Tag Archives: Evergreen

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Language Proficiency

“The first and most distinguishing feature of civil society is the use of language.”

Adam Ferguson’s “An Essay on the History of Civil Society”

“Minerva Preserving to the World the Latin Grammar”

Standard Practice for Assessing Language Proficiency

Committee F43 on Language Services and Products

One of the easiest ways to persuade someone who disagrees with you is to change the subject without them knowing about it.  Application of this method is found in the technical literature that informs safety and sustainability regulations at all levels of government.  Change definitions; change the subject; outcome changed — hence our interest in spoken, written and computer languages.

Almost all technical standards begin with a list of definitions which, among domain experts, are frequently hard won.

From the project prospectus:

Purpose—This practice describes best practices for the development and use of language tests in the modalities of speaking, listening, reading, and writing for assessing ability in accordance with the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR)2 scale. This practice focuses on testing language proficiency in use of language for communicative purposes.

Limitations—This practice is not intended to address testing and test development in the following specialized areas: Translation, Interpretation, Audio Translation, Transcription, other job-specific language performance tests, or Diagnostic Assessment.   Tests developed under this practice should not be used to address any of the above excluded purposes (for example, diagnostics).

This title was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade Committee.

As of the date of this post we find no changes in the titles developed by this committee; nor do we see any notice of meetings; likely owed to the circumstances of the pandemic. Last Update: April 2020

Language lies at the foundation of all standards-setting so we maintain this title on the standing agenda of several of our daily colloquia.  Its an “evergreen” topic that we can explore every day in every title in every catalog   Feel free to click in to any of our daily colloquia; login credentials at the upper right of our home page.

A Translator’s Journey


More

Standards for the Modern Language Industry

American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages

Michigan State University: A Rhetorical History of the United States

CORRECTION: In the clip above, at the 5:11 mark, the caption should read: “He mobilized the English language”

 

„Jede Sprache ist eine schlechte Übersetzung“ – Franz Kafka

Standards for American Prosperity

 

Crucial Role of Standards for American Prosperity Highlighted in CSIS Roundtable Session with S. Joe Bhatia

 

Here are some of the ways in which government regulations impede economic growth:

  1. Increased costs: Regulations can impose additional costs on businesses, which can affect their ability to operate efficiently and compete in the marketplace. For example, regulations can require businesses to invest in new technologies or processes to comply with environmental or safety standards, which can increase their expenses.
  2. Reduced innovation: Some people believe that regulations can stifle innovation and entrepreneurship, as businesses may be hesitant to invest in new products or technologies that could be subject to strict regulations. This can limit the potential for new businesses to emerge and grow.
  3. Slowed job growth: Regulations can increase the cost of doing business, which can lead to reduced hiring and slower job growth. This can be particularly challenging for small businesses that may not have the resources to comply with regulatory requirements.
  4. Reduced competition: Regulations can sometimes create barriers to entry for new businesses, which can reduce competition and limit economic growth. This can be particularly true in industries that are heavily regulated, such as healthcare and finance.
  5. Reduced trade: Regulations can make it more difficult for businesses to operate in international markets, as they may face additional regulatory requirements and trade barriers. This can limit economic growth and reduce opportunities for businesses to expand their operations.

It is important to note that regulations can also have benefits, such as protecting consumers and the environment, promoting fair competition, and fostering innovation. It’s essential to strike a balance between regulatory requirements and economic growth to ensure that businesses can thrive while also protecting public health and safety. 

The U.S. Standards System effectively provides a “shadow government” that runs parallel to the elected government so that a balance of informed voices are present in formulating what Montesquieu called the “necessary laws”.   See our ABOUT.

More

NIST: Procedures for the Development of American National Standards

ANSI Essential Requirements: Due process requirements for American National Standards

Office of Management & Budget Circulars in Numerical Sequence

Architecture and Aesthetic Education

“The most enduring architectural works  are those

that speak to the timeless principles of beauty and order.”

— Roger Scruton

 


Quadrivium: Architecture and Aesthetic Education

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Methods of Building Measurement

“The Ideal City” 1480 Giuliano da Sangallo

Inspired by Lord Kelvin’s “If you can not measure it, you can not improve it” and Peter Drucker’s adage “If you can’t measure it, You can’t improve it” and  W. Edwards Deming’s counter-argument — “It is wrong to suppose that if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it – a costly myth.” we present the standards catalog of the Building Owner’s Management Association:

BOMA Standards

BOMA Area Measurement Standards Timeline 1915-2021

At the moment all titles in this catalog seem to be stabilized although a great deal of economic activity in the commercial real estate market involves adjustment to the circumstances of the pandemic.  Largely because a sizeable portion of square footage in every school district, college, university and university-affiliated healthcare research and clinical delivery system derives at least part of its funding from governments at all levels there are workgroups devoted to measuring square footage and documenting its use.   For example:

Space Management: University of Oklahoma

Space Management: Texas A&M University-San Antonio

Space Management Policy: University at Buffalo

Getting square-footage right is essential for securing an organization’s sustainability and “green” claims for example.  The links in previous posts provide for information about future public consultations.

