Academic

This book describes an innovative approach to the interaction between humans and a smart environment; an attempt to get a smart home to understand intuitive, multi-modal, human-centred communication. State of the art smart homes, like other “smart” technology, tend to demand that the human user must adapt herself to the needs of the system. The hunt for a truly user-centred, truly intuitive system has long proven to be beyond the grasp of current technology. When humans speak with one another, we are multimodal. Our speech is supplemented with gestures, which serve as a parallel stream of information, reinforcing the meaning of our words. Drawing on well-established protocols in engineering and psychology, and with no small amount of inspiration from a particular nonsense poem, we have successfully concluded that hunt. This book describes the efforts, undertaken over several years, to design, implement, and test a model of interaction that allows untrained individuals to intuitively control a complex series of networked and embedded systems. The theoretical concepts are supported by a series of experimental studies, showing the advantages of the novel approach, and pointing towards future work that would facilitate the deployment of this concept in the real world.

Daylight is the most important element determining the mood and appearance of architecture, more so than all construction materials. In office buildings in particular, the good provision of daylight and matching artificial lighting installations make an important contribution to energy conservation ? the better the use made of daylight, the less energy has to be consumed for artificial lighting. For this reason, typical architectural concepts have changed in recent years; enclosed buildings with full air-conditioning have increasingly made way to buildings that respond to the climate conditions of their environment, thereby using only a much reduced amount of energy without compromising on comfort. The BASICS Lighting Design volume includes the most important principles of daylight and artificial lighting design. Selection of subjects covered: Sizes and units Building concept design principles (layout design, building orientation and facade structure) Lighting design concepts Current daylighting and artificial lighting systems Solar screening Directing dayligh

Architecture and Politics in Republican Rome is the first book to explore the intersection between Roman Republican building practices and politics (c.509-44 BCE). At the start of the period, architectural commissions were carefully controlled by the political system; by the end, buildings were so widely exploited and so rhetorically powerful that Cassius Dio cited abuse of visual culture among the reasons that propelled Julius Caesar's colleagues to murder him in order to safeguard the Republic. In an engaging and wide-ranging text, Penelope J. E. Davies traces the journey between these two points, as politicians developed strategies to manoeuver within the system's constraints. She also explores the urban development and image of Rome, setting out formal aspects of different types of architecture and technological advances such as the mastery of concrete. Elucidating a rich corpus of buildings that have been poorly understand, Davies demonstrates that Republican architecture was much more than a formal precursor to that of imperial Rome.

Reproduced from a rare original, this 1893 catalog offers nearly 800 detailed and authentic illustrations of superior-quality woodturnings and woodwork. In addition to its conventional examples, it features varied and unusual models of the Victorian style, including stairs, stair railings and balusters, and newel posts; mantels; turned porch and veranda work; gables and window hoods; ventilators; rosettes and other wooden ornaments; and moldings and interior finish. An excellent guide for woodturners and cabinetmakers, this volume also provides an inspiring and instructive resource for architects, preservationists, designers, and students of Victoriana.

For roughly a century, the log cabin occupied a central and indispensable role in the rapidly growing United States. Although it largely disappeared as a living space, it lived on as a symbol of the settling of the nation. In her thought-provoking and generously illustrated new book, Alison Hoagland looks at this once-common dwelling as a practical shelter solution--easy to construct, built on the frontier’s abundance of trees, and not necessarily meant to be permanent--and its evolving place in the public memory. Hoagland shows how the log cabin was a uniquely adaptable symbol, responsive to the needs of the cultural moment. It served as the noble birthplace of presidents, but it was also seen as the basest form of housing, accommodating the lowly poor. It functioned as a paragon of domesticity, but it was also a basic element in the life of striving and wandering. Held up as a triumph of westward expansion, it was also perceived as a building type to be discarded in favor of more civilized forms. In the twentieth century, the log cabin became ingrained in popular culture, serving as second homes and motels, as well as restaurants and shops striking a rustic note. The romantic view of the past, combined with the log cabin’s simplicity, solidity, and compatibility with nature, has made it an enduring architectural and cultural icon. Preparation of this volume has been supported by Furthermore: a program of the J. M. Kaplan Fund

by Jacqeline Russell (Editor) A mileage-based road user charge would involve assessing owners of individual vehicles on a per-mile basis for the distance the vehicle is driven. Currently, federal highway and public transportation programs are funded mainly by motor fuel tax receipts that flow into the Highway Trust Fund (HTF). The tax rates, set on a per-gallon basis, have not been raised since 1993, and receipts have been insufficient to support the transportation programs authorized by Congress since FY2008. The long-term viability of motor fuels taxes is also questionable because of increasing vehicle fuel efficiency and the wider use of electric vehicles. Economists have favored the use of mileage-based user charges as an alternative to motor fuels taxes to support highway funding. This book examines considerations and viability of road user charges based on mileage

