41 Articles found
CRC Press/Taylor & Francis Group Articles
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Genetic Algorithm-Based Multiobjective Optimization for Building Design
Large-scale building design is a constantly evolving process where design managers are always trying to identify means of producing a `better' product in a `shorter' period of time. Hence there is a need for design tools that can help designers ...
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Exploring a quality of life, self-determined
Built capital combines with social, personal and natural capital to contextualize people's quality of life. Although this last concept has strongly tested academic reasoning, it is often presented simply and as a fait accompli in strategic planning ...
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Social networks and adaptation in rural Bangladesh
In the coming years, poor village populations in Bangladesh are expected to feel tangible climate change impacts in multiple and catastrophic forms impacting on their livelihoods and survival. Human adaptation to these impacts will thus be ...
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Communities of knowledge: Science and flood management in Bangladesh
This paper traces the integration of a particular set of knowledge claims into flood management in Bangladesh following the instigation and collapse of the Flood Action Plan. Using the work of Goodbred and Kuehl (1998) as an entry point and ...
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Nourishing urbanism: a case for a new urban paradigm
True sustainability demands that we seek to more than `prop up' traditional approaches to our environment; rather, it requires that we redress current shortcomings in the planning and design of our urban environment at both bio-regional and local ...
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Burden-sharing and global climate negotiations: the case of the Kyoto Protocol
International climate agreements are important examples of internationally negotiated distributive politics and the resulting obligations vary considerably across countries. Nevertheless, few studies have empirically examined the determinants of ...
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Living in hazardous waterscapes: Gendered vulnerabilities and experiences of floods and disasters
Considerable literature exists on floods and weather-related disasters, but limited attention has been given to the varied social implications of hazards in the lives of people, especially from a gender perspective. This is particularly poignant in ...
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A comparative analysis of the `development dividend' of Clean Development Mechanism projects in six host countries
Reform of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is a key issue in advancing the objectives of the Kyoto Protocol. The CDM was created with the mutual objectives of providing cost-effective abatement opportunities for industrialized countries and to ...
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Critical Factors in Adopting Cooling Media for Central Air-Conditioning Systems in Hong Kong
There has been a dilemma about whether to adopt water-cooled or air-cooled air-conditioning systems at various times for different developments in Hong Kong, strongly influenced by the local government. Fresh water has been a scarce resource as a ...
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Hybrid buildings: a pathway to carbon neutral housing
In the residential sector, there is growing interest in the concept of carbon neutral and net zero energy housing within the context of emerging climate change mitigation and energy security strategies. A hybrid building represents a new class of ...
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Understanding barriers to social adaptation: are we targeting the right concerns?
This article proposes that improved `translation' of policy goals and actions into issues relevant to local stakeholders on the ground, may play an important role in stakeholders' understanding and consequent acceptance of the principles of ...
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Effectiveness of subsidies for the Clean Development Mechanism: Past experiences with capacity building in Africa and LDCs
Given the lack of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) activities in least developed countries (LDCs), subsidies for CDM projects have been suggested as a remedy. To date, subsidies spent in the CDM context have been limited to capacity building. Donor ...
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A `safety deposit' mechanism for US climate policy
US policy makers are currently evaluating options to reduce domestic carbon dioxide emissions, and several economy-wide cap-and-trade proposals have been put forward in the 111th Congress. Despite mounting enthusiasm for cap-and-trade, advocates of ...
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Functions of COP side-events in climate-change governance
Side-events are the most visible venue for civil society involvement in international climate negotiations. The many varied functions that side-events fulfil for participants and organizers are identified and analysed for their contributions ...
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Scope of Design for Production of Partition Walls and Facade Coverings
In Brazil, the incorporation of design for the production of partition walls and facade coverings into construction companies' working methods has generated significant improvements in the construction development and rationalization processes, ...
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The impact of the unilateral EU commitment on the stability of international climate agreements
The negotiation strategy of the European Union was analysed with respect to the formation of an international climate agreement for the post-2012 era. Game theory was employed to explore the incentives for key players in the climate policy arena to ...
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After the Bangladesh Flood Action Plan: Looking to the future
The main objectives of the Bangladesh Flood Action Plan (FAP), to protect the country from river floods, were not achieved, for several political, economic and institutional reasons. Demographic and economic changes in the following 20 years have ...
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Cyclone evacuation in Bangladesh: Tropical cyclones Gorky (1991) vs. Sidr (2007)
Based on two separate post-cyclone pilot surveys on evacuation behaviour during two category 4 tropical cyclones in Bangladesh - Gorky in 1991 and Sidr in 2007 - this study attempts to explain why the overwhelming majority of cyclone victims did not ...
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A top-down system engineering approach as an alternative to the traditional over-the-bench methodology for the design of a building
The traditional over-the-bench methodology for the design of a building is resulting in failure costs, failures at delivery and severe problems. An interactive top-down approach is required, both for the communication process necessary to facilitate ...
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Facilitating Client Value Creation in the Conceptual Design Phase of Construction Projects: A Workshop Approach
If client values are not fully understood in a construction project it is likely to result in either low fulfilment of client expectations or multiple design alterations during the project process which lead to additional costs and frustration among ...