<p>Video mediated communication (VMC) is a two way real time audio and video communication between remote places. VMC has the potential to be applied favourably to many activities, services and functions in smart homes. The concept of smart homes refers to homes equipped with technological systems and appliances enabling centralised or remotely controllable integrated functionalities and services. </p><p>The main question for the current research work is formulated accordingly: How can spaces for video mediated communication be designed and integrated into smart homes? The governing idea is that there are two main perceptions of space in the design and integration of video mediated communication into smart homes. One concerns the conception of private and public spaces, the other relates to the idea of physical and digital spaces. The interrelationship between these two concepts is supposed to become important when VMC is considered for smart home applications.</p><p>This thesis is written from an architectural perspective. It refers to the functionalistic paradigm here defined basically as the set of essential functions of the home that have to be solved in order to achieve good dwellings. The function of the home can be described as the organisation of space and furniture to support activities and processes in and around it. The thesis is based upon five papers and a covering text providing background, analysis and reflection, as well as ideas on further development. The research method can be described as mainly explorative and design-oriented. </p><p>A principal result from the study is that a novel modality of space, the public digital space, appears when VMC is introduced into smart homes. Further, it is advocated that this modality is a relevant issue for the architectural profession and architectural research. </p>

<p>The thesis presents a research project in graphic design including the development of a symbol system that represents tastes of wine as consumer information. The thesis has three main chapters; design, theory and empirical foundation.</p><p>The design chapter clarifies the design concept and its evolution from a traditional standpoint to its present state in the international area of design research as design theory.</p><p>The theoretical chapter presents a map of concepts in order to explain problems and practical solutions in the design process. The concepts are based on the philosophical ideas of Ernst Cassirer and Ludwig Wittgenstein, and concern interpretation of sense information, symbols and signs, picture and image. The design of the symbol system concerns the experience of taste, as a translation from words to pictures.</p><p>The empirical chapter comprehends both a description of the design process and of the empirical research. The method used is prototyping with a reference group of branch experts. The empirical research has evaluated the possibility to interpret, learn, use and understand the symbol system. The method used is a survey with questionnaires to a group of wine consumers</p>

<p>Child pedestrian safety is one of the biggest safety issues regarding planning of a well arranged urban traffic. The fact that vulnerable road users suffer most from traffic incidents also raises concern for children. Children need special care while considering traffic safety. The factors are various that they differ from adults by many aspects. For their physically smaller size, immature ability to judge the traffic situations, lack of experience about traffic and mental deficiencies like losing concentration after short periods, they are much more susceptible to the traffic hazards than adults. Various studies have been carried and many applications regarding child and school pedestrian safety worldwide and the most hazardous periods were found as afternoon hours. Age factor generally is flexible but as the child grows older, mobility increases and risks become larger. The risk factors also include the social and economical environment that children living in good life standards suffer less than those are not. Education is also crucial on adopting the sense of road safety on children’s perspective. Simulation based studies have proved to be effective in order to draw child’s attention to the subject, however it should be combined with field trips to gain a more realistic and solid idea about the matter. Besides, engineering measures rise up as another milestone where roadside and land use planning is important. Traffic calming measures have proved to be effective to warn road users and thus form a safer traffic environment for children. Special applications for school zones such as flashing lights, narrowed crossways or 30km/h areas have been effective. The case study concerns the evaluation of child pedestrian safety in the vicinities of various accidents previously happened in Norrköping. Two methods were used to examine the degree of safety for the places of incidents. For locations near an intersection, road safety audit and traffic conflicts technique were applied, while, for the incident points along streets, only road safety audit technique was used. It is stated that, because of the multivariable aspect of the problem, collective application of various safety evaluation solutions would give better idea on the risk of the location and possible improvements for the future.</p>

No description available.

