Architectural, Engineering and Construction (AEC) projects are becoming more complex in terms of client requirements, stakeholder issues, physical, budget and time constraints, and safety and environmental concerns. These constraints have spawned ad-hoc innovations in some AEC projects, without structured frameworks for their assessment, resulting in varying success for these innovations. The primary goal of the thesis is to test an existing framework for evaluating innovative design and construction technologies for high-rise buildings by way of a case-study. The case study is a48-story structure (with an 8-level sub-grade parkade) in a downtown setting with significant constraints and challenges. Unlike most other assessment frameworks which are single-issue based (financial, cost, time or risk), a holistic method that captures a broad range of critical issues at the micro and macro levels is used to screen a number of construction innovations. The process highlights the primary difficulty in balancing stakeholder issues, technical/engineering requirements and project goals in assessing the overall feasibility and net benefits of an innovation. As a useful tool, it facilitates the engineering/technical judgment of proposed innovations and provides evidence of a sufficient trade-off between incremental 'cost and benefits' to justify a detailed evaluation and possible subsequent use of a subset of the innovations that passed successfully through a tiered first stage evaluation process. A secondary objective is to propose appropriate quantitative models for a detailed evaluation of the screened technologies that not only seeks to quantify incremental cost and benefits (e.g. time, increased revenue, etc.) but also assess the level of certainty (in benefits and cost) of innovative construction technologies. An illustrative evaluation provides insights as to the level of modeling and analysis required to evaluate an innovative or novel strategy both at the 'activity/work package' and project levels. The quantum of data required at the pre-construction planning stage coupled with the lack of easy to apply evaluation models probably accounts for the non-prevalence of detailed quantitative evaluation of innovative construction technologies on AEC projects, especially in terms of impact at the project level and the degree of certainty with which net benefits are likely to be achieved.

The study examines the adherence to principled leadership styles by persons in position of authority and develops a method to determine the extent to which those people deviate from principled leadership practices for purpose of political expediency. Two fortune 500 companies, three smaller local companies and select Western Kentucky University faculty were surveyed using the MACH V Attitude Inventory for determining Machiavellian tendencies via an online survey site. An examination and evaluation of survey results yielded a surpirsingly consistent neutral score, but no indication of Machiavellian tendencies within the respondent group.

The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is a model organism for understanding sensory molecules of multicellular organisms. Ovulating hermaphrodites produce putative pheromone(s) that cause male attraction. Because pheromones are produced in such small quantities, adult conditioned-media from large-scale synchronous culture is necessary to analyze these pheromones. Current protocols for culture synchronization have volume constraints that limit large-scale synchronous cultures and current methodology for adult conditioned-media production is impractical. Modification of Tangential Flow Filtration (TFF) systems was investigated for use as a method to increase the volume limits of bleach egg harvest for C. elegans culture synchronization. Also, an adult retention device built within the culture vessel was investigated to optimize the environment for aseptic conditioned-media production from dense large-scale C. elegans cultures. During this investigation, we have shown that synchronous C. elegans cultures for adult conditioned-media production can be grown at scales larger than reported before, with potential for further scale up. Our growth methodologies have also yielded denser cultures than previously achieved at large scales. Since rapid bleach harvesting appears to be the bottleneck for large-scale production of synchronous C. elegans cultures, our approach of using modified TFF systems with mesh to retain C. elegans eggs increased the amount of eggs that could be bleach harvested at one time. Using this method we have been able to achieve up to 5x103 synchronous C. elegans per mL at a 50L scale. Since scale-up of TFF is straightforward, our results suggest that the technique reported here can easily be applied to larger scale systems for production of adult conditioned-media for C. elegans. Further, the adult retention device within the culture vessel can ensure that the whole process remains aseptic.

The aim of this study is to investigate the physical and mechanical properties of construction materials in relation with the structural behaviour of a historic structure. Within this framework, the brick masonry superstructure of Tahir ile Zuhre Mescidi, a XIIIth century Seljuk monument in Konya was selected as case study. The study started with the determination of the basic physical (bulk density, effective porosity, water absorption capacity), mechanical (modulus of elasticity, uniaxial compressive strength), durability and pozzolanic properties of original brick and mortar by laboratory analysis. The obtained data was utilized as material information at the modelling of superstructure, by means of structural analysis software, SAP2000. At the modelling stage, finite element method was used and the complexity of masonry in terms of nonlinearity and heterogeneity was taken into account within practical limits. The constructed model was investigated under dead load, wind load, snow load, temperature load and earthquake load and their possible combinations. Structural investigation was continued with two scenarios representing possible wrong interventions i.e. completion of the partially collapsed superstructure with concrete and the concrete coating over superstructure. These cases were investigated under uniform and randomly distributed temperature loads. The results approved the safety of the superstructure under normal service conditions, defined as the appropriate combinations of dead load, snow load, wind load and temperature load. The structure appeared to be safe under the earthquake load too. The analyses carried out to simulate the inappropriate restoration works demonstrated the structural damage formations at the original structure.

