Possibilities of Using Knowledge Bases in the Waste Management Area

In the present article there are going to be exposed some aspects about waste management area in Romania, such as: actual stage, investments priorities on waste categories, development of waste management systems using knowledge bases, the benefits of using knowledge based expert systems in the area of waste.Waste management; Knowledge base; Knowledge based expert system

Progress towards marine ecosystem observing systems in South Africa

Marine ecosystem observing systems combine measurements, observations and models through a data management and interpretation process to provide information on the status of marine ecosystems. Both biotic and abiotic aspects of the marine environment need to be considered. Single variables typically can be used to represent aspects of the physical and chemical environment, but ecosystem indicators are required for the living components. There are no true marine ecosystem observing systems globally, because most observing systems focus on the physical environment. In South Africa, some fledgling systems are being developed, using the knowledge base provided by focused marine ecosystem research over the past 30 years. Further development should be based on international guidelines, which highlight three interrelated elements : (i) Measurements, obtained directly from ships, drifters or buoys, or remotely from satellites. In South Africa, sustained, long-term measurements are hampered by limited available ship's time, lack of suitable instruments, and insufficient qualified personnel. (ii) Models and other analytical tools to augment observations. South Africa is making progress in marine modelling, but not in marine data assimilation; qualified persons need to be attracted, trained and retained. (iii) Archived and disseminated data generated from measurements and models. The infrastructure and human and institutional capacity for data management and communication in South Africa needs to be enhanced. Existing programmes contribute towards the development of an effective marine ecosystem observing system, but its sustainability requires support at an institutional level

Synergy between Traditional and Introduced Sustainable Land Management Practices in Ethiopia

The current development effort of Ethiopian government emphasizes on market-oriented commodity production through specialization and diversification of enterprises that are complementary to specialized commodities This household based package formulation is natural resources conservation based approach Farmers of Hararge have rich and ecologically sound traditional land husbandry practices knowledge base Traditional tie-ridging is practiced for in-situ moisture conservation and intensification of cropping systems at plot level RW is contained in the farm plot There are some similar experiences in Tigray but should be further exploited to expand and introduce cash crop agroforestry in the rugged and undulating areas of Tigray There was also good integration of biological and physical SWC techniques Enterprises should be diversified integrated and market-oriented to improve the livelihood of farmers Important knowledge gained from Hararge to fill gaps in Tigray other drylands of Ethiopia comprises water harvesting in-situ moisture water harvesting through tie-ridges irrigation crop diversification and intensification zero grazing and integrated intensive watershed management approach further integration of current joint SLM development efforts network of professionals working on different aspects of water management and utilization and strong policy research advisory support should gain top priority to empower and complement current grass-root community efforts and synergize and integrate with new adapted technologies for sustainable use and development of the natural resource base and accelerate agricultural development and transformatio

Synergy between Traditional and Introduced Sustainable Land Management Practices in Ethiopia

The current development effort of Ethiopian government emphasizes on market-oriented commodity production through specialization and diversification of enterprises that are complementary to specialized commodities This household based package formulation is natural resources conservation based approach Farmers of Hararge have rich and ecologically sound traditional land husbandry practices knowledge base Traditional tie-ridging is practiced for in-situ moisture conservation and intensification of cropping systems at plot level RW is contained in the farm plot There are some similar experiences in Tigray but should be further exploited to expand and introduce cash crop agroforestry in the rugged and undulating areas of Tigray There was also good integration of biological and physical SWC techniques Enterprises should be diversified integrated and market-oriented to improve the livelihood of farmers Important knowledge gained from Hararge to fill gaps in Tigray other drylands of Ethiopia comprises water harvesting in-situ moisture water harvesting through tie-ridges irrigation crop diversification and intensification zero grazing and integrated intensive watershed management approach further integration of current joint SLM development efforts network of professionals working on different aspects of water management and utilization and strong policy research advisory support should gain top priority to empower and complement current grass-root community efforts and synergize and integrate with new adapted technologies for sustainable use and development of the natural resource base and accelerate agricultural development and transformatio

Evaluating the outcomes of collaborative wildlife governance: The role of social-ecological system context and collaboration dynamics

