Architecture Commons^™

Designing Acoustics For Linguistically Diverse Classrooms: Effects Of Background Noise, Reverberation And Talker Foreign Accent On Speech Comprehension By Native And Non-Native English-Speaking Listeners, Z. Ellen Peng

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The current classroom acoustics standard (ANSI S12.60-2010) recommends core learning spaces not to exceed background noise level (BNL) of 35 dBA and reverberation time (RT) of 0.6 second, based on speech intelligibility performance mainly by the native English-speaking population. Existing literature has not correlated these recommended values well with student learning outcomes. With a growing population of non-native English speakers in American classrooms, the special needs for perceiving degraded speech among non-native listeners, either due to realistic room acoustics or talker foreign accent, have not been addressed in the current standard. This research seeks to investigate the effects of BNL …

Walking And Cycling In San Francisco: Identifying Underserved Locations That Are Particularly Receptive To Non-Motorized Transport Via The Pedestrian And Bicycling Survey, Rebecca Walters

Master's Projects

No abstract provided.

Methane Production By A Packed-Bed Anaerobic Digester Fed Dairy Barn Flush Water, Sean Richard Thomson

Master's Theses

Packed-bed digesters are an alternative to covered lagoon digesters for methane production and anaerobic treatment of dilute wastewaters such as dairy barn flush water. The physical media of packed-beds retain biofilms, often allowing increased treatment rates. Previous studies have evaluated several types of media for digestion of dilute wastewaters, but cost and media fouling have setback commercial development. A major operational cost has been effluent recirculation pumping.

In the present effort, a novel approach to anaerobic digestion of flush dairy water was developed at pilot-scale: broken walnut shells were used as a low-cost packed-bed medium and effluent recirculation was replaced …

Neighborhoods, Proximity To Daily Needs, & Walkability In Form-Based Codes, Evan Evangelopoulos

Master's Theses

Form-based codes are evaluated with criteria often requiring additional clarification. To better identify form-based code evaluation criteria, this thesis identifies the major intentions of form-based codes from the literature and focuses on the first intention, quality of life. The form-based code literature relates quality of life to three principles with underlying parameters: neighborhood with a center and edge, proximity to daily needs, and walkability. Neighborhood refers to the identification of walkable districts of about .25 mile radius with a clear center and edge. Proximity to daily needs requires diversity of uses in proximity to residential uses so that residents travel …

The Relationship Between Bicycles And Traffic Safety For All Road Users, Jasmine A. Martin

Master's Theses

Over the past twenty years bicycle use as a mode of transportation has grown considerably in the United States. Other studies have examined the individual bicyclist’s risk in proportion to the growth in cycling across cities, a phenomenon referred to as ‘safety in numbers.’ This study expands from that research and examines the effect of cyclists on road safety for all road users.

The study examines the roles of bicycle modal split, a city wide analysis, and bicycle infrastructure, a site based analysis, in road safety outcomes. For the city based analysis, twenty years of crash data in 12 California …

The Effects Of Limestone Particle Size On Bone Health And Performance Of Pullets And Hens In Conventional Cage And Alternative Housing Systems, Pamela E. Eusebio Balcazar

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

One of the major welfare issues in cage-free housing systems is bone fracture. The goal of this research was to improve bone health in layers by building better pullet skeletons and to investigate limestone particle size (LPS) effects on bone health in conventional cages and cage-free housing systems. Study 1 was a preliminary study that compared conventional cages with litter floor pens in terms of performance, bone health, and eggshell quality from 33 to 47 wk of age. Caged hens had higher egg production and eggshell strength, and improved feed efficiency, but lower tibia bone mineral content compared to floor …

Developing Seamless Connections In The Urban Transit Network: A Look Toward High-Speed Rail Interconnectivity, Tingting Yu

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In the past, the studies in the U.S. on high speed rail have been on economic impact. Recently, there are a few studies on the multimodal connectivity at high speed rail stations. High speed rail stations are viewed as hubs that are connected by different modes of public transportation by which passengers are transported to their destinations. How and in which way these different modes are connected to high speed rail stations influence the ridership of high speed rail stations. As the development of high speed rail system in the U.S. has come to the stage for actual design and …

Investigating Transformational Leadership And Return On Equity Outcomes In Small And Medium-Sized Community Banks, Jason C. Dean

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this investigation is small financial institutions based in the United States and insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Without a viable market for community banks individual and small business investors and borrowers, particularly in rural areas, will have less financing options and may be forced to accept the terms dictated by larger financial institutions (Walser & Anderlik, 2004). Additionally, within the literature there is minimal empirical evidence informing community banks of appropriate initiatives that may be implemented to unleash human expertise through training and development interventions related to successful leadership styles. As competition in the …