We maintain the BOMA catalog on the agenda of our Space Planning, Hammurabi and Architectural colloquia, hosted 6 to 8 times annually.   See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting, open to everyone.

€ 492 Million: Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien


Posted March 20,  2021

We drill into the specifics commonly found in education communities: sub-lease of space to private industry in publicly-owned facilities.  The Building Owners and Managers Association International is an ANSI-accredited consensus standard developer and revised its standard — BOMA Z65.5 Retail Properties: Standard Method of Measurement.  Measuring the area of a retail building can quickly become complex when variables must be considered such as ancillary space, mezzanines and storefront lease lines.  Many large research universities have long since leased space within many of their building envelopes for private industry to service their communities — student unions, hospitals, dormitories and athletic venues, for example.  From the project prospectus:

Z65.5 is intended exclusively for retail properties and their associated structures and may be applied to single-tenant, multi-tenant or multi-building configurations. It features a single method of measurement, with two levels of measurement data, known as Partial Measurement and Overall Measurement for retail properties. It does not measure sidewalks, surface parking, drainage structures, or  other ancillary site improvements.  This standard is chiefly designed to generate Gross Leasable Area figures, a key metric in retail leasing; however, it also produces area figures which may be of interest to those examining space utilization, valuation, benchmarking, and the allocation of building expenses to various cost centers. The scope of this standard is not intended to be submitted for consideration as an ISO, IEC, or ISO/IEC JTC-1 standard.

Public consultation is open until February 8th.  

You may obtain an electronic copy from: [email protected].   Send comments (with optional copy to [email protected]) to: [email protected].  We encourage user-interest subject matter experts in education facility management to participate directly in the BOMA standards development process by communicating directly with Tanner Johnson at BOMA ([email protected]) or 202-326-6357 for more information.

We keep the BOMA catalog on the standing agenda of our colloquia devoted to building construction best practice.  See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting; open to everyone.

Issue: [14-117]

Category: Architectural, Facility Asset Management

Colleagues: Jack Janveja, Richard Robben

More

National Center for Education Statistics: Postsecondary Education Facilities Inventory and Classification Manual

Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education


Posted February, 20  2020

The Building Owners and Managers Association International (BOMA) is an ANSI-accredited consensus standard developer.  BOMA has initiated the process of revising its real property measurement standard —  BOMA Z65.2 For Industrial Buildings: Standard Methods of Measurement.  The primary objectives of this standard are:

– To promote an unambiguous framework for determining the areas of Industrial Buildings with a strong focus on Rentable Area calculations;
– To facilitate transparency and clear communication of building measurement concepts among all participants in the commercial real estate
industry;
– To allow a comparison of values on the basis of a clearly understood and generally agreed upon method of measurement; and
– To align concepts and measurement methodologies with the International Property Measurement Standards: Industrial Buildings (January 2018)
document.

Comments due March 15th

Click here to view these changes in full (Page 2) 

Send comments (with optional copy to [email protected]) to: [email protected]

Standards Michigan follows, but d0es not advocate in most of the BOMA standards suite for the following reasons:

  • Educational facility occupancies are fairly well accounted for in existing federal and state regulations
  • Advocacy in energy-related best practice titles are a better use of resources at the moment.

We encourage user-interest subject matter experts in education facility management to participate directly in the BOMA standards development process by communicating directly with Tanner Johnson at BOMA ([email protected]) or 202-326-6357 for more information.

We maintain the entire BOMA suite on our periodic Model Building Code colloquia.  See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting; open to everyone.

Issue: [15-200]

Category: Architectural, Space Plaaning, Facility Asset Management

Colleagues: Jack Janveja, Richard Robben


LEARN MORE:

Facilities Information Management

Guideline for Square Footage Requirements for Educational Facilities

Guide to School Site Analysis and Development

Mixed Use Standard

 

ARCHIVE / BOMA

5.18.20

A Translator’s Journey

“Things aren’t all so tangible and sayable as people would usually have us believe; most experiences are unsayable; they happen in a space that no word has ever entered, and more unsayable than all other things are works of art, those mysterious existences, whose life endures beside our own small, transitory life.”

Rainer Maria Rilke

 

Language Proficiency

 

The Oxford Comma

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Gallery: Favorite Buildings

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