This thesis is focused on increasing productive actions in construction by a procedure known as Activity Analysis. Activity Analysis is a continuous productivity improvement tool for identifying barriers to site productivity with the goal of decreasing them and thereby increasing the direct work rate. A preceding study validated this approach, however it had two limitations. No reevaluation was conducted on projects in Canada by the authors, and not enough resources or data were available to understand behaviour of the activity rates in absolute value terms across many projects. Based on three case studies and data collected over 17 days by the author and a colleague, Activity Analysis was validated as being applicable in Canadian conditions. A desired value, known as a target rate, was then studied in order to be able to set expectations with respect to the productivity to be achieved in each cycle. The premise behind setting a “target rate” is that 100% direct work is neither possible nor desirable, since some time must always be spent on communications and planning. However, a higher direct work rate is generally better than a lower rate. Thus, a target rate is needed. A mathematical model called ANFIS was developed as a means of setting the desired level of activities. Through consideration of a variety of factors that affect labour productivity, the developed model was trained based on 65 data points. The model was found to be easy to use and flexible enough to be appropriate for all of the factors considered. Based on the data points available from 5 different past projects and 3 recent projects and the experience associated with these projects, three additional methods of defining the target rate were developed. The impact of these results is that companies now have appropriate methods and an initial data set for industrial construction in order to establish target rates for direct work and supporting activities. This should help reduce project costs and improve productivity.

This performance-as-research project incorporated a five-month residency inside a working power station, Swanbank, Ipswich, a provider of electricity to Australia's eastern states via the national grid. The concept 'power station' is compelling because it involves the transformation of material form (coal) to immaterial phenomena (electricity), a process analogous to making electronically-mediated art. Three linked interdisciplinary works were created out of the artist's immersion on site: Swanshift, a music-video eulogy to the closure of the station's oldest coal-fired facility, Swanbank 'A'; The Industrial Theatre, a photographic series featuring Swanbank workers; and unstatic, a live, video-mediated performance. As an enquiry into meaning within contemporary art practice, this research project used allegory as its symbolic mode of thought and formation. Through allegory, the Swanbank site was explored metaphorically to reveal a fictional, parallel world beyond the literal surface of danger, authority and rigour. In this space of excess, unreality and overflowing boundaries, meaning is multiple and celebrated. Hand-in-hand with an exploration of allegory, this exegesis also presents an insight into methodologies for industrial, site-specific, interdisciplinary practice, and arts-industry collaboration.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2008. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vii, 143 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin, Madison, 2001. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 297-332).

Thesis (M.Arch.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes special study report entitled : Media art : space. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print.

Thesis (M.S.)--Florida State University, 2006. / Advisor: Rochelle A. Marrinan, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Anthropology. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Sept. 15, 2006) Document formatted into pages; contains xi, 227 pages. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Anthropology Department, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references.