Engineer Manual 385 Effectiveness: A Study Of Predictive Analytics, Scott Arias

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Under the guidance of the United States Army Corps of Engineering Manual 385 (EM 385), the federal government has taken a stringent stance on construction safety. Using the mandated Occupational Safety and Health regulations and the 29 Code of Federal Regulation as a safety foundation, the EM 385 requires project-specific planning, continuous oversight and direct control of all safety activities. These mandates, required of every Department of Defense entity, focus on safety management not found within other federal agencies, in an attempt to reduce the number and severity of mishaps. This study looks for causation between the use of the …

Low-Impact Infrastructure: Development And Design Potential For Surface Application Alternatives For Subsurface Infrastructure In Yellowstone National Park's Upper Geyser Basin, Michael R. Pace

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

In sensitive and iconic landscapes, such as Yellowstone National Park’s Upper Geyser Basin, construction and expansion of visitor services is hindered, and often blocked, by the potential for environmental damage that could occur during the installation of subsurface utilities. These utilities, crucial to the success of development, require an alternative method of installation when placed in locations requiring special consideration and protection.

Yellowstone, in particular, is faced with the responsibility of protecting limited hydrothermal resources while also providing access to the general public. Sub-surface utilities threaten this responsibility due to the unknown nature of much of the subsurface

geology in …

Impacts Of Climate Change On Urban Development In The Uae: The Case Of Dubai, Zainab Alrustamani Alrustamani

Theses

This thesis investigates the global calls to prepare for climate change impacts, and the role of cities to respond to it under their sustainable living approaches. It explores how the subject of climate change is integrated in the urban development process, highlighting the role of cities as contributors to the phenomenon and part of the solution. The response to climate change impacts was explored in the UAE and the emirate of Dubai. The main objective of this research is to highlight the future vision in action against climate change in the urban development framework of the emirate of Dubai, and …

Jackson, Harry Lucellus, 1907-1985 (Sc 2872), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 2872. Two letters of Harry L. Jackson, Bratenahl, Ohio, to Jane (Hines) Morningstar, Bowling Green, Kentucky, regarding selection of an artist to create murals for Bowling Green’s Hobson House. He also discusses his health treatments at Hot Springs, Virginia, and mourns the death of his cousin Mary Neal. Includes a clipping about his retirement.

Finite Element Modelling And Dilation Of Frp-Confined Concrete Columns, Osama Youssf, Mohamed Elgawady, Julie E. Mills, Xing Ma

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Concrete dilation is one of the main parameters that controls the stress-strain behavior of confined concrete. Several analytical studies have been carried out to predict the stress-strain behavior of concrete encased in fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP), which is crucial for structural design. However, none of these studies have provided a simple formula to determine the dilation parameter that is always required in the finite element (FE) material modelling of concrete. This paper presents a simple empirical model predicting the confined concrete dilation parameter within the theoretical framework of a Karagozian and Case type concrete plasticity model. A set of 105 FRP-confined …

The City’S Unnoticed Limits: Considerations About The Boundaries In Caracas, Fabio Capra-Ribeiro

Faculty Publications

In Caracas, insecurity has prompted an individual but generalized quest for isolation that is translated into an accelerated growth of boundaries as walls and fences. This situation has led to a significant deterioration of the spaces around them, setback space on one side and the street on the other, confined and divided, urban fabric if getting fragmented. The research wants then to illustrate this complex problem from a qualitative methodology and the hermeneutic circle, from which dialogical relationships are established between the elements analyzed. The main contributions of the research highlights the explanation of a reality that is happening nowadays …

Review Of “The Teacher’S Guide To Media Literacy: Critical Thinking In A Multimedia World” By Cyndy Scheibe And Faith Rogow, Julie Smith

Journal of Media Literacy Education

This article reviews “The Teacher’s Guide to Media Literacy: Critical Thinking in a Multimedia World” by Cyndy Scheibe and Faith Rogow

Monitoring Of Water Losses And Leakages In One Zone (Dma) In Prishtina City - Dardania, Ilir Abdullahu, Muhamet Ahmeti

UBT International Conference

Reduction of water losses is one of the biggest challenges today in the industry of water treatment. Large amount of raw water is lost and thus the loss has very high cost and increases shortages of regular water supply. Today’s world faces the loss of water and the best situation is in developed countries, while in developing countries and undeveloped ones, water loss is in the rate of >50%. Thesis will present practical experience in reducing technical losses in a measuring area (DMA) in Regional Water Company “Prishtina”, where losses now have a trend towards reduction. Monitoring of flow and …

