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CumInCAD is a Cumulative Index about publications in Computer Aided Architectural Design
supported by the sibling associations ACADIA, CAADRIA, eCAADe, SIGraDi, ASCAAD and CAAD futures

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_id	6964
authors	Daniel, T.
year	1992
title	Data visualization for decision support in environmental management
source	Landscape and Urban Planning 21, pp. 261-263
summary	Contributed by Susan Pietsch (spietsch@arch.adelaide.edu.au)
keywords	3D City Modeling, Development Control, Design Control
series	other
last changed	2001/06/04 20:27

_id	ddss9208
id	ddss9208
authors	Lucardie, G.L.
year	1993
title	A functional approach to realizing decision support systems in technical regulation management for design and construction
source	Timmermans, Harry (Ed.), Design and Decision Support Systems in Architecture (Proceedings of a conference held in Mierlo, the Netherlands in July 1992), ISBN 0-7923-2444-7
summary	Technical building standards defining the quality of buildings, building products, building materials and building processes aim to provide acceptable levels of safety, health, usefulness and energy consumption. However, the logical consistency between these goals and the set of regulations produced to achieve them is often hard to identify. Not only the large quantities of highly complex and frequently changing building regulations to be met, but also the variety of user demands and the steadily increasing technical information on (new) materials, products and buildings have produced a very complex set of knowledge and data that should be taken into account when handling technical building regulations. Integrating knowledge technology and database technology is an important step towards managing the complexity of technical regulations. Generally, two strategies can be followed to integrate knowledge and database technology. The main emphasis of the first strategy is on transferring data structures and processing techniques from one field of research to another. The second approach is concerned exclusively with the semantic structure of what is contained in the data-based or knowledge-based system. The aim of this paper is to show that the second or knowledge-level approach, in particular the theory of functional classifications, is more fundamental and more fruitful. It permits a goal-directed rationalized strategy towards analysis, use and application of regulations. Therefore, it enables the reconstruction of (deep) models of regulations, objects and of users accounting for the flexibility and dynamics that are responsible for the complexity of technical regulations. Finally, at the systems level, the theory supports an effective development of a new class of rational Decision Support Systems (DSS), which should reduce the complexity of technical regulations and restore the logical consistency between the goals of technical regulations and the technical regulations themselves.
series	DDSS
last changed	2003/08/07 16:36

_id	ddss9203
id	ddss9203
authors	Smeets, J.
year	1993
title	Housing tenancy, data management and quality control
source	Timmermans, Harry (Ed.), Design and Decision Support Systems in Architecture (Proceedings of a conference held in Mierlo, the Netherlands in July 1992), ISBN 0-7923-2444-7
summary	This paper deals with housing tenancy, data management and quality control. The proposed method is focused on quality characteristics of housing estates in view of rentability risks. It entails a cycle of registration, analysis and implementation of measures. The starting point is the behaviour of the housing consumer in a market-oriented context. The model is framed within theories of strategic management and marketing. Systematic registration and evaluation of consumer behaviour, by means of a set of relevant process and product indicators, can yield relevant information in the four phases of the rental process: orientation, intake, dwelling and exit. This information concerns the way in which the dwelling (characterized by product indicators) fits the needs of the consumer. The systematic analysis of the process and product indicators during the phases of the rental process makes a 'strength-weakness analysis' of housing estates possible. The indicators can be presented in aggregated form by way of a 'rentability index. The 'strength-weakness analysis' steers the intervention in the quality characteristics of housing estates. The possibilities for readjustment, however, are different. The quality control system is not only an early warning system, but also has several other functions: evaluation, planning and communication. The method described here lays a solid foundation for a decision-support system in the area of housing tenancy.
series	DDSS
last changed	2003/08/07 16:36

