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

I Am a Camera: Scrutinizing the Assumption that Cameras in the Courtroom Furnish Public Value by Operating as a Proxy for the Public

The United States Supreme Court has held that the public has a constitutional right of access to criminal trials and other proceedings, in large part because attendance at these events furnishes a number of public values. The Court has suggested that the press operates as a proxy for the public in vindicating this open court guarantee. That is, the Court has implied that any value that results from general public attendance at trials is replicated when members of the media at-tend and report on trials using the same means of perception as other members of the public. The concept of “press-as-proxy” has broken down, however, when the media has attempted to bring cameras into the court. The addition of cameras to the experience is thought to change the identity of action between the public generally and the photographic press specifically during the trial process. Despite its skepticism about cameras, the Court has held there is no constitutional bar to their admission at criminal trials. But its wary acceptance of the technology has not translated into the recognition of a constitutional right to bring cameras into courts. Instead, the Justices have developed a sort of constitutional demilitarized zone, in which cameras are neither prohibited nor mandated. Individual states may adopt camera admissions policies that reflect their policy preferences. State rulemakers addressing the camera issue typically perform a cost-benefit analysis. The primary cost—possible interference with Sixth Amendment fair trial guarantees—has been provisionally disproven in a number of studies. The primary benefit—achievement of the public values identified by the Court in the access cases—is typically assumed to exist but lacks empirical documentation. The assumption of a public value is impliedly grounded in the press-as-proxy conceit: if actual public attendance furnishes value and if the press is a viable proxy for the public, and if the camera-bearing press functions identically to other media, then cameras must furnish relevant public values. Using the conceit to prove public value, and survey data to prove a negligible public cost, every state has admitted cameras to one or more levels of their courts. This Article does two things. First, it examines the access cases to distill the specific values the Supreme Court has identified as relevant byproducts of open courtrooms; the possibility of realizing these values has dictated the constitutional scope of public access. The values fall along a spectrum: those this Article deems “information-dependent” depend on the transmission of objective information, while those this Article deems “response-dependent” depend on subjective citizen opinion and engagement. Second, the Article scrutinizes the assumption that as long as cameras do not impose a demonstrable fair trial cost, they achieve the relevant public values by virtue of the press-as-proxy conceit. Studies suggest that, at least as currently produced, television news with live footage is actually inferior to print, audio, or footage-free television at achieving the information-dependent values the Court has identified as the basis for access. These same studies indicate that it may be superior to other media at fostering opinion development and emotional engagement. At a minimum, studies of typical television news demonstrate that it does not uniformly replicate the values furnished by the camera-free press. In other words, the press-as-proxy conceit is not valid for the camera-bearing press. Dismantling the press-as-proxy conceit for cameras wipes out the underlying basis for existing state camera policies, most of which rely on the proxy as evidence of public value. Further, it represents an obstacle to possible claims of a First Amendment right of the press to record and televise court proceedings. The invalidity of the proxy does not mean that cameras are categorically incompatible with court proceedings, but it underlines the need for empirical research into claims that cameras should be admitted because they furnish public value. The Article concludes that policymakers weighing the costs and benefits of camera admission—and courts weighing a First Amendment broadcast access right—are hamstrung by the lack of empirical research into the value of cameras in the courtroom. The issue is timely. A significant number of states continue to bar or effectively block trial court cameras, inviting continued pro-camera efforts. And the campaign for televising Supreme Court arguments and lower federal court trials continues unabated, despite the apparent institutional resistance from the Justices and the Judicial Conference. Advocates frustrated by unsuccessful policy arguments for more camera access to the federal courts may eventually consider a constitutional argument as an alternate means of securing camera admission to these proceedings

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 Protection

ICT and gamified learning in tourism education: a case of South African secondary schools

