In a world that faces global warming and other major environmental challenges, it is essential that students learn about the principles of sustainability so that they can apply these principles in their future lives and careers. This is particularly so in fields such as interior architecture and design, which will impact how well humans can move toward a sustainable way of life. The aim of the present study was to evaluate a participatory teaching approach for students of interior design that incorporates ecological thinking. It is particularly intended for use at universities and other places of higher education where such contexts are not currently available and, furthermore, where the teaching has been primarily of a didactic, teacher-centred form. The teaching approach was developed and tested through the involvement of students and staff at a technical institute in Kuwait – a country with severe environmental problems in which teaching at all levels has traditionally been rigidly didactic. A review was carried out of literature on learning theories, design principles, and sustainability paradigms that bore upon the research aim. Following this, a method was chosen, based on action research that involved running different types of workshops, in order to measure the impact of the teaching styles that are ideal to deliver ecological knowledge.

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Το αντικείμενο της διατριβής αυτής είναι η εισαγωγή ενός νέου πρωτοκόλλου (e-SCP-ECG+) με στόχο την μεταφορά και διαχείριση πολλαπλών τύπων πληροφορίας που προέρχονται από ιατρικές συσκευές συλλογής ζωτικών σημάτων, δεδομένα που αφορούν τις αλλεργίες από τις οποίες υποφέρει ο ασθενής, στοιχεία γεωτοποθεσίας, καθώς επίσης και δημογραφικών στοιχείων, από τους ασθενείς σε υπολογιστικούς σταθμούς επεξεργασίας, διαχείρισης και αποθήκευσής της. Ορίζεται επίσης η αρχιτεκτονική ενός Συστήματος Τηλεπαρακολούθησης Υγείας Ασθενούς (ΣΤΥΑ), το οποίο χρησιμοποιεί το πρωτόκολλο e-SCP-ECG+ για τη μεταφορά, τη διαχείριση και την αρχειοθέτηση της συλλεγόμενης πληροφορίας. Η αρχιτεκτονική περιλαμβάνει, επίσης, τη δημιουργία ενός Δικτύου από ΣΤΥΑ, με στόχο την δικτυακή αναζήτηση πληροφορίας σχετικής με τον ασθενή, εξασφαλίζοντας έτσι τη δυνατότητα του ελέγχου της πορείας της υγείας ενός ασθενούς. Το ΣΤΥΑ πέρα από την λειτουργία του σε εργαστηριακό επίπεδο, δοκιμάστηκε πιλοτικά σε πραγματικές συνθήκες. / This dissertation introduces a new protocol named e-SCP-ECG+, which permits the transport and management of multiple information types collected from patients (vital signs, citizen demographic data, other information relative with the treated incident, allergy data, geolocation data, etc.), through a communication network to a Health Reception Center. The dissertation also defines the architecture of a Health Tele-monitoring System (HTS) aiming to protocol’s application and evaluation. The pilot HTS, uses the protocol e-SCP-ECG+, in order to transmit, manage and archive the collected information. The creation of an HTS’s Network is also included in this architecture. This network supports health continuity and gives doctor the ability to search information relative to the patient between different networked HTSs. The pilot HTS, has been tested both on laboratory conditions and in real-world operation.

Over the last few decades, we have been witnessing a tremendous evolution in mobile computing, wireless networking and hand-held devices. In the future communication networks, users are anticipated to become even more mobile demanding for ubiquitous connectivity to different applications which will be preferably aware of their context. Admittedly, location information as part of their context is of paramount importance from both application and network perspectives. From application or user point of view, service provision can upgrade if adaptation to the user's context is enabled. From network point of view, functionalities such as routing, handoff management, resource allocation and others can also benefit if user's location can be tracked or even predicted. Within this context, we focus our attention on indoor localization and handoff prediction which are indispensable components towards the ultimate success of the envisioned pervasive communication era. While outdoor positioning systems have already proven their potential in a wide range of commercial applications, the path towards a successful indoor location system is recognized to be much more difficult, mainly due to the harsh indoor characteristics and requirement for higher accuracy. Similarly, handoff management in the future heterogeneous wireless networks is much more challenging than in traditional homogeneous networks. Handoff schemes must be seamless for meeting strict Quality of Service (QoS) requirements of the future applications and functional despite the diversity of operation features of the different technologies. In addition, handoff decisions should be flexible enough to accommodate user preferences from a wide range of criteria offered by all technologies. The main objective of this thesis is to devise accurate, time and power efficient location and handoff management systems in order to satisfy better context-aware and mobile applications. For indoor localization, the potential of Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technologies as standalone location sensing technologies are first studied by testing several algorithms and metrics in a real experimental testbed or by extensive simulations, while their shortcomings are also identified. Their integration in a common architecture is