_id	cbed
authors	Yakubu, G.S.
year	1994
title	Maximising the Benefits of CAD Systems in Architectural Education
source	The Virtual Studio [Proceedings of the 12th European Conference on Education in Computer Aided Architectural Design / ISBN 0-9523687-0-6] Glasgow (Scotland) 7-10 September 1994, p. 228
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1994.x.u8n
summary	The positive impact of Computer Aided Design (CAD) in professional architectural practice has been in focus in recent times but relatively little has been written on its significance in the education of the contemporary architect. It is common knowledge that the profession of architecture is currently undergoing enormous strains as it battles to keep abreast of trends and developments in a period of series of rapid advancement in science, technology and management (RIBA, 1992). Whilst attempts are being made to redress the shortcomings of the profession in the above context, the requirements for architectural education are yet to forge a coherent strategy for the implementation of CAD/IT in the curriculum of schools of architecture. In almost every other field, including engineering, medicine and the humanities, computing application to problem-solving and decision-making is seen as a way forward as we move into 21st century. Architectural education must integrate CAD/IT into the teaching of core modules that give the architect distinctive competence: studio design. That is one of the best ways of doing justice to the education of the architect of today and the future. Some approaches to the teaching of CAD in schools of architecture have been touched upon in the recent past. Building upon this background as well as an understanding of the nature of design teaching/learning, this paper examines ways of maximising the benefits of CAD systems in architectural education and of bringing computer aided designing into the studio not only to enhance design thinking and creativity but also to support interactive processes. In order to maximise or optimise any function, one approach is to use the hard systems methodology which utilises analytic, analogic and iconic models to show the effect of those factors which are significant for the purposes being considered. The other approach is to use the soft systems methodology in which the analysis encompasses the concept of a human activity system as a means of improving a situation. The use of soft systems methodology is considered more appropriate for dealing with the problem of design which is characterised by a flux of interacting events and ideas that unroll through time. The paper concludes that the main impediment to maximising the benefits of CAD systems in architectural education is not only the inappropriate definition of the objectives for the implementation of CAD education but also that the control subsystems are usually ill-structured and relatively poorly defined. Schools must attempt to define a coherent and consistent policy on the use of CAD systems as an integral part of studio design and evolve an in-house strategic and operational controls that enable the set objectives to be met. Furthermore, it is necessary to support the high level of productivity from CAD systems with a more efficient management system, especially in dealing with communication, data sharing via relational database, co-ordination and integration. Finally, the use of soft systems methodology is recommended as the way forward to optimising CAD systems in design education as it would provide continuous improvements while maintaining their productive value.
series	eCAADe
last changed	2022/06/07 07:50

_id	338b
authors	Bishop, I. D.
year	1992
title	Data integration for visualization: application to decision support
source	AURSIA '92: Proceedings of the Twentieth Annual International Conference of the Australian Urban and Regional Information Systems Association Incorporated, Gold Coast, Australia, 25-27 November 1992, Australian Urban and Regional Information Systems Association Incorporated, ACT, Australia, pp. 74-80
summary	Contributed by Susan Pietsch (spietsch@arch.adelaide.edu.au)
keywords	3D City Modeling, Development Control, Design Control
series	other
last changed	2001/06/04 20:27

_id	ddss9219
id	ddss9219
authors	Bourdakis, V. and Fellows, R.F.
year	1993
title	A model appraising the performance of structural systems used in sports hall and swimming pool buildings in greece
source	Timmermans, Harry (Ed.), Design and Decision Support Systems in Architecture (Proceedings of a conference held in Mierlo, the Netherlands in July 1992), ISBN 0-7923-2444-7
summary	The selection of the best performing structural system (among steel, timber laminated, concrete, fabric tents) for medium span (30-50m) sports halls and swimming pools in Greece formed the impetus for this research. Decision-making concerning selection of the structural system is difficult in this sector of construction, as was explained in the "Long Span Structures" conference (November 1990, Athens. Greece). From the literature it has been found that most building appraisals end up at the level of data analysis and draw conclusions on the individual aspects they investigate. These approaches usually focus on a fraction of the problem, examining it very deeply and theoretically. Their drawback is loss of comprehensiveness and ability to draw conclusions on an overall level and consequently being applicable to the existing conditions. Research on an inclusive level is sparse. In this particular research project, an inclusive appraisal approach was adopted, leading to the identification of three main variables: resources, human-user-satisfaction, and technical. Consequently, this led to a combination of purely quantitative and qualitative data. Case studies were conducted on existing buildings in order to assess the actual performance of the various alternative structural systems. This paper presents the procedure followed for the identification of the research variables and the focus on the development of the model of quantification. The latter is of vital importance if the problem of incompatibility of data is to be solved, overall relation of findings is to be achieved and holistic conclusions are to be drawn.
series	DDSS
last changed	2003/11/21 15:16

_id	ddss9209
id	ddss9209
authors	De Gelder, J.T. and Lucardie, G.L.
year	1993
title	Knowledge and data modelling in cad/cam applications
source	Timmermans, Harry (Ed.), Design and Decision Support Systems in Architecture (Proceedings of a conference held in Mierlo, the Netherlands in July 1992), ISBN 0-7923-2444-7
summary	Modelling knowledge and data in CAD/CAM applications is complex because different goals and contexts have to be taken into account. This complexity makes particular demands upon representation formalisms. Today many modelling tools are based on record structures. By analyzing the requirements for a product model of a portal structure in steel, this paper shows that in many situations record structures are not well suited as a representation formalism for storing knowledge and data in CAD/CAM applications. This is illustrated by performing a knowledge-level analysis of the knowledge and data generated in the design and manufacturing process of a portal structure in steel.
series	DDSS
last changed	2003/08/07 16:36

