amir H askari - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by amir H askari

Journal of Design and Built Environment

The current paper investigates the role of CPTED (crime prevention through environmental design) ... more The current paper investigates the role of CPTED (crime prevention through environmental design) principles in preventing crimes in urban hot spots. The questionnaire survey gathers the opinions of 400 participants randomly. Moreover, the study employs an observational study to analyze the actual condition of the areas. Analysis shows territorial reinforcement and surveillance most significantly impact crime prevention, while maintenance imposes the lowest impact in urban contexts. The findings imply that enhancing the cultural bases of the residents outweighs improving the physical appearance of the environment in preventing crimes. Overall, the findings offer practical suggestions for future planning of urban hot spots that contribute to environmental quality.

ALAM CIPTA International Journal Of Sustainable Tropical Design & Practice

Evaluating the role of physical elements in creating visually pleasing streetscapes has not been ... more Evaluating the role of physical elements in creating visually pleasing streetscapes has not been deeply addressed in recent research flow, especially for the context of Kuala Lumpur City. The gap is also accentuated by Kuala Lumpur City Hall as disharmony and inconsistency in streetscapes and lacking visual coherence in most streets in Kuala Lumpur. Therefore, the current paper seeks to evaluate the role of physical and visual elements in creating visually pleasing streetscapes of Bukit Bintang and Tuanku Abdul Rahman using a self-administered questionnaire survey. The respondents of the study comprise 330 passers-by aging from 18 to 50 years old, who visit the streets, reside, or work there. The results demonstrate that transparency, the quality that makes the function of a building visually accessible, and seating places play the most and the least important role in creating streetscapes in the study areas respectively. Comparison of the results in two streets highlights that harm...

Membrane Physiology, 1980

The importance of the surface membrane of cells as the primary site of action of many drugs has b... more The importance of the surface membrane of cells as the primary site of action of many drugs has been obvious since the earliest appreciation of membranes as regulatory barriers. As soon as the permeability characteristics of cells became apparent, investigators reasoned that polar and highly water-soluble agents were unlikely to gain access to the inner plasma of cells. The rapid action of many of these compounds similarly argued for the cell surface as a probable site of action. Ingenious quantitative analyses by A. J. Clark(1) showed that most drugs are maximally effective when occupying only a small fraction of the total surface area available. Thus, the concept of specific recognition sites or receptors in (or on) the membrane was introduced. With very little modification, this concept remains today as a cornerstone principle of the basic mechanisms of drug action. Even agents that do not act through “classical” receptor mechanisms (e.g., the anesthetics discussed herein) produce their pharmacological actions by modifying membrane function. It is becoming increasingly apparent that the actions of most (if not all) pharmacological agents involve modification of membrane functions either directly or indirectly. Thus, the actions of drugs on membrane functions can be considered a fundamental aspect of drug action important in virtually all areas of pharmacology.

Historical district is an important element of city image content. Among the visual elements of a... more Historical district is an important element of city image content. Among the visual elements of a historical district, the building facade is an important element in representing the architectural features. Building facade is mostly the matter of evaluation to portray the visual characteristics of an environment. Therefore, giving attention and imposing sensitivity to the evaluation of building facades in a historical district directly influence the historical images. A historical area adjacent to Dataran Merdeka, located in Kuala Lumpur city, was chosen as the study area. The issue is focussed on the lack of harmony among the shapes, colours, decorations, and architectural styles of the historical building facades which have influenced the historical images in the study area. This inconsistency is in contrast with the Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan 2020 visions, which emphasizes on creating strong images for all the districts in Kuala Lumpur city. Thus, to deal with the stated issue, the main objective of the study was to investigate the building facades which represented the historical images of the study area based on the public‘s evaluation. The second objective was to investigate the architectural elements and characteristics which influence the public’s evaluation of the historical images of the building facades in the study area. The third objective was to identify the visual elements which influence the historical images of the building facades in the study area based on the public’s evaluation. Finally, the research tried to explore the urban elements which influence the historical images of the building facades in the study area based on the public’s evaluation. A quantitative method was used to achieve the objectives of the study. In this line, a questionnaire-based survey was chosen as a data collection instrument. The research participants chosen were visitors who are familiar with the area, and willing to answer the questions. Data analysis was carried out using both the content analysis and inferential analysis. The results suggested that the facades, with the highest mean scores, were considered as strongly representing the historical images and these include harmonious arches, columns, pilasters, ornament, and bright-coloured materials. Cleanliness, the use of appropriately architectural details, legibility, coherence, and the harmonious repetition of the elements were identified as the other factors which also improved the historical images of the facades. Moreover, the results also denoted the architectural style, colour, shape and material of the facades as the architectural elements, and the harmony between historical and modern buildings and street furniture as urban elements which influenced the evaluations of the historical building facade images. The findings of the study assist urban designers and planners to consider the importance of people’s evaluation of historical building facades.

URBAN DESIGN International, 2014

People’s engagement with public open spaces is complex and affected by different factors. The imp... more People’s engagement with public open spaces is complex and affected by different factors. The importance of people’s needs differs according to their age groups. In this respect, what this article aims to unveil is the priority of needs in public open spaces across age groups. A self-administered questionnaire survey collected the opinions of 400 people aged 13 years and above using the time-interval sampling method. The results revealed that the strongest inverse relationship existed between age and social needs. This illustrated that old people are less likely to carry out social interaction with other groups or to explore public open spaces compared to younger people. In turn, old people are more concerned about their physical and environmental needs. Exploring the dichotomies between the needs of old and young people highlights the intergenerational conflicts that challenge urban designers and decision makers to ameliorate the design and management of future public open spaces.

URBAN DESIGN International, 2013

Inconsistencies among historical building facade elements potentially tarnish the image in a hist... more Inconsistencies among historical building facade elements potentially tarnish the image in a historical area. This study identifies visual elements and features of historical facades, such as shape, architectural style, colour and decoration that enhance the historical image of a region. In a time-interval random sampling questionnaire, 220 respondents aged 20–50 years and above were selected from passers-by who frequented the study area. The research zone chosen is located in a historical quarter of the Kuala Lumpur city centre, where the five best and worst historical facades were ranked by the public for further content analysis. According to analysis results, arches, pilasters, columns, ornaments and detailing represent historical components. Legibility, coherence and harmonious repetition of these elements are characteristics strongly projecting the image of historical facades. Conversely, inconsistent colours and non-standardized advertisement boards may spoil the historical appearance. The findings of the present study can assist urban designers and planners to consider the public’s evaluation of historical building facades for prospective conservation projects. Therefore, the results of this work are refined into a series of suggestions that provide insight regarding an improved historical representation of the study area for the future.