Expanding our understanding of biophilic design and implications for wellbeing in the built environment

The Biophilic Interior Design Matrix (BID-M) was created to assist designers with identifying biophilic interior design features for optimizing nature integration for evidence-based design. The BID-M was developed and tested with interior design practitioners in the United States. There was a need to further develop the BID-M for other cultures along with understanding the designers’ perceptions of biophilia. This was translated into Mandarin and tested in China with designers. This resulted in the above publication and now we are working on a new analysis of the US and comparing it to the China result

Source parameters and stress release of seismic sequences occurred in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region (Northeastern Italy) and in Western Slovenia

The source parameters of the major events of a swarm and of two seismic sequences, occurred in the Friuli area (Northeastern Italy) and in Western Slovenia, were estimated. The Claut swarm (C96) occurred since the end of January to June 1996, with a MD 4.3 major shock and it appears composed of three sub-sequences. The two sequences are the Kobarid sequence (K98) started on April 12, 1998 with a MD 5.6 mainshock and the M.te Sernio (S02) sequence caused by the February 14, 2002 earthquake (MD = 4.9). Acceleration and velocity data recorded by the local seismic network of the Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimenale (OGS) and corrected for attenuation, were employed to estimate seismic moments and radiated energies. Source dimensions were inferred from the computed corner frequencies and the stress release was estimated from the Brune stress drop, the apparent stress and the RMS stress drop. On the whole, seismic moments range from 1.7×1012 to 1.1×1017 Nm, and radiated energies are in the range 106–1013 J. Brune stress drops are scattered and do not show any evidence of a self-similarity breakdown for sources down to 130m radius. The radiated seismic energy scales as a function of seismic moment, with a slope of the scaling relation that decreases for increasing seismic moments. The mechanism of stress release was analyzed by computing the ε parameter of Zuniga [Zuniga, R., 1993. Frictional overshoot and partial stress drop. Which one? Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am. 83, 939–944]. The K98 and S02 sequences are characterized by a wide range of the ε parameter with stress drop mechanism varying from partial locking to overshoot cases. The ε values of the C96 swarm are more homogeneous and close to the Orowan’s condition. The radiated seismic energy and the ratio of stress drop between mainshock and aftershocks appear different among the analyzed cases.We therefore investigated the relationship between the stress parameters of the main shock and the energy radiated by the aftershock sequences. For this purpose, we also estimated the source parameters of two other sequences occurred in the area, with mainshocks of MD 4.1 and 5.1, respectively. We found a positive correlation between the Brune stress drop of the mainshock and the ratio between the radiated energy of the mainshock and the summation of the energies radiated by the aftershocks

Source parameters and stress release of seismic sequences occurred in the Friuli - Venezia Giulia region (Northeastern Italy) and in Western Slovenia

The source parameters of the major events of a swarm and of two seismic sequences, occurred in the Friuli area (North-eastern Italy) and in Western Slovenia, were estimated. The Claut swarm (C96) occurred since the end of January to June 1996, with a MD 4.3 major shock and it appears composed of 3 sub-sequences. The two sequences are the Kobarid sequence (K98) started on April, 12, 1998 with a MD 5.6 mainshock and the M.te Sernio (S02) sequence caused by the February, 14, 2002 earthquake (MD =4.9). Acceleration and velocity data recorded by the local seismic network of the Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimenale (OGS) and corrected for attenuation, were employed to estimate seismic moments and radiated energies. Source dimensions were inferred from the computed corner frequencies and the stress release was estimated from the Brune stress drop, the apparent stress and the RMS stress drop. On the whole, seismic moments range from 1.7 x 1012 to 1.1 x 1017 Nm, and radiated energies are in the range 106 – 1013 J. Brune stress drops are scattered and do not show any evidence of a self-similarity breakdown for sources down to 130 m radius. The radiated seismic energy scales as a function of seismic moment, with a slope of the scaling relation that decreases for increasing seismic moments. The mechanism of stress release was analyzed by computing the ε parameter of Zuniga (1993). The K98 and S02 sequences are characterized by a wide range of the ε parameter with stress drop mechanism varying from partial locking to overshoot cases. The ε values of the C96 swarm are more homogeneous and close to the Orowan’s condition. The radiated seismic energy and the ratio of stress drop between mainshock and aftershocks appear different among the analyzed cases. We therefore investigated the relationship between the stress parameters of the main shock and the energy radiated by the aftershock sequences. For this purpose, we also estimated the source parameters of two other sequences occurred in the area, with mainshocks of MD 4.1 and MD 5.1, respectively. We found a positive correlation between the Brune stress drop of the mainshock and the ratio between the radiated energy of the mainshock and the summation of the energies radiated by the aftershocks