_id	ddss9214
id	ddss9214
authors	Friedman, A.
year	1993
title	A decision-making process for choice of a flexible internal partition option in multi-unit housing using decision theory techniques
source	Timmermans, Harry (Ed.), Design and Decision Support Systems in Architecture (Proceedings of a conference held in Mierlo, the Netherlands in July 1992), ISBN 0-7923-2444-7
summary	Recent demographic changes have increased the heterogeneity of user groups in the North American housing market. Smaller households (e.g. elderly, single parent) have non-traditional spatial requirements that cannot be accommodated within the conventional house layout. This has created renewed interest in Demountable/Flexible internal partition systems. However, the process by which designers decide which project or user groups are most suited for the use of these systems is quite often complex, non-linear, uncertain and dynamic, since the decisions involve natural processes and human values that are apparently random. The anonymity of users when mass housing projects are conceptualized, and the uncertainty as to the alternative to be selected by the user, given his/her constantly changing needs, are some contributing factors to this effect. Decision Theory techniques, not commonly used by architects, can facilitate the decision-making process through a systematic evaluation of alternatives by means of quantitative methods in order to reduce uncertainty in probabilistic events or in cases when data is insufficient. The author used Decision Theory in the selection of flexible partition systems. The study involved a multi-unit, privately initiated housing project in Montreal, Canada, where real site conditions and costs were used. In this paper, the author outlines the fundamentals of Decision Theory and demonstrates the use of Expected Monetary Value and Weighted Objective Analysis methods and their outcomes in the design of a Montreal housing project. The study showed that Decision Theory can be used as an effective tool in housing design once the designer knows how to collect basic data.
series	DDSS
last changed	2003/08/07 16:36

_id	ddss9211
id	ddss9211
authors	Gilleard, J. and Olatidoye, O.
year	1993
title	Graphical interfacing to a conceptual model for estimating the cost of residential construction
source	Timmermans, Harry (Ed.), Design and Decision Support Systems in Architecture (Proceedings of a conference held in Mierlo, the Netherlands in July 1992), ISBN 0-7923-2444-7
summary	This paper presents a method for determining elemental square foot costs and cost significance for residential construction. Using AutoCAD's icon menu and dialogue box' facilities, a non-expert may graphically select (i) residential configuration; (ii) construction quality level; (iii) geographical location; (iv) square foot area; and finally, (v) add-ons, e.g. porches and decks, basement, heating and cooling equipment, garages and carports etc. in order to determine on-site builder's costs. Subsequent AutoLisp routines facilitate data transfer to a Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet where an elemental cost breakdown for the project may be determined. Finally, using Lotus 1-2-3 macros, computed data is transferred back to AutoCAD, where all cost significant items are graphically highlighted.
series	DDSS
last changed	2003/08/07 16:36

_id	831d
authors	Seebohm, Thomas
year	1992
title	Discoursing on Urban History Through Structured Typologies
source	Mission - Method - Madness [ACADIA Conference Proceedings / ISBN 1-880250-01-2] 1992, pp. 157-175
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.1992.157
summary	How can urban history be studied with the aid of three-dimensional computer modeling? One way is to model known cities at various times in history, using historical records as sources of data. While such studies greatly enhance the understanding of the form and structure of specific cities at specific points in time, it is questionable whether such studies actually provide a true understanding of history. It can be argued that they do not because such studies only show a record of one of many possible courses of action at various moments in time. To gain a true understanding of urban history one has to place oneself back in historical time to consider all of the possible courses of action which were open in the light of the then current situation of the city, to act upon a possible course of action and to view the consequences in the physical form of the city. Only such an understanding of urban history can transcend the memory of the actual and hence the behavior of the possible. Moreover, only such an understanding can overcome the limitations of historical relativism, which contends that historical fact is of value only in historical context, with the realization, due to Benedetto Croce and echoed by Rudolf Bultmann, that the horizon of "'deeper understanding" lies in "'the actuality of decision"' (Seebohm and van Pelt 1990). One cannot conduct such studies on real cities except, perhaps, as a point of departure at some specific point in time to provide an initial layout for a city knowing that future forms derived by the studies will diverge from that recorded in history. An entirely imaginary city is therefore chosen. Although the components of this city at the level of individual buildings are taken from known cities in history, this choice does not preclude alternative forms of the city. To some degree, building types are invariants and, as argued in the Appendix, so are the urban typologies into which they may be grouped. In this imaginary city students of urban history play the role of citizens or groups of citizens. As they defend their interests and make concessions, while interacting with each other in their respective roles, they determine the nature of the city as it evolves through the major periods of Western urban history in the form of threedimensional computer models. My colleague R.J. van Pelt and I presented this approach to the study of urban history previously at ACADIA (Seebohm and van Pelt 1990). Yet we did not pay sufficient attention to the manner in which such urban models should be structured and how the efforts of the participants should be coordinated. In the following sections I therefore review what the requirements are for three-dimensional modeling to support studies in urban history as outlined both from the viewpoint of file structure of the models and other viewpoints which have bearing on this structure. Three alternative software schemes of progressively increasing complexity are then discussed with regard to their ability to satisfy these requirements. This comparative study of software alternatives and their corresponding file structures justifies the present choice of structure in relation to the simpler and better known generic alternatives which do not have the necessary flexibility for structuring the urban model. Such flexibility means, of course, that in the first instance the modeling software is more timeconsuming to learn than a simple point and click package in accord with the now established axiom that ease of learning software tools is inversely related to the functional power of the tools. (Smith 1987).
series	ACADIA
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:56

