Training of Crisis Mappers and Map Production from Multi-sensor Data: Vernazza Case Study (Cinque Terre National Park, Italy)

This aim of paper is to presents the development of a multidisciplinary project carried out by the cooperation between Politecnico di Torino and ITHACA (Information Technology for Humanitarian Assistance, Cooperation and Action). The goal of the project was the training in geospatial data acquiring and processing for students attending Architecture and Engineering Courses, in order to start up a team of "volunteer mappers". Indeed, the project is aimed to document the environmental and built heritage subject to disaster; the purpose is to improve the capabilities of the actors involved in the activities connected in geospatial data collection, integration and sharing. The proposed area for testing the training activities is the Cinque Terre National Park, registered in the World Heritage List since 1997. The area was affected by flood on the 25th of October 2011. According to other international experiences, the group is expected to be active after emergencies in order to upgrade maps, using data acquired by typical geomatic methods and techniques such as terrestrial and aerial Lidar, close-range and aerial photogrammetry, topographic and GNSS instruments etc.; or by non conventional systems and instruments such us UAV, mobile mapping etc. The ultimate goal is to implement a WebGIS platform to share all the data collected with local authorities and the Civil Protectio

Coastal management and adaptation: an integrated data-driven approach

Coastal regions are some of the most exposed to environmental hazards, yet the coast is the preferred settlement site for a high percentage of the global population, and most major global cities are located on or near the coast. This research adopts a predominantly anthropocentric approach to the analysis of coastal risk and resilience. This centres on the pervasive hazards of coastal flooding and erosion. Coastal management decision-making practices are shown to be reliant on access to current and accurate information. However, constraints have been imposed on information flows between scientists, policy makers and practitioners, due to a lack of awareness and utilisation of available data sources. This research seeks to tackle this issue in evaluating how innovations in the use of data and analytics can be applied to further the application of science within decision-making processes related to coastal risk adaptation. In achieving this aim a range of research methodologies have been employed and the progression of topics covered mark a shift from themes of risk to resilience. The work focuses on a case study region of East Anglia, UK, benefiting from the input of a partner organisation, responsible for the region’s coasts: Coastal Partnership East. An initial review revealed how data can be utilised effectively within coastal decision-making practices, highlighting scope for application of advanced Big Data techniques to the analysis of coastal datasets. The process of risk evaluation has been examined in detail, and the range of possibilities afforded by open source coastal datasets were revealed. Subsequently, open source coastal terrain and bathymetric, point cloud datasets were identified for 14 sites within the case study area. These were then utilised within a practical application of a geomorphological change detection (GCD) method. This revealed how analysis of high spatial and temporal resolution point cloud data can accurately reveal and quantify physical coastal impacts. Additionally, the research reveals how data innovations can facilitate adaptation through insurance; more specifically how the use of empirical evidence in pricing of coastal flood insurance can result in both communication and distribution of risk. The various strands of knowledge generated throughout this study reveal how an extensive range of data types, sources, and advanced forms of analysis, can together allow coastal resilience assessments to be founded on empirical evidence. This research serves to demonstrate how the application of advanced data-driven analytical processes can reduce levels of uncertainty and subjectivity inherent within current coastal environmental management practices. Adoption of methods presented within this research could further the possibilities for sustainable and resilient management of the incredibly valuable environmental resource which is the coast

Food and Wine Value Chains: The Fearne Residency in the Adelaide Thinkers in Residence Program

