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Home Economics
Today at the usual hour we review the standards, codes, regulations and best practice literature for the safety and sustainability of facilities for teaching skills needed for supporting families.
You could hear a pin drop in this room 📌 So focused practicing for their exam 🧑🏻‍🍳 pic.twitter.com/lHw20avgnL
— Miss Dunne (@MissDunne1042) December 3, 2024
Investigating the Perceived Impact of Maternity on Software Engineering: a Women’s Perspective
Investigating the Perceived Impact of Maternity on Software Engineering: a Women’s Perspective
Abstract: Background: Several researchers report the impact of gender on software development teams, especially in relation to women. In general, women are under-represented on these teams and face challenges and difficulties in their workplaces. When it comes to women who are mothers, these challenges can be amplified and directly impact these women’s professional lives, both in industry and academia. However, little is known about women ICT practitioners’ perceptions of the challenges of maternity in their professional careers. Objective: This paper investigates mothers’ challenges and difficulties in global software development teams. Method: We conducted a survey with women in the ICT field who work in academia and global technology companies. We surveyed 141 mothers from different countries and employed mixed methods to analyze the data. Results: Our findings reveal that women face sociocultural challenges, including work-life balance issues, bad jokes, and moral harassment. The prejudices they suffer make them insecure and with low confidence in the work performed. Furthermore, they usually do not have a supporting network during and after maternity leave, which culminates in them feeling overloaded. The surveyed women suggested a set of actions to reduce the challenges they face in their workplaces, such as: creating a code of conduct for men and childcare within companies. Conclusion: Women face many challenges when they become mothers. Our findings explore these challenges and can help organizations in developing policies to minimize them. Also, it can help raise awareness of co-workers and bosses, toward a more friendly and inclusive workplace.
Community Hub Schools
Donegan Acoustics
The larger part of using the global standardization system to make the real assets of educational settlements safer, simpler, lower-cost and longer-lasting is to make every effort to use those spaces and occupancies effectively. Today we examine a few case studies and explore possibilites mapped in safety and sustainability catalogs of standards developers whose titles become the basis for government regulation. Use the login credentials at the upper right of our home page at the usual hour.
The topic is necessarily cross-cutting and technologically interdisciplinary so we draw from the syllabi of colloquia we previously covered.
Case Study: Center Grove Community School Corporation Security
Related:
Here are 10 current trends in the construction of K-12 education facilities in the United States, based on recent industry insights and developments. These trends reflect a focus on safety, sustainability, technology, and evolving educational needs, drawn from sources like architectural firms, construction reports, and educational design analyses.
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Enhanced Security Systems
Schools are prioritizing advanced security measures, such as wearable panic devices for staff, access control systems, secure vestibules, surveillance technology, and remote hallway gate controls. Many districts are proactively upgrading security as standalone projects rather than waiting for renovations, aiming to create safer environments without highly visible fortifications. For example, Solomon-Solis Cohen Elementary in Philadelphia integrates park-like settings with security features to balance safety and community appeal. -
Flexible and Adaptable Learning Spaces
Traditional static classrooms are being replaced with modular, flexible spaces that support diverse teaching styles and learning needs. These include movable partitions, demountable walls, and multi-purpose areas like learning stairs, which serve as seating or presentation spaces. Schools like Warsaw High School use learning stairs as dynamic hubs for collaboration, allowing easy reconfiguration for group work, individual study, or CTE programs. -
Sustainability and Net-Zero Energy Design
Schools are adopting eco-friendly designs, such as energy-efficient HVAC systems, solar panels, and green materials, to achieve net-zero energy goals. The transition to electric vehicle (EV) bus fleets with charging infrastructure is also growing, as seen in districts incrementally upgrading transportation facilities. These designs educate students about sustainability while reducing operational costs. -
Improved Indoor Air Quality and HVAC Upgrades
With 38% of U.S. public schools built before 1970, upgrading HVAC systems is a priority to improve air quality and prevent health issues like mold. The American Society of Civil Engineers noted in 2021 that 41% of districts need HVAC updates in at least half their schools, costing billions. Post-COVID, schools are using federal relief funds to enhance ventilation, as seen in Clark County School District’s UL Verified Ventilation mark. -
