1,720,966 research outputs found
Comparison of numerical and experimental performances of nZEB residential building in Putignano (Apulia Region)
Full text linkThe sustainability of the European Regions, in terms of society and economy and environment, is strongly based on renewable energy and resource efficiency. This implies the large scale deployment of nearly Zero – Energy Buildings (nZEBs). As well as the technology is already available and proven. However the diffusion of nZEB in Mediterranean areas is a challenge for the local market actors considering the short time. In this direction our research is oriented, proposing the case study of the first passive building in Putignano (Apulia). The goal is to observe the impact of the comfort setting on energy demand during the everyday life. This new approach aims at simultaneously considering both the energy performance and the comfort and health of the inhabitants. The case study includes the simulation model and the measuring campaign. It aims to verify if occupants of nZEB will be aware of the qualities of their home and learn to manage and monitor energy consumption independently. The concept is to observe the impact of comfort setting on energy demand during the everyday life in heating season of the passivhaus tenants
eVerdEE: A web-based screening life cycle assessment tool for European small and medium-sized enterprises
No full texteLCA is a European Commission financed project aimed at realising On line green tools and services for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). Knowledge and use of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) by SMEs are strategic to introduce the Integrated Product Policy (IPP) in Europe, but methodology simplification is needed. LCA requires a large amount of validated general and sector specific data. Since then- availability and cost can be insuperable barriers for SMEs, pre-elaborated data/meta-data, use of standards and low cost solutions are required. Within the framework of the eLCA project an LCA software - eVerdEE - based on a simplified methodology and specialised for SMEs has been developed. eVerdEE is a web-based tool with some innovative features. Its main feature is the adaptation of ISO 14040 requirements to offer easy-to-handle functions with solid scientific bases. Complex methodological problems, such as the system boundaries definition, the data quality estimation and documentation, the choice of impact categories, are simplified according to the SMEs' needs. Predefined Goal and Scope definition and Inventory forms, a user-friendly and well structured procedure are time and cost-effective. The tool is supported by a database containing pre-elaborated environmental indicators of substances and processes for different impact categories. The impact assessment is calculated automatically by using the user's input and the database values. The results have different levels of interpretation in order to identify the life cycle critical points and the improvement options. The use of a target plot allows the direct comparison of different design alternatives
Analysis of energy performances of a nZEB kindergarten building in Bisceglie (Apulia region)
Full text linkSchool buildings would stand as a prime example, among public buildings, of how the dual goal of preserving natural resources, through a sustainable design approach, and the comfort indoor can be reached. The work deals with the analysis of energy performance of the nZEB kindergarten “Sandro Pertini” in Bisceglie, Apulia region. The school, located in a residential area of the town, hosts 180 pupils. Classes offer a first experience to family and teachers of energy efficiency, safety, comfort and saving resources. A monitoring analysis has been done to evaluate the energy performances in the daily life of the young occupants. The architectural design of the envelop, with its rounded shapes, optimally oriented with performing shielding ensures a low energy consumption. Climatization needs are satisfied trough nearly full renewable energy system such as photovoltaic plant on the roof and air-to-water heat pump
Life Cycle Assessment as a tool for water management optimization in textile finishing industry
No full textIn several countries, due to the increasing cost and shortage of water, textile finishing industries are looking for non conventional water resources. The use of reclaimed wastewater appears a technically feasible solution and is gaining a growing consensus. A European Union research project (TOWEF0, Towards effluent zero) with the aim of elaborating a multicriteria integrated and coherent methodology to support the implementation of sustainable water reuse in textile finishing processes has been recently concluded. In order to achieve an optimal compromise between minimization of environmental impacts of the production processes and maximum recovery of resources, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology has been applied to selected textile products manufactured within Belgian and Italian textile finishing companies. The study identified the key environmental issues within the finishing processes of a variety of natural (cotton, silk) and man-made (polyester, acetate, viscose) fibers and fabrics and analyzed alternative water reuse scenarios. Significant margins exist for impressive reductions in water consumption with almost no additional environmental impact adopting in situ membrane filtration technology. In this paper the methodological approach and the results of the LCA analyses applied to a flax-polyester product are presented and discussed
TESPI (Tool for Environmental Sound Product Innovation): A simplified software tool to support environmentally conscious design in SMEs
No full textTESPI (Tool for Environmental Sound Product Innovation) is the prototype of a software tool developed within the framework of the eLCA project. The project, (www.elca.enea.it) financed by the European Commission, is realising On line green tools and services for Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs). The implementation by SMEs of environmental product innovation (as fostered by the European Integrated Product Policy, IPP) needs specific adaptation to their economic model, their knowledge of production and management processes and their relationships with innovation and the environment. In particular, quality and costs are the main driving forces of innovation in European SMEs, and well known barriers exist to the adoption of an environmental approach in the product design. Starting from these considerations, the TESPI tool has been developed to support the first steps of product design taking into account both the quality and the environment. Two main issues have been considered: (i) classic Quality Function Deployment (QFD) can hardly be proposed to SMEs; (ii) the environmental aspects of the product life cycle need to be integrated with the quality approach. TESPI is a user friendly web-based tool, has a training approach and applies to modular products. Users are guided through the investigation of the quality aspects of then- product (customer's needs and requirements fulfilment) and the identification of the key environmental aspects in the product's life cycle. A simplified check list allows analysing the environmental performance of the product. Help is available for a better understanding of the analysis criteria. As a result, the significant aspects for the redesign of the product are identified
Energy communities and architectural quality of small historical centres
Full text linkThe text looks at Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) as a tool for implementing strategies that favour local energy transition, with particular focus on inland areas and small historical settlements. These “sensitive” contexts, often situated in landscapes or historical-cultural areas of significant value, require policies to convert to green energy and energy self-sufficiency that evaluate the need for specific actions tied to environmental protection objectives. The study reveals the role RECs can play in urban and landscape regeneration processes in these territories, under the condition that we adopt a holistic and multidisciplinary approach to design, oriented toward reimagining these sites with a view toward relaunching and promoting them
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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