Seismic risk assessment of italian seaports: the case of Ancona (Italy)

A National research project was recently carried out to develop a robust methodology for the design and retrofit of wharves structures located in areas of high to moderate seismicity. A detailed census of the Italian major seaports was performed using purposely devised questionnaires and Ancona harbor was chosen for a detailed investigation with the aim of providing risk assessment guidelines. This port has been selected as representative of a moderate seismicity area (expected peak ground acceleration of 0.25 g with a return period of 475 yrs). Ancona is the first harbor in the Adriatic sea, with more than a 1.500.000 passenger service and 150.000 trucks transit. It is equipped with 30 wharfs, 25 of which built in 1965-1975. To compute deterministic ground shaking scenarios, predictive empirical models have been used. At the same time advanced numerical simulation have been carried out both at high (0.7-30 Hz) and low (0-1.3) frequency ranges. The contributions of site effects and liquefaction have been also taken into account in damage estimation. Standard risk assessment has been performed using the empirical curves implemented in HAZUS program (NIBS, 2004), supported by recent studies (Lessloss, 2006, Del. 89) on damage observed after the 2003 event in Lefkas (Greece)

Deterministic ground-motion scenarios for engineering applications: the case of thessaloniki, Greece.

In this paper we present a deterministic study to estimate seismic ground motions expected in urban areas located near active faults. The purpose was to generate bedrock synthetic time series to be used as seismic input into site effects evaluation analysis and loss estimates for the urban area and infrastructures of Thessaloniki (Northern Greece). Two simulation techniques (a full wave method to generate low frequency,~< 1Hz, and a hybrid deterministic-stochastic technique to simulate high-frequency seismograms, ~> 1 Hz) were used to compute time series associated with four different reference earthquakes having magnitude from 5.9 to 6.5 and located within 30 km of Thessaloniki. The propagation medium and different source parameters were tested through the modeling of the 1978 Thessaloniki earthquake (M 6.5). Moreover two different nucleation points were considered for each fault in order to introduce additional variability in the ground motion estimates. Between the two cases, the quasi-unilateral rupture propagation toward the city produces both higher median PGA and PGV values and higher variability than bilateral ones. Conversely, the low-frequency ground motion (PGD) is slightly influenced by the position of the nucleation point and its variability is related to the final slip distribution on the faults of the reference earthquakes and to the location of the sites with respect to the nodal planes of the radiation pattern. To validate our deterministic shaking scenarios we verified that the synthetic peak ground motions (PGA, PGV) and spectral ordinates are within one standard deviation of several ground-motion prediction equations valid for the region. At specific sites we combined the low- and high-frequency synthetics to obtain broadband time series that cover all the frequency band of engineering interest (0-25 Hz). The use of synthetic seismograms instead of empirical equations in the hazard estimates provides a complete evaluation of the expected ground motions both in frequency and time domains, including predictions at short distances from the fault (0 – 10 km) and at periods larger than 2 – 3 seconds

The April 6, 2009, Mw 6.3, L'Aquila sequence: weak-motion and strong-motion data recorded by the RAIS temporary stations

