The precarious conviviality of water mills

Social institutions such as the water-powered grain mills of Ottoman Cyprus are elaborately interconnected with a wide range of human and non-human players, from millers and villagers to water, gradient, stone and climate. When participants recognize their mutual dependencies and operate according to social and environmental limits, then following Ivan Illich we can call these watermills convivial tools. The European-owned sugar plantations, mills and refineries of medieval Cyprus, by contrast, divided and alienated their workforce, and their demands for water, labour, soil and fuel surpassed what their landscape and society could provide. They are, then, unconvivial tools. Conviviality is always precarious: it needs continual negotiation, conflict and compromise, as well as an acceptance of the mutual dependence of all participants, non-human and human. This politics of conviviality is particularly urgent in times of social and ecological crisis

Methodology for Olive Pruning Windrow Assessment Using 3D Time-of-Flight Camera

The management of olive pruning residue has shifted from burning to shredding, laying residues on soil, or harvesting residues for use as a derivative. The objective of this research is to develop, test, and validate a methodology to measure the dimensions, outline, and bulk volume of pruning residue windrows in olive orchards using both a manual and a 3D Time-of-Flight (ToF) camera. Trees were pruned using trunk shaker targeted pruning, from which two different branch sizes were selected to build two separate windrow treatments with the same pruning residue dose. Four windrows were built for each treatment, and four sampling points were selected along each windrow to take measurements using both manual and 3D ToF measurements. Windrow section outline could be defined using a polynomial or a triangular function, although manual measurement required processing with a polynomial function, especially for high windrow volumes. Different branch sizes provided to be significant differences for polynomial function coefficients, while no significant differences were found for windrow width. Bigger branches provided less bulk volume, which implied that these branches formed less porous windrows that smaller ones. Finally, manual and 3D ToF camera measurements were validated, giving an adequate performance for olive pruning residue windrow in-field assessment

Mathematical statistics vs machine learning: towards an intelligent modeling framework for soil and plant growth processes

Mestrado de dupla diplomação com a Kuban State Agrarian UniversityThe work described in this dissertation focuses on the methods for analyzing MS and ML that are used in PF. The purpose of the work is to investigate these methods on their practical application to a specific set of data. In the course of the work, the following tasks were completed: the current state of affairs in the field of PF was investigated, the theoretical foundations of the methods of MS and ML were investigated, which were subjected to practical tests on a specific set of data. Conclusions were drawn about the advantages and disadvantages of these methods. A selection of works of scientists engaged in research on the introduction of a specific set of nutrients into the soil was also investigated. The most important contributions to this work are the practical application of various methods of analysis, as well as the design of a DST designed to help farmers integrate PF into their pilot training farms.O trabalho descrito nesta dissertação versa sobre métodos e técnicas no âmbito da Estatística Matemática e de ML usados para efeitos de previsão de colheitas e tratamento de solos em agricultura de precisão. O objetivo do trabalho é investigar esses métodos em sua aplicação prática a um conjunto específico de dados. No decorrer do trabalho, foram realizadas as seguintes tarefas: investigou-se a situação atual no campo da agricultura de precisão, investigaram-se os fundamentos teóricos dos métodos e técnicas da estatística matemática e de ML. Estes métodos e técnicas foram submetidos a testes práticos em um conjunto específico de dados. Foram tiradas conclusões sobre as vantagens e desvantagens desses métodos: Uma seslção de trabalhos científicos relacionados com a investigação sobre a introdução de um conjunto específico de nutrientes no solo foram também investigados. As contribuições mais importantes para este trabalho são a aplicação prática de vários métodos de análise, bem como o projeto de uma ferramenta de apoio à decisão projetada para ajudar os agricultores a integrar a agricultura de precisão nas suas propriedades agrícolas

Using a GIS technology to plan an agroforestry sustainable system in Sardinia

This study was conducted with the aim to quantify the spread of livestock agroforestry in a Mediterranean ecosystem (island of Sardinia, Italy) and evaluate its sustainability in terms of grazing impact. By using GIS software ArcMap 10.2.2, the map of Sardinia vegetal landscape, obtained by information of Sardinia nature map based on the classification of habitat according to CORINE-Biotopes system, have been overplayed with the map of livestock grazing impact map CAIA developed by INTREGA (spin-off ENEA), to obtain for Meriagos (local agro-silvo-pastoral systems; classified “Dehesa 84.6” according to CORINE-Biotopes system), bushlands and woodlands, the surfaces under grazing and evaluate the extension of overgrazing for each of them

Interdisciplinary Discussions about the Conservation of Software-Based Art.