_id	ddss9213
id	ddss9213
authors	Shabha, G.S.
year	1993
title	Development of objective methods for measuring flexibility of school buildings
source	Timmermans, Harry (Ed.), Design and Decision Support Systems in Architecture (Proceedings of a conference held in Mierlo, the Netherlands in July 1992), ISBN 0-7923-2444-7
summary	This research investigates many problems related to the design for change and flexibility of school buildings. The problem of change proves to be highly complex due to the unpredictability and the difficulty of measuring change. Many deficiencies have been identified in the previous methods concerning lack of indicators for measuring flexibility, reliability and insufficiency of data for indicating change in buildings over use. In the light of the above problems, two main objectives have been established: (i) to propose operational measures of the extent of incorporation of design variables in school designs, and (ii) to propose operational measures of the extent of flexibility of school buildings in use. However, due to the limitations this paper is bound to, the investigation will focus on the second objective. It is anticipated that such operational measures might provide a framework for both architects and researchers, during the early design stage, to ensure that their conjectures about the potential of flexibility might be enhanced during use; hence, improving their prediction of buildings performance over use. This might assist in developing a more coherent objective body of knowledge, which could be fruitfully manipulated during the early design stage to enhance the effectiveness of flexibility in use.
series	DDSS
last changed	2003/08/07 16:36

_id	ddss9205
id	ddss9205
authors	De Scheemaker. A.
year	1993
title	Towards an integrated facility management system for management and use of government buildings
source	Timmermans, Harry (Ed.), Design and Decision Support Systems in Architecture (Proceedings of a conference held in Mierlo, the Netherlands in July 1992), ISBN 0-7923-2444-7
summary	The Government Building Agency in the Netherlands is developing an integrated facility management system for two of its departments. Applications are already developed to support a number of day-to-day facility management activities on an operational level. Research is now being carried out to develop a management control system to better plan and control housing and material resources.
series	DDSS
last changed	2003/08/07 16:36

_id	60e7
authors	Bailey, Rohan
year	2000
title	The Intelligent Sketch: Developing a Conceptual Model for a Digital Design Assistant
source	Eternity, Infinity and Virtuality in Architecture [Proceedings of the 22nd Annual Conference of the Association for Computer-Aided Design in Architecture / 1-880250-09-8] Washington D.C. 19-22 October 2000, pp. 137-145
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.2000.137
summary	The computer is a relatively new tool in the practice of Architecture. Since its introduction, there has been a desire amongst designers to use this new tool quite early in the design process. However, contrary to this desire, most Architects today use pen and paper in the very early stages of design to sketch. Architects solve problems by thinking visually. One of the most important tools that the Architect has at his disposal in the design process is the hand sketch. This iterative way of testing ideas and informing the design process with images fundamentally directs and aids the architect’s decision making. It has been said (Schön and Wiggins 1992) that sketching is about the reflective conversation designers have with images and ideas conveyed by the act of drawing. It is highly dependent on feedback. This “conversation” is an area worthy of investigation. Understanding this “conversation” is significant to understanding how we might apply the computer to enhance the designer’s ability to capture, manipulate and reflect on ideas during conceptual design. This paper discusses sketching and its relation to design thinking. It explores the conversations that designers engage in with the media they use. This is done through the explanation of a protocol analysis method. Protocol analysis used in the field of psychology, has been used extensively by Eastman et al (starting in the early 70s) as a method to elicit information about design thinking. In the pilot experiment described in this paper, two persons are used. One plays the role of the “hand” while the other is the “mind”- the two elements that are involved in the design “conversation”. This variation on classical protocol analysis sets out to discover how “intelligent” the hand should be to enhance design by reflection. The paper describes the procedures entailed in the pilot experiment and the resulting data. The paper then concludes by discussing future intentions for research and the far reaching possibilities for use of the computer in architectural studio teaching (as teaching aids) as well as a digital design assistant in conceptual design.
keywords	CAAD, Sketching, Protocol Analysis, Design Thinking, Design Education
series	ACADIA
last changed	2022/06/07 07:54

