bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Changes in ground deformation prior to and following a large urban landslide in La Paz, Bolivia, revealed by advanced InSAR
Authors: Roberts Nicholas J. , Rabus Bernhard T. , Clague John J. , Hermanns Reginald L. , Guzmán Marco-Antonio , Minaya Estela
Published: March 2019

Abstract. We characterize and compare creep preceding and following
the complex 2011 Pampahasi landslide (∼40 Mm3±50 %) in the city of La Paz, Bolivia, using spaceborne radar
interferometry (InSAR) that combines displacement records from both
distributed and point scatterers. The failure remobilized deposits of an
ancient complex landslide in weakly cemented, predominantly fine-grained
sediments and affected ∼1.5 km2 of suburban development.
During the 30 months preceding failure, about half of the toe area was
creeping at 3–8 cm a−1
and localized parts of the scarp area showed
displacements of up to 14 cm a−1. Changes in deformation in the 10 months
following the landslide demonstrate an increase in slope activity and
indicate that stress redistribution resulting from the discrete failure
decreased stability of parts of the slope. During that period, most of the
landslide toe and areas near the head scarp accelerated, respectively, to
4–14 and 14 cm a−1. The extent of deformation increased to cover most, or
probably all, of the 2011 landslide as well as adjacent parts of the slope
and plateau above. The InSAR-measured displacement patterns, supplemented by
field observations and optical satellite images, reveal complex slope
activity; kinematically complex, steady-state creep along pre-existing
sliding surfaces accelerated in response to heavy rainfall, after which
slightly faster and expanded steady creeping was re-established. This case
study demonstrates that high-quality ground-surface motion fields derived
using spaceborne InSAR can help to characterize creep mechanisms, quantify
spatial and temporal patterns of slope activity, and identify isolated
small-scale instabilities; such details are especially useful where
knowledge of landslide extent and activity is limited. Characterizing slope
activity before, during, and after the 2011 Pampahasi landslide is
particularly important for understanding landslide hazard in La Paz, half of
which is underlain by similar large paleolandslides.
Characterization of the South Atlantic Anomaly
Authors: Nasuddin Khairul Afifi , Abdullah Mardina , Abdul Hamid Nurul Shazana
Published: March 2019

Abstract. This research intends to
characterize the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) by applying the power spectrum
analysis approach. The motivation to study the SAA region is due to its
nature. A comparison was made between the stations in the SAA region and
outside the SAA region during the geomagnetic storm occurrence (active
period) and the normal period where no geomagnetic storm occurred. The
horizontal component of the data of the Earth's magnetic
field for the occurrence of the active
period was taken on 11 March 2011 while for the normal period it was taken on
3 February 2011. The data sample rate used is 1 min. The outcome of the
research revealed that the SAA region had a tendency to be persistent during
both periods. It can be said that the region experiences these
characteristics because of the Earth's magnetic field strength. Through the
research, it is found that as the Earth's magnetic field increases, it is
likely to show an antipersistent value. This is found in the high-latitude
region. The lower the Earth's magnetic field, the more it shows the
persistent value as in the middle latitude region. In the region where the
Earth's magnetic field is very low like the SAA region it shows a tendency to
be persistent.
Tidal resonance in the Gulf of Thailand
Authors: Cui Xinmei , Fang Guohong , Wu Di
Published: March 2019

Abstract. The Gulf of Thailand is dominated by diurnal tides, which might be taken to
indicate that the resonant frequency of the gulf is close to one cycle per
day. However, when applied to the gulf, the classic quarter-wavelength
resonance theory fails to yield a diurnal resonant frequency. In this study,
we first perform a series of numerical experiments showing that the gulf has
a strong response near one cycle per day and that the resonance of the South
China Sea main area has a critical impact on the resonance of the gulf. In
contrast, the Gulf of Thailand has little influence on the resonance of the
South China Sea main area. An idealized two-channel model that can reasonably
explain the dynamics of the resonance affecting the Gulf of Thailand is then
established in this study. We find that the resonant frequency around one
cycle per day in the main area of the South China Sea can be explained with
the quarter-wavelength resonance theory, and the large-amplitude response at
this frequency in the Gulf of Thailand is basically a passive response of the
gulf to the increased amplitude of the wave in the southern portion of the
main area of the South China Sea.
Nigerian Refugees in Cameroon: Understanding the Politics of Voluntary Refugee Repatriation
Authors: Iduma Ugo Igariwey , Musa Musa Yahi
Published: March 2019