Tourism is often introduced as a subject in formal education curricula because of the increasing and significant economic contribution of the tourism industry to the private and public sector. This is especially the case in emerging economies in Asia and Africa (Hsu, 2015; Mayaka & Akama, 2015; Cuffy et al., 2012). Tourism in South Africa – which is the geographical setting of this research – is recognised as a key economic sector. At secondary level, tourism has been widely introduced at schools throughout South Africa since 2000 and has experienced significant growth (Umalusi, 2014). Furthermore, information and communication technology (ICT) has rapidly penetrated public and private sectors of the country. ICT affords novel opportunities for social and economic development, and this has especially been observed in the fields of both tourism and education (Anwar et al., 2014; Vandeyar, 2015). Yet, the many uses and implications of ICT for tourism education in South Africa are unclear and under-theorised as a research area (Adukaite, Van Zyl, & Cantoni, 2016). Moreover, engagement has been identified as a significant indicator of student success in South Africa (Council for Higher Education, 2010). Lack of engagement contributes to poor graduation rates at secondary and tertiary institutions in South Africa (Strydom et al., 2010; Titus & Ng’ambi, 2014). A common strategy to address lack of student engagement is introducing game elements into the learning process: the so-called gamification of learning (Kapp, 2012). The majority of research in this field has been conducted in more economically advanced and developed regions, and there is a paucity of research in emerging country contexts. It is argued that gamification can be effectively utilised also in these contexts to address learner engagement and motivation. This study aims to contribute in this respect: firstly, by investigating the extent to which ICT supports tourism education in South African high schools through the lenses of Technology Domestication Theory (Habib, 2005; Haddon, 2006) and Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1977). Secondly, the study aims to examine gamified learning acceptance within tourism education in a developing country context. The research assimilates three separate studies. Study 1. The Role of Digital Technology in Tourism Education: A Case Study of South African Secondary Schools The study was designed as an exploratory analysis, based on 24 in-depth interviews (n=24) with high school tourism teachers and government officials. An analysis reveals that teachers recognize ICT as essential in exposing students to the tourism industry. This is especially the case in under-resourced schools, where learners do not have the financial means to participate in tourism activities. However, ICT is still limited in its integration as a pedagogical support tool. The major obstacles toward integration include: technology anxiety, lack of training, availability of resources, and learner resistance to use their personal mobile devices. Study 2. Raising Awareness and Promoting Informal Learning on World Heritage in Southern Africa. The Case of WHACY, a Gamified ICT-enhanced Tool The goal of the study was to present the World Heritage Awareness Campaign for Youth (WHACY) in Southern Africa. A campaign was dedicated to raise awareness and foster informal learning among Southern African youth about the heritage and sustainable tourism. The campaign employed an online and offline gamified learning platform, which was supported by a dedicated website, Facebook page, wiki and offline materials. In one year of operation the campaign reached more than 100K audience. For the evaluation of the campaign, a mixed methods approach was used: focus groups with students (n=9), interviews (n=19) and a survey with teachers (n=209). The study attempted to assess user experience in terms of engagement and conduciveness to learning and explored the possibility of a gamified application to be integrated into the existing high school tourism curriculum. The perspectives of South African tourism students and teachers were here considered. Study 3. Teacher perceptions on the use of digital gamified learning in tourism education: The case of South African secondary schools. The study is quantitative in nature and investigated the behavioural intention of South African tourism teachers to integrate a gamified application within secondary tourism education. Data collected from 209 teachers were tested against the research model using a structural equation modelling approach. The study investigated the extent to which six determined predictors (perceptions about playfulness, curriculum relatedness, learning opportunities, challenge, self-efficacy and computer anxiety) influence the acceptance of a gamified application by South African tourism teachers. The study may prove useful to educators and practitioners in understanding which determinants may influence gamification introduction into formal secondary education

The combating of unauthorised electrical connections in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa

Text in English, with English, Afrikaans and Zulu summariesThis study was conducted owing to the protracted problem and challenges that unauthorised electrical connections pose to electricity utilities. This study sought to contribute to the combating of unauthorised electrical connections in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, which has never before been studied in this manner. Considerable revenue is stolen from utilities because of unauthorised electrical connections, by-passing of electrical meters and tampering with electricity networks. This contributes to public safety risks, fatalities, property damage and overloading of electrical networks. This in turn causes transformer and electricity network overload and power supply failure, prolonged unplanned power cuts, loss of jobs, food security risk, serious poor economic development, damaged electrical infrastructure, loss of revenue, electricity disruptions, electric shock, and the burning of dwellings. This leads to the interruption of supply to legal and compliant customers, all with disastrous effects. It is therefore difficult to manage the supply and demand of electricity under these circumstances, more especially in this period when South Africa faces a tight electricity supply. In this dissertation, the international and national perspectives reveal the nature and extent of unauthorised electrical connections. It was explored how unauthorised electrical connections are presently being combated and what specific security measures may be implemented to enhance the combating of unauthorised electrical connections. A case study design was used to investigate in greater detail the opinions, views, perceptions and experiences of the targeted interviewees using interviewing, site observation and case docket analysis. This design guided the use of specific sample groups, procedures and techniques used for data collection and analysis. The design and development of the different data collection instruments and the piloting of the instruments were implemented to ensure validity, reliability, accuracy and trustworthiness of the collected information. The study produced findings to assist electricity utilities to better manage this phenomenon. Recommendations were formulated to assist stakeholders to improve their roles in the combating of unauthorised electrical connections.Hierdie studie is uitgevoer na aanleiding van die uitgerekte probleem en uitdagings van onwettige elektrisiteitsverbindings vir elektrisiteitsvoorsieners. Hierdie studie poog om by te dra om onwettige elektrisiteitsverbindings in KwaZulu-Natal, Suid-Afrika te beveg; dit is nog nooit tevore op hierdie wyse ondersoek nie. Beduidende inkomste word van diensmaatskappye gesteel as gevolg van onwettige elektrisiteitsverbindings, die wat elektriese meters omseil en met elektrisiteitsnetwerke peuter. Dit dra tot openbare veiligheidsrisiko's, fataliteite, skade aan eiendom, en oorlading van elektrisiteitsnetwerke by. Dit lei weer tot oorlading van transformators en elektrisiteitsnetwerke, gebrek aan kragvoorsiening, verlengde onbeplande kragonderbrekings, werksverlies, voedselsekuriteitrisiko, ernstige swak ekonomiese ontwikkeling, skade aan elektrisiteitinfrastruktuur, verlies aan inkomste, elektriese skok, en huise wat afbrand. Dit lei tot die onderbreking van voorsiening aan wetlike en inskiklike klante met rampspoedige gevolge. Dit is dus moeilik om voorsiening en vraag na elektrisiteit in hierdie omstandighede te bestuur, veral in hierdie tyd wat Suid-Afrika drukkende elektrisiteitvoorsiening beleef. In hierdie verhandeling onthul die internasionale en nasionale perspektiewe die aard en mate van onwettige elektrisiteitsverbindings. Dit was ondersoek hoe onwettige elektrisiteitsverbindings tans beveg word en watter spesifieke veiligheidsmaatreëls geïmplementeer kan word om die bevegting van onwettige elektrisiteitsverbindings te bevorder. Die gevallestudie-ontwerp is gebruik om die onderhoudgewers se menings, sienings, perspektiewe en ervarings in meer besonderhede te ondersoek deur onderhoude, waarnemings en saakdossierontledings te gebruik. Die ontwerp het die gebruik van spesifieke steekproefgroepe, prosedures en tegnieke wat vir dataversamelings en -ontleding gebruik is, gerig Die ontwerp en ontwikkeling van die verskillende dataversamelinginstrumente en die bestuur van die instrumente is geïmplementeer om geldigheid, betroubaarheid, akkuraatheid en geloofwaardigheid van die versamelde inligting te verseker. Die studie se bevindings help elektrisiteitsdienste om hierdie verskynsel beter te bestuur. Aanbevelings is geformuleer om belanghebbers te help om hul rolle te bevorder in die stryd om onwettige elektrisiteitsverbindings te beveg.Ucwaningo lwenziwa ngenxa yokubona inkinga egxilile neqhubekela phambili kanye nezinselele ezibangelwa ukuzixhumela ama-connection kagesi (i-elektrisithi) maqondana nezinkampani zikagesi. Ucwaningo belufuna ukufaka esivivaneni kudaba lokuvimbela ukuzixhumela kogesi ngendlela engekho emthethweni eKwaZulu-Natali, eNingizimu Afrika, yona okungakaze kwenziwe ucwaningo ngayo ngale ndlela. Kunengeniso eliningi lemali entshontshwa ngale ndlela kwizinkampani noma izinhlangano zikagesi ngoba kunokuzixhomela ugesi okungekho emthethweni, ukungasetshenziswa kwamamitha ogesi, kanye nokuphazamisa ama-network kagesi. Lokhu kubangela izingozi nokungavikeleki kubantu bonke, ukulimala, ukulinyazwa nokonakala kwempahla noma iprophathi kanye nokuthi ama-network kagesi agxisheleke nokucindezeleka ngokweqile. Kanti futhi lokhu kubanga ukuthi ama-transformer kanye nama-network kagesi acindezeleke ngokweqile nokwenza ukuthi isaplayi kagesi ihluleke nokufeyila, lokhu okubangela ukuthi kube nama-power cuts noma ukucishwa kukagesi okungahleliwe, ukulahleka kwemisebenzi, ingozi yokuphazamiseka kokuvikeleka kokudla, ukuthi ukuthuthuka komnotho kuphazamiseke kakhulu, ukulahleka kwengeniso lemali, ukuphazamiseka kokuphakelwa kukagesi, ukulinyazwa kwabantu ngokubanjwa ugesi, kanye nokusha kwemizi eshiswa ugesi. Lokhu kuholela ekutheni kuphazamiseke isaplayi kagesi kumakhastama akhokha kahle nenza izinto ngokulandela umthetho, lokhu okubanga imiphumela yezinhlekelele ezimbi. Ngakho-ke kuba nzima ukubhekana kanye nezinto zesaplayi kanye nokudingeka kukagesi ngaphansi kwalezi simo, ikakhulukazi lapho iNingizimu Afrika ibhekene nokuncipha noma izinga eliphansi lesaplayi kagesi. Kule dissertation isimo sikazwelonke kanye nesamazwe omhlaba, siveze inhlobo kanye nezinga lokuxhunyelwa kukagesi okungekho emthethweni. Kubuye kwabheka nokuthi ukuxhunyelwa kukagesi okungekho emthethweni kubhekwana kanye nokuvinjelwa kanjani, nokuthi yiziphi izindlela eziqondene ezisetshenziswayo zokuvikeleka ezingasetshenziswa ukuthuthukisa izinqubo zokuvimbela ukuxhunyelwa kukagesi nama-connection angekho emthethweni angavinjelwa kanjani . Kusetshenziswe idizayini ye-case study ukuphenyisisa ngokujulile imininingwane, imibono, izinqubo zokubheka isimo kanye nezipiliyoni zalabo obekuqondiswe kubo ama-interview ngesikhathi kwenziwa ama-interview, ukuyobheka ngamehlo esimo ezindaweni, kanye nokuhlaziya amadokhethi amacala ngokwenzekayo. Le dizayini yiyona eholele ekusetshenzisweni kwamasampuli amaqembu athize, izinqubo noma amaprosija athize kanye namathekniki athize asetshenzisiwe ekuqoqeni kwe-data kanye nohlaziyo lwayo. Idizayini nokwenziwa kwama-instrumenti okuqoqwa kwe-data ehlukene, kanye nokwenza ama-instrumenti okulinga noma e-piloting, kusetshenzisiwe ukuqinisekisa i-validity, ukuthembeka (reliability), ukuqondana ncamashi kwama-instrumenti (accuracy) kanye nokuqiniseka okubizwa ngokuthi yi-trustworthiness yolwazi noma i-infomeshini eqoqiwe. Ucwaningo, lukhiphe imiphumela yokusiza izinkampani noma izinhlangano zikagesi ekuphatheni kangcono le nkinga noma ifenominoni (phenomenon) yenkinga. Kwenziwe izincomo zokusiza ababambe iqhaza (stakeholders) ukuthuthukisa indima yabo ekulwiseni ukuxhunyelwa kanye nama-connection kagesi angekho emthethweni.Criminology and Security ScienceM. Tech. (Security Management

