Adobe And Rammed Earth Buildings

This book reviews the building renovation process by systematizing the phases of analysis and prior knowledge through a project that not only considers energy savings but also thoroughly examines complex issues, such as defining the correct new functions and answers to new needs. The urgency of climate change and the many problems associated with the excessive use of energy are forcing a reorganization of the renovation process with an interest in reusing existing buildings with a more sustainable approach. The adaptive transformation of old buildings has become a dominant theme in many urban renewal projects.

IAU Symposium No. 82, "Time and the Earth's Rotation", met to discuss modern research in the field of the rotation of the Earth with particu­ lar emphasis on the role of new observational techniques in this work. The use of these techniques has prompted a new look at the definitions of the traditional reference systems and the concepts of the rotation of the Earth around its center of mass. Specific topics discussed were time, polar motion, reference systems, conventional radio interferometry, very'long baseline interferometry (VLBI), Doppler satellite methods, satellite laser ranging, lunar laser ranging, and geophysical research concerning the Earth's rotation. Improvement in the accuracy of the observations is a key to possible solutions of the many unsolved problems remaining in this field.

A response of the engineering profession to the challenges of security, poverty and underdevelopment, environmental sustainability, and native cultures is described. Ethical codes, which govern the behavior of engineers, are examined from a historical perspective linking the prevailing codes to models of the natural world. A new ethical code based on a recently introduced model of Nature as an integral community is provided and discussed. Applications of the new code are described using a case study approach. With the ethical code based on an integral community in place, new design algorithms are developed and also explored using case studies. Implications of the proposed changes in ethics and design on engineering education are considered.