then proposed in order to combine their key benefits and overcome their limitations. The performance superiority of the synergetic system over the stand alone counterparts is validated via extensive analysis. Regarding the handoff management task, we pinpoint that context awareness can also enhance the network functionality. Consequently, two such schemes which utilize information obtained from localization systems are proposed. The first scheme relies on a RFID tag deployment, alike our RFID positioning architecture, and by following the WLAN scene analysis positioning concept, predicts the next network layer location, i.e. the next point of attachment to the network. The second scheme relies on an integrated RFID and Wireless Sensor/Actuator Network (WSAN) deployment for tracking the users' physical location and subsequently for predicting next their handoff point at both link and network layers. Being independent of the underlying principle wireless access technology, both schemes can be easily implemented in heterogeneous networks. Performance evaluation results demonstrate the advantages of the proposed schemes over the standard protocols regarding prediction accuracy, time latency and energy savings

L’analyse de compromis d’un modèle système a pour but de minimiser ou de maximiser différents objectifs tels que le coût ou les performances. Les méthodes actuelles de type OOSEM avec SysML ou ARCADIA sont basées sur la classification ; il s’agit de définir les différentes variantes de l’architecture d’un système de base puis d’analyser ces variantes. Dans ces approches, les choix d’architecture sont contraints : la plateforme d’exécution et la topologie sont déjà figées. Nous proposons la notion de « points de décision » pour modéliser les différents choix du système, en utilisant de nouveaux stéréotypes. L’avantage est d’avoir une modélisation plus « compacte » des différentes variantes et de piloter l’exploration des variantes en utilisant des contraintes. Lorsque le concepteur définit l’architecture du système, des points de décisions sont insérés dans le modèle du système. Ils permettent de modéliser la redondance ou le choix d’une instance pour un composant, les variations des attributs d’un composant, ou l’allocation des activités sur les blocs. Les fonctions objectifs sont définies dans un contexte d’optimisation à l’aide du diagramme paramétrique de SysML. Nous proposons des transformations du modèle SysML vers un problème de satisfaction de contraintes pour l’optimisation (CSMOP) dont la résolution nous permet d’obtenir l’ensemble des architectures optimales. Cette transformation est implantée dans un démonstrateur (plug-in Eclipse) permettant une utilisation conjointe de l’outil Papyrus et de solveurs, disponibles sous forme de logiciels libres. La méthode est illustrée avec des cas d’étude constitués d’une caméra stéréoscopique puis d’un drone, l’ensemble étant modélisé avec Papyrus. / Finding the set of optimal architectures is an important challenge for the designer who uses the Model-Based System Engineering (MBSE). Design objectives such as cost, performance are often conflicting. Current methods (OOSEM with SysML or ARCADIA) are focused on the design and the analysis of a particular alternative of the system. In these methods, the topology and the execution platform are frozen before the optimization. To improve the optimization from MBSE, we propose a methodology combining SysML with the concept of “decision point”. An initial SysML model is complemented with “decisions points” to show up the different alternatives for component redundancy, instance selection and allocation. The constraints and objective functions are also added to the initial SysML model, with an optimiza-tion context and parametric diagram. Then a representation of a constraint satisfaction problem for optimization (CSMOP) is generated with an algorithm and solved with an existing solver. A demonstrator implements this transformation in an Eclipse plug-in, combining the Papyrus open-source tool and CSP solvers. Two case studies illustrate the methodology: a stereoscopic camera sensor module and a mission controller for an Unmanned Aerial Vehi-cle (UAV).

Este trabalho trata da relação entre arquitetura e tecnologia digital, a partir da constatação de que a capacidade de processamento digital de informações está se espalhando não apenas pela adoção e uso de aparatos computacionais pelas pessoas, mas também por meio de sua inserção em objetos e lugares. Neste contexto, fornece bases para o entendimento e o design da arquitetura interativa, um tipo de espaço físico que pressupõe a implementação de interações viabilizadas por processadores de informação digital. Para tal, o trabalho é dividido em três partes: contexto, fundamentos e design. Na primeira, fornece chaves de leitura para o entendimento de instâncias com as quais a arquitetura interativa dialoga, colocando-­a, não como uma consequência do desenvolvimento tecnológico e, sim, parte de um contexto maior, complexo e conectado. Especificamente, aborda a interrelação entre os contextos ideológico, tecnológico e sócioespacial. Na segunda parte, explora a arquitetura interativa enquanto consequência da incorporação da tecnologia no produto arquitetônico, para depois analisar aspectos que conferem coerência a ela enquanto uma forma particular de intervenção e de manifestação. A terceira parte aborda as principais questões motivadoras desta pesquisa, a saber: o design da arquitetura interativa e as contribuições que o design de interação pode fornecer a esse tipo de prática. Por fim, são esboçados parâmetros -­- elementos conceituais passíveis de serem manipulados -­- para guiar o design da arquitetura interativa. Entre outras utilidades, a função desses parâmetros é ampliar o vocabulário e os modos de trabalho da arquitetura como um todo. No geral, a aproximação realizada foi um meio de explorar e entender um pouco mais o mundo tecnológico que vivemos. Assim, a motivação de entender o que é necessário para projetar a arquitetura interativa, ou seja, para incluir a tecnologia em seu produto, pressupõe discussões que alargam o campo da arquitetura. Inclui nele, a possibilidade e necessidade de que arquitetos atuem, além de consumidores dessa tecnologia, como protagonistas ativos em sua conformação. / This work delas with the relation between architecture and technology, from the observation that, the potential of digital information processing is spreading, not only through the adoption and use of computing devices by people, but also, their addition on objects and places. Within this context, this study provides basis for the understanding and design of interactive architecture, a type of physical space that compels the implementation of interactions, enabled by digital information processors. To achieve this, the work is divided into three parts: context, fundamentals and design. At the first part, Reading keys to understand instances with which the interactive architecture dialogues are provided. This type of spaces is understood, not as a consequence of technological development, but as part of a bigger, complex and connected context. Specifically, it adresses the interrelation between the ideological, technological and socio-­-spatial contexts. The second part, explores the topic of interactive architecture, as a result of technology introduction into the architectural product, and then, analyzes some aspects that give coherence to it as a specific form of intervention and expression. The third part, adresses the main issues that motivated this research, namely the design process of interactive architecture and the contributions that interaction design can provide this type of practice. Finally, nine parameters -­- conceptual elements capable of being manipulated -­- are outlined to guide the design of interactive architecture. Among other uses, the function of these parameters is to expand the vocabular and methods of architecture practice as a whole. Overall, the approach adopted is a means to explore and understand more about the technological world we live. The motivation to understand what is required to design the interactive architecture, that is, to include the technology in the final product, presupposes discussions that broaden the architectural field. It includes within it, the possibility and need for architects to act, beyond consumers of this technology, as active protagonists in their conformation.

Increasingly complex applications and recent shifts in technology scaling have created a large demand for microprocessors which can perform tasks more quickly and more energy efficient. Conventional microarchitectures exploit multiple levels of parallelism to increase instruction throughput and use application specific instruction sets or hardware accelerators to increase energy efficiency. Reconfigurable microprocessors adopt the same principle of providing application specific hardware, however, with the significant advantage of post-fabrication flexibility. Not only does this offer similar gains in performance but also the flexibility to configure each device individually. This thesis explored the benefit of a tight coupled and fine-grained reconfigurable microprocessor. In contrast to previous research, a detailed design space exploration of logical architectures for island-style field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) has been performed in the context of a commercial 22nm process technology. Other research projects either reused general purpose architectures or spent little effort to design and characterize custom fabrics, which are critical to system performance and the practicality of frequently proposed high-level software techniques. Here, detailed circuit implementations and a custom area model were used to estimate the performance of over 200 different logical FPGA architectures with single-driver routing. Results of this exploration revealed similar tradeoffs and trends described by previous studies. The number of lookup table (LUT) inputs and the structure of the global routing network were shown to have a major impact on the area delay product. However, results suggested a much larger region of efficient architectures than before. Finally, an architecture with 5-LUTs and 8 logic elements per cluster was selected. Modifications to the microprocessor, whichwas based on an industry proven instruction set architecture, and its software toolchain provided access to this embedded reconfigurable fabric via custom instructions. The baseline microprocessor was characterized with estimates from signoff data for a 28nm hardware implementation. A modified academic FPGA tool flow was used to transform Verilog implementations of custom instructions into a post-routing netlist with timing annotations. Simulation-based verification of the system was performed with a cycle-accurate processor model and diverse application benchmarks, ranging from signal processing, over encryption to computation of elementary functions. For these benchmarks, a significant increase in performance with speedups from 3 to 15 relative to the baseline microprocessor was achieved with the extended instruction set. Except for one