1,961 research outputs found
Dare to imagine. Explorative scenarios for re-shaping human-nature relationships in an inner periphery in the Italian Apennines
The article investigates the relationship between planning and future by presenting and discussing the application of the scenario-making approach to an inner periphery in the Italian Northern Appennine, the semi-abandoned village of Ebbio, in the province of Piacenza. Inner peripheries are commonly described as the territories that have “no future”, namely those where the idea of the future is most problematic due to socio-economic decline, marginalization, and demographic shrinkage. In particular, we present two explorative scenarios and discuss them comparatively, looking at their space and time declinations, and their capacity to shape different patterns of human-nature relationships. The two scenarios imagine the case study transformed, respectively, into an “agroecological village” in which food is interpreted as a key component in the creation of a new local economy based on agroecological practices, and into a “wild village” with the invasion of nature in the village according to a “more-than-human” perspective. Results highlight the relevance that the scenarios’ reflexive and dialogic construction can have for exploring possibilities about the future that were not previously considered by local institutions and civil society. Moreover, the scenario-making approach proved a relevant means to guide local communities to change their relationship with and perception toward nature, passing from a traditional view of “dominance” over natural resources and habitats, toward more balanced patterns of coexistence shaped by reciprocal socio-ecological relations
Work-related stress mediate the relationship between safety climate and safety performance.
During the last few years the approach to prevention of injury has focused more on the human factor, highlighting the important role that work-related stress, safety climate and safety culture play in preventing work accidents (Fogarty, 2004). The main aim of the present study was to test Fogarty\u2019s (2004) proposition that the link between safety climate and errors is mediated by psychological health and that psychological stress has an important role as being among the immediate causes of accidents.
For these reasons safety climate, safety performance and work-related stress were assessed in 98 metal and mechanical workers employed in two different companies in the north-east of Italy. The validated Integrated Organizational Safety Climate Questionnaire was used to assess three safety climate measures (Organizational, Supervisor and Co-worker). Each item on each measure has a 7-point scale that ranges from 1 = never to 7 = always. The Italian version of the HSE Management Standards Indicator Tool was used to asses work related stress. Each item has a 5-point scale that ranges from 1 = never to 5 = always.
A Structural equation model showed that work related stress seemed to mediate the relationship between safety climate and safety performance. More data must to be collected to confirm the model.
The results suggest the importance for management to monitor both safety climate and individual health variables to avoid accidents and errors
Spectral Line Removal in the LIGO Data Analysis System (LDAS)
High power in narrow frequency bands, spectral lines, are a feature of an
interferometric gravitational wave detector's output. Some lines are coherent
between interferometers, in particular, the 2 km and 4 km LIGO Hanford
instruments. This is of concern to data analysis techniques, such as the
stochastic background search, that use correlations between instruments to
detect gravitational radiation. Several techniques of `line removal' have been
proposed. Where a line is attributable to a measurable environmental
disturbance, a simple linear model may be fitted to predict, and subsequently
subtract away, that line. This technique has been implemented (as the command
oelslr) in the LIGO Data Analysis System (LDAS). We demonstrate its application
to LIGO S1 data.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, to be published in CQG GWDAW02 proceeding
The Polyakov action on the supertorus
A consistent method for obtaining a well-defined Polyakov action on the
supertorus is presented. This method uses the covariantization of derivative
operators and enables us to construct a Polyakov action which is globally
defined.Comment: 15 pages LaTe
Provenancing of a marble artefact from the Etruscan town of Chiusi (Siena, Italy): a contribution to the knowledge of trade exchanges between Etruria and the Central Aegean in the Archaic period
High Temperature Stability of Onion-Like Carbon vs Highly Oriented Pyrolytic Graphite
Abstract
The thermodynamic stability of onion-like carbon (OLC) nanostructures with respect to highly oriented pyrolytic graphite
(HOPG) was determined in the interval 765–1030 K by the electromotive force (emf) measurements of solid electrolyte
galvanic cell: (Low) Pt|Cr3C2,CrF2,OLC|CaF2s.c.|Cr3C2,CrF2,HOPG|Pt (High). The free energy change of transformation
HOPG = OLC was found positive below 920.6 K crossing the zero value at this temperature. Its trend with temperature was