_id	ecaadesigradi2019_449
id	ecaadesigradi2019_449
authors	Becerra Santacruz, Axel
year	2019
title	The Architecture of ScarCity Game - The craft and the digital as an alternative design process
source	Sousa, JP, Xavier, JP and Castro Henriques, G (eds.), Architecture in the Age of the 4th Industrial Revolution - Proceedings of the 37th eCAADe and 23rd SIGraDi Conference - Volume 3, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal, 11-13 September 2019, pp. 45-52
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.2019.3.045
summary	The Architecture of ScarCity Game is a board game used as a pedagogical tool that challenges architecture students by involving them in a series of experimental design sessions to understand the design process of scarcity and the actual relation between the craft and the digital. This means "pragmatic delivery processes and material constraints, where the exchange between the artisan of handmade, representing local skills and technology of the digitally conceived is explored" (Huang 2013). The game focuses on understanding the different variables of the crafted design process of traditional communities under conditions of scarcity (Michel and Bevan 1992). This requires first analyzing the spatial environmental model of interaction, available human and natural resources, and the dynamic relationship of these variables in a digital era. In the first stage (Pre-Agency), the game set the concept of the craft by limiting students design exploration from a minimum possible perspective developing locally available resources and techniques. The key elements of the design process of traditional knowledge communities have to be identified (Preez 1984). In other words, this stage is driven by limited resources + chance + contingency. In the second stage (Post-Agency) students taking the architects´ role within this communities, have to speculate and explore the interface between the craft (local knowledge and low technological tools), and the digital represented by computation data, new technologies available and construction. This means the introduction of strategy + opportunity + chance as part of the design process. In this sense, the game has a life beyond its mechanics. This other life challenges the participants to exploit the possibilities of breaking the actual boundaries of design. The result is a tool to challenge conventional methods of teaching and leaning controlling a prescribed design process. It confronts the rules that professionals in this field take for granted. The game simulates a 'fake' reality by exploring in different ways with surveyed information. As a result, participants do not have anything 'real' to lose. Instead, they have all the freedom to innovate and be creative.
keywords	Global south, scarcity, low tech, digital-craft, design process and innovation by challenge.
series	eCAADeSIGraDi
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:54

_id	e779
authors	Fayos, F., Marco, F. and Roset, J.
year	1992
title	Learning Physics by Computer in an Architectural School
source	CAAD Instruction: The New Teaching of an Architect? [eCAADe Conference Proceedings] Barcelona (Spain) 12-14 November 1992, pp. 473-476
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1992.473
summary	A method is proposed for computerised problem-solving related to beam bending, using a programme of symbolic calculus. This approach permits easy posing of the equations to be solved. The algebraic logical enables the problem posed to be solved easily. The fact that the data can be entered in symbol form, not necessarily in numerical form, enables the student, when analysing the solution, to become familiar with the system behaviour, which is an essential aspect for support of the project task.
series	eCAADe
last changed	2022/06/07 07:55