Career and Technical Education (CTE) and STEAM Facilities
There’s a resurgence in CTE and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) spaces, with schools building specialized labs for robotics, welding, automotive, and filmmaking. For instance, Merrillville Community School Corporation added a 57,000-square-foot CTE addition with state-of-the-art labs. These spaces prepare students for skilled trades and tech careers, reflecting a shift away from college-only pathways. -
Technology Integration and Wi-Fi Optimization
Schools are designing comprehensive Wi-Fi coverage using predictive modeling to eliminate dead zones, ensuring access for all users (students, staff, parents). Classrooms are equipped with IT infrastructure for digital learning, including VR/AR tools and BIM (Building Information Modeling) for design precision. Santa Ana High School’s transformation of a library into a digital media lab exemplifies this trend. -
Health and Wellness-Focused Design
Designs prioritize mental and physical well-being with natural lighting, ergonomic furniture, and outdoor learning spaces like gardens or courtyards. The “One Health” movement, cited by PBK Architects, emphasizes environments where students and buildings are holistically healthy. Twin Buttes High School in North Dakota incorporates food sovereignty programs with greenhouses and culinary labs to promote wellness. -
Community-Centric Facilities
Schools are being designed as community hubs, hosting events and serving as emergency shelters or voting places. Flexible designs allow spaces to be used by the community year-round, generating revenue. For example, Eddy & Debbie Peach Elementary School includes outdoor art and science labs that double as community spaces, fostering engagement and connection. -
Resilient and Durable Construction
New builds and renovations use resilient materials to withstand high-traffic use and extreme weather, adhering to updated building codes for fire resistance and accessibility. Designers assess existing structures for “good bones” to repurpose them cost-effectively, as seen in HED’s redesign of Santa Monica High School with adaptable, demountable walls. -
Collaborative Design with Stakeholder Input
Construction projects increasingly involve teachers, parents, and students in the planning process through public meetings and surveys to align facilities with community needs. Transparent communication, as emphasized by Bryan Construction, ensures designs reflect educational goals, such as sustainable curricula or flexible spaces, enhancing teacher and student satisfaction.
Mobility & Parking
University of Michigan Human Factors Engineering
Paul Green Research
File: November 7, 2025
Statement on the Electric Vehicle Zietgeist
University of Michigan Campus Transportation Master Plan
Die Fachhochschule Wedel bei Hamburg
The Invention of the Wheel – The Journey to CivilizationÂ
Today we amble through the literature providing policy templates informing school district, college and university-affiliated transportation and parking facilities and systems.  Starting 2024 we will break up our coverage thus:
Mobility 100 (Survey of both ground and air transportation instructional and research facilities)
Mobility 200 (Ground Transportation)
Police officer asks little girl for driver’s license.pic.twitter.com/8gVBiJNZiV
— The Figen (@TheFigen_) February 6, 2025
Mobility 300 (Air Transportation)
Mobility 400 (Reserved for zoning, parking space allocation and enforcement, and issues related to one of the most troublesome conditions in educational settlements)
Today’s session will be the last when we cover both land and air transportation codes, standards, guidelines and the regulations that depend upon all them. We will break out space and aerospace mobility into a separate session — largely because many universities are tooling up square footage and facilities in anticipation of research grants.
Public consultation originates from the following organizations:
International Electrotechnical Commission
International Organization for Standardization
Intelligent Transport Systems
Road Vehicles
Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers
 Intelligent Transportation Systems SocietyÂ
Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE International)
Like many SDO’s the SAE makes it very easy to purchase a standard but makes it very difficulty to find a draft standard open for public review. It is not an open process; one must apply to comment on a draft standard. Moreover, its programmers persist in playing “keep away” with landing pages.
Technical Standards for Road Vehicles and Intelligent Vehicle Systems
International Code Council
National Fire Protection Association
Association of Transportation Safety Information Professionals
International Light Transportation Vehicle Association
Non-Emergency Medical Transportation Accreditation Commission
Noteworthy:
The public school bus system in the United States is the largest public transit system in the United States. According to the American School Bus Council, approximately 25 million students in the United States ride school buses to and from school each day, which is more than twice the number of passengers that use all other forms of public transportation combined.