Architectural, Engineering and Construction (AEC) projects are becoming more complex in terms of client requirements, stakeholder issues, physical, budget and time constraints, and safety and environmental concerns. These constraints have spawned ad-hoc innovations in some AEC projects, without structured frameworks for their assessment, resulting in varying success for these innovations. The primary goal of the thesis is to test an existing framework for evaluating innovative design and construction technologies for high-rise buildings by way of a case-study. The case study is a48-story structure (with an 8-level sub-grade parkade) in a downtown setting with significant constraints and challenges. Unlike most other assessment frameworks which are single-issue based (financial, cost, time or risk), a holistic method that captures a broad range of critical issues at the micro and macro levels is used to screen a number of construction innovations. The process highlights the primary difficulty in balancing stakeholder issues, technical/engineering requirements and project goals in assessing the overall feasibility and net benefits of an innovation. As a useful tool, it facilitates the engineering/technical judgment of proposed innovations and provides evidence of a sufficient trade-off between incremental 'cost and benefits' to justify a detailed evaluation and possible subsequent use of a subset of the innovations that passed successfully through a tiered first stage evaluation process. A secondary objective is to propose appropriate quantitative models for a detailed evaluation of the screened technologies that not only seeks to quantify incremental cost and benefits (e.g. time, increased revenue, etc.) but also assess the level of certainty (in benefits and cost) of innovative construction technologies. An illustrative evaluation provides insights as to the level of modeling and analysis required to evaluate an innovative or novel strategy both at the 'activity/work package' and project levels. The quantum of data required at the pre-construction planning stage coupled with the lack of easy to apply evaluation models probably accounts for the non-prevalence of detailed quantitative evaluation of innovative construction technologies on AEC projects, especially in terms of impact at the project level and the degree of certainty with which net benefits are likely to be achieved.

ABSTRACT THE PERFORMANCE OF MEDIUM AND LONG SPAN TIMBER ROOF STRUCTURES: A COMPARATIVE STUDY BETWEEN STRUCTURAL TIMBER AND STEEL ERTASTAN, Evren M.S, in Building Science, Department of Architecture Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Erc&uuml / ment ERMAN December 2005, 174 pages This thesis analyzes the performance of structural timber and steel in medium and long span roof structures. A technical background about roof structures including structural elements and roof structure types, span definitions, and classification of roof structures are discussed. Roof structures are detailed with traditional and the contemporary forms. The thesis comprises the comparison between structural timber and steel by using structural, constructional and material properties. Structural forms and the performance of timber and steel are discussed. The research also includes the roof structures built with structural timber in Turkey, application, marketing and examples in Turkey are indicated. In the conclusion part the performance criteria of timber and steel are summarized, the researcher has prepared a table to compare the performance of timber and steel. Keywords: Timber, Steel, Roof, Structure, Span

QC 20101123

I de seneste år har forskning og udvikling på levende byer udviklet sig på grund af kompleksitet og mangfoldighed af levekårsstandarder. Cities all over the world are growing day by day. Developed countries are trying hard to reach a level where the liveable conditions can be achieved and they are managing this ongoing challenge with a certain standard. Liveable condition means ensuring every aspect of living elements. Fast growing countries like Bangladesh, India, Vietnam, Pakistan etc are developing but unfortunately they can not be considered as the desired liveable condition until now. In this paper, the author will focus on the liveable conditions of one fast growing city of developing countries, which is the capital city of Bangladesh, Dhaka. Det er et af de byområder som står over for mange udfordringer, langt fra at nå til et niveau hvor mennesker kan leve i en levebar situasjon. Det vil bli gjort ved at analysere aktuelle udfordringer og muligheder. På den annen side vil forfatteren også diskutere om ledelses- og samordningsutfordringer mellom multilevelplanmyndigheter. Omdat relatie tussen verschillende autoriteiten noodzakelijk is om te bereiken de wens levende toestand van een stad. Dette vil blive gjort ved at forske i eksisterende planlægningsmodeller, som er foreslået af disse myndigheder. Forfatteren vil diskutere sit eget forslag til nogle af disse problemer, som kan bruges til at nå det ønskede niveau af levende tilstand. The author will also discuss the management and co-ordination challenges between multilevel planning authorities. Omdat relatie tussen verschillende autoriteiten noodzakelijk is om te bereiken de wens levende toestand van een stad. Dette vil blive gjort ved at forske i eksisterende planlægningsmodeller, som er foreslået af disse myndigheder. Forfatteren vil diskutere sit eget forslag til nogle af disse problemer, som kan bruges til at nå det ønskede niveau af levende tilstand. The author will also discuss the management and co-ordination challenges between multilevel planning authorities. Omdat relatie tussen verschillende autoriteiten noodzakelijk is om te bereiken de wens levende toestand van een stad. Dette vil blive gjort ved at forske i eksisterende planlægningsmodeller, som er foreslået af disse myndigheder. Forfatteren vil diskutere sit eget forslag til nogle af disse problemer, som kan bruges til at nå det ønskede niveau af levende tilstand.