Les effets de site peuvent augmenter fortement la durée et l’amplitude des sollicitations sismiques imposées aux structures. Les effets de site 2D-3D induisent des amplifications sur une large bande de fréquence qui ne peuvent pas être simulées numériquement jusqu’à haute fréquence (>2-4 Hz) du fait de la limite de résolution des connaissances géologiques, géophysiques et/ou géotechniques du sous-sol. Les évaluations empiriques des effets de site sont donc indispensables pour pouvoir observer ce phénomène complexe de façon fiable jusqu’à haute fréquence. De telles évaluations nécessitent l'enregistrement de bonne qualité de nombreux séismes ce qui rend leur obtention rapide difficile dans les régions faiblement actives.Ce travail présente une analyse comparative de ces évaluations empiriques sur deux sites très différents, l’un en contexte sismique modéré (Provence, France) et l’autre en contexte très actif (Céphalonie, Grèce). Sur le site provençal, 500 séismes ont pu être enregistrés en l’espace de 2½ ans grâce à l’utilisation de vélocimètres. Une mesure du paramètre d’atténuation de site k_0 a ainsi pu être réalisée via l’analyse des spectres en accélération (k_(0_AS)) et en déplacement (k_(0_DS)). La mesure de k_0 n’est relativement fiable que sur les sites au rocher du fait des amplifications de site au sédiment. La méthode des rapports spectraux sismique (SSR) permet l’évaluation des effets de site relatif à partir des nombreux enregistrements de mouvement faible. Les résultats montrent une forte variabilité épistémique attribuable à l’éclairage induit par la position de la source sismique vis-à-vis du bassin. Ainsi, une estimation fiable de la réponse des sites est possible à partir de quelques évènements seulement dans le cas 1D, mais nécessite un nombre beaucoup plus important de séismes répartis de façon homogène autour du site dans les cas 2D-3D. Les résultats SSR moyens sont ensuite comparés à ceux issus des méthodes utilisant le bruit ambiant. Conformément aux attentes, la méthode des rapports spectraux H/V (HVSR) ne permet que de caractériser la fréquence fondamentale pour certains sites. À l’inverse, la méthode SSR appliquée au bruit ambiant (SSRn) montre des résultats très comparables à ceux de la méthode SSR jusqu’à haute fréquence à la condition que le site de référence soit pris dans le bassin sédimentaire. Les approches par corrélation de bruit (cohérence et ANIRF) révèlent qu’une estimation de la fonction de transfert relative à un site de référence au rocher est possible au moins jusqu’à basse fréquence (<4 Hz). L’utilisation du bruit ambiant permet ainsi d’envisager l’évaluation rapide de la réponse des sites et de sa variabilité spatiale (microzonage), même lorsque la sismicité est faible. Partout, les méthodes empiriques d’évaluation des effets de site apportent un complément essentiel aux approches numériques qui reste indispensables.Ces résultats permettent de proposer une méthodologie d’évaluation de l’aléa sismique site-spécifique qui se décompose en trois étapes principales : (i) ajustement des équations de prédictions de mouvement du sol (GMPEs) sur le site de référence au rocher au moyen, entre autres, de k_(0_DS) ; (ii) évaluation empirique fiable de la réponse d’au moins un site dans le bassin relativement au site de référence (pour lequel les GMPEs ont été ajustées) par la méthode SSR; (iii) réalisation de cette évaluation à partir de l’ANIRF dans les régions les moins actives sismiquement et/ou extension à toute la zone d’étude à partir du SSRn. Cette méthodologie permet d’envisager une bien meilleure prise en compte des effets de site (en particulier 2D-3D) et une réduction importante des incertitudes dans les évaluations de l’aléa sismique spécifique à un site. Elle nécessite simplement l’enregistrement simultané de séismes sur au moins deux sites équipé de vélocimètres sensibles, et la réalisation de campagnes de mesure temporaire du bruit ambiant, si nécessaire. / Site effects can greatly increase both the duration and the amplitude of the seismic solicitation imposed on structures. 2D-3D site effects induce broadband amplifications that cannot be simulated up to high frequency (>2-4 Hz) due to the limited resolution of the geological, geophysical and/or geotechnical information. Empirical site effect assessment is therefore essential for reliable observations of this complex phenomenon up to high frequency. However, such assessments often require good quality records from many earthquakes that cannot be rapidly obtained in low seismicity areas.This work presents a comparative analysis of these empirical evaluations on two very different sites, the first in a moderate seismicity context (Provence, France) and the second in a very active context (Kefalonia, Greece). For the Provençal site, nearly 500 earthquakes were recorded in only 2½ years thanks to the use of velocimeters. The site attenuation parameter κ_0 could thus be measured both on the acceleration (κ_(0_AS)) and displacement (κ_(0_DS)) spectra. Our results show that the measurement of κ_0 is relatively reliable on rock sites only, mainly due to the too great disturbance by the amplification for sedimentary sites, even for those that are quite stiff. The standard spectral ratio (SSR) approach provides the relative site effects from the numerous weak motion recordings available at sites located in Provence and Kefalonia. The results show a strong epistemic variability due to the lighting induced by the position of the seismic source with respect to the basin. Thus, while a reliable site response estimation is possible from only a few events for 1D geometries, it requires much more earthquakes evenly distributed around the site when the geometry is 2D-3D. The mean SSR results are then compared with those obtained from methods using the ambient noise. As expected, the H/V spectral ratio approach (HVSR) provides only the fundamental frequency for some sites. Conversely, SSR applied to ambient noise (SSRn) shows very similar results to the SSR method up to high frequency, provided that the reference site is taken in the sedimentary basin. Approaches using the noise correlation (coherence and ANIRF) reveal that the transfer function relative to a rock reference site can be estimated at least up to low frequency (<4 Hz). Methods using ambient noise are promising for a rapid evaluation of the site response and its spatial variability (microzoning), even when seismicity is low. Empirical site effects methods are therefore applicable everywhere. They provide an essential complement to numerical approaches, which remain inevitable when the coverage of available earthquakes is not homogeneous or when soils are likely to present non-linear behaviors.These results led us to propose a methodology for the evaluation of the site-specific seismic hazard, which consists of three main stages: (i) adjustment to the rock reference site of the ground motion prediction equations (GMPEs) using, among others, κ_(0_DS); (ii) Reliable evaluation of the SSR transfer function between at least one site in the basin and the reference site (for which the GMPEs were adjusted); (iii) carrying out this assessment from the ANIRF in the less seismically active regions and/or extension to the entire study area with the SSRn. This methodology allows a much better consideration of the site effects (especially 2D-3D) and a significant reduction of the uncertainties in the evaluations of the site-specific seismic hazard. It only required, simultaneous recording of earthquakes on at least two sites equipped with sensible velocimeters, and to carrying out temporary campaign of ambient noise measurements, if necessary.

