Wet Refractivity tomographic reconstruction over small areas using an ad-hoc GPS receivers network

One of the most attractive scientific issues in the use of GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) signal from a meteorological point of view, is the retrieval of high resolution tropospheric water vapour maps. The real-time (or quasi real-time) knowledge of such distributions could be very useful for several applications, from operative meteorology to atmospheric modeling. Moreover, the exploitation of wet refractivity field reconstruction techniques can be used for atmospheric delay compensation purposes and, as a very promising activity, it could be applied for example to calibrate SAR or Interferometric-SAR (In-SAR) observations for land remote sensing. This is in fact one of the objectives of the European Space Agency project METAWAVE (Mitigation of Electromagnetic Transmission errors induced by Atmospheric Water vapour Effects), in which several techniques were investigated and results were compared to identify a strategy to remove the contribution of water vapour induced propagation delays in In-SAR products. Within this project, the tomographic reconstruction of three dimensional wet refractivity fields on a small atmospheric volume (16km x 20 km x 10 km height, from 2 km to 4 km horizontal resolution and 1 km vertical resolution), was performed considering real tropospheric delays observations acquired by a GNSS network (9 dual frequency GPS receivers) deployed over Como area (Italy), during 12-18 October, 2008. Acquired L1 and L2 carrier phase observations have been processed in terms of hourly averaged Zenith Wet Delays. These vertical informations have been mapped along the correspondent line of sights (by up-sampling at 30 second sample times the 15 minutes GPS satellites positions obtained from IGS files) and inverted using a tomographic procedure. The used algorithm performs a first reconstruction (namely, the tomographic pre-processing) based on generalized inversion mechanisms, in order to define a low resolution first guess for the following step. This second step inverts GPS observables using a more refined algebraic tomographic reconstruction algorithm, in order to improve both vertical and horizontal resolution. Despite limitations due to the network design, internal consistency tests prove the efficiency of the adopted tomographic approach: the rms of the difference between reconstructed and GNSS observed Zenith Wet Delays (ZWD) are in the order of 4 mm. A good agreement is also observed between our ZWDs and corresponding delays obtained by vertically integrating independent wet refractivity fields, taken by co-located meteorological analysis. Finally, during the observing period, reconstructed vertical wet refractivity profiles evolution reveals water vapour variations induced by simple cloud covering. Even if our main goal was to demonstrate the effectiveness in adopting tomographic reconstruction procedures for the evaluation of propagation delays inside water vapour fields, the actual water vapour vertical variability and its evolution with time is well reproduced, demonstrating also the effectiveness of the inferred 3D wet refractivity fields. Even if results obtained were satisfactory, limitations due to the observation geometry, to the GNSS propagation delay information extraction form observables and to the applied tomographic technique will be highlighted, in order to trace the road-map toward future improvements in this challenging fiel

Social impact of green urban renewal in two European capital cities, The: Copenhagen and Vienna in comparison

Presented at the Environmental justice in the Anthropocene symposium held on April 24-25, 2017 at the Lory Student Center, Colorado State University, Fort Collins Colorado. This symposium aims to bring together academics (faculty and graduate students), independent researchers, community and movement activists, and regulatory and policy practitioners from across disciplines, research areas, perspectives, and different countries. Our overarching goal is to build on several decades of EJ research and practice to address the seemingly intractable environmental and ecological problems of this unfolding era. How can we explore EJ amongst humans and between nature and humans, within and across generations, in an age when humans dominate the landscape? How can we better understand collective human dominance without obscuring continuing power differentials and inequities within and between human societies? What institutional and governance innovations can we adopt to address existing challenges and to promote just transitions and futures?The need for more sustainable cities is a key point of the EU Urban Agenda. Although the attention to social inclusion, especially in the most deprived urban areas, is an important pillar of this strategy, a clear evaluation of the social impacts of sustainability programs in EU Cities is however still missing. This paper aims to fill this gap, by analyzing, in comparative perspective, the social impacts of green renewal in Europe. By selecting as case studies Vienna and Copenhagen and implementing a mixed method approach to empirical investigation (quantitative data gathering; interviews with key informants in cities; ethnographic research in areas of the cities affected by green urban renewal and programs for sustainability; comparative analysis of data and information) the research identifies intended and unintended impacts of these strategies in terms of social and spatial inequality among social groups. The main communalities between Vienna and Copenhagen are the strong promotion of strategies of green urban renewal as asset for attractivity and demographic growth (inner-districts green renewal, waterfront redevelopment, new eco-districts). The most important differences are related to the affordability of the housing market resulting from the implementation of such strategies, a factor that plays a huge role in fostering or containing social and spatial inequalities in contemporary Green European cities.Project financed by the program Horizon 2020, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Research Grant 702528

