32,846 research outputs found
System architecture induces document architecture
No full textThe documentation of an architecture is as important as the architecture itself. Tasked with communicating the structure and behaviour of a system and its constituent components to various stakeholders, the documentation is not trivial to produce. It becomes even harder in open, modular systems where components can be replaced and reused in each progressive build. How should documentation for such systems be produced and how can it be made to easily evolve along with the system it describes? We propose that there is a close mapping between the system architecture and its documentation. We describe a relational model for the architecture of open systems, paying close attention to the property that certain components can be reused or replaced. We then use ideas from storytelling and a discourse theory called Rhetorical Structure Theory (RST) to propose a narrative-based approach to architecture documentation; giving both a generic narrative template for component descriptions and a RST-based relational model for the document architecture. We show how the two models (system and documentation) map onto each other and use this mapping to demonstrate how document fragments can be stored, automatically extracted and collated to closely reflect the system’s architecture
A distributed simulation methodology for large-scale hybrid modelling and simulation of emergency medical services
Full text linkThis thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University LondonHealthcare systems are traditionally characterised by complexity and heterogeneity. With the continuous increase in size and shrinkage of available resources, the healthcare sector faces the challenge of delivering high quality services with fewer resources. Healthcare organisations cannot be seen in isolation since the services of one such affects the performance of other healthcare organisations. Efficient management and forward planning, not only locally but rather across the whole system, could support healthcare sector to overcome the challenges. An example of closely interwoven organisations within the healthcare sector is the emergency medical services (EMS). EMS operate in a region and usually consist of one ambulance
service and the available accident and emergency (A&E) departments within the coverage area. EMS provide, mainly, pre-hospital treatment and transport to the appropriate A&E units. The life-critical nature of EMS demands continuous systems improvement practices. Modelling and Simulation (M&S) has been used to analyse either the ambulance services or the A&E departments. However, the size and complexity of EMS systems constitute the conventional M&S techniques inadequate to model the system as a whole. This research adopts the approach of distributed simulation to model all the EMS components as individual and composable simulations that are able to run as standalone simulation, as well as federates in a distributed simulation (DS) model. Moreover, the hybrid approach connects agent-based simulation (ABS) and discrete event simulation (DES) models in order to accommodate the heterogeneity of the EMS components. The proposed FIELDS Framework for Integrated EMS Large-scale Distributed Simulation supports the re-use of
existing, heterogeneous models that can be linked with the High Level Architecture (HLA) protocol for distributed simulation in order to compose large-scale simulation models. Based on FIELDS, a prototype ABS-DES distributed simulation EMS model was developed based on the London EMS. Experiments were conducted with the model and the system was tested in terms of performance and scalability measures to assess the feasibility of the proposed approach. The yielded results indicate that it is feasible to develop hybrid DS models of EMS that enables holistic analysis of the system and support model re-use. The main contributions of this thesis is a distributed simulation methodology that derived along the process of conducting this project, the FIELDS framework for hybrid EMS distributed simulation studies that support re-use of existing simulation models, and a prototype distributed simulation model that can be potentially used as a tool for EMS analysis and improvement.MATCH Programm
(A)mending Architecture Education in the Climate Emergency: a focus on values and cultures
Full text linkResearch on architecture education in the climate emergency is heavily action focused: while there is a vast body of research around sustainability knowledge and an increasing amount of research on teaching methodology and pedagogy, there is a limited amount of research focusing on the values and cultures that architecture education operates through and promotes, and their connection to unsustainable professional practices. Drawing from interdisciplinary scholarly debates, this paper explores broader societal value systems which have formed the foundations of unsustainable values and cultures in architecture, and mirrors them against the key values, cultures and pedagogies of the architectural design studio. The Modernist ideals of rationalism, logic and positivism have justified the separation of humans and nature and have validated the exploitation and oppression of nature and vulnerable communities for profit and the accumulation of capital. In architecture education, this worldview has promoted transmissiveapproaches to learning, forming hierarchical and exclusive cultures around the acquisition of skills and knowledge. Instead, architecture education should transition towards a holistic worldview that does not separate humans from nature, but instead highlights the interconnectedness and interdependence of all life without overlooking the responsibilities that only humans can carry out in caring for the environment. Drawing from the field of environmental education, the approach we suggest promotes critical thinking and reflection with collaborative and inclusive learning cultures fostering mutual dialogue and critical attitudes
SEMA4A: An ontology for emergency notification systems accessibility