case, application speedup clearly outweighed the area overhead for the extended system, even though the modeled fabric architecturewas primitive and contained no explicit arithmetic enhancements. Insights into fundamental tradeoffs of island-style FPGA architectures, the developed exploration flow, and a concrete cost model are relevant for the development of more advanced architectures. Hence, this work is a successful proof of concept and has laid the basis for further investigations into architectural extensions and physical implementations. Potential for further optimizationwas identified on multiple levels and numerous directions for future research were described. / Zunehmend komplexere Anwendungen und Besonderheiten moderner Halbleitertechnologien haben zu einer großen Nachfrage an leistungsfähigen und gleichzeitig sehr energieeffizienten Mikroprozessoren geführt. Konventionelle Architekturen versuchen den Befehlsdurchsatz durch Parallelisierung zu steigern und stellen anwendungsspezifische Befehlssätze oder Hardwarebeschleuniger zur Steigerung der Energieeffizienz bereit. Rekonfigurierbare Prozessoren ermöglichen ähnliche Performancesteigerungen und besitzen gleichzeitig den enormen Vorteil, dass die Spezialisierung auf eine bestimmte Anwendung nach der Herstellung erfolgen kann. In dieser Diplomarbeit wurde ein rekonfigurierbarer Mikroprozessor mit einem eng gekoppelten FPGA untersucht. Im Gegensatz zu früheren Forschungsansätzen wurde eine umfangreiche Entwurfsraumexploration der FPGA-Architektur im Zusammenhang mit einem kommerziellen 22nm Herstellungsprozess durchgeführt. Bisher verwendeten die meisten Forschungsprojekte entweder kommerzielle Architekturen, die nicht unbedingt auf diesen Anwendungsfall zugeschnitten sind, oder die vorgeschlagenen FGPA-Komponenten wurden nur unzureichend untersucht und charakterisiert. Jedoch ist gerade dieser Baustein ausschlaggebend für die Leistungsfähigkeit des gesamten Systems. Deshalb wurden im Rahmen dieser Arbeit über 200 verschiedene logische FPGA-Architekturen untersucht. Zur Modellierung wurden konkrete Schaltungstopologien und ein auf den Herstellungsprozess zugeschnittenes Modell zur Abschätzung der Layoutfläche verwendet. Generell wurden die gleichen Trends wie bei vorhergehenden und ähnlich umfangreichen Untersuchungen beobachtet. Auch hier wurden die Ergebnisse maßgeblich von der Größe der LUTs (engl. "Lookup Tables") und der Struktur des Routingnetzwerks bestimmt. Gleichzeitig wurde ein viel breiterer Bereich von Architekturen mit nahezu gleicher Effizienz identifiziert. Zur weiteren Evaluation wurde eine FPGA-Architektur mit 5-LUTs und 8 Logikelementen ausgewählt. Die Performance des ausgewählten Mikroprozessors, der auf einer erprobten Befehlssatzarchitektur aufbaut, wurde mit Ergebnissen eines 28nm Testchips abgeschätzt. Eine modifizierte Sammlung von akademischen Softwarewerkzeugen wurde verwendet, um Spezialbefehle auf die modellierte FPGA-Architektur abzubilden und eine Netzliste für die anschließende Simulation und Verifikation zu erzeugen. Für eine Reihe unterschiedlicher Anwendungs-Benchmarks wurde eine relative Leistungssteigerung zwischen 3 und 15 gegenüber dem ursprünglichen Prozessor ermittelt. Obwohl die vorgeschlagene FPGA-Architektur vergleichsweise primitiv ist und keinerlei arithmetische Erweiterungen besitzt, musste dabei, bis auf eine Ausnahme, kein überproportionaler Anstieg der Chipfläche in Kauf genommen werden. Die gewonnen Erkenntnisse zu den Abhängigkeiten zwischen den Architekturparametern, der entwickelte Ablauf für die Exploration und das konkrete Kostenmodell sind essenziell für weitere Verbesserungen der FPGA-Architektur. Die vorliegende Arbeit hat somit erfolgreich den Vorteil der untersuchten Systemarchitektur gezeigt und den Weg für mögliche Erweiterungen und Hardwareimplementierungen geebnet. Zusätzlich wurden eine Reihe von Optimierungen der Architektur und weitere potenziellen Forschungsansätzen aufgezeigt.

<p>Извршено је моделирање и имплементација софтверског система за циркулацију који&nbsp;омогућава праћење коришћења библиотечког&nbsp;фонда на нивоу конзорцијума библиотека.&nbsp;Коришћен је методолошки приступ&nbsp;унифицирани процес развоја система. У&nbsp;моделирању архитектуре коришћени су дизајн&nbsp;патерни, а модел је приказан у UML 2.0&nbsp;нотацији. Систем је имплементиран у&nbsp;програмском језику Java.</p><p>У оквиру система развијен је подсистем за&nbsp;клијент/сервер комуникацију који омогућава&nbsp;транспарентну комуникацију клијента и&nbsp;сервера у односу на транспортни протокол&nbsp;које се користи. Подсистем има патерн&nbsp;оријентисану софтверску архитектуру која је заснована на комбинацији неколико дизајн патерна. Његовом интеграцијом у софтверски систем БИСИС омогућен је рад система у различитим мрежним окружењима.</p><p>Такође, подсистем је искоришћен и за комуникацију са другим библиотекама. У оквиру подсистема имплементиран је NCIP протокол чиме је омогућена размена података са библиотекама које користе различите библиотечке софтверске системе. Подсистем омогућава једнообразан начин комуникације клијентске апликације, било са сервером своје библиотеке или серверима других библиотека. Имплементиран је и NCIP сервис који служи за приступ подацима по NCIP протоколу од стране других библиотека.</p> / <p>Izvršeno je modeliranje i implementacija softverskog sistema za cirkulaciju koji&nbsp;omogućava praćenje korišćenja bibliotečkog&nbsp;fonda na nivou konzorcijuma biblioteka.&nbsp;Korišćen je metodološki pristup&nbsp;unificirani proces razvoja sistema. U&nbsp;modeliranju arhitekture korišćeni su dizajn&nbsp;paterni, a model je prikazan u UML 2.0&nbsp;notaciji. Sistem je implementiran u&nbsp;programskom jeziku Java.