Centring housing in political economy

Este artigo foi publicado originalmente em 2014, na revista Housing, Theory and Society, com a referência completa: Manuel B. Aalbers & Brett Christophers (2014) “Centring Housing in Political Economy”, Housing, Theory and Society, 31:4, 373-394, DOI: 10.1080/14036096.2014.947082. A revista CIDADES, Comunidades e Territórios reserva os direitos sobre a tradução para português, a cargo de Mariana Leite Braga (DINÂMIA’CET-IUL, [email protected]).A economia política do pós-guerra não tem, de um modo geral, atribuído um papel importante ao tema da “habitação”. A habitação enquanto política tem sido um exclusivo da análise das políticas sociais e do domínio crescente dos estudos da habitação. A habitação enquanto mercado tem estado confinada à economia ortodoxa. Este artigo insiste no facto de a análise da economia política não poder permanecer relativamente indiferente à questão da habitação, já que esta está envolvida na economia política capitalista contemporânea através de uma série de aspectos críticos, interligados e muitas vezes contraditórios. O artigo conceptualiza esta implicação, identificando os múltiplos papéis da habitação quando o “capital” – a “matéria-prima” essencial da economia política – é considerado a partir da perspectiva de cada uma das suas formas primárias e mutuamente constitutivas: como processo de circulação, como relação social e como ideologia. Ao mobilizar estas três ópticas com vista a facultar uma perspectiva geral crítica da habitação-na-economia-política (mais do que uma economia política da habitação), reunimos e conjugamos os vários contributos fundamentais da pesquisa sobre a habitação para o nosso entendimento progressivo do capitalismo

Earth Through the Eyes of NAPA-1: Commissioning Results and the Next Steps in CubeSat Earth Observation

Disruptive CubeSat technology has brought scientific missions within reach that were previously only achievable through larger spacecraft. Satellite Earth Observation is now the new frontier for governments, private industry, and academia. With the recent launch of the Napa-1 satellite the Royal Thai Airforce (RTAF) has joined the ranks by having its first ever Earth Observation CubeSat in space. Its design, launch, early operations (LEOPS), and commissioning have been carried out by ISISpace, supporting the market’s need for imagery from space. Napa-1, meaning firmament in Thai, is a 6U CubeSat with the Gecko Imager from SCS Space as its primary payload, capable of taking RGB snapshot images with a 39-meter ground sampling distance (GSD) from 500 km altitude. In addition, the TriScape camera from Simera Sense flies onboard as an in-orbit technology demonstrator and is capable of delivering high-quality images with a GSD of 5 meter in the RGB bands. With well over 200 images taken by the primary payload this paper will look back on this exciting first period of Napa-1’s operational life and proudly present the very first images taken by the satellite and the lessons learnt throughout this turnkey mission. With that many images taken and that much data generated, the implemented onboard- and on ground data handling systems have been put to the test. ISISpace has made use of KUBOS’ Major Tom for command and control and having integrated a low-level processing tool, also for image data preview and delivery. Insight is provided into the systems and tools in place for image target planning, image acquisition, satellite command and control, and data delivery to the customer. How is it ensured targets are successfully captured? How is the usefulness of the image data efficiently validated? Subsequently, how is knowledge transfer to the customer accomplished to ensure successful routine operations? ISISpace will share the valuable lessons learnt from the mission planning, data handling, operations, and training points of view and show relevant in-orbit data on, for example, attitude behavior and temperature. In parallel, ISISpace has taken the next step in CubeSat Earth observation by using Napa-1 as a baseline while accommodating larger data streams and leveraging a higher level of automation. Together with the companies Simera Sense and Pinkmatter Solutions, multispectral images with automated on ground data processing (L0 up to L3) are to be delivered by the follow-up mission, Napa-2, to be launched in the summer of 2021. Details on this mission, including a further outlook at how CubeSat imagery and on ground processing will be shaped in the next few years will be provided

Tiotropium Respimat® add-on therapy to inhaled corticosteroids in patients with symptomatic asthma improves clinical outcomes regardless of baseline characteristics