Principles and Practice of Engineering: Architectural Sample Questions and Solutions is an essential resource to assist candidates who are preparing for the Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) examination in architectural engineering. The handbook is prepared by the Architectural Engineering Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers (AEI of ASCE). As an added benefit, all the listed questions are in the actual test format, which consists of 80 multiple-choice questions, administered in two 4-hour sessions. Each answer is provided with solutions that provide test takers with strategies to successfully complete the exam. This book specifies the exam content area for subjects that were identified for architectural engineering. Each question content area is assigned an approximate percentage of the exam that reflects the frequency and importance to the practice of architectural engineering.

Walt Disney spent his life dreaming impossible dreams, and achieved the most impossible dream of all - the amusement park to end all amusement parks: Disneyland!

A labyrinth weir is a series of duckbill spillways for controlling the flow of water over a dam or channel. This slim volume compares the crest shapes used on weirs, identifies considerations for designing downstream chutes and dealing with sedimentation, explores general guidelines for parameter selection, and offers an Excel spreadsheet for performing calculations. The advanced level of the book makes it most appropriate for practicing engineers. Annotation © Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

This book will focus on how engineers, architects, and construction practitioners can benefit from automating code checking in building design. It will focus on building regulations-checking mechanisms that are defined by the relationship among various design and engineering information management and Building Information Modeling (BIM) systems, and how this automation will assist to streamline communication and dissemination of building design information among stakeholders. It will also explore the strengths and limitations for automating building regulatory compliance as well as proposing practical approaches for automating the building code and standards checking process in BIM workflow.

The world-famous Miracle Mile in Los Angeles was shaped into a great commercial and cultural district by the city's tremendous urban expansion in the early twentieth century. Its origins along Wilshire Boulevard are directly related to the twin LA booms in auto travel and real estate ventures. Once the home of such famous stores as the May Company, Silverwood's, Coulter's and Desmond's, as well as Streamline Moderne and Art Deco architecture, Miracle Mile has boasted the La Brea Tar Pits and Farmer's Market, Gilmore Field and CBS Television City, as well as Pan Pacific Park and Museum Row. Join author Ruth Wallach, head of the University of Southern California's Architecture and Fine Arts Library, for this tour through the most emblematic neighborhood of twentieth-century Los Angeles development.

Earthbag construction - building with polypropylene bags usually filled with earthen materials - is a versatile, easy-to-master, low-impact, and highly durable form of building, suitable for structures from houses to root cellars. Containing over 75 photos and illustrations, Essential Earthbag Construction is a practical guide to this affordable method of building. Going well beyond the scope of other sources, this indispensable manual is packed with all the information you need to determine if it's the right choice for your project, and to start building. Distilling decades of experience, research, and best practices, it covers: Material specifications, performance, and when and where to use it Pros and cons of different fills from gravel, to earth and clay, to insulative perlite, rice hulls, and volcanic stone Illustrated, step-by-step guidance for efficient bag filling and installation Details for various designs, including domes and arches Foundation options and seismic and stability considerations Finishing and maintenance techniques Tools and materials Additional resources. Essential Earthbag Construction presents the practical guidance and best practices for both the DIYer and professional to design and build high-quality earthbag structures.

From Vitruvius in the 1st century BCE on, there has been an attempt to understand how architecture works, especially in its poetic aspect but also in its basic functions. Design can encourage us to walk, to experience community, to imagine new ways of being, and can affect countless other choices we make that shape our health and happiness. Using the ideas of rational choice theory and behavioral economics, Choice Architecture shows how behavior, design, and wellness are deeply interconnected. As active agents, we choose our responses to the architectural meanings we encounter based on our perception of our individual contexts. The book offers a way to approach the design of spaces for human flourishing and explains in rich detail how the potential of the built environment to influence our well-being can be realized.

In this Very Short Introduction, Jon Balserak explores major ideas associated with the Calvinist system of thought. Beginning during the Protestant Reformation in cities like Zurich, Geneva, and Basel, Calvinism - also known as Reformed Theology - spread rapidly throughout Europe and the New World, eventually making its way to the African Continent and the East. Balserak examines how Calvinist thought and practice spread and took root, helping shape church and society. Much of contemporary thought, especially western thought, on everything from theology to civil government, economics, the arts, work and leisure, education, and the family has been influenced by Calvinism. Balserak explores this influence. He also examines common misconceptions and objections to Calvinism, and sets forth a Calvinist understanding of God, the world, humankind, and the meaning of life. The work concludes with a chronology of important events and an extensive bibliography for further reading.