The aim of this study is the sharing of waveforms recorded by several Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) temporary stations (managed by the Milan-Pavia section; INGV MI-PV). These stations were installed after the April 6, 2009, Mw 6.3, L'Aquila earthquake (central Italy). The work synthesizes the activities conducted in the field by the INGV MI-PV working group over the three months following the mainshock. The field activities were developed in four different phases that were defined according to their time periods. Starting from April 7, 2009, for the first phase, the temporary stations were installed in correspondence with the more damaged areas. The scope was to record the strongest aftershocks in the days that followed the mainshock. In this phase, the stations were composed of a six-component acquisition system that was coupled with both a weak-motion and a strong-motion sensor. After the first month, the last three phases of installation investigated the seismic responses of sites located in the epicentral area, involving villages within a radius of about 20 km from the epicenter of the April 6 mainshock. In this way, over four specific time-period phases, the stations were installed in sites with different lithological and geomorphological conditions. The instruments worked from April 7 to July 14, 2009; in this period, 9,155 aftershocks (134,262 accelerometric waveforms and 133,242 velocimetric waveforms), with ML ≤5.3 were recorded. This study describes the dataset of these earthquake waveforms recorded with both velocity and acceleration transducers. Selected waveforms are available through ftp://ftp.mi.ingv.it/download/RAIS-TS_rel01/, with their corresponding information concerning instrumental characteristics, installation sites, and earthquakes recorded

As políticas públicas e o Poder Judiciário no Brasil: controle judicial e limites de atuação

TCC(graduação) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Centro de Ciências Jurídicas. Direito.As políticas públicas são um dos principais meios pelos quais os Poderes Públicos asseguram à população direitos constitucionalmente previstos. Justamente por isso, é que no Brasil, principalmente a partir da Constituição de 1988, as políticas públicas adquiriram uma especial importância e o debate em torno delas sofreu considerável ampliação, principalmente sob o viés da separação dos poderes. Além disso, e também a partir desse período, o Poder Judiciário brasileiro começou a experimentar um agigantamento de suas funções. Diversos foram os fatores que contribuíram para isso e, consequentemente, para uma intensa judicialização da política no país, que transfere ao Poder Judiciário questões que eram tradicionalmente decididas pelo Legislativo e pelo Executivo, incluindo questões de políticas públicas. No entanto, sabe-se que a definição, gestão e planejamento dessas políticas, frequentemente, ficam a cargo do Poder Legislativo e do Poder Executivo e que nenhuma atribuição foi constitucionalmente outorgada ao Poder Judiciário, permitindo que ele atuasse diretamente sobre essas questões. Todavia, percebe-se que, muitas vezes, também ao exercer o controle externo da atividade legislativa e administrativa, o Poder Judiciário acaba sendo invocado para se manifestar sobre esse tipo de questão. Este trabalho objetiva verificar de que forma o Poder Judiciário realiza o controle judicial das políticas públicas, tendo em vista que além de algumas limitações internas, ele deve respeitar a discricionariedade outorgada aos agentes públicos, que são os principais responsáveis por manejarem essas questõesThe public policies are one of the most important ways in which the governments ensure the realization of the constitutionally guaranteed rights to the people. That is the very reason why in Brazil, especially from the 1988’s Constitution, the public policies acquired significant relevance and the debate on then has also increased, considering as well the separation of powers. Besides, also from this period, the brazilian judicial system has experienced a massive extension of its role. Multiple factors were responsible for that and, therefore, to an intense judicialization of politics in the country, that transfers to the judicial system issues, including the ones that embraces the public policies, that were traditionally decided in other spheres of the State activity. However, it is known that the definition, management and planning of this policies concerns especially to the Legislative and Executive Power and that none of this attributions were constitutionally granted to the Judicial Power, that could allow a directly judicial actuation over this issues. However, it is possible to realize that often when the Judicial Power do the judicial review of the legislative and the administrative activity, it also end up having to decide over the public policies. This work aims to verify how the Judicial Power do the public policies judicial review, being aware that besides some intern boundaries, the judicial system must respect the discretion conceded to the public agents, that are the major managers of this issues

Real Time acquisition and processing of strong motion data in Northern Italy: the RAIS network.