Andrew Fearne, Professor of Food Marketing and Supply Chain Management and a Director of the dunnhumby Academy of Consumer Research at Kent University, UK, is a current Thinker in the Adelaide Thinkers in Residence (ATIR) program. Professor Fearne is the 14th person to undertake a Thinkers appointment. The residency theme, Food and Wine Value Chains: Prosperity through Collaboration, has provided a timely opportunity for partners, including wine companies, government agencies, universities, an industry association and a regional development board to review micro and macro strategies and policies from a value chain perspective. The residency was initiated to improve sustainable competitive advantage within South Australian food and wine value chains. Its timing has coincided with, and aligns with, community concern and national policy issues in grocery pricing, water policy, drought/climate change, health-wellbeing agendas, waste and food security; all converging and impacting on food and wine supply chains. The paper provides background about the Adelaide Thinkers in Residence program and partner objectives for the residency: it refers to other chain research involving Professor Fearne at dunnhumby and in Tasmania, where better insight to consumer behaviour is the basis for product and process adjustment, with the possibility of better outcomes for consumers and stakeholders; it outlines a major wine value chain analysis project in SA and identifies some main themes to emerge from this Thinker’s program. Professor Fearne will be reporting to the South Australian Government during 2009.value chain analysis, food and wine, planning and policy,

Recording, Documentation, and Information Management for the Conservation of Heritage Places: Guiding Principles

Provides guidance on integrating recording, documentation, and information management of territories, sites, groups of buildings, or monuments into the conservation process; evaluating proposals; consulting specialists; and controlling implementation

Design of Surveillance Technologies and Privacy Concerns

Researchers from numerous management, social sciences and psychological disciplines have attempted to investigate the phenomenon of surveillance and the way it influences privacy concerns among individuals. But no study has attempted to interpret the relationship between individuals’ perception of surveillance technologies and the way they react to surveillance and develop their privacy concerns. We conduct a review of 207 prominent IT journals within the Scopus databases to examine and interpret individuals’ perception of different designs of surveillance technologies (non-obtrusive vs. obtrusive) and how such technologies influence privacy concerns at individual, corporate and societal level. Our review suggests that both non-obtrusive (automatic) and obtrusive (self-input) surveillance are used at individual, corporate and societal level differentially. In the light of our findings, we identify research gaps, propose recommendations, and further opportunities for future research that will enrich academic discourse in IS and create value for corporate firms, government and policy makers

Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen Activity Report 2002.

Abstract not availableJRC.G-Institute for the Protection and the Security of the Citizen (Ispra

Construction industry 4.0 and sustainability: an enabling framework

Governments worldwide are taking actions to address the construction sector's sustainability concerns, including high carbon emissions, health and safety risks, low productivity, and increasing costs. Applying Industry 4.0 technologies to construction (also referred to as Construction 4.0) could address some of these concerns. However, current understanding about this is quite limited, with previous work being largely fragmented and limited both in terms of technologies as well as their interrelationships with the triple bottom line of sustainability perspectives. The focus of this article is therefore on addressing these gaps by proposing a comprehensive multi-dimensional Construction 4.0 sustainability framework that identifies and categorizes the key Construction 4.0 technologies and their positive and negative impacts on environmental, economic, and social sustainability, and then establishing its applicability/usefulness through an empirical, multimethodology case study assessment of the UAE's construction sector. The findings indicate Construction 4.0’s positive impacts on environmental and economic sustainability that far outweigh its negative effects, although these impacts are comparable with regards to social sustainability. On Construction 4.0 technologies itself, their application was found to be nonuniform with greater application seen for building information modeling and automation vis-à-vis others such as cyber-physical systems and smart materials, with significant growth expected in the future for blockchain- and three-dimensional-printing-related technologies. The proposed novel framework could enable the development of policy interventions and support mechanisms to increase Construction 4.0 deployment while addressing its negative sustainability-related impacts. The framework also has the potential to be adapted and applied to other country and sectoral contexts

NASA SBIR abstracts of 1991 phase 1 projects

The objectives of 301 projects placed under contract by the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are described. These projects were selected competitively from among proposals submitted to NASA in response to the 1991 SBIR Program Solicitation. The basic document consists of edited, non-proprietary abstracts of the winning proposals submitted by small businesses. The abstracts are presented under the 15 technical topics within which Phase 1 proposals were solicited. Each project was assigned a sequential identifying number from 001 to 301, in order of its appearance in the body of the report. Appendixes to provide additional information about the SBIR program and permit cross-reference of the 1991 Phase 1 projects by company name, location by state, principal investigator, NASA Field Center responsible for management of each project, and NASA contract number are included