The acknowledgement of uncertainty and complexity in social-ecological systems has increased the implementation of collaborative governance regimes for environmental issues. The performance of these new regimes to deliver favourable social and ecological outcomes must therefore be evaluated. We focus on the case of Swedish wildlife governance, which has a tradition of using collaborative elements. In relation to moose (Alces alces), these collaborative aspects were recently formalized in an amended policy. We aim to assess some aspects of this new regime's performance with respect to intermediate ecological outcomes (i.e. quota fulfilment). We use path analysis to test the causal effects of system context and collaboration dynamics on governance outcomes. Collaboration dynamics were assessed using a web-based survey sent to all stakeholders in Moose Management Groups (response rate = 82 %). Our originally specified model yielded a good fit (SRMR of .030 and robust TLI of .996) and explained 20 % of the variation in outcomes. Context variables revealed significant direct effects on collaboration dynamics and outcomes. Larger Moose Management Areas and fluctuations in forage availability required more time investment from actors, while high land use diversity and density of other ungulate species negatively affected moose quota fulfilment. Moose Management Groups that invested more time and perceived to have a good knowledge base achieved better quota fulfilment. Collaboration dynamics thus had a positive direct effect on outcomes. From a policy perspective, our results raise questions regarding institutional fit because context factors had significant negative effects on collaboration dynamics and the outcomes of the collaborative process

Automatic extraction of robotic surgery actions from text and kinematic data

The latest generation of robotic systems is becoming increasingly autonomous due to technological advancements and artificial intelligence. The medical field, particularly surgery, is also interested in these technologies because automation would benefit surgeons and patients. While the research community is active in this direction, commercial surgical robots do not currently operate autonomously due to the risks involved in dealing with human patients: it is still considered safer to rely on human surgeons' intelligence for decision-making issues. This means that robots must possess human-like intelligence, including various reasoning capabilities and extensive knowledge, to become more autonomous and credible. As demonstrated by current research in the field, indeed, one of the most critical aspects in developing autonomous systems is the acquisition and management of knowledge. In particular, a surgical robot must base its actions on solid procedural surgical knowledge to operate autonomously, safely, and expertly. This thesis investigates different possibilities for automatically extracting and managing knowledge from text and kinematic data. In the first part, we investigated the possibility of extracting procedural surgical knowledge from real intervention descriptions available in textbooks and academic papers on the robotic-surgical domains, by exploiting Transformer-based pre-trained language models. In particular, we released SurgicBERTa, a RoBERTa-based pre-trained language model for surgical literature understanding. It has been used to detect procedural sentences in books and extract procedural elements from them. Then, with some use cases, we explored the possibilities of translating written instructions into logical rules usable for robotic planning. Since not all the knowledge required for automatizing a procedure is written in texts, we introduce the concept of surgical commonsense, showing how it relates to different autonomy levels. In the second part of the thesis, we analyzed surgical procedures from a lower granularity level, showing how each surgical gesture is associated with a given combination of kinematic data

An intelligent system for vulnerability and remediation assessment of flooded residential buildings

Floods are natural phenomena which are a threat to human settlements. Flooding can result in costly repairs to buildings, loss of business and, in some cases, loss of life. The forecasts for climate change show a further increased risk of flooding in future years. Accordingly, the flooding of residential property has been observed as on the rise in the UK. It is difficult to prevent floods from occurring, but the effects of flooding can be managed in an attempt to reduce risks and costs of repair. This can be achieved through ensuring a good understanding of the problem, and thereby establishing good management systems which are capable of dealing with all aspects of the flood. The use of an intelligent system for assessment and remediation of buildings subjected to flooding damage can facilitate the management of this problem. Such a system can provide guidance for the assessment of vulnerability and the repair of flood damaged residential buildings; this could save time and money through the use of the advantages and benefits offered by knowledge base systems. A prototype knowledge base system has been developed in this research. The system comprises three subsystems: degree of vulnerability assessment subsystem; remediation options subsystem; and foundation damage assessment subsystem. The vulnerability assessment subsystem is used to calculate the degree of vulnerability, which will then be used by the remediation options subsystem to select remediation options strategy. The vulnerability assessment subsystem can subsequently be used to calculate the degree to which the building is vulnerable to damage by flooding even if it is not flooded. Remediation options subsystem recommended two strategy options: either ordinary remediation options in the case of vulnerability being low or, alternatively, resilience remediation options in the case of vulnerability being high. The foundation damage assessment subsystem is working alone and is used to assess the damage caused by flooding to the building s foundation, and to thereby recommend a repair option based on the damage caused and foundation type. The system has been developed based on the knowledge acquired from different sources and methods, including survey questionnaires, documents, interviews, and workshops. The system is then evaluated by experts and professionals in the industry. The developed system makes a contribution in the management and standardisation of residential building flooded damage and repair