The paper observes that the inability of the Nigerian government to defeat Boko Haram has created a stream of problems for Cameroon as the paper identifies some Boko Haram activities in Cameroon is prompting a premature repatriation of Nigerian refugees by the Cameroonian government. According to the National Emergency Agency reports in 2015 the Cameroonian government forcefully repatriated 3.500 Nigerian refugees, the report added that the refugees were not informed of their return and were transported like animals, and dropped at home in cruel conditions. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (2004) explains that the premature repatriation of Nigerian refugee is a violation of the principle of non-refoulement as the condition in the North East is not conducive for the repatriation of Nigerian refugees. Thus, a tripartite agreement was reached between Nigeria, Cameroon, and UNHCR to ensure the safety and legality of the return of Nigerian refugees. The paper investigates the efforts of the Nigerian government towards the proper repatriation and reintegration of the refugees in safety and dignity. Using secondary data, the paper concluded that repatriation of the Nigerian refugees intended to address the humanitarian needs of the refugees is rather serving the political interest of various actor. The paper recommends a sustainable reintegration framework be established for the returnees.
Collaborating on Data, Science, and Infrastructure: The 20-Year Journey of the
Cancer Research Network
Authors: Doria-Rose V. Paul , Greenlee Robert T. , Buist Diana S. M. , Miglioretti Diana L. , Corley Douglas A. , Brown Jeffrey S. , Clancy Heather A. , Tuzzio Leah , Moy Lisa M. , Hornbrook Mark C. , Brown Martin L. , Ritzwoller Debra P. , Kushi Lawrence H. , Greene Sarah M.
Published: March 2019

The Cancer Research Network (CRN) is a consortium of 12 research groups, each
affiliated with a nonprofit integrated health care delivery system, that was first
funded in 1998. The overall goal of the CRN is to support and facilitate collaborative
cancer research within its component delivery systems. This paper describes the CRN’s
20-year experience and evolution. The network combined its members’ scientific
capabilities and data resources to create an infrastructure that has ultimately
supported over 275 projects. Insights about the strengths and limitations of electronic
health data for research, approaches to optimizing multidisciplinary collaboration, and
the role of a health services research infrastructure to complement traditional clinical
trials and large observational datasets are described, along with recommendations for
other research consortia.
Notificação compulsória: HIV/aids e o papel do cirurgião-dentista
Authors: Rodrigues Ana Iza Saraiva , Trezena Samuel , Coelho Pinto Mania De Quadros , Barbosa Júnior Edwaldo De Souza
Published: March 2019

Introdução: a partir dos anos 1980, a epidemia de HIV/aids tornou-se um dos maiores problemas de saúdepública mundial e, mesmo que a qualidade de vida dos indivíduos que vivem com esta condição tenha melhorado nos anos 1990, pelo uso da terapia antirretroviral, ainda ocorre uma alta taxa de infecção pelo vírus. Objetivo: informar sobre a notificação compulsória de indivíduos que vivem com HIV/aids, assim como a relevância de alertar os profissionais de saúde quanto à sua importância em tal função. Materiais e método: a busca de artigos foi realizada em três plataformas internacionais e nacionais de dados (PubMed, SciELO e Lilacs), usando descritores do DeSC e MeSH. Devido à quase ausência de artigos pertinentes ao assunto, também foram consultados sites, boletins epidemiológicos, cadernos e guias publicados pelo Ministério da Saúde, assim como leis e portarias de acesso on-line e o Código de Ética Odontológico. Resultados: seguindo critérios de exclusão, dez trabalhos foram selecionados para centralização e discussão do assunto abordado. É obrigatório que profissionais de saúde, no território nacional, comuniquem às autoridades sobre novas ocorrências de infecção pelo HIV/aids. É escassa a literatura atual sobre o assunto, principalmente envolvendo cirurgiões-dentistas. Conclusão: a notificação compulsória realizada por outros profissionais é diferente da preconizada, visto que casos são subnotificados e, muitas vezes, outros profissionais de saúde não se encontram preparados para tal execução ou até mesmo desconhecem a função que devem realizar.
Análisis socioeconómico del Almendro (Dipteryx oleífera Benth) en el territorio indígena Rama Kriol: Tiktik Kaanu
Authors: González-Aleman Néstor , Mairena-Valdivia Daniel Álvaro , Soza-Forbes Tyron , Castro-Jo Vida Luz
Published: March 2019

Durante el año 2007 y 2008 se trabajó en el Centro de Transferencia Agroforestal (CeTAF), evaluando el potencial económico del almendro (Dipteryx oleífera), tomando en cuenta las formas de aprovechamiento: beneficios de la semilla (forma tradicional) y los beneficios de la corteza (madera y carbón). Se realizó un análisis beneficio-costo (ABC) a las formas aprovechables proyectado a 30 años, con inversión y sin inversión. Los resultados obtenidos en el ABC con inversión y sin inversión; aprovechando la madera: una TIR (tasa interna de retorno) de 15% y 40%, VAN (valor actual neto) de 292 C$ y 6763 C$ y la RBC (relación beneficio-costo) fue de 1,04 C$ y de 9,57 C$ respectivamente. Aprovechando el carbón se obtiene una TIR de 13% y 34%, el VAN de -2049 C$ y 2156 C$ y la RBC de 0,69 C$ y 20,77 C$. Finalmente aprovechando la semilla se obtiene una TIR de 11% y 46%, un VAN de -3635 C$ y 2940 C$ en tanto la RBC es de 0,45 C$ y 37,5 C$. El análisis socio ambiental se definió a través de los PSA (pagos por servicios ambientales). Los bienes y servicios ambientales identificados en el CeTAF resultaron difícil de contabilizar económicamente.
INTERSPECIFIC INTERACTIONS OF TREES WITH THE REGENERATION OF Ocotea odorifera (Vell.) Rohwer IN MIXED OMBROPHYLOUS FOREST
Authors: Dalmaso Cilmar Antônio , Inoue Mario Takao , Marcelino Vânia Rossetto , Oliveira Filho Paulo Costa de , Nascimento André R. Terra , Cysneiros Vinicius Costa
Published: March 2019

