Koolhass has stated that "prisons and the ever-changing attitudes towards detention may be one of the most acute indicators of the changing values of society."1 As such this thesis is concerned with addressing the needs and issues concerning the demoralizing conditions that are present and the inhumane treatment that geriatric inmates are suffering in the nation's correctional system.There are extreme social and ethical consequences of prison design and it is of increasing importance that we learn how to handle an aging inmate population within the prison system, to ensure that the most marginalized of our society are not further exploited by the ruthlessness of the prison system. Accordingly, this thesis pursues the following ideas, issues and themes:1.) The History of Incarceration2.) The Reform Movement3.) Contemporary Trends in Penal Philosophy and Design4.) Examination of the Issues Concerning Geriatric Incarceration5.) Design Program for the Geriatric Prison1 Koolhaas, Rem. S,M,L,XL: Study for the Renovation of a Panopticon Prison. 010 Publishers, Rotterdam. 1995. page 75.
The concept of therapeutic landscapes flows from the idea that environmental, social and individual factors that are specific to place can intersect to provide an important resource for the promotion of health and well-being. However, much of this research has focused on extraordinary places such as baths, shrines and spas in Western settings. Far less attention has been given to the role of place in the health and well-being of people living in non-Western settings. Aside from the work of Kathi Wilson (2003; 2005) on the role of place in the health and well-being of First Nations peoples, the understanding of the role of place in the health of Aboriginal peoples in Canada is limited. This dissertation seeks to address this gap in knowledge by exploring the role of the land and its renewable resources in the health and well-being of Inuit living in Cape Dorset, Nunavut, Canada. Inuit contend that their relationship with the land and its renewable resources plays an important role in their health and well-being. To understand the role of the land in Inuit health, 101 in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with female and male participants. The results of this dissertation suggest that the complete interconnection of the participants with the land and its renewable resources plays a crucial role in their identity as well as their cultural, social, economic, emotional and nutritional health and well-being. Further, the results suggest that the concept of therapeutic landscapes should be re-evaluated by considering unhealthy aspects of place. The participants' in-depth accounts of how climate change and environmental contaminants are affecting their relationship with the land and its renewable resources indicate that relations with place are not simple, and even when health-enhancing in some respects may not be entirely health enhancing. In addition, the participants' knowledge of human-environment relations can help to improve the long-term health of those living outside of Inuit regions by guiding them during a period of environmental destruction
Piriform cortex (PC) receives sensory input from olfactory areas, passes this onto cortical/subcortical structures and is integrated with behavioural modalities. Little is known about functional/anatomical connections of the PC. Sensory/behavioural olfactory pathways and altered interneuron wiring may facilitate the region's seizurogenic tendencies. Innervation-pattern description of the various interneurons was the objective.Distinct interneurons express differing calcium binding proteins (CBPs). Antibodies against these were used to characterise interneuron anatomical/morphological/innervation patterns. Parameters investigated for each interneuron subtype were: laminar distribution; CBP expression overlap; dendritic arborization patterns; and post-synaptic targets of nerve terminals (NTs). These were quantified to establish a baseline, and combined to identify subtypes within the CBP-expressing groups.Only PV and CB were co-expressed in interneurons. For each subtype specific laminar distribution of somata/dendritic processes/NTs; specific dendritic arborization patterns and post-synaptic morphological targeting was found. Findings were examined within context of olfactory processing, seizurogenesis and existing olfactory cortex connectivity models.
Canadian architecture has wrongly been categorized as demure and is thus underrepresented internationally. According to Kenneth Frampton's concept of critical regionalism, Canadian architecture can be described as resistant to the universal nature of modemism. As such Canadian architecture is highly specific and regional. This regionalism can be partially attributed to the railway tradition and the chateau style of the grand railway hotels. This thesis proposes locating individual Units that encompass a holistic National Railway Interpretive Centre along the nation's railway line that interpret specific regional features including climate, light, topography and tectonics. The National Railway Interpretive Centre is an attempt to create a national architecture while remaining regional, thereby clearly exposing Canada as a sum of parts in a universal culture increasingly interested in spectacle over substance.
The aim of this thesis is to integrate the hypertextual narrative idea into the design process and the conception of architectural experience by designing a building as a metaphorical embodiment of hypertextual narrative presence. This paper will thoroughly examine hypertext narrative theories as a scaffold through which to understand, to criticize and to develop new architectural forms. This understanding will then facilitate accomplishing the final objective, which is to design a new library in Jerusalem: an ideal institution for occurrence, development and presentation of hypertextual narratives. The exploration is geared towards the potential of making multiple interpretations through differentiation of the possible paths that could be taken by a reader within a hypertextual architecture. By examining how the architectural-reader can partake in the process of shaping and reshaping architecture's experience, form and content. The theoretical framework is built upon a combination of interrelated Textual disciplines. The study borrows, combines, compares and contrasts perspectives from Narratology, Textual and Hypertext Theory and Media Theories. With this in mind, it questions the preconceptions of text present in several theoretical traditions and the possible differentiations of these ideological perspectives in relation to architecture.