The built environment contributes extensively to the overall environmental impact of society. An increasing number of tools have been developed worldwide for comprehensive environmental assessment and rating of buildings in order to make the building sector more sustainable. These tools are expected to drive and facilitate future environmental improvements and market transformation in the sector. This thesis explores different methodological aspects in tool development using experiences from two large Swedish projects, the EcoEffect and ByggaBo tools, which were developed with a high level of stakeholder participation in order to be of practical use in the building sector.   The methodological aspects explored and discussed here include an approach for systematic selection of assessment aspects (energy use, indoor air quality, etc.) in tools (Paper 3), and a systematic procedure for selecting practical indicators using theoretical (e.g. validity/environmental relevance) and practical (e.g. costs) criteria (Papers 2 and 3). An approach for simple communication of complex results is presented with examples from 26 multi-family buildings (Paper 4). This approach allows a building’s ‘environmental efficiency’ to be presented in one diagram, without weighting the two distinct assessment areas energy use and indoor environmental quality. Paper 5 discusses the contextual issue of internal use of environmental indicators in property management organisations through reviews of environmental performance evaluation and organisation theory literature and comparisons with actual case studies. The EcoEffect (Paper 1) and the ByggaBo tools are also compared and summarised.   The case studies of real buildings and experiences from the EcoEffect and ByggaBo projects allowed data collection, calculation procedures and different practical applications of such tools to be evaluated. Poor data availability sometimes limits assessments, and improved internal routines and database developments in the building sector would allow more reliable environmental assessments.   Reviews of numerous indicators in Paper 3 (and 2) and literature revealed that environmental relevance was not a key aspect when current environmental performance indicators and building rating tools were constructed. This thesis suggests that environmental relevance and systematic procedures be prioritised in order to provide robust and trustworthy tools for environmental assessment of buildings.  Recommendations, some of which are generally applicable to other environmental assessments, include selection of environmentally relevant indicators, systematic procedures for handling theoretical and practical considerations in tool development, aggregation and weighting methods, use of a life cycle perspective and inclusion of performance-based rather than feature-based indicators. Since it is likely that the information these tools provide will increasingly be used by authorities, building users, economic incentive providers such as banks, etc., the methodological developments suggested here to strengthen tool rigour are important for future tool development processes. / Utvecklingen av verktyg för miljöbedömning av byggnader är ett område som expanderat kraftigt sedan 1990-talets början. Den ökande medvetenheten om den byggda miljöns omfattande bidrag till samhällets miljöpåverkan i stort har spelat stor roll för denna utveckling. Verktygen förväntas ha en betydelsefull roll i att driva på och underlätta miljöförbättringar och omdaning av marknaden i bygg- och fastighetssektorn. Denna avhandling utforskar olika metodaspekter för verktygsutveckling och bygger på erfarenheterna från två stora svenska metodutvecklingsprojekt för miljöbedömning av byggnader, EcoEffect och ByggaBo:s miljöklassning av byggnader. Båda dessa verktyg togs fram i samarbete med ett stort antal representanter från bygg- och fastighetssektorn, då verktygen syftade till praktisk användning.   Ett antal metodaspekter utforskas och diskuteras i avhandlingen. I artikel 3 föreslås och testas ett angreppssätt för systematiskt urval av miljöaspekter som ska bedömas av ett verktyg och dessutom föreslås här och i artikel 2 ett systematiskt tillvägagångssätt för att välja indikatorer för praktiskt användning utifrån både teoretiska (t ex. validitet) och praktiska (t ex. kostnad) kriterier. Ett angreppssätt för att underlätta kommunikation av komplexa miljöbedömningsresultat presenteras genom exempel från 26 flerfamiljshus i artikel 4. Detta angreppssätt möjliggör att redovisa en byggnads ‘miljöeffektivitet’ i ett diagram utan att behöva vikta de två disparata miljöaspekterna energianvändning och innemiljö. Artikel 5 tar upp användning av miljöindikatorer för internt arbete i fastighetsförvaltande organisationer genom litteraturöversikter inom områdena utvärdering av miljöprestanda och organisationsteori samt genom jämförelser med praktiska fallstudier. Verktygen EcoEffect (artikel 1) och nuvarande version av ByggaBo:s miljöklassningssystem sammanfattas också och jämförs i avhandlingen.   Genom ett antal fallstudier av verkliga byggnader och erfarenheterna från EcoEffect- och ByggaBo-projekten utvärderas frågor som insamling av indata, beräkningsmetoder och olika praktiska tillämpningar i avhandlingen. Dålig tillgång på indata begränsar ibland möjligheterna att göra miljöbedömningar. Förbättrade interna rutiner samt utveckling av nya typer av databaser inom bygg- och fastighetssektorn kommer med största sannolikhet att underlätta miljöbedömningar i framtiden.   Granskning av ett stort antal miljöindikatorer i artikel 3 (och 2) och litteratur på området visade att när miljöindikatorer och miljöklassningsmetoder tagits fram, har miljörelevansen hos dessa sällan haft högsta prioritet. Ett övergripande mål för denna avhandling har därför varit att bidra med rekommendationer som kan stärka miljörelevansen och trovärdigheten hos liknande indikatorer och verktyg. Några av de angreppssätt som föreslås är tillämpliga mer generellt också för andra typer av miljöbedömningar; t ex. hur miljörelevanta miljöindikatorer kan väljas, hur både teoretiska och praktiska överväganden kan hanteras på ett systematiskt sätt vid liknande verktygsutveckling, angreppssätt för viktning och aggregering av resultat samt användning av ett livscykelperspektiv. Vid miljöbedömning av byggnader bör också funktionsbaserade indikatorer i första hand väljas snarare än sådana som baseras på specifika tekniska utföranden. En trolig utveckling är att nya typer av användare i större utsträckning kommer att efterfråga den information som miljöbedömningsverktyg för byggnader kan tillhandahålla. Det kan handla om t ex. myndigheter, husköpare och ekonomiska incitamentsgivare såsom banker. Av denna anledning är de frågor som rör metodutveckling och tas upp i avhandlingen, klart betydelsefulla för att stärka noggrannhet, robusthet och trovärdighet i framtida utveckling av miljöbedömningsverktyg för byggnader. / QC 20100601 / Miljöklassning av byggnader / EcoEffect - miljövärdering av byggnader / Miljöstyrning med miljöindikatorer i fastighetsförvaltning