BACKGROUND: Despite currently available therapies and detailed treatment guidelines, many patients with asthma remain symptomatic. Tiotropium delivered by the soft mist inhaler Respimat®, as add-on therapy to medium-dose inhaled corticosteroids (ICS), has been shown to improve lung function and asthma control in patients with symptomatic moderate asthma. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the efficacy of tiotropium Respimat® in asthma differs by patients' study baseline characteristics. METHODS: Two replicate Phase III, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group studies (MezzoTinA-asthma®; NCT01172808 and NCT01172821) of once-daily tiotropium Respimat 5 μg and 2.5 μg add-on to ICS were conducted in patients with symptomatic asthma despite treatment with medium-dose ICS with or without additional controllers. Subgroup analyses of peak forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), trough FEV1, risk of severe asthma exacerbation and Asthma Control Questionnaire responder rate were performed to determine whether results were influenced by patients' baseline characteristics. RESULTS: In this analysis, 523 patients received placebo while 517 and 519 patients received the 5 μg and 2.5 μg dose of tiotropium Respimat, respectively. The magnitude of the improvements in lung function and asthma control, as well as the reduced risk of severe exacerbation with both doses of tiotropium Respimat versus placebo, was independent of a broad range of baseline characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: Once-daily tiotropium Respimat as add-on to ICS is a beneficial treatment option for patients with asthma who remain symptomatic despite at least medium-dose ICS, regardless of baseline characteristics

Kroniek van het Europees materieel recht

The progression of EU law: Accommodating change and upholding value

Dealing with sustainability trade-offs of the compact city in peri-urban planning across European city regions. European Planning Studies

ABSTRACT The compact city has become a leading concept in the planning of peri-urban areas. The compact city concept is often advocated as "sustainable" because of claims that include lower emissions and conservation of the countryside. The literature shows, however, that there are certain trade-offs in striving for compaction, especially between environmental and social aspects of sustainability. In this article, we describe expressions of the compact city concept in the planning practice of several European urban sample regions, as well as policies and developments that contradict the compact city. We look at examples of positive and negative impacts of the compact city that were observed in the sample regions. Further, we discuss attempts by planners to deal with sustainability trade-offs. Being aware that developments in the peri-urban areas are closely connected to those in the inner city, we compare the sample regions in order to learn how the compact city concept has been used in planning peri-urban areas across different contexts in Europe: in Western, Central and Mediterranean Europe, and with growing, stable or declining populations. We conclude with recommendations with respect to balance in applying the compact city concept

Housing theory, housing research and housing policy

Jim Kemeny in 1992 criticised existing housing research for neglecting social theory and being overly positivist and policy focused. The result has been a strengthening of the conceptual basis of housing research in general, but also a growing schism between researchers who focus on policy relevancy and those that pursue more theoretical work. This paper challenges this schism and argues for theoretically based and policy relevant research. First the paper argues that the policy-making process is complex and can vary between different countries, situations and over time. Therefore, it is argued that many styles of research can influence policy in the right circumstances. Second, the paper challenges the idea that there can be theoretically-free housing research arguing that all research has a theoretical foundation even though in many studies it is not explicit. Finally, the paper engages with the debate about where theory for housing research should come from and what it would look like

Search for Two-Neutrino Double Electron Capture of 124^{124}Xe with XENON100

Two-neutrino double electron capture is a rare nuclear decay where two electrons are simultaneously captured from the atomic shell. For $^{124}$Xe this process has not yet been observed and its detection would provide a new reference for nuclear matrix element calculations. We have conducted a search for two-neutrino double electron capture from the K-shell of $^{124}$Xe using 7636 kg$\cdot$d of data from the XENON100 dark matter detector. Using a Bayesian analysis we observed no significant excess above background, leading to a lower 90 % credibility limit on the half-life $T_{1/2}>6.5\times10^{20}$ yr. We also evaluated the sensitivity of the XENON1T experiment, which is currently being commissioned, and find a sensitivity of $T_{1/2}>6.1\times10^{22}$ yr after an exposure of 2 t$\cdot$yr.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

Removing krypton from xenon by cryogenic distillation to the ppq level

The XENON1T experiment aims for the direct detection of dark matter in a cryostat filled with 3.3 tons of liquid xenon. In order to achieve the desired sensitivity, the background induced by radioactive decays inside the detector has to be sufficiently low. One major contributor is the $\beta$-emitter $^{85}$Kr which is an intrinsic contamination of the xenon. For the XENON1T experiment a concentration of natural krypton in xenon $\rm{^{nat}}$Kr/Xe < 200 ppq (parts per quadrillion, 1 ppq = 10$^{-15}$ mol/mol) is required. In this work, the design of a novel cryogenic distillation column using the common McCabe-Thiele approach is described. The system demonstrated a krypton reduction factor of 6.4$\cdot$10$^5$ with thermodynamic stability at process speeds above 3 kg/h. The resulting concentration of $\rm{^{nat}}$Kr/Xe < 26 ppq is the lowest ever achieved, almost one order of magnitude below the requirements for XENON1T and even sufficient for future dark matter experiments using liquid xenon, such as XENONnT and DARWIN