</p><p>U okviru sistema razvijen je podsistem za&nbsp;klijent/server komunikaciju koji omogućava&nbsp;transparentnu komunikaciju klijenta i&nbsp;servera u odnosu na transportni protokol&nbsp;koje se koristi. Podsistem ima patern&nbsp;orijentisanu softversku arhitekturu koja je zasnovana na kombinaciji nekoliko dizajn paterna. NJegovom integracijom u softverski sistem BISIS omogućen je rad sistema u različitim mrežnim okruženjima.</p><p>Takođe, podsistem je iskorišćen i za komunikaciju sa drugim bibliotekama. U okviru podsistema implementiran je NCIP protokol čime je omogućena razmena podataka sa bibliotekama koje koriste različite bibliotečke softverske sisteme. Podsistem omogućava jednoobrazan način komunikacije klijentske aplikacije, bilo sa serverom svoje biblioteke ili serverima drugih biblioteka. Implementiran je i NCIP servis koji služi za pristup podacima po NCIP protokolu od strane drugih biblioteka.</p> / <p> Modeling and implementation of circulation software system with support for direct consortial borrowing has been done. Unified software development process is used. Software architecture modeling is done using design patterns and it is shown in UML 2.0 notation. System implementation is realized in programming language Java. Subsystem for client/server communication is developed as part of circulation system. Subsystem enables transparent communication between client and server in accordance with used transport protocol. Software architecture of this subsystem is pattern oriented and it is based on combination of several design patterns. By integrating subsystem into system BISIS, it is allowed operation of system in different network environments. Also, subsystem is used for communication with other libraries. NCIP protocol is implemented inside the subsystem by which exchange data with different library software systems is enabled. Subsystem provides unique way of communication between client application and server, no matter whether it is its own library server or servers of other libraries. NICP service used by other libraries to access data according to NICP protocol is implemented, as well.</p>

Au cours des dernières décennies, nous avons été témoins d'une évolution considérable dans l'informatique mobile, réseau sans fil et des appareils portatifs. Dans les réseaux de communication à venir, les utilisateurs devraient être encore plus mobiles exigeant une connectivité omniprésente à différentes applications qui seront de préférence au courant de leur contexte. Certes, les informations de localisation dans le cadre de leur contexte est d'une importance primordiale à la fois la demande et les perspectives du réseau. Depuis l'application ou de point de vue utilisateur, la fourniture de services peut mettre à jour si l'adaptation au contexte de l'utilisateur est activée. Du point de vue du réseau, des fonctionnalités telles que le routage, la gestion de transfert, l'allocation des ressources et d'autres peuvent également bénéficier si l'emplacement de l'utilisateur peuvent être suivis ou même prédit. Dans ce contexte, nous nous concentrons notre attention sur la localisation à l'intérieur et de la prévision transfert qui sont des composants indispensables à la réussite ultime de l'ère de la communication omniprésente envisagé. Alors que les systèmes de positionnement en plein air ont déjà prouvé leur potentiel dans un large éventail d'applications commerciales, le chemin vers un système de localisation à l'intérieur de succès est reconnu pour être beaucoup plus difficile, principalement en raison des caractéristiques difficiles à l'intérieur et l'exigence d'une plus grande précision. De même, la gestion de transfert dans le futur des réseaux hétérogènes sans fil est beaucoup plus difficile que dans les réseaux traditionnels homogènes. Régimes de procédure de transfert doit être sans faille pour la réunion strictes de qualité de service (QoS) des applications futures et fonctionnel malgré la diversité des caractéristiques de fonctionnement des différentes technologies. En outre, les décisions transfert devraient être suffisamment souples pour tenir compte des préférences utilisateur d'un large éventail de critères proposés par toutes les technologies. L'objectif principal de cette thèse est de mettre au point précis, l'heure et l'emplacement de puissance et de systèmes efficaces de gestion de transfert afin de mieux satisfaire applications sensibles au contexte et mobiles. Pour obtenir une localisation à l'intérieur, le potentiel de réseau local sans fil (WLAN) et Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) que l'emplacement autonome technologies de détection sont d'abord étudiés par des essais plusieurs algorithmes et paramètres dans un banc d'essai expérimental réel ou par de nombreuses simulations, alors que leurs lacunes sont également été identifiés. Leur intégration dans une architecture commune est alors proposée afin de combiner leurs principaux avantages et surmonter leurs limitations. La supériorité des performances du système de synergie sur le stand alone homologues est validée par une analyse approfondie. En ce qui concerne la tâche de gestion transfert, nous repérer que la sensibilité au contexte peut aussi améliorer la fonctionnalité du réseau. En conséquence, deux de tels systèmes qui utilisent l'information obtenue à partir des systèmes de localisation sont proposées. Le premier schéma repose sur un déploiement tag RFID, comme notre architecture de positionnement RFID, et en suivant la scène WLAN analyse du concept de