The shear failure mechanisms of flexural reinforced concrete (RC) members is highly complex; its precise details cannot be explained with simple analytical relationships, and are the topic of considerable scientific debate. The studies described and examined the three most used shear theories in the world – the fixed angle truss model (45°TM), the variable angle truss model (VAT), and modified compression field theory (MCFT). These three theories rest on the assumption that a beam loaded in shear behaves as a truss. However, this assumption is applied in different ways in various codes. In this thesis, three major standards, each of which uses a different implementation of these theories (CEN, 2005; ACI-318, 2008; CSA-A23.3, 2009), were used to predict the shear force capacity of a RC railway bridge that was strengthened in flexure with near surface mounted (NSM) carbon fibre reinforced polymers (CFRP) and then tested to failure. The data obtained in this test indicated that the codes underestimated the real shear behaviour of the bridge. There are some accepted reasons for such inaccuracies, namely the use of empirically derived equations in the ACI (2008) and CSA (2009) standards and the omission of the concrete contribution in CEN (2005). Moreover, the NSM reinforcement material used exhibits elastic behaviour until the point of failure; it was found that the use of such materials introduces further decreases the accuracy of the models’ predictions. The strains that developed in the area of the bridge where shear failure was expected were monitored throughout the test using a specially-developed photographic method. The results obtained with this method were promising, especially for research purposes, since it generated reliable data using relatively affordable tools.The use of FRP for shear strengthening introduces further complications to the problem of shear in reinforced concrete members because introduces two new failure modes: debonding at the concrete interface and fibre rupture of the FRP. Extensive research has been carried out on FRP shear strengthening around the world. Much of the data gathered in these studies has been compiled in a database. By analysing this large database, it was found that the effectiveness of FRP shear strengthening is influenced by many factors, including the properties of the FRPs, the FRP strengthening configuration used, the nature of the beam’s cross-section, the shear span to depth ratio, the presence of stirrups, and the nature of the tensile reinforcement. Analysis of this database also demonstrated that most of the studies reported in the literature had focused on investigating the influence of the properties of the FRPs and the different configuration systems, and that the other factors mentioned above have been sparsely investigated if not totally ignored. The strengthening configuration and the amount of fibres influence the failure mode of the FRP and the shear force that it can carry. It appears that the side-bonded and the U-wrapped configurations are most prone to failure by debonding. This is consistent with the findings of various small experimental programs, and was confirmed by analysis of the larger dataset. These findings are relevant because failure of the FRP by debonding is more complex mechanism than is the rupture of the fibres mechanism. As is shown in this thesis, the extent to which the FRP variables (properties and strengthening configuration) can affect the point at which failure occurs and the mode by which it happens is dependent on the quantity of stirrups and tensile reinforcement in the beam, to the position of the load in relation to the size of the cross section (shear span to depth ratio), the type of strengthening configuration, the concrete and FRP properties. For design purposes, it is important to predict the shear failure of FRP shear strengthened beams with as much accuracy as possible. Therefore, a design model for debonding of the shear strengthening of concrete beams with FRP was developed and the limitations of the truss model analogy were highlighted. The fracture mechanics approach was used to analyse the behaviour of the bond between the FRP composites and the concrete. In this model, of the parameters examined, the fracture energy of concrete and the axial rigidity of the FRP are considered to be the most important. The effective strain in the FRP when debonding occurs was determined and the limitations of the anchorage length over the cross section were analysed; ultimately, a simple iterative method for shear debonding was proposed. Since the model’s predictions were considered satisfactory but not really precise, an extensive review of the literature was conducted. All of the significant theoretical models for predicting the shear capacity of FRP strengthened RC beams that have been reported over the years were analysed and commented on, and their predictions were compared to the results recorded in a preliminary experimental database. The predictions of the models that are most widely used in design were compared to the experimental results reported in the database; the model developed by the author was evaluated alongside these more established models. All of the models, including that presented in this thesis, were found to generate inaccurate predictions, but two models have been calibrated so as to provide safe estimates of the FRP shear capacity. Finally a new model for FRP shear strengthening was proposed for use in engineering. The new model was developed on the basis of an analysis of the contents of the database of experimental findings. The model incorporates several design equations adopted from various models and is set up for engineering use. The predictions of the shear force carried by the FRP strengthening material are found to be conservative. / Godkänd; 2011; 20110328 (gabsas); DISPUTATION Ämnesområde: Konstruktionsteknik/Structural Engineering Opponent: Professor Giorgio Monti, University of Rome, Italy Ordförande: Professor Björn Täljsten, Institutionen för samhällsbyggnad och naturresurser, Luleå tekniska universitet Tid: Fredag den 29 april 2011, kl 13.00 Plats: F1031, Luleå tekniska universitet