This work summarizes the characteristics of a strong motion network (RAIS, in Italian: “Rete Accelerometrica in Italia Settentrionale”, Strong Motion Network in Northern Italy) installed in northern Italy since 2006. The main goal of the RAIS is both to collect data with a wide range of magnitude, allowing us to increase the knowledge of the covered area, and to assure real time high quality data in case of strong events. For each recorded earthquake data are automatically processed in order to fast disseminate the most important ground motion parameters (peak ground acceleration and velocity, 5% damped acceleration, pseudo-velocity and relative response spectra, Arias and Housner intensities). Moreover, for each event, at each recording site, the Horizontal to Vertical Spectral Ratio are calculated. The analysis and metadata related to each event are collected in a web site (http://rais.mi.ingv.it) while the waveforms are distributed at different data center

Approcci deterministici per la stima del moto del suolo: vantaggi e limiti

Nel Progetto DPC-INGV S3 “Scenari di scuotimento in aree di interesse prioritario e/o strategico”, le stime del moto del suolo sono state ottenute attraverso l’applicazione di diverse tecniche di simulazione di sismogrammi sintetici. Le esperienze maturate nel corso del progetto hanno condotto alla stesura di linee guida per il calcolo degli scenari di scuotimento al bedrock attraverso approcci deterministici. In questo ambito è stata introdotta una classificazione degli scenari deterministici secondo tre diversi livelli di complessità

As políticas públicas e o Poder Judiciário no Brasil: controle judicial e limites de atuação

TCC(graduação) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Centro de Ciências Jurídicas. Direito.As políticas públicas são um dos principais meios pelos quais os Poderes Públicos asseguram à população direitos constitucionalmente previstos. Justamente por isso, é que no Brasil, principalmente a partir da Constituição de 1988, as políticas públicas adquiriram uma especial importância e o debate em torno delas sofreu considerável ampliação, principalmente sob o viés da separação dos poderes. Além disso, e também a partir desse período, o Poder Judiciário brasileiro começou a experimentar um agigantamento de suas funções. Diversos foram os fatores que contribuíram para isso e, consequentemente, para uma intensa judicialização da política no país, que transfere ao Poder Judiciário questões que eram tradicionalmente decididas pelo Legislativo e pelo Executivo, incluindo questões de políticas públicas. No entanto, sabe-se que a definição, gestão e planejamento dessas políticas, frequentemente, ficam a cargo do Poder Legislativo e do Poder Executivo e que nenhuma atribuição foi constitucionalmente outorgada ao Poder Judiciário, permitindo que ele atuasse diretamente sobre essas questões. Todavia, percebe-se que, muitas vezes, também ao exercer o controle externo da atividade legislativa e administrativa, o Poder Judiciário acaba sendo invocado para se manifestar sobre esse tipo de questão. Este trabalho objetiva verificar de que forma o Poder Judiciário realiza o controle judicial das políticas públicas, tendo em vista que além de algumas limitações internas, ele deve respeitar a discricionariedade outorgada aos agentes públicos, que são os principais responsáveis por manejarem essas questõesThe public policies are one of the most important ways in which the governments ensure the realization of the constitutionally guaranteed rights to the people. That is the very reason why in Brazil, especially from the 1988’s Constitution, the public policies acquired significant relevance and the debate on then has also increased, considering as well the separation of powers. Besides, also from this period, the brazilian judicial system has experienced a massive extension of its role. Multiple factors were responsible for that and, therefore, to an intense judicialization of politics in the country, that transfers to the judicial system issues, including the ones that embraces the public policies, that were traditionally decided in other spheres of the State activity. However, it is known that the definition, management and planning of this policies concerns especially to the Legislative and Executive Power and that none of this attributions were constitutionally granted to the Judicial Power, that could allow a directly judicial actuation over this issues. However, it is possible to realize that often when the Judicial Power do the judicial review of the legislative and the administrative activity, it also end up having to decide over the public policies. This work aims to verify how the Judicial Power do the public policies judicial review, being aware that besides some intern boundaries, the judicial system must respect the discretion conceded to the public agents, that are the major managers of this issues