A Visual Representation and the Prediction of Emotion

Many scholars believe that news images affect public opinion about political and social issues. Previous research has shown that emotionally evocative visual news texts improve learning and memory for information as well as affect audience perspectives on relevant issues. However, the majority of these studies do not address in detail what combinations of characteristics create emotionally compelling images. Through content analysis of news photographs and both quantitative and qualitative measurement of viewer’s response to those images, this study begins to define what visual characteristics contribute significantly to emotional impact. The results of the content analysis also contribute to our understanding of what types of photographs appear most frequently in the news. The results show that features generally characterized by communication researchers as improving memory and learning: extreme negativity and deviation from normal visual experience were not well represented among the sample of 400 photographs from the Associated Press Photo Archive. Although the majority of photographs (65%) did have negative themes, only 5% of the images showed any kind of violence. Ten percent displayed the outcome of a non-violent disaster. The large majority of pictures were also photographed using vertical camera axes and straight angles. A sample of images from the iv content analysis was used as stimuli in the viewer-response portion of the study. Measures of the content served as independent variables in two regression analyses. The dependent variables were viewers’ level of either positive or negative affect. Significant predictors of negative affect included the presence of violence, the effects of violence, and the effects of disaster. Negative emotional displays by the subject(s) of the image, and unusual juxtapositions of people and/or objects also predicted negative affect. A separate regression analysis was conducted for positive affect. The presence of violence, unusual juxtapositions of objects, and negative emotional displays had significant, but negative, relationships with positive affect. Positive emotional displays and viewing the more central subjects in the image from the front significantly and directly predicted positive affect. Finally, the degree of closeness among subjects in the image also significantly predicted positive affect. Analysis of open-ended responses generally supports these results