Plausibility in Early Stages of Architectural Design: A New Tool for High-Rise Residential Buildings

This paper analyzes the problem of the design of envelopes for high-rise isolated residential buildings. The phenomenon of envelope creation appears in the early stages of the architectural design. Variables that influence the final shape and size of such envelopes are then identified. This paper presents the state-of-the-art tools for the current solutions at the commercial and academic/scientific level. The variables identified in this research are the client’s needs, the urban code and architectural prac...     

Using the life cycle to anticipate satisfaction at work

It was hypothesized that there are important non-linear life-cycle influences upon job and organizational satisfaction. Five common life-cycle stages were identified from the literature: the phases of ‘reality shock’, ‘socialization and growth’, ‘mid-career crisis’, ‘acceptance’, and ‘pre-retirement’. The first, third and last stages were expected to show declines in job and organizational satisfaction because of the personal and job-related disappointments and crises that typically occur during these periods of life. The second and fourth stages were expected to show increases in satisfaction because of the pleasant life experiences that often occur then. All but the first stage supported these hypotheses when we controlled for the influence of sex, education, job experience, level in the hierarchy and occupational upward mobility.     

Plate-boundary deformation associated with the great Sumatra-Andaman earthquake

The Sumatra-Andaman earthquake of 26 December 2004 is the first giant earthquake (moment magnitude M(w) > 9.0) to have occurred since the advent of modern space-based geodesy and broadband seismology. It therefore provides an unprecedented opportunity to investigate the characteristics of one of these enormous and rare events. Here we report estimates of the ground displacement associated with this event, using near-field Global Positioning System (GPS) surveys in northwestern Sumatra combined with in situ and remote observations of the vertical motion of coral reefs. These data show that the earthquake was generated by rupture of the Sunda subduction megathrust over a distance of >1,500 kilometres and a width of <150 kilometres. Megathrust slip exceeded 20 metres offshore northern Sumatra, mostly at depths shallower than 30 kilometres. Comparison of the geodetically and seismically inferred slip distribution indicates that approximately 30 per cent additional fault slip accrued in the 1.5 months following the 500-second-long seismic rupture. Both seismic and aseismic slip before our re-occupation of GPS sites occurred on the shallow portion of the megathrust, where the large Aceh tsunami originated. Slip tapers off abruptly along strike beneath Simeulue Island at the southeastern edge of the rupture, where the earthquake nucleated and where an M(w) = 7.2 earthquake occurred in late 2002. This edge also abuts the northern limit of slip in the 28 March 2005 M(w) = 8.7 Nias-Simeulue earthquake.