positionnement, prédit l'emplacement réseau de la prochaine couche, c'est à dire le prochain point de fixation sur le réseau. Le second régime repose sur une approche intégrée RFID et sans fil de capteur / actionneur Network (WSAN) de déploiement pour la localisation des utilisateurs physiques et par la suite pour prédire la prochaine leur point de transfert à deux couches de liaison et le réseau. Etre indépendant de la technologie d'accès sans fil principe sous-jacent, les deux régimes peuvent être facilement mises en œuvre dans des réseaux hétérogènes [...] / Over the last few decades, we have been witnessing a tremendous evolution in mobile computing, wireless networking and hand-held devices. In the future communication networks, users are anticipated to become even more mobile demanding for ubiquitous connectivity to different applications which will be preferably aware of their context. Admittedly, location information as part of their context is of paramount importance from both application and network perspectives. From application or user point of view, service provision can upgrade if adaptation to the user's context is enabled. From network point of view, functionalities such as routing, handoff management, resource allocation and others can also benefit if user's location can be tracked or even predicted. Within this context, we focus our attention on indoor localization and handoff prediction which are indispensable components towards the ultimate success of the envisioned pervasive communication era. While outdoor positioning systems have already proven their potential in a wide range of commercial applications, the path towards a successful indoor location system is recognized to be much more difficult, mainly due to the harsh indoor characteristics and requirement for higher accuracy. Similarly, handoff management in the future heterogeneous wireless networks is much more challenging than in traditional homogeneous networks. Handoff schemes must be seamless for meeting strict Quality of Service (QoS) requirements of the future applications and functional despite the diversity of operation features of the different technologies. In addition, handoff decisions should be flexible enough to accommodate user preferences from a wide range of criteria offered by all technologies. The main objective of this thesis is to devise accurate, time and power efficient location and handoff management systems in order to satisfy better context-aware and mobile applications. For indoor localization, the potential of Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technologies as standalone location sensing technologies are first studied by testing several algorithms and metrics in a real experimental testbed or by extensive simulations, while their shortcomings are also identified. Their integration in a common architecture is then proposed in order to combine their key benefits and overcome their limitations. The performance superiority of the synergetic system over the stand alone counterparts is validated via extensive analysis. Regarding the handoff management task, we pinpoint that context awareness can also enhance the network functionality. Consequently, two such schemes which utilize information obtained from localization systems are proposed. The first scheme relies on a RFID tag deployment, alike our RFID positioning architecture, and by following the WLAN scene analysis positioning concept, predicts the next network layer location, i.e. the next point of attachment to the network. The second scheme relies on an integrated RFID and Wireless Sensor/Actuator Network (WSAN) deployment for tracking the users' physical location and subsequently for predicting next their handoff point at both link and network layers. Being independent of the underlying principle wireless access technology, both schemes can be easily implemented in heterogeneous networks. Performance evaluation results demonstrate the advantages of the proposed schemes over the standard protocols regarding prediction accuracy, time latency and energy savings

Tesis por compendio / [ES] La idea general de esta tesis es estudiar el papel que el Análisis de Ciclo de Vida (ACV) puede jugar como una herramienta para la toma de decisiones durante la fase de proyecto de una obra de construcción. El ACV es una metodología que permite el cálculo de los impactos ambientales de cualquier actividad humana. Este trabajo está construido en tres niveles, el estudio de materiales de construcción individualmente, las soluciones constructivas y por último el conjunto del edificio. A medida que los capítulos progresan, el foco del estudio se aleja desde las particularidades asociadas con los materiales hasta llegar al estudio del ciclo de vida de los edificios. El capítulo uno corresponde con el primer nivel. En este capítulo, varios biocomposites que contienen resina bio-epoxi se comparan con la placa de yeso laminado en términos de sus impactos medioambientales y sus propiedades mecánicas. En el caso de las soluciones constructivas, esta tesis analiza, además de los impactos ambientales, otros parámetros relevantes, tales como el comportamiento acústico y térmico. Sin un comportamiento adecuado en esos aspectos. las soluciones constructivas sostenibles no pueden considerarse una alternativa a las convencionales. En el caso del capítulo 2, se comparan varios tipos de particiones que combinan los biocomposites estudiados en el primer capítulo con absorbentes acústicos convencionales y no convencionales en términos de sus impactos medioambientales y su aislamiento a ruido aéreo. El tercer