109 research outputs found
De boven- en ondergrond van de stad als een samenhangend systeem: The surface and subsurface of the city as a united system
No full textNo healthy city without a healthy surface. And yet the soil and its associated eco- and water system are a final piece in area development practice. What if we were to draw cross-sections through the above- and underground city more often and pay more attention to the 'technical space' of nature and the city below ground level? Can we achieve a more sustainable design of urban space with this?Accepted Author ManuscriptEnvironmental Technology and DesignPractice Chair Urban Area Developmen
The politics of external approval: explaining the IMF's evaluation of austerity programmes
No full textThis is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.During the European debt crisis, numerous states launched austerity programmes. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) evaluates and forecasts the likelihood of member states’ success in implementing these programmes. Although IMF evaluations influence country risk perceptions on capital markets, little is known about their reasoning. This article uses fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to explore on what grounds the IMF evaluated the success prospects of austerity programmes during the European debt crisis. Results reveal that IMF evaluations are heavily influenced by the programme's implementation credibility. They require a tractable policy problem, a country's institutional capacity to structure implementation, and favour expenditure reduction over revenue measures. By acting as a strict guide on the road to fiscal adjustment, the IMF indirectly influences member states’ scope of policy making through its surveillance activities. Extensive austerity programmes that need to be implemented swiftly are evaluated negatively if the country is not involved in an IMF programme
Local and global aspects of separating coordinates for the Klein-Gordon equation
No full textsummary:The author considers the Klein-Gordon equation for -dimensional flat spacetime. He is interested in those coordinate systems for which the equation is separable. These coordinate systems are explicitly known and generally do not cover the whole plane. The author constructs tensor fields which he can use to express the locus of points where the coordinates break down
Regulation of Lymphatic GM-CSF Expression by the E3 Ubiquitin Ligase Cbl-b
No full textGenome-wide association studies as well as lymphatic expression analyses have linked both Cbl-b and GM-CSF to human multiple sclerosis as well as other autoimmune diseases. Both Cbl-b and GM-CSF have been shown to play a prominent role in the development of murine encephalomyelitis; however, no functional connection between the two has yet been established. In this study, we show that Cblb knockout mice demonstrated significantly exacerbated severity of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), augmented T cell infiltration into the central nervous system (CNS) and strongly increased production of GM-CSF in T cells in vitro and in vivo.GM-CSF neutralization demonstrated that the increased susceptibility of Cblb−/− mice to EAE was dependent on GM-CSF. Mechanistically, p50 binding to the GM-CSF promoter and the IL-3/GM-CSF enhancer element “CNSa” was strongly increased in nuclear extracts from Cbl-b-deficient T cells. This study suggests that Cbl-b limits autoimmunity by preventing the pathogenic effects of GM-CSF overproduction in T cells
Notions from practice: Research by design as a stepping stone for the implementation of integral forms of spatial design
No full textPractice Chair Urban Area Developmen
Leistungsoptimierung einer Fassadenwärmeenergieversuchsanlage
No full textIm praktischen Teil meiner Diplomarbeit soll für einen Messstand, der mit Hilfe von vertikal montierten Gesteins-Absorbern solare Strahlung in Wärme umwandelt, eine Regelung entwickelt werden. Auf der Hinterseite jedes Gesteins-Absorbers befindet sich eine Betonschicht die eine Rohrschlange umschließt. Durch die Rohrschlange wird eine kalte Flüssigkeit gepumpt. Die Regelung variiert nun den Volumenstrom so, dass sich ein konstantes Temperaturniveau der Flüssigkeit nach Verlassen der Rohrschlange einstellen lässt. Im theoretischen Teil meiner Arbeit wird ein 1-dim physikalisches Modell des Gesteinsabsorbers erstellt und implementiert. Diese Simulation wird mit Hilfe von Daten, die im praktischen Teil der Arbeit gesammelt und gespeichert werden, verifiziert. Ziel der Diplomarbeit ist es, die thermische Energie, welche vom Gestein auf die Flüssigkeit übertragen wird zeitaufgelöst zu ermitteln. An beliebigen Standorten der Erde soll es dann möglich sein, mittels der Simulation den Jahreswirkungsgrad dieses Gesteinsabsorber-Typs zu ermitteln. Um den Jahreswirkungsgrad an verschiedenen Standorten bestimmen zu können benötigt man die jeweiligen Klimadaten und ein vorgegebenes Nutztemperaturniveau des Fluids. Es wird in dieser Arbeit der Neuhauser Granitabsorber untersucht. Für diesen Gesteinskollektor ergibt sich ein durchschnittlicher thermischer Energieübertrag von 118kWh/m 2 a (Standort Wien Umgebung) bei einem Nutztemperaturniveau von 23 °C. Dies entspricht einem Wirkungsgrad von 13,5%. Betrachtet man jene thermische Energie, die in der Heizperiode (=Jän. bis April und Okt. bis Dez.) vom Kollektor an das Fluid übertragen wird, so kommt man auf einen Durchschnittswert von 28,5 kWh/m 2 a.In the practical part of my master thesis a controller for a prototype solar thermal facade energy system is being developed. This facade energy system consists of different stone slabs which absorb solar rays. The absorbed solar energy is converted in heat.The stone slabs are mounted vertically on a plate. On the back side of each stone-collector there is a pipe system installed, sourounded by concrete, through which a mixture of water and glycol is pumped. The heat from the collector is transferred to the colder fluid. The task of the control is to vary the flow rate so, that the temperature of the fluid after passing the pipe system is constant. In the theoretical part of this project a 1-dim phsical model of the stone-collector is created and implemented. This simulation is verified with aide of data, which have been collected and stored in the practical part of the work. The aim of this project is to determine time-resolved the thermal energy, that is transferred to the fluid. At any location on earth with aide of the simulation it should be possible to determine the annual energy efficiency. Therefore both climate data and a defined operating temperature are needed. In this work the Neuhauser-granite absorber is investigated. For this stone-collector the average thermal energy transfer results in 118kWh/m 2 a (location Vienna) by an opeating temperature of 23 °C. This corresponds to an efficiency of 13.5%. Considering the thermal energy in the heating season (=Jan. to April and Oct. to Dec.) which is transferred from the collector to the fluid, we arrive at an average value of 28.5 kWh/m 2 a
