Non-systemic transmission of tick-borne diseases: a network approach

Tick-Borne diseases can be transmitted via non-systemic (NS) transmission. This occurs when tick gets the infection by co-feeding with infected ticks on the same host resulting in a direct pathogen transmission between the vectors, without infecting the host. This transmission is peculiar, as it does not require any systemic infection of the host. The NS transmission is the main efficient transmission for the persistence of the Tick-Borne Encephalitis virus in nature. By describing the heterogeneous ticks aggregation on hosts through a \hyphenation{dynamical} bipartite graphs representation, we are able to mathematically define the NS transmission and to depict the epidemiological conditions for the pathogen persistence. Despite the fact that the underlying network is largely fragmented, analytical and computational results show that the larger is the variability of the aggregation, and the easier is for the pathogen to persist in the population.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures, to be published in Communications in Nonlinear Science and Numerical Simulatio

Interplay of network dynamics and ties heterogeneity on spreading dynamics

The structure of a network dramatically affects the spreading phenomena unfolding upon it. The contact distribution of the nodes has long been recognized as the key ingredient in influencing the outbreak events. However, limited knowledge is currently available on the role of the weight of the edges on the persistence of a pathogen. At the same time, recent works showed a strong influence of temporal network dynamics on disease spreading. In this work we provide an analytical understanding, corroborated by numerical simulations, about the conditions for infected stable state in weighted networks. In particular, we reveal the role of heterogeneity of edge weights and of the dynamic assignment of weights on the ties in the network in driving the spread of the epidemic. In this context we show that when weights are dynamically assigned to ties in the network an heterogeneous distribution is able to hamper the diffusion of the disease, contrary to what happens when weights are fixed in time.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figure

Student team projects and natural resources education: Are we achieving educational objectives?

As college instructors have recognized the benefits provided by cooperative and active learning, many have shifted from their traditional teaching style, dominated by lectures, to a new style where students work together and learn from each other as well as from the instructor. One strategy commonly used to implement cooperative learning in the classroom is to require students to work in teams to complete a class project. This strategy is particularly attractive to natural resources educators because natural resource issues are generally complex and interdisciplinary providing a natural setting for teaching concepts regarding natural resources ecology and management using student team projects. Further, natural resources agencies are seeking to employ individuals who have the skills to work in interdisciplinary teams to address current problems. Thus, assigning projects to student teams in natural resources classes can serve several important purposes: it can aid student mastery of the subject matter by creating a cooperative learning environment; it can provide a hands-on, problem solving context for student learning; and it can provide students with the necessary skills and experience to work effectively in teams as professionals. Although using student team projects has many potential benefits, the effectiveness of this approach as a teaching tool can vary greatly. We reflect on our experiences with using the team approach in three different courses: Fishery Management, designed for junior and senior level students; Natural Resources Decisions, a capstone course designed for seniors in the School of Forest Resources; and Watershed Management Planning, a graduate level course. As a result of our collective experiences in these three courses, we propose that investing a relatively small amount of class time to introduce students to the concept of a team and how teams work can increase the effectiveness of teaching by using student team projects

Addressing inequalities in smart places: a primer for public administrations and third sector organisations

Over the past 15 years, a variety of initiatives that claim to make places smarter have been launched at different geographic levels and scales, with smart cities and smart villages being just the most prominent examples of this phenomenon. Despite their promises to foster socio-economic development through the implementation of innovative solutions, these initiatives have also attracted several criticisms. One of the areas of major concern for scholars, policymakers and activists is the ambiguous impact of smart places on existing inequalities. Much attention has been paid to the effects of smart cities and smart villages on digital and spatial divides within and between urban and rural areas. Many have also emphasised how biases in the design and implementation of smart technologies may accentuate socio-economic, gender-based and racial discriminations.Drawing on this academic debate, this report presents the results of a multidisciplinary research project exploring how inequalities are conceived and assessed in the context of smart places. The analysis focuses on two second-tier cities in Italy and Scotland and highlights a series of shortcomings in how inequalities are dealt with by policymakers and practitioners. To address these shortcomings, the authors propose a set of recommendations targeting both public administrations at different geographic levels and civil society organisations committed to reducing inequalities in smart places

Affrontare le disuguaglianze negli smart places: una guida per le amministrazioni pubbliche e le organizzazioni del terzo settore

Negli ultimi 15 anni sono state lanciate, a diversi livelli geografici, una varietà di iniziative che puntano a promuovere lo sviluppo socio-economico attraverso l’implementazione di soluzioni tecnologiche innovative. Smart cities e smart villages sono solo gli esempi più evidenti di questo fenomeno, che negli ultimi tempi ha attirato sia commenti entusiastici che diverse critiche. Una delle aree di maggiore preoccupazione per studiosi, amministrazioni pubbliche e esponenti della società civile è l’impatto ambiguo degli smart places in termini di disuguaglianze. Molta attenzione è stata dedicata agli effetti degli smart places sui divari digitali e sulle diseguaglianze territoriali già esistenti. Inoltre, è stato sottolineato come alcuni bias nella progettazione e nell’implementazione delle tecnologie digitali possano accentuare le discriminazioni socio-economiche, di genere e razziali. Prendendo spunto dal dibattito accademico in materia, questo report presenta i risultati di un progetto di ricerca multidisciplinare che esplora il modo in cui le disuguaglianze vengono concepite e valutate nel contesto delle iniziative legate agli smart places. L’analisi si concentra su due città di media grandezza in Italia e in Scozia e mette in luce una serie di carenze nel modo in cui le disuguaglianze vengono affrontate e valutate dagli attori locali coinvolti nelle iniziative di smart places. Per ovviare a queste carenze, il report propone una serie di raccomandazioni rivolte sia alle amministrazioni pubbliche sia alle organizzazioni della società civile impegnate a ridurre le disuguaglianze negli smart places