This paper has the purpose to describe spatial interactions among predominant community tree species and seedlings and juveniles of Ocotea odorifera. The raised hypothesis is that some stablished species might attract or repulse Ocotea odorifera seedlings and juveniles in certain distances due to competition, allelopathy, resources sharing or other forms of mutualism or ecological processes. For acquiring spatial data and for floristic and structural characterization we used three nearby sampling units in the same Mixed Ombrophylous Forest (Araucaria Forest) patch. Each plot has 100 x 100 meters. We used the O-ring function (O12), a null model for heterogeneous data, to the bivariate analysis and a test for the spatial independence hypothesis. All tested species presented a significant pattern, indicating that spatial interactions are frequent amongst mature and juvenile plants. Positive and negative interactions occurred in several scales and species. Although the significances were predominant in intervals up to 10 meters, where the negative interactions (repulsion or inhibition) were more frequent. For Araucaria angustifolia, a species that stood out in the community’s horizontal structure, the negative interaction was present up to three meters. We found positive interactions in intervals from six to ten meters. The results showed strong inhibition of seedlings and juveniles by the same family species, suggesting that influences from negative spatial interaction, mainly from parental and with dominant community’s species, may contribute to the processes and generating mechanisms of Ocotea odorifera spatial distribution in local scale.
SAMPLING OF CHEMICAL ATTRIBUTES IN FOREST SOILS
Authors: Lafetá Bruno Oliveira , Penido Tamires Mousslech Andrade , Martins Nivaldo De Souza , Oliveira Márcio Leles Romarco de , Mucida Danielle Piuzana , Santana Reynaldo Campos
Published: March 2019

Information about sample adequacy that represents soil chemical attributes distribution are fundamental for a better rationalization of the use of correctives and fertilizers. The objective was to evaluate the variability of these attributes and to size the minimum number of composite samples to represent the fertility of forest soils. The total area planted was 9,101ha, constituted of 265 commercial eucalypt stands. The 687 soil composite samples obtained were for chemical analysis. It was evaluated the performance of two exploratory analysis techniques and six sampling procedures. The attributes P, K, Ca, Mg and S presented higher coefficient of variation (>35%). In contrast, the distributions of Al, organic matter and, mainly, pH were the most homogeneous. The sample error was smaller as the amount of composite samples increased. The representative of all chemical attributes (sample error of 5%) was achieved with a minimum of 309 (one each 29ha, 1:29) and 295 (1:31) composite samples from sampling procedures simple casual and stratified by altitude class, respectively. Both procedures were promising for soil sampling, especially, when applying the boxplot for identification and removal of outliers.
Risk factors associated with peristomal skin complications: Integrative literature review
Authors: John Blessy , Kim Mi-Yeon , Forgrave Daniel
Published: March 2019

Surgical intervention of colorectal cancer often includes formation of ostomy. Irrespective of the type of stoma, many ostomy patients suffer from peristomal skin complications. Identifying risk factors related to peristomal skin complications is one of the crucial factors in maintaining peristomal skin health. The purpose of this integrative review is to identify the risk factors associated with the development of peristomal skin complications. Whittmore and Knafl’s (2005) framework for integrative literature review guided this study. The results of this systematic literature review showed risk factors for developing peristomal skin complications are multidimensional. Leakage of stoma output, type and structure of stoma, stoma site marking and nature of surgery, ostomy education, ostomy appliances, mechanical trauma, and demographic factors are the most commonly identified risk factors in the development of peristomal skin complications. The development of peristomal skin complications is closely associated with skin contact with ostomy effluent. In all settings ostomy patients requires specialized care and management to prevent development of peristomal skin complications and promote quality of life. The findings of this focused study suggest that prevention and early identification of risk factors related to peristomal skin complications are very important.
Employee Quality Performance, Customer Orientation and Loyalty: Antecedent and Outcome of Customer Satisfaction
Authors: Riva Farzana , Tunna Nawshin Tabassum , Rubel Mohammad Rabiul Basher
Published: March 2019