_id	7ce5
authors	Gal, Shahaf
year	1992
title	Computers and Design Activities: Their Mediating Role in Engineering Education
source	Sociomedia, ed. Edward Barret. MIT Press
summary	Sociomedia: With all the new words used to describe electronic communication (multimedia, hypertext, cyberspace, etc.), do we need another one? Edward Barrett thinks we do; hence, he coins the term "sociomedia." It is meant to displace a computing economy in which technicity is hypostasized over sociality. Sociomedia, a compilation of twenty-five articles on the theory, design and practice of educational multimedia and hypermedia, attempts to re-value the communicational face of computing. Value, of course, is "ultimately a social construct." As such, it has everything to do with knowledge, power, education and technology. The projects discussed in this book represent the leading edge of electronic knowledge production in academia (not to mention major funding) and are determining the future of educational media. For these reasons, Sociomedia warrants close inspection. Barrett's introduction sets the tone. For him, designing computer media involves hardwiring a mechanism for the social construction of knowledge (1). He links computing to a process of social and communicative interactivity for constructing and desseminating knowledge. Through a mechanistic mapping of the university as hypercontext (a huge network that includes classrooms as well as services and offices), Barrett models intellectual work in such a way as to avoid "limiting definitions of human nature or human development." Education, then, can remain "where it should be--in the human domain (public and private) of sharing ideas and information through the medium of language." By leaving education in a virtual realm (where we can continue to disagree about its meaning and execution), it remains viral, mutating and contaminating in an intellectually healthy way. He concludes that his mechanistic model, by means of its reductionist approach, preserves value (7). This "value" is the social construction of knowledge. While I support the social orientation of Barrett's argument, discussions of value are related to power. I am not referring to the traditional teacher-student power structure that is supposedly dismantled through cooperative and constructivist learning strategies. The power to be reckoned with in the educational arena is foundational, that which (pre)determines value and the circulation of knowledge. "Since each of you reading this paragraph has a different perspective on the meaning of 'education' or 'learning,' and on the processes involved in 'getting an education,' think of the hybris in trying to capture education in a programmable function, in a displayable object, in a 'teaching machine'" (7). Actually, we must think about that hybris because it is, precisely, what informs teaching machines. Moreover, the basic epistemological premises that give rise to such productions are too often assumed. In the case of instructional design, the episteme of cognitive sciences are often taken for granted. It is ironic that many of the "postmodernists" who support electronic hypertextuality seem to have missed Jacques Derrida's and Michel Foucault's "deconstructions" of the epistemology underpinning cognitive sciences (if not of epistemology itself). Perhaps it is the glitz of the technology that blinds some users (qua developers) to the belief systems operating beneath the surface. Barrett is not guilty of reactionary thinking or politics; he is, in fact, quite in line with much American deconstructive and postmodern thinking. The problem arises in that he leaves open the definitions of "education," "learning" and "getting an education." One cannot engage in the production of new knowledge without orienting its design, production and dissemination, and without negotiating with others' orientations, especially where largescale funding is involved. Notions of human nature and development are structural, even infrastructural, whatever the medium of the teaching machine. Although he addresses some dynamics of power, money and politics when he talks about the recession and its effects on the conference, they are readily visible dynamics of power (3-4). Where does the critical factor of value determination, of power, of who gets what and why, get mapped onto a mechanistic model of learning institutions? Perhaps a mapping of contributors' institutions, of the funding sources for the projects showcased and for participation in the conference, and of the disciplines receiving funding for these sorts of projects would help visualize the configurations of power operative in the rising field of educational multimedia. Questions of power and money notwithstanding, Barrett's introduction sets the social and textual thematics for the collection of essays. His stress on interactivity, on communal knowledge production, on the society of texts, and on media producers and users is carried foward through the other essays, two of which I will discuss. Section I of the book, "Perspectives...," highlights the foundations, uses and possible consequences of multimedia and hypertextuality. The second essay in this section, "Is There a Class in This Text?," plays on the robust exchange surrounding Stanley Fish's book, Is There a Text in This Class?, which presents an attack on authority in reading. The author, John Slatin, has introduced electronic hypertextuality and interaction into his courses. His article maps the transformations in "the content and nature of work, and the workplace itself"-- which, in this case, is not industry but an English poetry class (25). Slatin discovered an increase of productive and cooperative learning in his electronically- mediated classroom. For him, creating knowledge in the electronic classroom involves interaction between students, instructors and course materials through the medium of interactive written discourse. These interactions lead to a new and persistent understanding of the course materials and of the participants' relation to the materials and to one another. The work of the course is to build relationships that, in my view, constitute not only the meaning of individual poems, but poetry itself. The class carries out its work in the continual and usually interactive production of text (31). While I applaud his strategies which dismantle traditional hierarchical structures in academia, the evidence does not convince me that the students know enough to ask important questions or to form a self-directing, learning community. Stanley Fish has not relinquished professing, though he, too, espouses the indeterminancy of the sign. By the fourth week of his course, Slatin's input is, by his own reckoning, reduced to 4% (39). In the transcript of the "controversial" Week 6 exchange on Gertrude Stein--the most disliked poet they were discussing at the time (40)--we see the blind leading the blind. One student parodies Stein for three lines and sums up his input with "I like it." Another, finds Stein's poetry "almost completey [sic] lacking in emotion or any artistic merit" (emphasis added). On what grounds has this student become an arbiter of "artistic merit"? Another student, after admitting being "lost" during the Wallace Steven discussion, talks of having more "respect for Stevens' work than Stein's" and adds that Stein's poetry lacks "conceptual significance[, s]omething which people of varied opinion can intelligently discuss without feeling like total dimwits...." This student has progressed from admitted incomprehension of Stevens' work to imposing her (groundless) respect for his work over Stein's. Then, she exposes her real dislike for Stein's poetry: that she (the student) missed the "conceptual significance" and hence cannot, being a person "of varied opinion," intelligently discuss it "without feeling like [a] total dimwit." Slatin's comment is frightening: "...by this point in the semester students have come to feel increasingly free to challenge the instructor" (41). The students that I have cited are neither thinking critically nor are their preconceptions challenged by student-governed interaction. Thanks to the class format, one student feels self-righteous in her ignorance, and empowered to censure. I believe strongly in student empowerment in the classroom, but only once students have accrued enough knowledge to make informed judgments. Admittedly, Slatin's essay presents only partial data (there are six hundred pages of course transcripts!); still, I wonder how much valuable knowledge and metaknowledge was gained by the students. I also question the extent to which authority and professorial dictature were addressed in this course format. The power structures that make it possible for a college to require such a course, and the choice of texts and pedagogy, were not "on the table." The traditional professorial position may have been displaced, but what took its place?--the authority of consensus with its unidentifiable strong arm, and the faceless reign of software design? Despite Slatin's claim that the students learned about the learning process, there is no evidence (in the article) that the students considered where their attitudes came from, how consensus operates in the construction of knowledge, how power is established and what relationship they have to bureaucratic insitutions. How do we, as teaching professionals, negotiate a balance between an enlightened despotism in education and student-created knowledge? Slatin, and other authors in this book, bring this fundamental question to the fore. There is no definitive answer because the factors involved are ultimately social, and hence, always shifting and reconfiguring. Slatin ends his article with the caveat that computerization can bring about greater estrangement between students, faculty and administration through greater regimentation and control. Of course, it can also "distribute authority and power more widely" (50). Power or authority without a specific face, however, is not necessarily good or just. Shahaf Gal's "Computers and Design Activities: Their Mediating Role in Engineering Education" is found in the second half of the volume, and does not allow for a theory/praxis dichotomy. Gal recounts a brief history of engineering education up to the introduction of Growltiger (GT), a computer-assisted learning aid for design. He demonstrates GT's potential to impact the learning of engineering design by tracking its use by four students in a bridge-building contest. What his text demonstrates clearly is that computers are "inscribing and imaging devices" that add another viewpoint to an on-going dialogue between student, teacher, earlier coursework, and other teaching/learning tools. The less proficient students made a serious error by relying too heavily on the technology, or treating it as a "blueprint provider." They "interacted with GT in a way that trusted the data to represent reality. They did not see their interaction with GT as a negotiation between two knowledge systems" (495). Students who were more thoroughly informed in engineering discourses knew to use the technology as one voice among others--they knew enough not simply to accept the input of the computer as authoritative. The less-advanced students learned a valuable lesson from the competition itself: the fact that their designs were not able to hold up under pressure (literally) brought the fact of their insufficient knowledge crashing down on them (and their bridges). They also had, post factum, several other designs to study, especially the winning one. Although competition and comparison are not good pedagogical strategies for everyone (in this case the competitors had volunteered), at some point what we think we know has to be challenged within the society of discourses to which it belongs. Students need critique in order to learn to push their learning into auto-critique. This is what is lacking in Slatin's discussion and in the writings of other avatars of constructivist, collaborative and computer-mediated pedagogies. Obviously there are differences between instrumental types of knowledge acquisition and discoursive knowledge accumulation. Indeed, I do not promote the teaching of reading, thinking and writing as "skills" per se (then again, Gal's teaching of design is quite discursive, if not dialogic). Nevertheless, the "soft" sciences might benefit from "bridge-building" competitions or the re-institution of some forms of agonia. Not everything agonistic is inhuman agony--the joy of confronting or creating a sound argument supported by defensible evidence, for example. Students need to know that soundbites are not sound arguments despite predictions that electronic writing will be aphoristic rather than periodic. Just because writing and learning can be conceived of hypertextually does not mean that rigor goes the way of the dinosaur. Rigor and hypertextuality are not mutually incompatible. Nor is rigorous thinking and hard intellectual work unpleasurable, although American anti-intellectualism, especially in the mass media, would make it so. At a time when the spurious dogmatics of a Rush Limbaugh and Holocaust revisionist historians circulate "aphoristically" in cyberspace, and at a time when knowledge is becoming increasingly textualized, the role of critical thinking in education will ultimately determine the value(s) of socially constructed knowledge. This volume affords the reader an opportunity to reconsider knowledge, power, and new communications technologies with respect to social dynamics and power relationships.
series	other
last changed	2003/04/23 15:14

