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This book deals with sustainable affordable housing in developing countries, providing the main results of the BECOMe research project of the Politecnico di Milano. Sustainable, affordable housing in developing countries is increasingly important for African and international stakeholders, with massive urbanization processes involving many countries consuming large territories and natural resources minus any strategy of sustainability and social equality and without consideration of the long-term effects on the environment and subsequent generations. While the issue of affordable housing requires approaches adapted to the many specific African contexts, the case of Somalia seems representati...
This open access book offers a host of theoretical knowledge at the basis of new EM&Ts (namely, Interactive Connected Smart Materials, Wearables (ICS), Nanomaterials, Advanced Growing Materials, and Experimental Wood-Based Materials), as communicated through the unique design teaching method developed within the context of the European Project DATEMATS, a result of the creative workshops held by the four higher education institutions that were partners in the project, stressing the pros and cons of the method and offering ideas for further development and improvement. The modern age requires its own innovations in regards to both social and industrial progress, innovations made possible by E...
This book presents the life science experiments in a space microgravity environment conducted on board the SJ-10 recoverable satellite, which was launched on April 6th 2016 and recovered on April 18th 2016. It covers 10 scientific projects in radiation biology, gravitational biology and biotechnology that were selected from ~100 proposals from various institutions in China and around the world. Primarily exploring the rhythm of life in a space microgravity environment, all of the experiments – conducted on nine payloads of the SJ-10 satellite – have never been previously conducted in the respective fields. In addition, the book provides extensive information on the mission’s execution, data collection, and scientific outcomes.
For all of the tremendous advances in medicine and treatment the world has seen in the modern era, the human body’s ability to heal itself remains a (literally) vital and often overlooked facet of healthcare. Through the use of emotional design, aimed at transforming healthcare environments, such as waiting rooms, in such a way as to boost the emotional wellbeing of patients, and thus their general attitudes, including in regard to their own healing processes, medical institutions can improve outcomes for the people they treat while simultaneously lowering overall costs. Design, as an inherently transdisciplinary, problem-solving activity, is well-suited to this task. And when combined with a field of study such as neuroscience, which can literally map out the perceptions that lead to the experience of particular emotions, healthcare environments can be transformed into spaces (through such innovations as Kansei engineering) that then subsequently transform the people who rely on them the most, leading to more efficiency and less red ink.
This book explores membrane materials as a means of translating natural and renewable resources into a more flexible, dynamic, and reactive architectural skin. It represents the first time that energy-saving design has been addressed systematically in relation to lightweight building systems and tensile membranes. Understanding of the energetic behavior of membranes and foils used as a building envelope is a fundamental theme, as it is the integration of flexible photovoltaics in membranes, as well as the exploitation of water and wind resources. A theoretical, methodological framework for consciously designing the membrane life cycle is presented. The authors cross-cut and combine explorati...
This book offers up-to-date information and guidance on the application of metrology in legal proceedings, clarifying the limits of validity of scientific evidence and presenting an illuminating series of case studies in which measurement uncertainty has played an important role. The fundamental concepts of metrology are discussed, and it is explained how metrology is capable of quantifying the reliability of measurement results and thereby contributing to appropriate decision making. With the aid of the presented case studies, this book will assist readers in understanding how legal decisions should be made in the presence of uncertainty. Areas covered in those studies include breath alcohol concentration analysis, and DNA profiling. Nowadays, decisions in most legal cases are based on evidence obtained through scientific analysis involving the acquisition of accurate measurements. Against this background, Forensic Metrology will be of value for lawyers and judges in both civil and common law countries, as well as engineers and other scientists with an interest in the subject.
This open access book explores the strategic importance and advantages of adopting multidisciplinary and multiscalar approaches of inquiry and intervention with respect to the built environment, based on principles of sustainability and circular economy strategies. A series of key challenges are considered in depth from a multidisciplinary perspective, spanning engineering, architecture, and regional and urban economics. These challenges include strategies to relaunch socioeconomic development through regenerative processes, the regeneration of urban spaces from the perspective of resilience, the development and deployment of innovative products and processes in the construction sector in order to comply more fully with the principles of sustainability and circularity, and the development of multiscale approaches to enhance the performance of both the existing building stock and new buildings. The book offers a rich selection of conceptual, empirical, methodological, technical, and case study/project-based research. It will be of value for all who have an interest in regeneration of the built environment from a circular economy perspective.
This book discusses the potential of a systemic and multidisciplinary design approach to improve urban quality, health, livability, and inclusiveness for people living in informal settlements. In most instances, attempts to address informal settlements lack an adequate assessment of their impact on the wider built environment and implementation of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. The Integrated Modification Methodology (IMM), introduced here, offers a systematic, multidisciplinary design tool encompassing several of the aspects that define the environmental performance of urban systems. The book also demonstrates the application of the methodology to an informal settlement, proving its potential to guide systemicurban transformations, also in urban areas lacking formal planning. The case study investigated is in the Rocinha favela in Rio de Janeiro, which ischaracterized by poor water quality, lack of drainage and sanitation systems, and very few green spaces. Based on a rigorous methodology, the process described here can also be applied in similar contexts around the world.