Full text linkThis is the post-print version of the final paper published in Expert Systems with Applications. The published article is available from the link below. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. Copyright @ 2009 Elsevier B.V.Providing alert communication in emergency situations is vital to reduce the number of victims. Reaching this goal is challenging due to users’ diversity: people with disabilities, elderly and children, and other vulnerable groups. Notifications are critical when an emergency scenario is going to happen (e.g. a typhoon approaching) so the ability to transmit notifications to different kind of users is a crucial feature for such systems. In this work an ontology was developed by investigating different sources: accessibility guidelines, emergency response systems, communication devices and technologies, taking into account the different abilities of people to react to different alarms (e.g. mobile phone vibration as an alarm for deafblind people). We think that the proposed ontology addresses the information needs for sharing and integrating emergency notification messages over distinct emergency response information systems providing accessibility under different conditions and for different kind of users.Ministerio de Educación y Cienci
The application of advanced knowledge technologies for emergency response
Full text linkMaking sense of the current state of an emergency and of the response to it is vital if appropriate decisions are to be made. This task involves the acquisition, interpretation and management of information. In this paper we present an integrated system that applies recent ideas and technologies from the fields of Artificial Intelligence and semantic web research to support sense- and decision-making at the tactical response level, and demonstrate it with reference to a hypothetical large-scale emergency scenario. We offer no end-user evaluation of this system; rather, we intend that it should serve as a visionary demonstration of the potential of these technologies for emergency respons
Forgotten Architecture. An archive of less known modern architecture all over the world
No full textConference held at NABA Milan, 26 May 2022. Forgotten Architecture was born on 28 May 2019 for sharing, in an online community, projects left in the shadows in Europe and the rest of the world. The idea behind Forgotten Architecture is simple: to rediscover works by little-known architects that have been overshadowed by the canon, to delve into "minor" figures, and to unite different streams in the study of History of Architecture. Conceived by Bianca Felicori, an architecture researcher and author, in a short time it has become both a viral phenomenon and a real community, engaging audiences both within and outside the profession
100 Aulas para niños refugiados. JORDANIA
Full text linkEmergency Architecture & Human Rights está construyendo escuelas con sacos de arena para acoger a niños sirios y jordanos en la aldea de Za’atari, situada a las afueras del campo de refugiados de Za’atari, a 10 km de la frontera con Siria
The evaluation of academic emergency department design
No full textOKTAY, CEM/0000-0001-7993-0566BACKGROUND In our study which was based upon a questionnaire, the inner and outer architectural designs of emergency services of Emergency Medicine Departments were investigated. METHODS In this descriptive study, a standard questionnaire was sent to 26 Emergency Medicine Departments which were operating at that time. In the questionnnaire, the internal, external architectural and functional features were questioned. Answers of 22 Emergency Medicine Departments were analysed. Two Emergency Medicine Departments that were not operating at that time were not included in the study. RESULTS The analysis of the replies revealed that only 59% (n=13) of the Emergency Medicine Departments were designed as an emergency service prior to the construction. The ambulance parking areas were not suitable in 77% of the emergency units while only 54.5% (n=12) had protection against adverse weather conditions. In only 59% (n=13) of the emergency units, a triage unit was present and in only one of the in only one (4.5%), a decontamination room was available. It was understood that only 32% (n=8) of the emergency units were appropriate in enlarging their capacity taking the local risk factors into consideration. There was a toilette for disabled patients in only 18% (n=4) of the units as well. Considering a 12-year of history of the Emergency Medicine in Turkey, the presence of a lecture room is still 68% (n=15) in emergency departments which reflects that academical efforts in this field is emerging in challenging physical conditions. CONCLUSION The results of our study revelaed that emergency service architecture was neglected in Turkey and medical care given was precluded by the insufficient architecture. The design of emergency services has to be accomplished under guidance of scientific data and rules taking advices of architects who have knowledge and experience on this field
The seven main challenges of an early warning system architecture
No full textIn this paper, we describe the work on the system architecture that is being developed in the EU FP7 project TRIDEC on “Collaborative, Complex and Critical Decision-Support in Evolving Crises”. One of the two decision support use cases in the project deals with Tsunami Early Warning. A modern warning system that follows a system-of-systems approach has to integrate various components and subsystems such as different information sources, services and simulation systems. Furthermore, it has to take into account the distributed and collaborative nature of warning systems. Working on the architecture of such a system, you need to deal with a lot of current computer science and information technology problems as well as state-of-the-art solutions from the areas of Big Data and Human Sensors. In this paper, we present the seven main challenges we needed to solve and describe the necessary design decisions we made to tackle them
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