_id	6e99
authors	Hoffer, Erin Rae
year	1992
title	Creating the Electronic Design Studio: Development of a Heterogeneous Networked Environment at Harvard's Graduate School of Design
source	CAAD Instruction: The New Teaching of an Architect? [eCAADe Conference Proceedings] Barcelona (Spain) 12-14 November 1992, pp. 225-240
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1992.225
summary	The migration of design education to reliance on computer-based techniques requires new ways of thinking about environments which can effectively support a diverse set of activities. Both from a spatial standpoint and a computing resource standpoint, design studios must be inevitably reconfigured to support new tools and reflect new ways of communicating. At Harvard's GSD, a commitment to incorporating computer literacy as a fundamental component of design education enables us to confront these issues through the implementation of a heterogeneous network imbedded in an electronic design environment. This evolving prototype of a new design studio, its development and its potential, will be the subject of this paper. A new style design environment is built upon an understanding of traditional techniques, and layered with an awareness of new tools and methods. Initially we borrow from existing metaphors which govern our interpretation of the way designers work. Next we seek to extend our thinking to include allied or related metaphors such as the library metaphor which informs collections of software and data, or the laboratory metaphor which informs workspace groupings, or the transportation metaphor which informs computer-based communications such as electronic mail or bulletin boards, or the utility services metaphor which informs the provision of network services and equipment. Our evaluation of this environment is based on direct feedback from its users, both faculty and students, and on subjective observation of the qualitative changes in communication which occur between and among these groups and individuals. Ultimately, the network must be judged as a framework for learning and evaluation, and its success depends both on its ability to absorb our existing metaphors for the process of design, and to prefigure the emerging metaphors to be envisioned in the future.
series	eCAADe
last changed	2022/06/07 07:50

_id	130d
authors	Hoinkes, R. and Mitchell, R.
year	1994
title	Playing with Time - Continuous Temporal Mapping Strategies for Interactive Environments
source	6th Canadian GIS Conference, (Ottawa Natura Resources Canada), pp. 318-329
summary	The growing acceptance of GIS technology has had far- reaching effects on many fields of research. The recent developments in the area of dynamic and temporal GIS open new possibilities within the realm of historical research where temporal relationship analysis is as important as spatial relationship analysis. While topological structures have had wide use in spatial GIS and have been the subject of most temporal GIS endeavours, the different demands of many of these temporally- oriented analytic processes questions the choice of the topological direction. In the fall of 1992 the Montreal Research Group (MRG) of the Canadian Centre for Architecture mounted an exhibition dealing with the development of the built environment in 18th- century Montreal. To aid in presenting the interpretive messages of their data, the MRG worked with the Centre for Landscape Research (CLR) to incorporate the interactive capabilities of the CLR's PolyTRIM research software with the MRG's data base to produce a research tool as well as a public- access interactive display. The interactive capabilities stemming from a real- time object- oriented structure provided an excellent environment for both researchers and the public to investigate the nature of temporal changes in such aspects as landuse, ethnicity, and fortifications of the 18th century city. This paper describes the need for interactive real- time GIS in such temporal analysis projects and the underlying need for object- oriented vs. topologically structured data access strategies to support them.
series	other
last changed	2003/04/23 15:14