An exploration of the drivers and indicators of emergence in the offshore wind power industry

The emergence of new industries is a rare but critical part of the development and growth of any economy. Successive governments have attempted to nurture the development of specific new industries with mixed success – some industries emerge only to disappear after a short time. There is a substantial body of literature which looks at specific aspects of the phenomenon of industry emergence from within the evolutionary economics and business management domains. This body of knowledge is focused on mass-manufacturing industry and constrained by a post-hoc nature of empirical studies to date. This is the first research to study an industry during its emergence and in doing so addresses a limitation of the existing research identified by authors in the field. The selected industry, Offshore Wind Power, is a complex product system industry thereby helping to extend the existing knowledge base from its previous mass-manufacture focus. This research seeks to address the applicability of mass manufacture focussed research to a complex product system industry, and to gain additional insights through observing emergence ‘as it happens’. The research is therefore exploratory in nature and is guided by the existing literature on drivers and indicators of emergence. The research shows that certain indicators of emergence (e.g. dominant design, accelerating sales growth) are not applicable in this industry and that some drivers and indicators are linked in causal loops – e.g. growth and legitimacy. This research uses a ‘systems lens’ to synthesise an understanding of how the various single factors previously researched interact. This systems approach leads to a proposed framework for industry interaction to promote both emergence and viability. This framework is tested against a recent counter case of a complex product system industry that has not reached emergence and the utility of the framework demonstrated.The emergence of new industries is a rare but critical part of the development and growth of any economy. Successive governments have attempted to nurture the development of specific new industries with mixed success – some industries emerge only to disappear after a short time. There is a substantial body of literature which looks at specific aspects of the phenomenon of industry emergence from within the evolutionary economics and business management domains. This body of knowledge is focused on mass-manufacturing industry and constrained by a post-hoc nature of empirical studies to date. This is the first research to study an industry during its emergence and in doing so addresses a limitation of the existing research identified by authors in the field. The selected industry, Offshore Wind Power, is a complex product system industry thereby helping to extend the existing knowledge base from its previous mass-manufacture focus. This research seeks to address the applicability of mass manufacture focussed research to a complex product system industry, and to gain additional insights through observing emergence ‘as it happens’. The research is therefore exploratory in nature and is guided by the existing literature on drivers and indicators of emergence. The research shows that certain indicators of emergence (e.g. dominant design, accelerating sales growth) are not applicable in this industry and that some drivers and indicators are linked in causal loops – e.g. growth and legitimacy. This research uses a ‘systems lens’ to synthesise an understanding of how the various single factors previously researched interact. This systems approach leads to a proposed framework for industry interaction to promote both emergence and viability. This framework is tested against a recent counter case of a complex product system industry that has not reached emergence and the utility of the framework demonstrated

Water quality and UK agriculture: challenges and opportunities

There are high aspirations for environmental water quality targets in the UK, but requirements for significant growth in agricultural production to meet both food security objectives and provide viable livelihoods for farmers make these hard to achieve. Significant water quality challenges are related to nutrients, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, pathogens, sediments and habitat alteration. To facilitate the challenges posed, there is a need for predictive, spatially-distributed models to be developed that encompass the key aspects of agriculture and water management in order to inform future policy and organisations with an interest in land management. Additionally, there needs to be recognition from policy makers that different solutions are needed in different agri-water systems and that it often takes many years or decades for policies to have a sustained water quality impact. Long-term support for research infrastructure and the scientific skills base is required to enable measurement and data analysis necessary to inform decision making. Farmers need clearly articulated information on the issues and potential solutions on which to make informed management decisions regarding water. There are existing solutions to some problems and this knowledge needs to be effectively disseminated with appropriate incentives for implementation to have maximum impact. Greater collaboration between researchers, industry and policy makers, with the necessary framework to deliver effective joint working, is urgently needed. There is also a need for a wider societal understanding of the land-water system and the various ways in which society pays (and might pay in the future) for the real value of water