GIS-based methodology for evaluating the wind-energy potential of territories: A case study from Andalusia (Spain)

In recent years, Spain, in an effort to meet European Union (E.U.) targets, has been developing different strategies to promote the installation of renewable energy plants. In this regard, evaluating territories to assess their potential and thus identify optimum sites for the installation of energy-generating facilities is a crucial task. This paper presents a comprehensive geographic information system (GIS)-based site-selection methodology for wind-power plants in the province of Córdoba, which has hitherto been regarded as unsuitable for this sort of facility owing to the lack of wind resources. Three scenarios have been set out, each of which presents a different set of restrictions. Scenario 2 applies the most stringent restrictions in the specialized literature, and finds no suitable areas for the installation of wind-energy plants. However, Scenario 1, which applies the least stringent restrictions, and Scenario 3, which applies the same restrictions currently in force for other wind turbines already in operation in Andalusia, have led to the identification of several areas that could a priori be considered suitable and now need more detailed analysis. The results illustrate the convenience of undertaking multiscenario analyses

Universidad Vigilada, Universidad Asediada

LA UNIVERSIDAD Y EL ESTADO1por Jaime Lavados Montes  

SEMA4A: An ontology for emergency notification systems accessibility

This is the post-print version of the final paper published in Expert Systems with Applications. The published article is available from the link below. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. Copyright @ 2009 Elsevier B.V.Providing alert communication in emergency situations is vital to reduce the number of victims. Reaching this goal is challenging due to users’ diversity: people with disabilities, elderly and children, and other vulnerable groups. Notifications are critical when an emergency scenario is going to happen (e.g. a typhoon approaching) so the ability to transmit notifications to different kind of users is a crucial feature for such systems. In this work an ontology was developed by investigating different sources: accessibility guidelines, emergency response systems, communication devices and technologies, taking into account the different abilities of people to react to different alarms (e.g. mobile phone vibration as an alarm for deafblind people). We think that the proposed ontology addresses the information needs for sharing and integrating emergency notification messages over distinct emergency response information systems providing accessibility under different conditions and for different kind of users.Ministerio de Educación y Cienci

Combining software engineering and design thinking practices in the ideation process of augmented digital experiences

Designing augmented and tangible experiences that intertwine human practices and expectations, interaction spaces and complex digital artifacts is a complex and multifaceted task that relies upon iterative and multidisciplinary ideation processes. Design thinking techniques have been traditionally used in ideation of such digital artifacts. In this paper, we posit that integrating some software engineering practices can improve ideation by providing a structure to the process and helping to build a shared and permanently documented design rationale. It is not a matter of software engineering versus design thinking but a question of developing a holistic understanding of technological development where discipline and creativity, rationality and emotions and quality centered and people centered coexist. Based on this assumption, we conceived a software tool called CoDICE that offers a virtual co-design space where augmented digital experiences are documented and analyzed in a shared and distributed way. The paper discusses how CoDICE contributes to alleviate some problems of co-design events including the need to support multiple co-design spaces, make explicit the co-design process and its goals, support documentation, justify design decisions, explore multiple ideas and generate a shared representation of the outcomes. Two scenarios are used to illustrate the tool utility: short-term co-design workshops in which the tool enabled multidisciplinary teams of novice designers to explore and structure their ideas and a long-term co-design project where the tool facilitated traceability, documentation, the reuse of design components and the shared elaboration of the design rationale and evolution of the deployed technologies.meSch project European Commission FP7 (600851

Evaluating the Response of Mediterranean-Atlantic Saltmarshes to Sea-Level Rise

Saltmarshes provide high-value ecological services and play an important role in coastal ecosystems and populations. As the rate of sea level rise accelerates in response to climate change, saltmarshes and tidal environments and the ecosystem services that they provide could be lost in those areas that lack sediment supply for vertical accretion or space for landward migration. Predictive models could play an important role in foreseeing those impacts, and to guide the implementation of suitable management plans that increase the adaptive capacity of these valuable ecosystems. The SLAMM (sea-level affecting marshes model) has been extensively used to evaluate coastal wetland habitat response to sea-level rise. However, uncertainties in predicted response will also reflect the accuracy and quality of primary inputs such as elevation and habitat coverage. Here, we assessed the potential of SLAMM for investigating the response of Atlantic-Mediterranean saltmarshes to future sea-level rise and its application in managerial schemes. Our findings show that SLAMM is sensitive to elevation and habitat maps resolution and that historical sea-level trend and saltmarsh accretion rates are the predominant input parameters that influence uncertainty in predictions of change in saltmarsh habitats. The understanding of the past evolution of the system, as well as the contemporary situation, is crucial to providing accurate uncertainty distributions and thus to set a robust baseline for future prediction