The objective of the current study is to assess the influence of employee quality performance, customer orientation as the antecedents of customer satisfaction and customer loyalty is the outcome of customer satisfaction of restaurant customer in the context of Bangladesh. The anticipated model aims to enhance the understanding of the influence of employee quality performance, customer orientation on customer satisfaction and consequential effect of customer satisfaction on customer loyalty. 295 customers were assessed with a self-administered questionnaire incorporating purposive judgmental sampling that is a non-probability sampling technique. A second-generation data analysis technique-structural equation modeling partial least square (SEM-PLS) was used to analyze the data and to test the hypothesized relationship. The result of the analysis showed a significant positive influence of employee quality performance and customer orientation on customer satisfaction. Moreover, customer satisfaction has been found having a significant positive relationship with customer loyalty. The study can help the management of the restaurants to realize the significance of employee quality performance and customer orientation on customer satisfaction as well as customer satisfaction on loyalty.
Job Satisfaction, Motivation and Commitment to Change of Stated Owned Enterprises Ministry Employee of Indonesia
Authors: Nugraheni Umi Gita , Hermawan Aji , Kuswanto Sadikin
Published: March 2019

The State-Owned Enterprises Ministry as one of the Government agencies has a strategic role as a builder of State-Owned Enterprises to change the form of organizational bureaucracy and transformation to be a superholding company. This study focused on the influence of internal factors namely employee motivation and job satisfaction toward the commitment to change of State-Owned Enterprises Ministry employee.

This study aimed to find out whether the motivation and job satisfaction affect the commitment to change, as well as provide strategies to increase commitment to succeed employee’s change toward the organizational changes. Data were collected using a stratified random sampling of 177 State-Owned Enterprises Ministry employees by spreading questionnaire, in-depth interviews with management, and focus group discussion (FGD) with the representatives of the employees from each division.

The results indicated that motivation significantly associated with job satisfaction and Job Satisfaction is associated with the higher level of employees commitment to Change, but motivation was not associated with commitment to change. Qualitatively, it was more due to the change of commitment form among employees of the Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises, in General, it is a normative commitment and the commitment of the continuance, where employees feel obligated to support organizational change, not to take the effective role to make changes to the organization. Cross-validation result indicated that the final full SEM was valid and reliable.
Early Childhood Educators’ Perceptions of Dyslexia and Ability to Identify Students At-Risk
Authors: Gonzalez Michelle , Brown Tammy B. H.
Published: March 2019

This study primarily explored the perceptions of dyslexia held by early childhood educators teaching in Head Start centers. A secondary purpose was to investigate how early childhood educators in Head Start centers perceive the notion of risk for dyslexia and how they identify at-risk students in ways that are consist with the results of a research-based assessment instrument. A case study approach was used for this study of two Head Start centers, one in the state of New Jersey and one in the state of Pennsylvania. Two teachers in each center (n = 4) and a total of 19 preschoolers participated in the study. Data were gathered using semi-structured interviews, observations, a teacher rating scale, and the Preschool Early Literacy Indicator (PELI) assessment. Findings indicate that the Head Start teachers held the prevailing misconception that dyslexia is a visual processing disorder rather than a phonological processing disorder. The Head Start teachers did not view phonemic awareness as a key factor in identifying children at-risk for dyslexia. Participants had a high success rate in identifying students at-risk in the areas of alphabet knowledge and oral language, but not in phonemic awareness and vocabulary. The results suggest that the stereotypes of dyslexia are hard to dispel and that professional development for pre-service and in-service teachers in early literacy practices and dyslexia are needed.
Establishing a Legislative Scrutiny Framework
Authors: Hasson Victoria
Published: March 2019

Establishing a Legislative Scrutiny Framework: The Case of Delegated Legislation in the Parliament of South Africa

There is one indispensable contravention to the principle of separation of powers: parliaments must grant the executive the authority to make law in a delegated capacity. No modern state can be effectively governed without the executive making laws to supplement Acts of parliament. Delegating power does not mean that parliament loses its power. For parliament to retain its legislative authority what is required is a framework to support parliament to review the laws (and powers) that are being delegated, and that it has the capacity to monitor and regulate the use of that power by the Executive. At the start of South Africa’s new democracy in 1994, parliament had the opportunity to create a framework for effective delegated law-making. Yet the parliament took almost 10 years to develop its approach and a further 6 years to have this framework approved. Since then, the application of parliament’s scrutiny framework is challenged by a lack of political will that makes it difficult for this oversight to take place effectively, and a permanent, powerful mechanism to be agreed upon. A close look into how South Africa’s post-1994 delegated framework was developed offers insight into the challenges of developing parliamentary rules, practices and procedures in the context of a new representative democracy with significant developmental challenges. As parliament’s legislative supremacy is at stake, these insights are of vital importance to our consideration of how to strengthen the position, place and performance of parliaments as democracy assistance professionals, academics, MPs and parliamentary staff.
Vrijwillige rechtspraak: rechters op het mediationpad?
Authors: Allewijn Dick
Published: March 2019

Voluntary justice: Judges on the mediation path?