The school bus system is considered a public transit system because it is operated by public schools and school districts, and provides a form of transportation that is funded by taxpayers and available to the general public. The school bus system also plays a critical role in ensuring that students have access to education, particularly in rural and low-income areas where transportation options may be limited.
Something is always happening in this domain:
A Quiet Rollout: Electric Scooters on Campus
Notre Dame Police Department shares gameday parking restrictions, tips
Electric School Bus Market Size, Industry Share, Analysis, Report and Forecast 2022-2027
Non profit associations proliferate:
American School Bus Council
American Bus Association
Campus Parking and Transportation Association
National Association for Pupil Transportation
National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services
National School Transportation Association
School Bus Manufacturers Association
…and 50-state spinoffs of the foregoing. (See our ABOUT for further discussion of education industry non-profit associations)
There are several ad hoc consortia in this domain also; which include plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Charging specifications are at least temporarily “stable”; though who should pay for the charging infrastructure in the long run is a debate we have tracked for several revision cycles in building and fire codes.
Because incumbents are leading the electromobility transformation, and incumbents have deep pockets for market-making despite the “jankiness” of the US power grid, we can track some (not all) legislation action, and prospective public comment opportunities.  For example:
Keep in mind that even though proposed legislation is sun-setted in a previous (116th) Congress, the concepts may be carried forward into the following Congress (117th).
Public consultations on mobility technologies relevant to the education facility industry are also covered by the IEEE Education & Healthcare Facilities Committee which meets 4 times monthly in European and American time zones.
This topic is growing rapidly and it may well be that we will have to break it up into more manageable pieces. For the moment, today’s colloquium is open to everyone. Use the login credentials at the upper right of our home page.
Transport Security
Great but she’s not safe on that public transport pic.twitter.com/sjqrMoY9Rt
— The Aureus Press (@Trad_West_Art) November 6, 2025
Community Risk Assessment
First Draft Meeting Minutes | January 13, 2026
Château de Meudon
We have advocated education community risk management concepts since 2007; primarily in NFPA Standard 1300 — Standard on Community Risk Assessment and Community Risk Reduction Plan Development (formerly NFPA 1600). The content of this title is close-coupled with FEMA’s National Incident Management System. Â
Recently the National Fire Protection Association Standards Council moved to consolidate its community risk management titles as described below. Â
“NFPA 1660 is in a custom cycle due to the Emergency Response and Responder Safety Document Consolidation Plan (consolidation plan) as approved by the NFPA Standards Council. As part of the consolidation plan, NFPA 1660 (combining Standards NFPA 1600, NFPA 1616, and NFPA 1620) is open for public input with a closing date of November 13, 2020.”
Thus, NFPA 1600 is being sunsetted as a separate consensus product, its substance rolled into the new NFPA 1660. CLICK HERE for the new landing page for NFPA 1660.
Two links below provide a sense of the back-and-forth in the technical committee meetings:
1600_F2018_EMB_AAA_FD_PIResponses
Discussion about school and university security are noteworthy.
As described on its title page, this product will be reconfigured as NFPA 1660 Standard on Community Risk Assessment, Pre-Incident Planning, Mass Evacuation, Sheltering, and Re-entry Programs.  The title suggests that NFPA 1660 is being developed to meet market need for conformance and teaching tools. You may track movement in the concepts in the links below; many of them administrative:
Emergency Management and Business Continuity
Mass Evacuation and Sheltering
NFPA 1660 will likely require one or two more revision cycles to stabilize
Public consultation on the Second Draft (NITMAM) closes September 9th. You may submit public input directly to NFPA by CLICKING HERE. We will have hosted several Security colloquia ahead of this deadline during which we will drill into technical and policy specifics.
University of Tennessee
We maintain this title on our periodic Security, Disaster and Risk colloquia during which time our thoughts on the economic burden of the expanding constellation of risk management standards will be known. Thoughts that we are reluctant to write.  See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting; open to everyone.
Issue: [13-58] and [18-151]
Category: Security, Risk
Colleagues: Mike Anthony, Robert G. Arno, Jim Harvey, Richard Robben
MORE >> Disaster Resiliency and NFPA Codes and Standards
Animal Health Considerations Before, During and After the County Fair
The recent undetected introduction and rapid spread of foot and mouth disease in the United Kingdom highlights the importance of the integration of effective biosecurity practices in every livestock operation within the US. Showing and exhibiting animals presents a risk for the spread of foreign or domestic infectious disease.