In 2015/16 Tate organised a series of virtual discussions related to the preservation of softwarebased art as part of Tate’s partnership in PERICLES, a European‐funded project which focuses on the long‐term digital conservation and preservation of digital resources, with particular focus on actively managing change and risk as part of this process. The idea for this series arose from the realisation that managing technical change in software‐based art is not only a common concern for practitioners working in the field but also of interest to the research community. A group of engaged expert practitioners and researchers were invited to consider a set of topics at the core of the conservation of software‐based artworks. Six discussion sessions were organised over a period of one year. This report summarises the outcomes of these meetings and examines some of the key points

Meat trays, marginalisation and the mechanisms of social capital creation: An ethnographic study of a licensed social club and its older users

Alongside informal networks of friends and family, formal social groupings such as voluntary associations are valued by older people as opportunities for engagement. In Australia, one such grouping is the licensed social (or ‘registered’) club. Approximately 20 per cent of all older Australians, and 80 per cent of older residents of the state of New South Wales, actively participate in such clubs. Despite this, older people’s registered club participation has received little scholarly attention. This ethnographic study of one particular registered club aimed to discover the nature, meaning and role of club participation for its older members. Social capital existing in club-based networks emerged as a further investigative focus, and its mechanisms and outcomes were examined. Participant observation and in-depth interviewing were the main data collection methods used. Data analysis procedures included thematic analysis (based loosely on grounded theory methodology), as well as the more contextsensitive narrative analysis and key-words-in-context analysis. The study found that club participation enabled older members to maintain valued social networks, self-reliance and a sense of autonomy. Social networks were characterised by social capital of the bonding type, being largely homogeneous with respect to age, gender, (working) class and cultural background. Strong cohesive bonds were characterised by intimacy and reciprocity, and possessed norms including equality and the norm of tolerance and inclusiveness. These helped to minimise conflict and build cohesiveness, while protecting older club-goers from increasing marginalisation within the club. Peer grouping within this mainstream setting may have shielded the older club-goers from stigma associated with participation in old-age specific groups. The nature and scale of registered club participation amongst older Australians points to their unique and important role. The findings of this research indicate that – for at least this group of older men and women - club use is a major contributor to maintaining social connectedness and a sense of self as self-reliant, autonomous and capable. In the context of an ageing population, Australia’s registered clubs feature in the mosaic of resources available to older people, and their communities, for the creation of social capital

Meat trays, marginalisation and the mechanisms of social capital creation: An ethnographic study of a licensed social club and its older users

Alongside informal networks of friends and family, formal social groupings such as voluntary associations are valued by older people as opportunities for engagement. In Australia, one such grouping is the licensed social (or ‘registered’) club. Approximately 20 per cent of all older Australians, and 80 per cent of older residents of the state of New South Wales, actively participate in such clubs. Despite this, older people’s registered club participation has received little scholarly attention. This ethnographic study of one particular registered club aimed to discover the nature, meaning and role of club participation for its older members. Social capital existing in club-based networks emerged as a further investigative focus, and its mechanisms and outcomes were examined. Participant observation and in-depth interviewing were the main data collection methods used. Data analysis procedures included thematic analysis (based loosely on grounded theory methodology), as well as the more contextsensitive narrative analysis and key-words-in-context analysis. The study found that club participation enabled older members to maintain valued social networks, self-reliance and a sense of autonomy. Social networks were characterised by social capital of the bonding type, being largely homogeneous with respect to age, gender, (working) class and cultural background. Strong cohesive bonds were characterised by intimacy and reciprocity, and possessed norms including equality and the norm of tolerance and inclusiveness. These helped to minimise conflict and build cohesiveness, while protecting older club-goers from increasing marginalisation within the club. Peer grouping within this mainstream setting may have shielded the older club-goers from stigma associated with participation in old-age specific groups. The nature and scale of registered club participation amongst older Australians points to their unique and important role. The findings of this research indicate that – for at least this group of older men and women - club use is a major contributor to maintaining social connectedness and a sense of self as self-reliant, autonomous and capable. In the context of an ageing population, Australia’s registered clubs feature in the mosaic of resources available to older people, and their communities, for the creation of social capital