A characteristic difference between administration of justice and mediation so far was the element of voluntariness on the side of the clients. Administration of justice however is, for the citizen who is brought before the courts, not voluntary. Recently pilots have been started in which citizens can turn voluntarily to the Court at low cost, and not far from their neighborhood. Judges will not primarily aim at making a decision in accordance with the law, but at finding friendly solutions. Does this mean that judges are going to mediate? And if so, how should this be appreciated? In this contribution attention is paid to certain aspects of this question. It is argued that differences between jurisdiction and mediation still remain. More than mediators judges must act within the legal framework. The extent to which they can engage in the emotional undercurrent of conflicts is limited. Confidence in the Court is from a different origin than trust in the mediator, and that also makes a difference. And finally, a judge is competent to make a binding judgment, which influences the way he or she is looked at by the parties.
De best mogelijke rechtspraak
Authors: Barendrecht Maurits
Published: March 2019

The best legal system possible

This article outlines the need in the Netherlands for socially effective justice that better resolves citizens’ problems. The author argues that new forms of dispute resolution should be integrated in the justice system. The author first describes various types of innovations. Then he outlines the obstacles to innovations. A major obstacle is that many stakeholders in the existing legal system are simultaneously the gatekeepers for the admission of innovations. It is necessary to create an infrastructure that welcomes, reinforces, tests, finances and imports new treatments for legal problems.
The use of electroencephalography as a future-oriented brain-computer interface. Current concepts, solutions, technologies that allow communication through thoughts
Authors: Sosnowski Karol
Published: March 2019

Nowadays, brain-computer interfaces are gaining more and more popularity. Research centers develop new methods of human communication with devices through thoughts. There are many methods used for this kind of interfaces, however, the most widespread is electroencephalography (EEG). There are many reasons for this fact, it is a method that is relatively cheap compared to other methods. Less complex technical tools and apparatus are required to operate it. Another advantage of this method, unlike others, is its non-invasiveness. Unfortunately, current brain-computer interfaces do not offer high data rates. However, time plays a smaller role when we are dealing with a disabled person who regains the ability to communicate with the world through the interface controlled by thoughts. This paper is the beginning of a series of papers in which
the author will describe in detail the elements of brain-computer interfaces, as well as improvements that can be applied to them to improve their properties.
Análise exploratória sobre a abertura de dados educacionais no Brasil: como melhorar o ecossistema de dados na Web?
Authors: Penteado Bruno Elias , Bittencourt Ig Ibert , Isotani Seiji
Published: March 2019

Os dados abertos educacionais trazem informações importantes sobre o cenário educacional de um país. Sua publicação traz impactos tanto em transparência quanto no aumento do potencial econômico para a sociedade como um todo por meio da gestão da aprendizagem e da tomada de decisão baseada em evidências. A Web traz muitas funcionalidades que podem estender esse potencial e, para isso, o W3C - organização responsável pelas padronizações na Web - criou a recomendação DWBP (Data on the Web Best Practices), para a produção de dados abertos que tirem proveito da arquitetura da Web. Contudo, até o momento não foram encontradas pesquisas que avaliem os dados de acordo com esse referencial. Assim, neste trabalho aplicamos um estudo de caso múltiplo, com a técnica de casos diversos considerando diferentes categorias de dados educacionais, analisando as práticas da DWBP. Como resultado, notamos poucas práticas plenamente atendidas atualmente e muitas práticas atendidas parcialmente. Isso ocorre, pois as informações disponibilizadas são de fácil acesso para o consumo humano, mas não para o processamento automático por agentes de software, inviabilizando a análise automática e contínua dos dados disponibilizados. Ao final, discutimos a adequação à recomendação, as possibilidades de intervenções tanto para a produção dos dados quanto para os portais que os hospedam e outras características percebidas durante a análise.
bASES21 - Um Modelo para a Autoavaliação de Habilidades do Século XXI no Contexto do Ensino de Computação na Educação Básica
Authors: Mioto Fernanda , Petri Giani , Gresse von Wangenheim Christiane , Borgatto Adriano F. , Pacheco Lúcia H. M.
Published: March 2019

Na sociedade do conhecimento, na qual vivemos atualmente, saber interpretar, buscar, comunicar e compartilhar novas informações são habilidades chaves para um cidadão bem sucedido. Estas habilidades, conhecidas como habilidades do século XXI, incluem pensamento crítico, trabalho em equipe, comunicação, entre outras. Atualmente, existem diversas propostas de como integrar o aprendizado dessas habilidades na educação básica, inclusive por meio do ensino da computação. No entanto, partindo da hipótese de que o ensino da computação pode contribuir para o aprendizado de habilidades do século XXI, existem poucas evidências sistematicamente coletadas para confirmar esta afirmação. Uma razão para essa ausência é a carência de modelos de avaliação de habilidades do século XXI. Assim, o objetivo deste trabalho é desenvolver e avaliar um modelo para a avaliação das habilidades do século XXI no contexto do ensino da computação na educação básica. Com base nos resultados de um mapeamento da literatura, o modelo bASES21 é sistematicamente desenvolvido assim como o seu instrumento de medição, um questionário de autoavaliação. Uma avaliação inicial em termos de confiabilidade e validade do instrumento de medição, com base em 148 respostas de estudantes da educação básica, indica uma alta confiabilidade interna (alfa de Cronbach = 0,958). Os resultados, quanto a validade do instrumento, foram inconclusivos. Mesmo algumas habilidades demonstrando correlação interna, identificou-se como oportunidade de melhoria uma possível reclassificação dos itens com base em uma análise mais detalhada com uma amostra maior. Assim, o modelo bASES21 representa um primeiro passo suportando a avaliação de habilidades do século XXI, visando a melhoria sistemática do ensino da computação na educação básica.
“Idrogeologia dell’alto bacino del Liri” (1969): Bruno Accordi e la nuova scuola geologica romana
Authors: Argentieri Alessio , De Caterini Giovanni , Italiana Società Geologica
Published: March 2019