capítulo continúa tratando las soluciones constructivas. En este caso se analiza el uso de paneles de fachada formados a partir de residuo de paja de arroz generada en el parque natural de la Albufera. Una fachada compuesta por estos paneles se compara a una fachada de doble hoja de ladrillo. El estudio lidia con la comparación de sus impactos ambientales, su aislamiento a ruido aéreo y su transmitancia térmica. Además se analiza el comportamiento higrotérmico de la fachada de paja. El último capítulo compara los impactos ambientales de una casa de madera pensada para ser una referencia de la media europea en cinco ciudades diferentes. Las ciudades estudiadas son Munich, Ljubljana, Portorož, Madrid, and Valencia. El propósito es comprender como las barreras hacia la sostenibilidad regenerativa cambian dependiendo de la ubicación. En referencia a los resultados, el primer capítulo indica que los composites propuestos pueden ser una alternativa sostenible a la placa de yeso laminado al reducir un 50% su impacto ambiental. El segundo capítulo muestra que reemplazar la placa de yeso laminado y la lana mineral de las particiones por los biocomposites y con un material basado en residuo de lana de oveja puede reducir las emisiones de carbono un 60%. El tercer capítulo señala la importancia de encontrar manera de utilizar la paja de arroz de la albufera como materia prima. Además, la fachada de paja de arroz analizada demuestra no solo ser beneficiosa para el medio ambiente (evita la emisión de 52 kg de CO2 eq. por metro cuadrado), sino también demuestra ser una alternativa adecuada en términos de su comportamiento acústico, térmico e higrotérmico. Debido a los beneficios ambientales que el uso de los paneles de paja supone para el medio ambiente, la paja de arroz puede ser considerada como un material glocal. El último capítulo muestra que las medidas de sostenibilidad convencional, como el uso de la madera en la estructura y el aumento del aislamiento, no son suficientes para llegar a construir edificios regenerativos ni de emisiones de carbono neutras (NZED). El uso de materiales de base biológica, un correcto diseño y nuevas tecnologías enfocadas a la eficiencia energética son fundamentales para alcanzar el objetivo de la sostenibilidad regenerativa. En general los resultados enfatizan la necesidad de utilizar el ACV como una herramienta para la toma de decisiones en fase de proyecto de un edificio. El ACV es la única metodología capaz de ofrecer una representación fiable de la influencia que un edificio tiene sobre el medio ambiente / [CA] La idea general d'aquesta tesi es estudiar del paper que l'Anàlisi de Cicle de Vida (ACV) podria jugar com a ferramenta per a la pressa de decisions durant la fase de projecte d'una obra de construcció. El ACV és una metodologia que permet el càlcul dels impactes ambientals de qualsevol activitat humana. Aquest treball està construït en tres nivells, el estudi de materials de construcció de manera individual, les solucions constructives i per últim l'edifici com a conjunt. A mesura que els capítols progressen, el focus s'allunya des de les particularitats dels materials fins arribar a l'estudi del cicle de vida dels edificis. El capítol 1 es correspon amb el primer nivell. En aquest capítol. diversos biocomposites formats amb resina bio-epoxi es comparen amb la placa de guix laminat en termes dels seus impactes ambientals y les propietats mecàniques. En el cas de les solucions constructives, aquesta tesi analitza, a més dels impactes ambientals, uns altres paràmetres rellevants, com el comportament acústic i tèrmic. Sense un comportament adequat en eixos aspectes, una solució constructiva composada de materials sostenibles no pot ser considerada una alternativa al mètodes de construcció convencional. En el cas del segon capítol, diversos tipus de particions que combinen els biocomposites estudiats en el primer capítol amb absorbents acústics convencionals i no convencionals en termes dels seus impactes ambiental i el seu aïllament a soroll aeri. El tercer capítol continua analitzant solucions constructives. En aquest cas s'analitza l'ús de panels de façana composats de residu de palla d'arròs generada al parc natural de l'Albufera de València. Una façana composta d'aquestos panells es compara amb una façana de doble fulla de maó. L'estudi tracta la comparació dels seus impactes ambientals, el seu aïllament acústic i la transmitància tèrmica. A més s'analitza el comportament higrotèrmic de la façana de palla.L'últim capítol compara els impactes ambientals de una casa de fusta pensada com una referència de la mitjana europea en cinc ciutats diferents. Les ciutats estudiades són Múnich, Liubliana, Portorož, Madrid, and València. L'objectiu es comprendre com les barreres cap a la sostenibilitat regenerativa canvien depenent de la ubicació del edifici. En el referent als resultats, el primer capítol indica que els compòsits proposats poden ser una alternativa sostenible a la placa de guix laminat al reduir un 50% el seu impacte ambiental. El segon capítol mostra que reemplaçar la placa de guix laminat i la llana mineral de les particions amb els biocomposites i amb un material basat en residu de llana d'ovella pot reduir les emissions de carboni un 60%. El tercer capítol senyala la importància de trobar maneres d'emprar la palla d'arròs de l'Albufera com a matèria prima. A més, la façana de palla d'arròs analitzada demostra ser no sols beneficiosa per al medi ambient (evita la emissió de 52 kg de CO2 eq. per metre quadrat), sinó també demostra ser una alternativa adequada en termes del seu comportament acústic, tèrmic