patches and linkages which are critical for connecting the landscape, the contribution of protected areas to conserving connectivity and the role of the two catchments in connectivity beyond its boundaries with specific reference to the Great Eastern Ranges national wildlife corridor scheme.</p
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