Urban Transformation In See Countries, Binak Beqaj, Vlora Aliu

UBT International Conference

Urban developments in SEE Countries are followed by development analogies on: rapid growth of urban population, level of economic development, planning (dis) continuity, relationships between public/private partnerity, standardization of qualitative urban life and urban expansion on suburb areas. The content of the research is focused on City Capitals of those Countries and their actual urban dynamics. Urban planning concepts, urban development challenges and adequate institutional mechanisms related to development, are some of the issues with strong reflections on qualitative and integrated urban planning from SEE Countries.

Land Suitability Location Analysis For Housing Development Using Gis, Rizah Murseli, Florim Isufi

UBT International Conference

Application and implementation of location suitability analyses are powered through the use of GIS along with spatial analysis component, which enables the creation of buffers, overlay, termination, proximity analysis, spatial unity, map algebra, reclassification of raster and other operations. In terms of land suitability, GIS helps the user to define which locations are most appropriate or inappropriate for certain developments. Consequently, GIS as a tool becomes more important to provide support for decision makers. This analysis takes into account environmental and socioeconomic factors as determinant of urban land development. This analysis requires first finding spatial, environmental and socio-economic constraints and …

It's All About Living Sustainable: (A Research Of Communicating Sustainable Way Of Living To The Public), Gafur Asani, Dietrich Schwarz, Manuel Sebastian Du

UBT International Conference

Living sustainable, a vision that I developed at the Design Studio Schwarz, University of Liechtenstein. Living sustainable raises questions about living in balance with our natural resources. We are living on costs of next generations, so we are responsible to make the changes with architectural interventions in our society for our society. Based on „World Energy Council“ report of 2011, our planet will have 2.2 billion inhabitants more on 2050, reaching 9.2 billion, by challenging a huge demand on mobility, food, goods and building as well. In order to having a bigger impact and a better control over growing up-mentioned …

Challenges Of Spatial Planning In Kosovo In Transition Time, Besim Gollopeni, Alban Kurtishaj

UBT International Conference

Spatial planning refers to the methods used by the public sector to influence the distribution of people and items in the area, always having balanced development in space. Spatial planning for people, land, homes, where we live, learn, heal, work, have fun, public service, and all items have their place. Today, many scientific disciplines are closely related to spatial planning, and through the three main components (social, economic and environmental). In the postmodern time, spatial planning takes place at the local, regional, national, transnational level and often results in the creation of a spatial plan within the state/s. System and …

Integration Of The Kosovo Road Network Into The Pan-European Transport Network, Ramadan Mazrekaj, Betim Reqica

UBT International Conference

Integration of the Kosovo road network in the Pan-European network, means, first of all, to establish a road system and infrastructure that is in accordance with the requirements and standards of Pan-European road networks, and secondly, to use / promote the geographical position of the Kosovo main road network, making it able to meet the requirements of Pan-European road networks. Beside the fulfillment of the constructive/ technical / geometrical requirements towards the road infrastructure, the road transport network needs to guarantee to its users a high, uniform and continuous level of services, as well as road commodity and safety. In …

Pushover Analysis Method For Performance Based Seismic Design, Misin Misini, Zijadin Guri, Ylli Pocesta, Armend Mujaj

UBT International Conference

In this paper is describes a non-linear static (pushover) analysis method for reinforced concrete structures that predicts real nonlinear (both material and geometrical) behavior including all stages of loading, starting from the initial application of loads up to and beyond the collapse of building. In other words from appearance of first plastic hinge until last hinge which represent collapse of building. Some important aspects which are implemented in EC8, FEMA-273/356 and ATC-40 documents regarding to pushover analysis and performance evaluation of buildings are discussed. Modeling of structural elements is made by linear elements approach. Nonlinear behavior of structural elements is …

Evaluation Of The Behavior Of Flat Slab Systems Subjected To Lateral Loads, Misin Misini, Ylli Pocesta, Zijadin Guri

UBT International Conference

. In this paper behavior of flat slab structures under lateral loads, has been evaluated and analyzed. Flat slab structures show more flexibility and lateral displacement of this type of structures are considerable greater comparing to other systems. Nonlinear behavior in the regions near the slabcolumn connection and the change of stiffness in this region needs to be taken into account during the analysis. Slab-column connection characteristics needs to include the potential for punching failure which rise as a function of gravity shear ratio and the interstory drift ratio. Modeling of this type of structures based on effective slab width, …

