Adult Education and the Struggle for Knowledge and Power: Practical Action in a Critical Tradition

Along with others we argue that practical space can be found in nearly all forms of adult education for the redistribution of knowledge and power. The purpose of the paper is to describe a way of understanding practical action in a world structured by the inequitable distribution of knowledge and power

Remodelación, Transformación y Rehabilitación. Tres formas de intervenir en la Vivienda Social del siglo XX

Social housing built in Spain between 1939 and 1976 constitutes a widespread urban pattern in contemporary cities. Its initial conditions, along with the effects of time, have led to obsolescence, requiring refurbishment for revitalisation. Programs developed over the last few years not only have provided the buildings with the appropriate standards of living conditions, but also have articulated them as a whole, integrating them into the socio-economic configuration of their urban area. The evolution of these intervention models will be reviewed analyzing the Urban Remodeling of Orcasitas (Madrid) and Viviendas del Gobernador housing (Barcelona), the Urban Transformation of La Mina (Barcelona) and the Integral Renovation of Barrio de Lourdes (Tudela).La vivienda social construida en España entre 1939 y 1976 supone un patrón urbano extendido en la ciudad contemporánea. Sus condiciones de partida y el efecto del tiempo la han llevado a desarrollar una serie de obsolescencias, que hacen necesario intervenir para conseguir su revitalización. Los programas desarrollados en los últimos años se ocupan de dotar a las edificaciones de unos niveles de habitabilidad adecuados, pero también de su articulación como grupo, y de su integración en la distribución socioeconómica del núcleo urbano. Mediante el análisis de la Remodelación Urbana de Orcasitas (Madrid) y de las Viviendas del Gobernador (Barcelona), la Transformación Urbana de La Mina (Barcelona) y la Rehabilitación Integral del Barrio de Lourdes (Tudela) se estudiará la evolución de estos modelos de actuación

Two dimensional dynamical systems which admit Lie and Noether symmetries

We prove two theorems which relate the Lie point symmetries and the Noether symmetries of a dynamical system moving in a Riemannian space with the special projective group and the homothetic group of the space respectively. The theorems are applied to classify the two dimensional Newtonian dynamical systems, which admit a Lie point/Noether symmetry. Two cases are considered, the non-conservative and the conservative forces. The use of the results is demonstrated for the Kepler - Ermakov system, which in general is non-conservative and for potentials similar to the H\`enon Heiles potential. Finally it is shown that in a FRW background with no matter present, the only scalar cosmological model which is integrable is the one for which 3-space is flat and the potential function of the scalar field is exponential. It is important to note that in all applications the generators of the symmetry vectors are found by reading the appropriate entry in the relevant tables.Comment: 25 pages, 17 table

Shopping centre siting and modal choice in Belgium: a destination based analysis

Although modal split is only one of the elements considered in decision-making on new shopping malls, it remarkably often arises in arguments of both proponents and opponents. Today, this is also the case in the debate on the planned development of three major shopping malls in Belgium. Inspired by such debates, the present study focuses on the impact of the location of shopping centres on the travel mode choice of the customers. Our hypothesis is that destination-based variables such as embeddedness in the urban fabric, accessibility and mall size influence the travel mode choice of the visitors. Based on modal split data and location characteristics of seventeen existing shopping centres in Belgium, we develop a model for a more sustainable siting policy. The results show a major influence of the location of the shopping centre in relation to the urban form, and of the size of the mall. Shopping centres that are part of a dense urban fabric, measured through population density, are less car dependent. Smaller sites will attract more cyclists and pedestrians. Interestingly, our results deviate significantly from the figures that have been put forward in public debates on the shopping mall issue in Belgium

The nonlinear Schroedinger equation for the delta-comb potential: quasi-classical chaos and bifurcations of periodic stationary solutions

The nonlinear Schroedinger equation is studied for a periodic sequence of delta-potentials (a delta-comb) or narrow Gaussian potentials. For the delta-comb the time-independent nonlinear Schroedinger equation can be solved analytically in terms of Jacobi elliptic functions and thus provides useful insight into the features of nonlinear stationary states of periodic potentials. Phenomena well-known from classical chaos are found, such as a bifurcation of periodic stationary states and a transition to spatial chaos. The relation of new features of nonlinear Bloch bands, such as looped and period doubled bands, are analyzed in detail. An analytic expression for the critical nonlinearity for the emergence of looped bands is derived. The results for the delta-comb are generalized to a more realistic potential consisting of a periodic sequence of narrow Gaussian peaks and the dynamical stability of periodic solutions in a Gaussian comb is discussed.Comment: Enhanced and revised version, to appear in J. Nonlin. Math. Phy

Relationship between spatial proximity and travel-to-work distance : the effect of the compact city

In this paper, an assessment is made of the relationship between selected aspects of spatial proximity (density, diversity, minimum commuting distance, jobs-housing balance and job accessibility) and reported commuting distances in Flanders (Belgium). Results show that correlations may depend on the considered trip end. For example, a high residential density, a high degree of spatial diversity and a high level of job accessibility are all associated with a short commute by residents, while a high job density is associated with a long commute by employees. A jobs-housing balance close to one is associated with a short commute, both by residents and by employees. In general, it appears that the alleged sustainability benefits of the compact city model are still valid in a context of continuously expanding commuting trip lengths

Understanding consumer demand for new transport technologies and services, and implications for the future of mobility

The transport sector is witnessing unprecedented levels of disruption. Privately owned cars that operate on internal combustion engines have been the dominant modes of passenger transport for much of the last century. However, recent advances in transport technologies and services, such as the development of autonomous vehicles, the emergence of shared mobility services, and the commercialization of alternative fuel vehicle technologies, promise to revolutionise how humans travel. The implications are profound: some have predicted the end of private car dependent Western societies, others have portended greater suburbanization than has ever been observed before. If transport systems are to fulfil current and future needs of different subpopulations, and satisfy short and long-term societal objectives, it is imperative that we comprehend the many factors that shape individual behaviour. This chapter introduces the technologies and services most likely to disrupt prevailing practices in the transport sector. We review past studies that have examined current and future demand for these new technologies and services, and their likely short and long-term impacts on extant mobility patterns. We conclude with a summary of what these new technologies and services might mean for the future of mobility.Comment: 15 pages, 0 figures, book chapte

Squeezed States of the Generalized Minimum Uncertainty State for the Caldirola-Kanai Hamiltonian

We show that the ground state of the well-known pseudo-stationary states for the Caldirola-Kanai Hamiltonian is a generalized minimum uncertainty state, which has the minimum allowed uncertainty $\Delta q \Delta p = \hbar \sigma_0/2$, where $\sigma_0 (\geq 1)$ is a constant depending on the damping factor and natural frequency. The most general symmetric Gaussian states are obtained as the one-parameter squeezed states of the pseudo-stationary ground state. It is further shown that the coherent states of the pseudo-stationary ground state constitute another class of the generalized minimum uncertainty states.Comment: RevTex4, 9 pages, no fingure; to be published in Journal of Physics