ECCE Toolkit: Prototyping Sensor-Based Interaction

Building and exploring physical user interfaces requires high technical skills and hours of specialized work. The behavior of multiple devices with heterogeneous input/output channels and connectivity has to be programmed in a context where not only the software interface matters, but also the hardware components are critical (e.g., sensors and actuators). Prototyping physical interaction is hindered by the challenges of: (1) programming interactions among physical sensors/actuators and digital interfaces; (2) implementing functionality for different platforms in different programming languages; and (3) building custom electronic-incorporated objects. We present ECCE (Entities, Components, Couplings and Ecosystems), a toolkit for non-programmers that copes with these issues by abstracting from low-level implementations, thus lowering the complexity of prototyping small-scale, sensor-based physical interfaces to support the design process. A user evaluation provides insights and use cases of the kind of applications that can be developed with the toolkit.This research project has been partially funded by the EU FP7 project meSch (Grant agreement 600851) and national Spanish project CREAx (TIN2014-56534-R). We thank participants of the TEI 2014 studio and the DEI Laboratory staff and students at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid for their valuable feedback

Georreferenciación y Análisis Espacial de Actuaciones de Rehabilitación Residencial en Alcalá de Guadaira (Sevilla)

El deterioro del patrimonio inmobiliario y la pérdida de calidad ambiental del espacio habitado han demandado, a lo largo de los años, una actuación pública encaminada a remediar la escasa atención prestada a los aspectos de mantenimiento y mejora del patrimonio residencial y urbano existente. Son las Administraciones Públicas las encargadas de fomentar y controlar las actuaciones de rehabilitación, suponiendo un importante esfuerzo a nivel de gestión, coordinación y tramitación administrativa. En este sentido, la caracterización espacial de las actuaciones de rehabilitación aporta un valor añadido, con nuevas posibilidades para la planificación y organización. Al ser una actividad vinculada al territorio, favorece el conocimiento de los ámbitos de actuación y da respuesta a la creciente demanda de información para el análisis y valoración del desarrollo de las políticas públicas. En la presente comunicación, se aborda la georreferenciación de un conjunto de actuaciones en materia de rehabilitación residencial, en el municipio de Alcalá de Guadaira (Sevilla), mediante la aplicación de dos métodos complementarios basados en geocódigos y descriptores de la localización geográfica (referencia catastral y dirección postal). La espacialización resultante garantiza la localización, a nivel de parcela, de más del 80% de las actuaciones y permite asociar a la posición espacial cualquier otro grupo de información adicional que puede ser posteriormente procesada, analizada y representada cartográficamente a través de las herramientas SIG

La dimensión territorial de la mujer inmigrante extranjera en Andalucía

La llegada de un amplio número de inmigrantes extranjeros de diversas nacionalidades ha significado un cambio importante en el paisaje humano de Andalucía. Aunque a lo largo de la historia siempre ha habido presencia de mujeres en las migraciones, es ahora cuando se disponen de datos de inmigrantes extranjeros segregados por sexo, lo cuál hace posible el análisis de la distribución de la mujer inmigrante extranjera en la región. El objetivo principal de la presente comunicación es analizar a escala municipal la distribución territorial de las mujeres inmigrantes en Andalucía según su país de procedencia. Para ello se usarán herramientas de análisis estadístico y los Sistemas Información Geográfica, que permitirán elaborar cartografía temática para el estudio. Todo ello permitirá una aproximación al fenómeno de la inmigración desde una perspectiva de género que mejorará el conocimiento de la realidad actual, manteniéndose de esta forma la actividad investigadora sobre el fenómeno de la inmigración en Andalucía tal y como queda reflejado en los objetivos del Primer y Segundo Plan Integral para la Inmigración en Andalucía (Consejería de Gobernación. Junta de Andalucía. 2002; 2007)

Connections between Water, Energy and Landscape: The Social Acceptance in the Monachil River Valley (South of Spain)

The relationship between water and renewable energy, as a vertebrate axis of the territory and landscape and its social acceptance in the Monachil river valley, was analysed. Qualitative interviews and surveys were designed and implemented using quantitative techniques that enabled the measure factors and dimensions of the perception of water, territory, and landscape. The main values and elements of the Monachil inventory, their links with ecosystem services, and traditional activities were identified. In addition, the influence of these premises on the acceptance of renewable energy projects was analysed. Results show that in Monachil, water is part of the territorial identity and landscape of the valley. There is also a strong link between the territory and hydroelectric power, which has generated a new energy landscape. More recently, solar energy has led them to pioneer an energy transition at the local scale. It is demonstrated how renewable energy infrastructures have been integrated into territorial practices