Stad van de Toekomst: Tien ontwerpvisies voor vijf locaties, verbeelding voor een vierkante kilometer stad
No full textThe design study The City of the Future addresses the major challenges that our cities are facing. Ten teams of professionals from a broad range of disciplines conducted research by design into a square kilometre of one of the five largest cities in the Netherlands - Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht, and Eindhoven. Their outcome is inspiring visualization and concrete prospects for action suggest ways in which the major transitions of our time can play out in our cities. They show a city of the future thet is climate-proof, energy-, and mobility-smart, thet stimulates encounter and is a pleasant place to live and work for everyone.'The City of the Future: Ten Design Strategies for Five Locations' presents the results of the study in word and images. The work of teams is accompanied by articles and interviews with those involved in The City of the Future project. It is supplemented with work by students from Delft University of Technology. The study shows the city of the future through the eyes of designers and offers challenging views that we can start working with today.ProjectsUrban DesignTheory, Territories & TransitionsEnvironmental Technology and DesignUrban Development ManagementPractice Chair Urban Area Developmen
Design studio performance in complex spatial projects: lessons from The Netherlands
No full textThe Netherlands has a strong design tradition in planning for the built environment. After a period of neglect, attention for the role of design studios has resurged, particularly for addressing complex spatial projects. These area-based projects have impacts that cut across local to regional scales, so setting up a design process that addresses these scales and engages a wide range of relevant parties proves helpful for formulating design briefs and identifying potential spatial outcomes. This paper discusses the role of the design studio in the Dutch practice, exploring to what extent it helps in identifying the integrated outcomes desired
Utilization-focused scientific policy advice: a six-point checklist
No full textKnowledge utilization depends on how well the scientific community communicates knowledge to its target audiences’ needs. We argue that policy-relevant science communication can increase the real-life impact of scientific evidence by moving beyond political agenda-setting and providing concrete advice to policy drafters. Agenda-setting seeks to raise politicians’ and the wider public’s awareness of a problem (problem advice). However, for scientific evidence to translate into effective policy interventions, the scientific community and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) must also provide policy drafters with advice on policy design and implementation (policy advice). Political attention is volatile, and – except for particularly policy-driven and solution-focused actors – politicians have little incentive to address long-term issues such as climate change if voters do not punish short-term thinking. In contrast, the public administration (government agencies) carries out long-term expert work. Government agencies are therefore the primary recipients of evidence-based knowledge transfer that aims to create concrete policy solutions. We develop hands-on recommendations for tailoring scientific advice to the needs of policy drafters through a six-point checklist. Based on utilization-focused evaluation research, we argue that scientific evidence should not only address the causes of public problems but also the effectiveness of proposed policy solutions and the consequences of policy decisions. We also highlight the need to assess the political feasibility of a given policy proposal (potential oppositions and stumbling blocks) and its practical implementability (likely reaction of the target groups). Ensuring effective policy advice requires transdisciplinary dialogue between natural, social, and policy scientists, as well as dialogue between research and government agencies.
Key policy insights
There is a gap between public and political awareness of climate change issues and effective policy solutions.
Due to their respective roles within the policy process, politicians and government agencies have different knowledge needs.
In addition to providing politicians and the general public with problem advice, a specific form of policy advice, that is, policy-prescriptive evidence-based information, should be developed and provided for policy drafters within government agencies.
Natural, social and policy scientists must team up to provide policy advice that is not only evidence-based but also utilization-focused
Quelle communication scientifique dans la lutte contre le changement climatique
No full textAfin de favoriser l’utilisation des résultats de la recherche dans le processus politique, les scientifiques doivent communiquer avec différents types de publics ayant des besoins et des caractéristiques propres. Alors que la phase de mise à l’agenda politique d’un problème tend à retenir l’attention en raison de sa forte visibilité, l’action publique ne s’arrête pas aux portes de la prise de décision politique. Pour assurer la mise en œuvre d’une réponse publique à des
problématiques telles que le changement climatique, il s’agit d’une part de susciter la prise de conscience des éluꞏeꞏs et du grand public (communication scientifique axée sur le problème), mais aussi d’autre part de mettre à disposition des administrations une expertise portant sur le contenu des politiques publiques (communication scientifique axée sur les politiques publiques). Les savoirs et savoirfaire accumulés en évaluation des politiques publiques constituent à cet égard une ressource essentielle
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