For centuries, the ceremonial evocation of spiritual beings has been Magic's darkest corner. Reputed to fulfill the Magician's material desires, evocation has been the topic of the most famous Grimoires---the Grammars of Magic. From the Sworn Book of Honorius the Magician, to the Greater Key of Solomon and the Goetia; from the Grand Grimoire, to the complete treatise of the Lemegeton, all give direct, yet difficult, directions to the individual desiring to have the 'good life' in the here-and-now. But the simplest of Grimoires, the Heptameron of Peter de Abano, has escaped the attention of modern Ceremonialists. Its simplicity and power in summoning the Aerial Spirits is second to none. Ceremonial Magic lays bare the operation of the Heptameron. Its Magical Axioms, extensive Commentaries, copious notes, and personal instructions to the reader---all gained from Dr. Lisiewski's forty-years of study and practice in Ceremonial Magic---make this a resource that no serious student of Magic can afford to be without. It is all here, as in no other Grimoire. Use its instructions and the world of evocation and personal gratification are well within your grasp!

The Christian longing to share anguish, fear, gratitude, and awe has found expression in many forms of prayer, beginning in Scripture and the practices and words of Jesus. Over the centuries many fruitful approaches to prayer have taken hold, but often there is a certain unease about what is right or what is best. In this welcome and welcoming book, Fr. James Martin eases these concerns with thoughtful, practical encouragement about prayer in all of its forms. In All Seasons, For All Reasons is drawn from "Teach Us to Pray," Fr. Martin's very popular monthly column in Give Us This Day.

The Church is very good at inviting or challenging people to love their neighbours. It is not so strong on encouraging us to love ourselves. This book illuminates the healing truth that encountering the love of God sets us free to live as we were intended to live - loving ourselves and those around us. Through Bible passages, stories and exercises, the authors encourage us to throw off the sense of apprehension that bothers so many, and to enjoy living to the full in God's exhilarating company.

Whether it happens all at once or gradually over time, spiritual awakening is an experience that may be accompanied by great insight, ecstatic bliss, or a mystical infusion of light, love, and vision. But it can be an overwhelming experience, too, leaving those to whom it's occurred searching for answers and understanding. Written by a transpersonal psychologist and non-dual teacher, this book will help you understand the phenomenon of spiritual awakening, and provide guidance and support for you on your spiritual journey. At the heart of most spiritual traditions is the understanding that we are one with all of existence. This realization, also known as spiritual awakening or spiritual emergence, can occur spontaneously, after years of spiritual practice, or through many other portals. Although awakening is often considered a purely positive experience, many people are not prepared for the ramifications of such a life-altering event. When your perception of yourself and reality has been altered, you may find yourself with more questions than answers. Where can you turn? Based on over thirty years of case studies, as well as the author's own experiences, When Spirit Leaps explores the why and what of spiritual awakening, revealing how this phenomenon occurs across all traditions, and exploring the various ways it can happen. Including discussions on kundalini energy, meditation, yoga and qigong, breathwork, near-death experiences, and much more, this inspirational book offers companionship and practical solutions to common challenges along the spiritual path of awakening. With this book as your guide, you'll gain a deep understanding of the process and different portals of awakening, and find comfort and support in the real-life stories of those who have experienced this shift in consciousness and faced its challenges. Most importantly, you'll learn how you can embody this awakening and live joyfully and effectively without attachment to a personal sense of self, but as the oneness with all that is your true nature. No matter where you are on your spiritual journey, this book will help you along the way.

This book deals with a hospital's struggle to secure and maintain financial stability. In the story, the leadership team of a fictional hospital adopts the tools and principles associated with the Toyota Production System or Lean. The story takes the reader through leadership's arduous journey from rejecting the methodology to embracing it, to successful implementation. This book is important because many of our nation's hospitals are besieged with financial difficulties with declining reimbursement and the public is losing confidence in our hospital's ability to provide quality care without error. Lean can provide relief from these issues but only if it is properly implemented. "With this book, Tom Zidel expertly outlines the necessary elements and proper execution of process improvement in the form of a fast-paced business novel. Set in a hospital, we follow a senior management team overcoming organizational skepticism and resistance as it moves to rapidly implement a series of improvement initiatives as the core of its financial turnaround plan. Tom brilliantly incorporates descriptions of Lean principles and tools and the historical context of process improvement into this engaging book while demonstrating the power of Lean to dramatically improve patient satisfaction, clinical outcomes and business results." - James P. Hill, Senior Vice President, Administrative Services, MedStar Washington Medical Center