Infectious diseases such as respiratory disease, contagious mastitis and bovine viral diarrhea, can present signs within a relatively short time frame, whereas Johne’s disease may not show signs for years after exposure. Taking the precautions listed below before, during and after fairs can help decrease the exposure to infectious disease.
Standards Michigan: Animal Care Standards
The Great New York State Fair | Onondaga County
Rain & Lightning
The thunderbolt steers all things.
—Heraclitus, c. 500 BC
After the rain. Personal photograph taken by Mike Anthony biking with his niece in Wirdum, The Netherlands
Today at 15:00 UTC we examine the technical literature about rainwater management in schools, colleges and universities — underfoot and on the roof. Lightning protection standards will also be reviewed; given the exposure of outdoor athletic activity and exterior luminaires.
We draw from previous standardization work in titles involving water, roofing systems and flood management — i.e. a cross-cutting view of the relevant standard developer catalogs.  Among them:
American Society of Civil Engineers
American Society of Plumbing Engineers
ASHRAE International
ASTM International
Construction Specifications Institute (Division 7 Thermal and Moisture Protection)
Environmental Protection Agency | Clean Water Act Section 402
Federal Emergency Management Agency
FM Global
Water Cycle Equation:
Precipitation = Runoff + Infiltration + Evapotranspiration + ΔStoragehttps://t.co/DdIA3UWUxy
Georgia Southern University Civil Engineering & Constructionhttps://t.co/rVhv4tyuBt@GeorgiaSouthern pic.twitter.com/9yo5NZrJQH— Standards Michigan (@StandardsMich) September 10, 2020
IAPMO Group (Mechanical and Plumbing codes)
Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers
Heat Tracing Standards
Notice of New Standard Product IEEE 1692-2023
IEEE Guide for the Protection of Communication Installations from Lightning Effectshttps://t.co/y8ZdmtBDRV pic.twitter.com/JG30sFEJlr
— IEEE Standards Association | IEEE SA (@IEEESA) September 2, 2024
International Code Council
Chapter 15 Roof Assemblies and Rooftop Structures
Why, When, What and Where Lightning Protection is Required
National Fire Protection Association
National Electrical Code: Article 250.16 Lightning Protection Systems
Lightning Protection
Underwriters Laboratories: Lightning Protection
Underground Stormwater Detention Vaults
United States Department of Agriculture: Storm Rainfall Depth and Distribution
Readings: The “30-30” Rule for Outdoor Athletic Events Lightning Hazard
As always, our daily colloquia are open to everyone. Use the login credentials at the upper right of our home page.
“Rainbow Connection”
“Tough Call” | Norman Rockwell 1949
The “lightning effect” seen in carnival tricks typically relies on a scientific principle known as the Lichtenberg figure or Lichtenberg figure. This phenomenon occurs when a high-voltage electrical discharge passes through an insulating material, such as wood or acrylic, leaving behind branching patterns resembling lightning bolts.
The process involves the creation of a temporary electric field within the material, which polarizes its molecules. As the discharge propagates through the material, it causes localized breakdowns, creating branching paths along the way. These branching patterns are the characteristic Lichtenberg figures.
In the carnival trick, a high-voltage generator is used to create an electrical discharge on a piece of insulating material, such as acrylic. When a person touches the material or a conductive object placed on it, the discharge follows the path of least resistance, leaving behind the branching patterns. This effect is often used for entertainment purposes due to its visually striking appearance, resembling miniature lightning bolts frozen in the material. However, it’s crucial to handle such demonstrations with caution due to the potential hazards associated with high-voltage electricity.
How you know we haven’t had rain for awhile… pic.twitter.com/5zb84HeDUR
— Allison farms (@Allisonfarms) August 5, 2024
New update alert! The 2022 update to the Trademark Assignment Dataset is now available online. Find 1.29 million trademark assignments, involving 2.28 million unique trademark properties issued by the USPTO between March 1952 and January 2023: https://t.co/njrDAbSpwB pic.twitter.com/GkAXrHoQ9T
— USPTO (@uspto) July 13, 2023
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