Trening orijentacija u obrazovnim putanjama žena. Rodne razlike u STEM području

Throughout the twentieth century education was, particularly in Western society, marked by the idea of gender differences, thereby conveying sexist stereotypes and outlining a culture that declared itself neutral. In reality this culture did nothing but “shape” the female gender based on the male prototype, which was considered to be superior. Differences in the skills of both sexes have, until today, been interpreted as consequences of “innate” inclinations, thus girls were directed towards certain activities and trajectories, while boys were directed towards others. Today we see a clear separation in the study directions, which has been defined by gender gaps: women opt for human and social sciences, while men prefer technical disciplines. The consequence of this, which is visible in many areas, is that women were considered “inadequate” to respond to the growing technological progress precisely because the culture they lived in had not prepared them to confront it. In particular, the obstacles felt by women in approaching the STEM area could be attributed to an “inner prohibition” of sorts , which is the result of an everlasting cultural legacy. Furthermore, school curricula are still directed towards gender conformation, thus leaving little space for individual differences, orienting males and females towards stereotypical choices, which do not always correspond to their own desires. On the other hand, female presence within the scientific and professional pathways of the STEM area, as well as their career advancement, are significantly lower than the one of males, as confirmed by the most recent Italian data as well as international literature, highlighting, even today, the persistence of an unfriendly approach to female presence in the digital world. The present study, which takes the form of a review of the current state of the art on the topics in question and is based on the epistemological paradigm of the critical feminist pedagogy, attempts to decode the implicit principles in the field of individual education. It also strives to demonstrate historical differences in knowledge transmission according to the traditional and patriarchal pattern of understaning female and male characteristics, thereby affecting the attitudes of men and women and influencing their educational choices.Tijekom dvadesetog stoljeća, osobito u zapadnom društvu, obrazovanje je bilo prožeto idejom rodnih razlika, prenosivši seksističke stereotipe i ocrtavajući kulturu koja se proglasila neutralnom, ali koja u stvarnosti nije ništa drugo nego “oblikovala" ženski rod na temelju muškog prototipa, koji je smatran superiornim. Razlike u vještinama oba spola interpretirane su kao posljedice “urođenih” sklonosti, stoga su djevojke bile usmjeravane prema jednim aktivnostima i putanjama, a dječaci prema drugima; sve do današnjeg dana, kada vidimo jasno razdvajanje u smjeru studiranja koje je definirano rodnim razlikama: žene se odlučuju za humanističke i društvene znanosti, dok muškarci preferiraju tehničke znanosti. Posljedica toga, vidljiva u mnogim područjima, jest da su žene smatrane “neadekvatne” odgovoriti na napredak tehnološkog napretka upravo zato što ih kultura u kojoj žive nije pripremila da se s njime suoče. Posebice, prepreke koje žene osjećaju u pristupu STEM (znanosti, tehnologiji, inženjerstvu i matematici) području mogu se pripisani nekoj vrsti “interne zabrane”, koja je rezultat stalno prisutnog kulturnog nasljeđa. Nadalje, školski kurikulumi su i dalje usmjereni na rodnu konformaciju, ostavljajući malo prostora za individualne razlike, usmjeravajući muškarce i žene prema stereotipnim izborima koji uvijek ne odgovaraju njihovim osobnim željama. S druge strane, prisutnost žena na znanstvenim i stručnim putovima STEM područja, kao i napredovanje u karijeri, značajno je manja nego muškaraca, što potvrđuju i najnoviji talijanski podaci, kao i međunarodna literatura, naglašavajući, čak i danas, postojanje neprijateljskog stava prema pristupu žena digitalnom svijetu. Ovaj tekst, u obliku pregleda trenutnog stanja, oslonjen na epistemološku paradigmu kritičke feminističke pedagogije, nastoji dekodirati implicitne postavke u području individualnog obrazovanja i prikazuje povijesne razlike u prijenosu znanja prema tradicionalnom / patrijarhalnom obrascu shvaćanja ženskih i muških karakteristika, a koje utječu na stavove muškaraca i žena te na njihove izbore obrazovnih putanja

Ritornare all’affitto: evidenze analitiche e politiche pubbliche

La crisi ha contribuito a far emergere, in tutta la sua drammaticità, un disagio abitativo diffuso le cui cause strutturali vanno ricercate nelle dinamiche del mercato residenziale italiano degli ultimi trent’anni. La letteratura scientifica e l’accesa discussione pubblica si sono principalmente concentrate attorno alla fragilità delle politiche di edilizia residenziale pubblica e di social housing, le difficoltà di accesso al credito per l’acquisto di case e le problematiche relative al costo della locazione e al rinnovo dei contratti. La tesi che si sostiene in questo contributo è che per l’Italia sia auspicabile un “ritorno all’affitto” attraverso programmi e politiche pubbliche che si pongano l’obiettivo di un sostanziale cambio nei titoli di godimento dello stock abitativo. Il paper mette a fuoco le molteplici rigidità causate in Italia dall'eccesso di abitazioni occupate dai proprietari, fra cui: la ricchezza delle famiglie congelata in immobili e mutui, la scarsa mobilità territoriale, un’elevata soglia di accesso all’alloggio, l’indebitamento prolungato, la dipendenza dei figli dai genitori, il sottoutilizzo dello stock residenziale. Attraverso un’analisi della situazione anche di altri paesi europei dove negli ultimi anni si è registrata la diminuzione del peso delle case di proprietà sullo stock abitativo complessivo (fra cui l’Irlanda, la Spagna, l’Islanda, ovvero paesi colpiti fortemente dalla crisi) sono quindi discusse possibili politiche di ritorno all’affitto, che si pongano l’ambizioso traguardo del cambio del titolo di godimento dalla proprietà alla locazione per quattro milioni di unità abitative su scala nazionale in dieci anni

Potential and limitations of innovative housing solutions in planning for degrowth: the case of Vienna

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Effects of the restoration actions to combat desertification on soils: the practice project study site in Pula (Sardinia, Italy)

Land Degradation and Desertification affect much of the world’s drylands, resulting in a significant loss of biological and economic productivity. Responding to desertification by improving the efficiency of land and resource management represents a crucial step towards social welfare in drylands. However, the evaluation of the actions to combat desertification remains limited. The PRACTICE EC-FP7 project develops and tests integrated evaluation protocols to assess the effectiveness of restoration practices in a network of study sites distributed among the most LD affected regions of the world