<p>Sammanfattning</p><p>I det följande examensarbetet har två alternativ av installationer jämförts beträffande ny­­bygg­nationen <em>Maskinbolaget Swecon</em>, en fastighet med en kontorsbyggnad och till­hör­­ande maskinhall i Uppsala. Alternativen har varit en fjärrvärmeinstallation med en separat kyl­mas­kin, och två bergvärmepumpar med en frikyleslinga. Jämförelser har gjorts mellan dator- och egenberäknade simu­leringar av energi­för­­brukningen [kWh­­/­(m²,år)], och då med olika ändringar i fastig­het­ens kon­struk­tion, där det ur­sprung­­­liga pro­jekt­­erings­un­der­laget har varit utgångspunkt (Inne­kli­mat­byrån, 2008).</p><p>    Därefter har en nu­vär­des­­kal­kylering med en kalkylhorisont på 30 år utförts, som visar på det mest eko­no­miska alternativet och simuleringen gällande drifts- och in­ves­­­t­eringskostnader.</p><p>    Energiberäkningarna har genomförts med datorprogrammen BV² och VIP+, och även med egna beräkningar i Excel. Nuvärdeskalkylen har också gjorts i Excel.</p><p> </p><p>                                     ♠    ♠    ♠</p><p> </p><p>Resultaten visar att kontorsbyggnaden och maskinhallen uppfyller riktlinjerna från Bo­verkets byggregler, BBR, avseende U-värde. Kontoret uppfyller även BBR:s di­rek­tiv angående energi­för­bruk­ning [kWh/(m²,år)], något som däremot inte gäller för mas­kinhallen.</p><p>    Alternativet med bergvärmepumparna är ekonomiskt fördel­ak­tig­ast i ett per­spek­tiv på 30 år. Jämförelserna mellan de olika simuleringarna ger vidare att störst för­tjänst erhålls då maskinhallen utrustas med vikportar som har ett lägre U-värde än de ur­sprung­­liga, och även att luftflödet till samma lokal sänks med tio procent. Med dessa förändringar uppfyller även maskinhallen BBR:s direktiv enligt ovan.</p><p>    De egna beräkningarna i Excel anses här ge ett lika tillförlitligt resultat på fastig­het­­ens energiförbrukning som med dator­programmen BV² och VIP+, förbehållet att vissa justeringar görs på in­­gå­ende ekvationer.    </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> / <p> </p><p>Abstract</p><p>In this degree project a comparison between two alternatives of heating and cooling systems has been made, regarding not yet constructed buildings on the property <em>Maskinbolaget Swecon</em> in Uppsala, consisting of an office and a machine room. The al­ter­­­natives of choice have been a district heating installation with a separate refri­ge­ra­ting machine, and two heat pumps with the bedrock as a heat source, the latter equip­ped with a circuit of directly transferred cold water from the bedrock as a cool­ing sys­tem. A number of simulations of the buildings' en­­er­gy consumption [kWh /(m²,år)] have also been performed, and this with a variety of comparisons con­tain­ing of certain chang­es of the construction of the buildings vis-à-vis the original plan­ning data.</p><p>    After that a calculation of present value with a perspective of 30 years has been executed, a calculation which shows the most economical alternative and simulation concerning the costs of operation and investment.</p><p>    The simulations of the energy consumption have been computed with the pro­gram­mes BV² and VIP+, and also with a matrix in Excel by the writer's own design. The calculation of present value has been performed in Excel.  </p><p> </p><p>                                     ♠    ♠    ♠</p><p> </p><p>The results indicate that the office and the machine hall fulfil the guidelines of U-value from BBR. The office also comply with BBR regarding the energy consump­tion [kWh/(m²,år)]; this, however, is not the case with the machine hall.</p><p>    The alternative with the heat pumps is the economically most sound, viewed in the perspective of 30 years. Furthermore, the comparisons of the different simula­tions yield that the largest profit occur when the machine hall is equipped with ent­rance gates that have a lower U-value than the originally planned, and also that the air flow to the mentioned hall is decreased with ten per cent. With these changes, even the machine hall fulfil the requirements of energy consumption from BBR.</p><p>    The results from the computations with the matrix in Excel, is in this degree pro­ject consider­ed to be as accurate as those derived from the programmes BV² and VIP+, on con­di­tion that certain adjustements are made in the equations of the mat­rix.   </p>