Concrete Of Our Millennium – Eco Friendly Concrete, Mevlan Qafleshi, Driton R. Kryeziu, Lulëzim Bytyçi, Fisnik Kadiu

UBT International Conference

Scientifically there are no more doubts about the impact of humans on global warming. The raise of earth temperature causes environmentally related problems. Evidences show the most influencing GHG is CO2. Many human activities release this GHG as a byproduct. Generally, the two industries contributing to this are the energy production and construction. The GWhrs of Kosovo energy, (in 2013, 5864 GWh) emit kilotons of CO2. The emission of CO2 in 2013 was 7896.0 kton, i.e. 1.3t/MWh. On the other side, the concrete industry, the second most used material, which uses cement contributes with other tons of GHG, almost each …

Impact Of Fly Ash On Concrete Production Cost, Lulëzim Bytyçi, Fisnik Kadiu, Musa Stavilevi

UBT International Conference

In this paper we have analyzed the Ash deriving from the residue of burnt coal in Kosovo Power Plants, especially in Power Plant "Kosova B". Given the large amount of Ash deriving from the combustion of coal and which is left as residue (redundancy), it was considered as necessary to carry out a study about the impact of Fly Ash in the reduction of Concrete production cost, but always having in mind to preserve the quality of concrete. The study is undertaken in accordance with the requirements of European standards. European Standard SK EN 206-1, EN 450-1 and EN 450-2. …

The Socio-Cultural And Political Significance Of Coffeehouses And Coffee Culture During The Independence Processes Of Kosovo, Ajhan Bajmaku, Çınar Nartar

UBT International Conference

The coffee culture in the Balkans spread and developed as the Ottoman Empire began using the region as a base that opened into Europe. This region with great strategic significance draws attention not only because it functioned as a bridge between the East and the West but also because of cultural and political values in perspective of the process of changes and developments that have taken place throughout time. As an establishment the coffeehouse is a vital concept for society. Beside their fundamental functions, coffeehouses have gained additional functions over the course of history. These additional functions are directed by …

The General Energy Audit In A Primary School In Pristina - A Case Study, Mehmet Qelaj, Justina Shiroka-Pula, Andonaq Londo, Flamur Bidaj, Violeta Nushi

UBT International Conference

Energy Audit Standard of this educational object, presents the current existing situation of energy consumption, which enables us to identify energy consumption needs of small costs to those with high energy saving. The main goal is to achieve energy savings, energy saving measures (ESM), identify energy saving measures, the preparation of the document on energy saving measures, the implementation of these measures after finding them, etc. For the realization of standard energy audit facility records needed for billing of energy (electricity, fuels) for the last three years (or/and the following year); studies for building object as plans related structure construction …

Use Of Passive Design Features And Simulation Modeling To Improve Energy Performance And Reduce Environmental Impacts Of Buildings In Kosovo, Ferhat Bejtullahu, Dukagjin Bakija, Art Bejtullahu

UBT International Conference

Building physics and climate adapted architectural design parameters such as site, building form, orientation, shading and envelope performance (including structures and openings), contributes a significant proportion towards the better energy performance and reduce environmental impact of buildings. Due to extensive demand of electricity derived from the widespread use of cooling and heating systems has necessitated evolution and incorporation of minimum energy performance requirements in design practice. Objective of this paper is to promote role of passive design features and energy simulation to the researchers, scientists and practitioners within planning, architecture construction industry. Jointly, all these three industries are experiencing an …

Restoration Of Building Heritage Versus Innovation, Ilirjana Mejzini, Gjejlane Hoxha

UBT International Conference

The continuous developments in science and technology are rapidly influencing many aspects of daily life. The benefits of innovation not only affect the living environment and way of life; they also hugely influence our way of thinking and the general perception of our surroundings. On the other hand, the preservation of cultural heritage is a moral responsibility through which the work and legacy of our ancestors is carried onto younger generations. Heritage manifested through buildings, which can be considered as a vivid trace of the past, carries with it historical and scientific significance and gives evidence of the level of …

On Form And Logic Of Structures, Feti Selmani

UBT International Conference

In Civil Engineering, every structure harbours some degree of logic within it. Sometimes, it is easy to see it, while sometimes it lies somehow hidden and only a well informed eye can take hold of it. The Natural phenomena are dual in their manifestation. So are Tension and Compression, which represents the basic “genomes” of this interaction and are present within each structure from the simplest to the most complicated one. A structural form represents a physical manifestation of this invisible interplay, which, when in consonance with the natural flow of forces results not only in an economic but in …