i higrotèrmic. L'últim capítol mostra que mesures de sostenibilitat convencional, com emprar estructura de fusta i augmentar l'aïllament, no son suficients per arribar a construir edificis d'emissions neutres de carboni (NZEB). L'ús de materials de base biològica, un correcte disseny i noves tecnologies enfocades a l'eficiència energètica són fonamentals per arribar a la sostenibilitat regenerativa. En general, els resultats emfatitzen la necessitat d'utilitzar el ACV com a una ferramenta per a la pressa de decisions en la fase de projecte d'un edifici. El ACV és l'única metodologia capaç d'oferir una representació fiable de la influència que un edifici te sobre el medi ambient. / [EN] The overarching idea of this thesis is to analyze the role of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as a project decision-making tool. LCA is a methodology to conduct a sustainability analysis of any human activity. This work is constructed in three levels, the study of building materials individually, the constructions, such as façades and partitions, and finally, the whole building. As the chapters progress, the focus of the study zooms out from the particularities associated with materials until arriving at the study of the life cycle of buildings. Chapter one corresponds with the first level. In this chapter, several composite boards with bio-epoxy resin and natural fibers are compared to plasterboard in terms of their environmental impact and mechanic characteristics. In the case of constructions, this thesis analyzes some important aspects related to their performance, such as acoustic and thermal insulation. Without at least a competent performance in those parameters, constructions composed of new sustainable materials cannot be considered alternatives to the conventional solutions. In chapter 2, several partition typologies combining the biocomposites and new and conventional acoustic absorbents are compared in terms of their environmental impacts and their airborne acoustic insulation. The third chapter, which also deals with constructions, analyzes the use of façade panels built using rice straw waste from the Albufera park in Valencia and compares it to the most common façade typology in Valencia, the double-layered brick wall. The study assesses the airborne acoustic insulation and the thermal transmittance of the straw construction experimentally. The hygrothermal performance of this material is also analyzed. The last chapter deals with the environmental impacts of buildings as a whole by comparing a European reference wood house in different locations in Europe. The environmental impacts of this house are studied over its whole life cycle in Munich, Ljubljana, Portorož, Madrid, and Valencia to understand how barriers towards regenerative sustainability change depending on location. When it comes to the results, the first chapter indicates that the bio-epoxy composites proposed can be a sustainable alternative to plasterboard by reducing the environmental impact by around 50%. The second chapter shows that replacing the plasterboard and the mineral wool in a drywall partition with the bio-composites and a sheep wool acoustic absorbent can reduce carbon emissions by almost 60%. The third chapter highlights the importance of finding ways of using the rice straw from the Albufera park as a raw material. Moreover, the rice straw façade analyzed demonstrated to be not only beneficial for the environment (avoids the emission of 52 kg of CO2e to the atmosphere per square meter), but also perfectly adequate to be a sustainable alternative to the most common façade typologies in Valencia in terms of acoustic, thermal and hygrothermal performance. Because of the environmental benefits of its use and the fact that it is a proximity material, the rice straw façade panels can be considered a glocal material. The last chapter shows that conventional sustainability measures, such as a wooden frame and high thermal insulation, are not enough to successfully build neither regenerative nor Nearly Zero Emissions Buildings (NZEB). The use of bio-based materials, designing towards passive efficiency, and new technologies are necessary to reach regenerative sustainability. Overall, the results emphasize the need to use LCA as a decision-making tool during the project stage of a building. LCA is the only tool that can provide an accurate representation of the influence a building will have on the environment over its lifespan. / The authors gratefully thank the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness, for funding the project BIA2013-41537-R (BIAEFIREMAT ‘Development of new sustainable eco- materials and building systems for the building industry, based on the use of residues and renewable raw materials’). The project is co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund and it is included in the R+D National Programme for Research Aimed at the Challenges of Society. Authors EMS, EPN, and MDB gratefully acknowledge the European Commission for funding InnoRenew CoE (grant agreement #739574), under the H2020 Widespread-Teaming programme and Republic of Slovenia (investment funding of the Republic of Slovenia and the European Union’s European Regional Development Fund). Author AQG was supported in part by a STSM grant from COST Action CA16114 – Rethink Sustainability Towards a Regenerative Economy (RESTORE). / Quintana Gallardo, A. (2021). On Life Cycle Assessment in the Built Environment: from Conventional Sustainability to Regeneration and Glocal Architecture [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/180176 / Compendio