<p>This thesis is written at WSP management and investigates the practice of pre-project planning and feasibility studies at Swedish construction companies, through the study of the ongoing feasibility study of the mall Sturegallerian in Stockholm, and through interviews with experienced project managers in the construction industry. There is currently a big span in the way Swedish construction companies plan the pre-project phase and the aim of this thesis is to present a more generic and standardized way that helps minimize project risks and maximize efficiency and profit.</p><p> </p><p>The result is a generic model which can be used in pre-project planning. The model describes the phases in the preproject planning process and the activities that span these phases. Is also describes the categories of professions that need to participate in the preproject planning group and which activities that each profession executes.</p><p> </p><p>The other result is a list of factors that need to be considered for a well performed pre-project phase, as found during the interviews. Among others the thesis stresses the importance of involving the client as a key participant in the process. The importance of testing the profitability of the idea is also being discussed. The interviews also indicated that the pre-project phase is not linear but rather transactional and that the original alternatives presented to the client lead to new client desires and requirements.</p>

QC 20100603

European cities are becoming increasingly multicultural and diverse in terms of lifestyles and socioeconomic conditions. However, in planning for sustainable urban development, implications of this increased diversity and possibly conflicting perspectives are seldom considered. The aim of this thesis is to explore dimensions of justice and politics in sustainable urban development by studying inclusionary/exclusionary effects of discursive power of official strategies for eco-friendly living on the one hand and everyday lifestyles on the other, in ethnically and socially diverse areas. Two case studies have been conducted, one in a city district of Stockholm, Sweden, and one in an area of Sheffield, England. The empirical material consists of interviews with residents, interviews with planners and officials and an analysis of strategic planning documents. The case study in Stockholm illustrated the prevalence of a dominant discourse among residents in which Swedishness is connected with environmental responsibility in the form of tidiness, recycling and familiarity with nature. In Sheffield there are more competing and parallel environmental discourses. The mainstream British environmental discourse and sustainability strategies are being criticised from Muslim as well as green radical perspectives. The mainstream discourse is criticised for being tokenistic in its focus on gardening, tidiness, recycling and eco-consumption, and hence ignoring deeper unsustainable societal structures. This can be interpreted as a postpolitical condition, in which there is a consensus around “what needs to be done,” such as more recycling, but in which difficult societal problems and conflicting perspectives on these are not highlighted. In the thesis it is argued that the strategies for urban sustainability are underpinned by Swedish/British middle-class norms, entailing processes of (self-)disciplining and normalisation of the Other into well-behaving citizens. It is argued that an appreciation of the multiple and others’ ways of saving natural resources would make the sustainability strategies more attuned to social and cultural diversity as well as more environmentally progressive. Finally, the importance of asserting the political in sustainability strategies is stressed, highlighting the organisation of society and possible alternative socioenvironmental futures. / QC 20100421