Il 21 Luglio del 1969 la missione spaziale NASA “Apollo 11” portava a compimento una sfida straordinaria, lanciata molti anni prima dal Presidente degli Stati Uniti d’America John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Due astronauti di nazionalità americana, il Comandante Neil Armstrong e il pilota del LEM Buzz Aldrin, sarebbero arrivati a camminare sulla Luna, per ritornare poi sani e salvi sul Pianeta Terra assieme al terzo membro dell’equipaggio [...].
Monitoring and management of coastal aquifers
Authors: Masetti Marco , Yoon Heesung
Published: March 2019

This Special Thematic Issue of Italian Journal of Groundwater (Acque Sotterranee) is a collection of contributions from Authors and Participants to the South Korea-Italy bilateral special session “Monitoring and management of coastal aquifers” within the 45th IAH International Congress of September 2018 [...].
Em busca da igualdade: percepção de justiça e divisão do trabalho doméstico – mudanças e continuidades
Authors: Amâncio Lígia , Correia Rita B.
Published: March 2019

Tendo por objetivo identificar eventuais mudanças no tempo dedicado ao trabalho doméstico por homens e mulheres, no período de 12 anos, este artigo analisa as horas gastas por homens e mulheres no trabalho doméstico e a sua perceção da justiça dessa distribuição, através da comparação dos dados obtidos nos inquéritos do ISSP (International Social Survey Programme) sobre família e género de 2002 e 2012 (2014 em Portugal). Esta análise é precedida por uma revisão da investigação recente, em Portugal, integrando a divisão do trabalho doméstico nas várias dimensões que estruturam as relações de género, de modo a contribuir para um diagnóstico da extensão e qualidade da igualdade de género. Concluímos que, apesar das grandes transformações sociais das últimas décadas, a persistência de uma ideologia de género tradicional impõe limites à modernização da sociedade portuguesa.
Power Density
Authors: Smil Vaclav
Published: March 2019

The first systematic, quantitative appraisal of power density, offering detailed reviews of power densities of renewable energy flows, fossil fuels, and all common energy uses.

“There's no author whose books I look forward to more than Vaclav Smil.”

—Bill Gates

In this book, Vaclav Smil argues that power density is a key determinant of the nature and dynamics of energy systems. Any understanding of complex energy systems must rely on quantitative measures of many fundamental variables. Power density—the rate of energy flux per unit of area—is an important but largely overlooked measure. Smil provides the first systematic, quantitative appraisal of power density, offering detailed reviews of the power densities of renewable energy flows, fossil fuels, thermal electricity generation, and all common energy uses.

Smil shows that careful quantification, critical appraisals, and revealing comparisons of power densities make possible a deeper understanding of the ways we harness, convert, and use energies. Conscientious assessment of power densities, he argues, proves particularly revealing when contrasting the fossil fuel–based energy system with renewable energy conversions.

Smil explains that modern civilization has evolved as a direct expression of the high power densities of fossil fuel extraction. He argues that our inevitable (and desirable) move to new energy arrangements involving conversions of lower-density renewable energy sources will require our society—currently dominated by megacities and concentrated industrial production—to undergo a profound spatial restructuring of its energy system.
Ultrawideband Phased Array Antenna Technology for Sensing and Communications Systems
Authors: Fenn Alan J. , Hurst Peter T.
Published: March 2019

Practical ultrawideband phased array technology used in airborne and ground-based systems applications.

Ultrawideband phased array antennas are an enabling technology for many ground-based and airborne communications and radar systems. This book surveys electromagnetic theory and phased array antenna theory and provides examples of ultrawideband phased array antenna technology. It describes some of the research on ultrawideband phased arrays undertaken by the authors and their colleagues at MIT Lincoln Laboratory over the last ten years. The book focuses on experimental prototype ultrawideband phased array technology developed at Lincoln Laboratory for applications in the VHF and UHF bands from approximately 100 MHz to 1 GHz, and addresses dipole, monopole, loop, and other antenna array elements. It offers examples of antennas for both airborne and ground vehicle applications. Most of the examples are developed in the context of rapid prototyping for quick assessment of communications and radar systems feasibility, with measurements and numerical electromagnetic simulation results provided for many prototype examples.