No description available.

[pt] Esta dissertação pretende analisar a obra do escultor norte-americano Richard Serra tomando como ponto de partida sua formação na América e o contexto cultural da segunda metade do século XX quando iniciou sua trajetória em Nova York. O estudo também propõe evidenciar a importância da materialidade das suas esculturas, da noção de espaço como extensão social e as articulações decorrentes da obra com o seu entorno. Isto denota uma posição contemporânea redefinindo aspectos do espaço real. O estudo estabelece relações entre suas esculturas e várias áreas do conhecimento, o que se insere no contexto histórico de arte como experiência crítica de seu tempo e experimentação de novas propostas artísticas. A pesquisa multidisciplinar acompanha, em seus desdobramentos, a questão do espaço que, de um modo ou de outro, atravessa toda a dinâmica da obra do artista. O pensamento de Richard Serra sobre escultura é um pensamento sobre espaço enquanto lugar da experiência perceptiva e política do mundo. É esta a linha de argumentação apresentada. / [fr] Cet article a l intention d analyser l ouevre du sculpteur nord-américain Richard Serra à partir de sa formation aux États-Unis et du contexte culturel de la deuxième moitié du XXème siècle, lorsqu il il a commencé sa carrière à New York. Cette étude propose également de mettre en valeur l importance de la materialité dans les ouevres de Richard Serra, la présence affirmative de ses sculptures, ainsi que la notion spatiale en tant que extension sociale et les liens avec son environment. Cela montre un regard contemporain en reaffirmant les aspects de l espace réel de son ouevre. Cette étude etablit des rélations entre ses sculptures et des métiers divers, ainsi, l art devient porte-parole critique de son propre temps et lieu d experimentations de nouvelles propositions artistiques. La recherce chemine à cotè de la thématique à propos du sujet de l espace qui traverse toute l ouvre de l artiste. Pour autant, la pensée de Richard Serra sur la sculpture est celle autour de l espace comme place de l experience perceptive et politique du monde. Voici le propos principale de mes arguments et ce qui conduit cette recherche.