well described by a 3rd degree polynomial. The unexpected too high values of
LDrHT
LT
P
~DcPðTÞ jointly to the HR-TEM,
STEM and EELS evidences that showed OLC completely embedded in rigid cages made of a Cr3C2/CrF2 matrix, suggested
that carbon in the electrodes experienced different internal pressures. This was confirmed by the evaluation under constant
volume of
dP
dT
by the
a
k
ratio for OLC (0.5 MPa K21) and HOPG (8 Pa K21) where a and k are the isobaric thermal expansion
and isothermal compressibility coefficients, respectively. The temperature dependency of the pressure was derived and
utilized to calculate the enthalpy and entropy changes as function of temperature and pressure. The highest value of the
internal pressure experienced by OLC was calculated to be about 7 GPa at the highest temperature. At 920.6 K, DrH and
DrS values are 95.8 kJ mol21 and 104.1 JK21 mol21, respectively. The surface contributions to the energetic of the system
were evaluated and they were found negligible compared with the bulk terms. As a consequence of the high internal
pressure, the values of the enthalpy and entropy changes were mainly attributed to the formation of carbon defects in OLC
considered as multishell fullerenes. The change of the carbon defect fraction is reported as a function of temperature
Analysis of a Motocross Knee Brace: From the Real Model to the Numerical Finite Element Model via 3D Scanning and Reverse Engineering
Featured Application: This study outlines a novel procedure for the Finite Element Modelling and Analysis of motocross knee braces under race conditions. The aim is to quantitatively evaluate the effectiveness of such stabilisers in reducing the risk and consequences of musculoskeletal injuries, considering the current lack of industrial standards and dedicated scientific research works. Musculoskeletal injuries often occur when performing motocross; almost half of the overall ligamentous injuries (42%) are knee ligaments injuries. Lesions can be greatly reduced with knee braces. Commercial knee braces are expected to oppose and limit unwanted and potentially harmful movements such as hyperextension and excessive rotation of the knee joint. However, this aspect has not been fully investigated from a biomechanical point of view. This would require proper Finite Element Modelling (FEM) and Analysis (FEA). However, to perform FEA and evaluate the efficacy of the brace simulating sportive conditions, numerical models need to be built. It requires a dedicated setup and several preprocessing steps, for which no industrial standard or widely accepted better practise is available as of today. Firstly, the brace and the lower limb are scanned using a 3D scanner. The geometry is reconstructed using reverse engineering techniques. These allow us to obtain a smooth, reliable 3D model starting from the points cloud acquired during scanning. A lower limb model was created using a mixed approach, combining MRI data and 3D scanning. Finally, a simulation of the impact condition after a jump using the developed model was carried out
d=2, N=2 Superconformal Symmetries and Models
We discuss the following aspects of two-dimensional N=2 supersymmetric
theories defined on compact super Riemann surfaces: parametrization of (2,0)
and (2,2) superconformal structures in terms of Beltrami coefficients and
formulation of superconformal models on such surfaces (invariant actions,
anomalies and compensating actions, Ward identities).Comment: 43 pages, late
Null-stream veto for two co-located detectors: Implementation issues
Time-series data from multiple gravitational wave (GW) detectors can be
linearly combined to form a null-stream, in which all GW information will be
cancelled out. This null-stream can be used to distinguish between actual GW
triggers and spurious noise transients in a search for GW bursts using a
network of detectors. The biggest source of error in the null-stream analysis
comes from the fact that the detector data are not perfectly calibrated. In
this paper, we present an implementation of the null-stream veto in the
simplest network of two co-located detectors. The detectors are assumed to have
calibration uncertainties and correlated noise components. We estimate the
effect of calibration uncertainties in the null-stream veto analysis and
propose a new formulation to overcome this. This new formulation is
demonstrated by doing software injections in Gaussian noise.Comment: Minor changes; To appear in Class. Quantum Grav. (Proc. GWDAW10
Induced Polyakov supergravity on Riemann surfaces of higher genus
An effective action is obtained for the , induced supergravity on a
compact super Riemann surface (without boundary) of genus ,
as the general solution of the corresponding superconformal Ward identity. This
is accomplished by defining a new super integration theory on
which includes a new formulation of the super Stokes theorem and residue
calculus in the superfield formalism. Another crucial ingredient is the notion
of polydromic fields. The resulting action is shown to be well-defined and free
of singularities on \sig. As a by-product, we point out a morphism between
the diffeomorphism symmetry and holomorphic properties.Comment: LPTB 93-10, Latex file 20 page
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