The book is intended primarily for practicing antenna engineers, radar engineers, and communications engineers, and for graduate students and researchers in electrical engineering. Readers need no prior knowledge of ultrawideband antennas, although some background in electromagnetic theory, antennas, radar, and communications would be helpful.
Order without Design
Authors: Bertaud Alain
Published: March 2019

An argument that operational urban planning can be improved by the application of the tools of urban economics to the design of regulations and infrastructure.

Urban planning is a craft learned through practice. Planners make rapid decisions that have an immediate impact on the ground—the width of streets, the minimum size of land parcels, the heights of buildings. The language they use to describe their objectives is qualitative—“sustainable,” “livable,” “resilient”—often with no link to measurable outcomes. Urban economics, on the other hand, is a quantitative science, based on theories, models, and empirical evidence largely developed in academic settings. In this book, the eminent urban planner Alain Bertaud argues that applying the theories of urban economics to the practice of urban planning would greatly improve both the productivity of cities and the welfare of urban citizens.

Bertaud explains that markets provide the indispensable mechanism for cities' development. He cites the experience of cities without markets for land or labor in pre-reform China and Russia; this “urban planners' dream” created inefficiencies and waste. Drawing on five decades of urban planning experience in forty cities around the world, Bertaud links cities' productivity to the size of their labor markets; argues that the design of infrastructure and markets can complement each other; examines the spatial distribution of land prices and densities; stresses the importance of mobility and affordability; and critiques the land use regulations in a number of cities that aim at redesigning existing cities instead of just trying to alleviate clear negative externalities. Bertaud concludes by describing the new role that joint teams of urban planners and economists could play to improve the way cities are managed.
Weather as Medium
Authors: Randerson Janine
Published: March 2019

An exploration of artworks that use weather or atmosphere as the primary medium, creating new coalitions of collective engagement with the climate crisis.

In a time of climate crisis, a growing number of artists use weather or atmosphere as an artistic medium, collaborating with scientists, local communities, and climate activists. Their work mediates scientific modes of knowing and experiential knowledge of weather, probing collective anxieties and raising urgent ecological questions, oscillating between the “big picture systems view” and a ground-based perspective. In this book, Janine Randerson explores a series of meteorological art projects from the 1960s to the present that draw on sources ranging from dynamic, technological, and physical systems to indigenous cosmology.

Randerson finds a precursor to today's meteorological art in 1960s artworks that were weather-driven and infused with the new sciences of chaos and indeterminacy, and she examines work from this period by artists including Hans Haacke, Fujiko Nakaya, and Aotearoa-New Zealand kinetic sculptor Len Lye. She looks at live experiences of weather in art, in particular Fluxus performance and contemporary art that makes use of meteorological data streams and software. She describes the use of meteorological instruments, including remote satellite sensors, to create affective atmospheres; online projects and participatory performances that create a new form of “social meteorology”; works that respond directly to climate change, many from the Global South; artist-activists who engage with the earth's diminishing cryosphere; and a speculative art in the form of quasi-scientific experiments. Art's current eddies of activity around the weather, Randerson writes, perturb the scientific hold on facts and offer questions of value in their place.
Linguistic Bodies
Authors: Di Paolo Ezequiel A. , Cuffari Elena Clare , De Jaegher Hanne
Published: March 2019

A novel theoretical framework for an embodied, non-representational approach to language that extends and deepens enactive theory, bridging the gap between sensorimotor skills and language.

Linguistic Bodies offers a fully embodied and fully social treatment of human language without positing mental representations. The authors present the first coherent, overarching theory that connects dynamical explanations of action and perception with language. Arguing from the assumption of a deep continuity between life and mind, they show that this continuity extends to language. Expanding and deepening enactive theory, they offer a constitutive account of language and the co-emergent phenomena of personhood, reflexivity, social normativity, and ideality. Language, they argue, is not something we add to a range of existing cognitive capacities but a new way of being embodied. Each of us is a linguistic body in a community of other linguistic bodies.

The book describes three distinct yet entangled kinds of human embodiment, organic, sensorimotor, and intersubjective; it traces the emergence of linguistic sensitivities and introduces the novel concept of linguistic bodies; and it explores the implications of living as linguistic bodies in perpetual becoming, applying the concept of linguistic bodies to questions of language acquisition, parenting, autism, grammar, symbol, narrative, and gesture, and to such ethical concerns as microaggression, institutional speech, and pedagogy.
A Billion Little Pieces
Authors: Frith Jordan
Published: March 2019

How RFID, a ubiquitous but often invisible mobile technology, identifies tens of billions of objects as they move through the world.

RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) is ubiquitous but often invisible, a mobile technology used by more people more often than any flashy smartphone app. RFID systems use radio waves to communicate identifying information, transmitting data from a tag that carries data to a reader that accesses the data. RFID tags can be found in credit cards, passports, key fobs, car windshields, subway passes, consumer electronics, tunnel walls, and even human and animal bodies—identifying tens of billions of objects as they move through the world. In this book, Jordan Frith looks at RFID technology and its social impact, bringing into focus a technology that was designed not to be noticed.