Denna studie syftar till att få fram parametrar som medvetet kan användas i ljusdesignprocessen, för att skapa miljöer där människor emotionellt trivs och mår bra. Det har i tidigare forskning huvudsakligen fokuserats på funktionellt ljus, vilket har resulterat i rekommendationer vad gäller belysningsstyrka på arbetsområde. Men något som ännu inte är lika utforskat är hur ljus påverkar oss emotionellt och hur vi upplever miljöer beroende på hur estetiskt utformad miljön är. Studiens syfte är att klargöra förhållanden mellan kontrasters karaktärer och ljusfärg, förhållandet mellan kontrasters karaktärer och känslor, och förhållandet mellan ljusfärg och känslor. Studien var upplagd som en hypotesprövande laborationsundersökning, där tre olika begrepp användes för att arbeta fram kontraster. De begrepp det gällde var ljusets avstånd till yta, ljusflöde och ljuskäglans uppfattade avslut. Dessa begrepp nyttjades i fyra olika ljusscener som fick utvärderas och där huvudhypotesen var att mjuka kontraster påverkar en upplevelse av varm ljusfärg och hårda kontraster inverkar på upplevelse av kall ljusfärg. Vidare fick respondenter svara på vilka känslor som förknippades med mjuka/hårda kontraster respektive varm/kall ljusfärg. Resultaten visar att det kan finnas en koppling mellan mjuka kontraster och varm ljusfärg respektive hårda kontraster och kall ljusfärg. I denna undersökning finns dock en osäkerhetsfaktor, i och med ett något högt SDCM-värde. Det kan ha påverkat färgkvaliteten, vilket kan ha inverkat på slutresultatet. Resultaten visar också att hårda kontraster och kall ljusfärg upplevs stelt, offentligt, exklusivt och kallt. Vidare skapar mjuka kontraster och varm ljusfärg gemensamma känslor som mysigt, varmt, trivsamt, tryggt och inbjudande. Dessa resultat kan ligga som grund vid utformning av miljöer som ska utstråla en viss atmosfär, där kontraster och ljusfärg är en del i att inverka. / The aim of this study is to obtaining parameters that can be consciously used in the lighting design process, to create environments where people feel good and comfortable. Previously research has focused on functional light, which has resulted in recommendations regarding illumination in the work area. But there are not equally explored how light affects us emotionally and how we experience environments depending on how aesthetically designed the environment is. The purpose of the study is to clarify the relationships between the characters of the contrasts and the color of light, the relationship between the characters of the contrasts and emotions, and the relationship between color of light and emotions. The study was disposed as a hypothesis-testing laboratory examination, where three different concepts were used to influence contrasts. The concepts in question were the distance of light to the surface , luminous flux and the perceived end of the light beam. These concepts were used in four different light scenes to be evaluated, and the main hypothesis was that soft contrasts affect the experience of warm color of light and hard contrasts affect the experience of cold color of light. Furthermore, respondents were able to respond to the feelings associated with soft / hard contrasts and warm / cold color of light. The results show that there may be a link between soft contrasts and warm color of light and hard contrasts and cold color of light. However, in this survey, there is an uncertainty factor, with a somewhat high SDCM value. This may have affected color quality, which may have an impact on the end result. The results also show that hard contrasts and cold colors of light are experienced stiff, public, exclusive and cold. Furthermore, soft contrasts and warm color of light create common feelings as cozy, warm, pleasant, safe and inviting. These results can form the basis for designing environments that radiate a certain atmosphere, where contrasts and colors of light are a part of influencing.

abstract: With the increasing interest in energy efficient building design, whole building energy simulation programs are increasingly employed in the design process to help architects and engineers determine which design alternatives save energy and are cost effective. DOE-2 is one of the most popular programs used by the building energy simulation community. eQUEST is a powerful graphic user interface for the DOE-2 engine. EnergyPlus is the newest generation simulation program under development by the U.S. Department of Energy which adds new modeling features beyond the DOE-2's capability. The new modeling capabilities of EnergyPlus make it possible to model new and complex building technologies which cannot be modeled by other whole building energy simulation programs. On the other hand, EnergyPlus models, especially with a large number of zones, run much slower than those of eQUEST. Both eQUEST and EnergyPlus offer their own set of advantages and disadvantages. The choice of which building simulation program should be used might vary in each case. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the potential of both the programs to do the whole building energy analysis and compare the results with the actual building energy performance. For this purpose the energy simulation of a fully functional building is done in eQUEST and EnergyPlus and the results were compared with utility data of the building to identify the degree of closeness with which simulation results match with the actual heat and energy flows in building. It was observed in this study that eQUEST is easy to use and quick in producing results that would especially help in the taking critical decisions during the design phase. On the other hand EnergyPlus aids in modeling complex systems, producing more accurate results, but consumes more time. The choice of simulation program might change depending on the usability and applicability of the program to our need in different phases of a building's lifecycle. Therefore, it makes sense if a common front end is designed for both these simulation programs thereby allowing the user to select either the DOE-2.2 engine or the EnergyPlus engine based upon the need in each particular case. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Architecture 2010