_id	aa6d
authors	Nichols, Foster Jr., Canete, Isabel J. and Tuladhar, Sagun
year	1992
title	Designing for Pedestrians : A CAD-Network Analysis Approach
source	New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1992. pp. 379-398 : ill. includes a short bibliography
summary	Microcomputer techniques have been developed that combine CAD drawings with transportation network analysis software that uses spreadsheets and stand-alone programs activated from the DOS operating system. The CAD feature simplifies and improves the methods used to design pedestrian circulation facilities and evaluate the impact of new development on existing pedestrian flows. Through the use of customized software, the need for manual data entry is reduced, and the graphical display of analysis results in most intermediate steps in the process are automated. Three hypothetical case studies are presented, concentrating on proposed pedestrian circulation improvements at Penn Station, New York
keywords	evaluation, networks, management, CAD, analysis, applications, planning, transportation, prediction, simulation, CAD
series	CADline
last changed	2003/06/02 13:58

_id	avocaad_2001_20
id	avocaad_2001_20
authors	Shen-Kai Tang
year	2001
title	Toward a procedure of computer simulation in the restoration of historical architecture
source	AVOCAAD - ADDED VALUE OF COMPUTER AIDED ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN, Nys Koenraad, Provoost Tom, Verbeke Johan, Verleye Johan (Eds.), (2001) Hogeschool voor Wetenschap en Kunst - Departement Architectuur Sint-Lucas, Campus Brussel, ISBN 80-76101-05-1
summary	In the field of architectural design, “visualization¨ generally refers to some media, communicating and representing the idea of designers, such as ordinary drafts, maps, perspectives, photos and physical models, etc. (Rahman, 1992; Susan, 2000). The main reason why we adopt visualization is that it enables us to understand clearly and to control complicated procedures (Gombrich, 1990). Secondly, the way we get design knowledge is more from the published visualized images and less from personal experiences (Evans, 1989). Thus the importance of the representation of visualization is manifested.Due to the developments of computer technology in recent years, various computer aided design system are invented and used in a great amount, such as image processing, computer graphic, computer modeling/rendering, animation, multimedia, virtual reality and collaboration, etc. (Lawson, 1995; Liu, 1996). The conventional media are greatly replaced by computer media, and the visualization is further brought into the computerized stage. The procedure of visual impact analysis and assessment (VIAA), addressed by Rahman (1992), is renewed and amended for the intervention of computer (Liu, 2000). Based on the procedures above, a great amount of applied researches are proceeded. Therefore it is evident that the computer visualization is helpful to the discussion and evaluation during the design process (Hall, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998; Liu, 1997; Sasada, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1993, 1997, 1998). In addition to the process of architectural design, the computer visualization is also applied to the subject of construction, which is repeatedly amended and corrected by the images of computer simulation (Liu, 2000). Potier (2000) probes into the contextual research and restoration of historical architecture by the technology of computer simulation before the practical restoration is constructed. In this way he established a communicative mode among archeologists, architects via computer media.In the research of restoration and preservation of historical architecture in Taiwan, many scholars have been devoted into the studies of historical contextual criticism (Shi, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1995; Fu, 1995, 1997; Chiu, 2000). Clues that accompany the historical contextual criticism (such as oral information, writings, photographs, pictures, etc.) help to explore the construction and the procedure of restoration (Hung, 1995), and serve as an aid to the studies of the usage and durability of the materials in the restoration of historical architecture (Dasser, 1990; Wang, 1998). Many clues are lost, because historical architecture is often age-old (Hung, 1995). Under the circumstance, restoration of historical architecture can only be proceeded by restricted pictures, written data and oral information (Shi, 1989). Therefore, computer simulation is employed by scholars to simulate the condition of historical architecture with restricted information after restoration (Potier, 2000). Yet this is only the early stage of computer-aid restoration. The focus of the paper aims at exploring that whether visual simulation of computer can help to investigate the practice of restoration and the estimation and evaluation after restoration.By exploring the restoration of historical architecture (taking the Gigi Train Station destroyed by the earthquake in last September as the operating example), this study aims to establish a complete work on computer visualization, including the concept of restoration, the practice of restoration, and the estimation and evaluation of restoration.This research is to simulate the process of restoration by computer simulation based on visualized media (restricted pictures, restricted written data and restricted oral information) and the specialized experience of historical architects (Potier, 2000). During the process of practicing, communicates with craftsmen repeatedly with some simulated alternatives, and makes the result as the foundation of evaluating and adjusting the simulating process and outcome. In this way we address a suitable and complete process of computer visualization for historical architecture.The significance of this paper is that we are able to control every detail more exactly, and then prevent possible problems during the process of restoration of historical architecture.
series	AVOCAAD
email
last changed	2005/09/09 10:48

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