RFID, with its ability to collect unique information about almost any material object, has been hyped as the most important identification technology since the bar code, the linchpin of the Internet of Things—and also seen (by some evangelical Christians) as a harbinger of the end times. Frith views RFID as an infrastructure of identification that simultaneously functions as an infrastructure of communication. He uses RFID to examine such larger issues as big data, privacy, and surveillance, giving specificity to debates about societal trends.

Frith describes how RFID can monitor hand washing in hospitals, change supply chain logistics, communicate wine vintages, and identify rescued pets. He offers an accessible explanation of the technology, looks at privacy concerns, and pushes back against alarmist accounts that exaggerate RFID's capabilities. The increasingly granular practices of identification enabled by RFID and other identification technologies, Frith argues, have become essential to the working of contemporary networks, reshaping the ways we use information.
Transit-Oriented Displacement or Community Dividends?
Authors: Chapple Karen , Loukaitou-Sideris Anastasia
Published: March 2019

An examination of the neighborhood transformation, gentrification, and displacement that accompany more compact development around transit.

Cities and regions throughout the world are encouraging smarter growth patterns and expanding their transit systems to accommodate this growth, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and satisfy new demands for mobility and accessibility. Yet despite a burgeoning literature and various policy interventions in recent decades, we still understand little about what happens to neighborhoods and residents with the development of transit systems and the trend toward more compact cities. Research has failed to determine why some neighborhoods change both physically and socially while others do not, and how race and class shape change in the twenty-first-century context of growing inequality.

Drawing on novel methodological approaches, this book sheds new light on the question of who benefits and who loses from more compact development around new transit stations. Building on data at multiple levels, it connects quantitative analysis on regional patterns with qualitative research through interviews, field observations, and photographic documentation in twelve different California neighborhoods. From the local to the regional to the global, Chapple and Loukaitou-Sideris examine the phenomena of neighborhood transformation, gentrification, and displacement not only through an empirical lens but also from theoretical and historical perspectives.

Growing out of an in-depth research process that involved close collaboration with dozens of community groups, the book aims to respond to the needs of both advocates and policymakers for ideas that work in the trenches.

The open access edition of this book was made possible by generous funding from the MIT Libraries.
Spontaneous Venturing
Authors: Shepherd Dean A. , Williams Trenton A.
Published: March 2019

Identifying a new approach to disaster response: spontaneous, compassionate, and impromptu actions to alleviate suffering.

In Spontaneous Venturing, Dean Shepherd and Trenton Williams identify and describe a new approach for responding to disaster and suffering: the local organizing of spontaneous, compassionate, and impromptu actions—the rapid emergence of a compassionate venture. This approach, termed by the authors “spontaneous venturing,” can be more effective than the traditional “command-and-control” methods of large disaster relief organizations. It can customize and target resources and deliver them quickly, helping victims almost immediately. For example, during the catastrophic 2009 bushfires in Victoria, Australia—the focal disaster for the book—residents organized an impromptu relief center that collected and distributed urgently needed goods without red tape. Special bonds and friendships formed among the volunteers and victims; some were both volunteer and victim. Many victims were able to mobilize resources despite considerable personal losses.

Shepherd and Williams describe the lasting impact of disaster and tell the stories of Victoria residents who organized in the aftermath of the bushfires. They consider the limitations of traditional disaster relief efforts and explain that when victims take action to help others, they develop behavioral, emotional, and assumptive resilience; venturing leads to social interaction, community connections, and other positive outcomes. Finally, they explore spontaneous venturing in a less-developed country, investigating the activities of Haitians after the devastating 2010 earthquake. The lesson for communities hit by disaster: find opportunities for compassionate action.
Designing with the Body
Authors: Höök Kristina
Published: March 2019

Interaction design that entails a qualitative shift from a symbolic, language-oriented stance to an experiential stance that encompasses the entire design and use cycle.

With the rise of ubiquitous technology, data-driven design, and the Internet of Things, our interactions and interfaces with technology are about to change dramatically, incorporating such emerging technologies as shape-changing interfaces, wearables, and movement-tracking apps. A successful interactive tool will allow the user to engage in a smooth, embodied, interaction, creating an intimate correspondence between users' actions and system response. And yet, as Kristina Höök points out, current design methods emphasize symbolic, language-oriented, and predominantly visual interactions. In Designing with the Body, Höök proposes a qualitative shift in interaction design to an experiential, felt, aesthetic stance that encompasses the entire design and use cycle.

Höök calls this new approach soma design; it is a process that reincorporates body and movement into a design regime that has long privileged language and logic. Soma design offers an alternative to the aggressive, rapid design processes that dominate commercial interaction design; it allows (and requires) a slow, thoughtful process that takes into account fundamental human values. She argues that this new approach will yield better products and create healthier, more sustainable companies.

Höök outlines the theory underlying soma design and describes motivations, methods, and tools. She offers examples of soma design “encounters” and an account of her own design process. She concludes with “A Soma Design Manifesto,” which challenges interaction designers to “restart” their field—to focus on bodies and perception rather than reasoning and intellect.