Proposta di rifunzionalizzazione di antichi reservoir in rapporto con un nuovo villaggio per bambini in Cagliari, regione Sardegna (Italia)

Cagliari, ciudad principal de la soleada isla italiana de Cerdeña, es rica en historia, cultura y carácter. Su espectacular paisaje de imponentes montañas y colinas a lo largo del Mediterráneo le otorgo características distintivas que ningún otro lugar en Italia posee. Siglos de historia en Cagliari han dado lugar a una arquitectura única en toda la ciudad y lugares que dan testimonio de su pasado histórico. Entre ellos, hay un sitio interesante ubicado en el Monte Urpinu, donde se encuentran cuatro gigantescos tanques bajo tierra, actualmente abandonados y originalmente utilizados por la marina como depósito de combustible en los años treinta (Cerdeña subterránea, 2020). En cuanto a la memoria histórica del lugar, el artículo presenta el desarrollo de una propuesta dirigida a rehabilitar los contenedores como depósitos de agua, acordes funcionalmente con el contexto natural existente y la nueva intervención. El proyecto arquitectónico prevé una escuela primaria, integrada con el pinar, la cual, según las diferentes estaciones de climáticas de la ciudad, se puede vivir en dos niveles diferentes: escuela de invierno en la planta superior y escuela de verano en la planta baja. El objetivo principal es habitar la montaña, explotando el potencial natural de la luz, el agua y los árboles. El sitio recuperado se convierte en un lugar privilegiado para aplicar el “método Montessori” que propone la educación de niños en contacto constante con la naturaleza durante el día: se les anima a "trabajar independientemente", incluso en un entorno agreste. Dado que se trata de cuatro enormes tanques de agua, se propone un sistema de agua autosuficiente. Finalmente, se toma conciencia de un fenómeno natural reciente llamado "bomba de agua" por lo que la intervención paisajística tiene como objetivo recuperar incluso grandes cantidades de agua que de otro modo se dispensarían en el suelo.Cagliari, capoluogo della soleggiata isola italiana della Sardegna, è ricca di storia, cultura e carattere. Con il suo spettacolare scenario di imponenti montagne e dolci colline lungo il Mediterraneo, questa città possiede caratteristiche distintive che nessun altro luogo in Italia possiede. Secoli di storia a Cagliari hanno dato origine a un'architettura unica in tutta la città e luoghi che testimoniano il suo passato storico. Tra questi, c’è un sito interessante posto sul Monte Urpinu, dove giacciono quattro giganteschi serbatoi scavati sottoterra, abbandonati, utilizzati originariamente dalla marina come deposito di carburante negli anni Trenta (Sardegna sotterranea, 2020). Riguardante la memoria storica del luogo, l'articolo mostra lo sviluppo di una proposta volta a riabilitare i bacini come serbatoi d'acqua, funzionali al contesto naturale esistente e al nuovo intervento. Il progetto è una scuola materna ed elementare, integrata nella pineta e, a seconda delle diverse stagioni della città, può essere vissuta su due diversi livelli, come scuola invernale al piano superiore ed estiva al piano terra. L'obiettivo principale è quello di abitare la montagna, sfruttando le potenzialità naturali della luce, dell'acqua, degli alberi. Il sito recuperato diventa luogo privilegiato per il metodo Montessori che propone l'educazione dei bambini a costante contatto con la natura durante il giorno: sono spronati a "farlo da soli", anche in un ambiente selvaggio. Trattandosi di quattro enormi cisterne d'acqua, si propone un sistema idrico autosufficiente. In fine, prendendo coscienza di un recente fenomeno naturale chiamato "bomba d'acqua", l'intervento paesaggistico mira a recuperare anche grandi quantità di acqua che altrimenti verrebbero disperse nel terreno

Integrating Energy Demand and Ability to Pay in the Design of Decentralised Energy Supply : A Case Study in Rural Nepal

Access to electricity is essential for socioeconomic growth, especially in developing countries. However, over 1.1 billion people still do not have access to modern sources of energy. This is particularly prevalent in rural or remote areas, where renewable off-grid solutions and particularly minigrids seem the most cost-effective solution to deliver long-term energy solutions. Comprehensively forecasting energy demand in these areas and designing the most optimal solution requires a thorough feasibility design process. A literature review of project development tasks revealed that a research gap regarding how the household’s ability to pay relates with the project’s cost exists. This frequently leads to viability gaps, which demand costly and time-consuming manual adaptations to the project’s design. The goal of the study was to adapt household’s ability to pay and energy demand assessment at early stages of minigrid design so as to avoid these adaptations at later stages. Rural Nepal was chosen as a case study, and an extensive energy household survey based onmultidimensional energy access parameters developed by the Reiner Lemoine Institute was used. The data employed was collected from 9 different rural municipalities from Province Number 1 and Province number 7, with a total of 3600 surveyed households. Households were clustered into three wealth groups, using socioeconomic variables such as education, financial status, owned and desired electrical appliances and willingness to pay. The construction of a stochastic load modeller using R allowed translating the energy needs of each wealth groups into load profiles. The most common energy services for the different clusters are lighting and communication for group 1, plus entertainment and space cooling for group 2, plus occasional thermal loads or base loads (fridge) for group 3. A cost estimator was built through a linear regression to obtain an overall project cost estimation based on the customer distribution. In parallel, household estimated-energy-expenditures were determined by allocating a literature-accepted percentage of their total annual expenditures over the entire project lifetime. This value was averaged for each municipality and wealth group, and a community’s minigrid economic potential was determined using the municipality’s average customer distribution as a reference. By using this and the cost estimator, it is possible to quantify a potential viability gap based on the customer distribution. An automated adaptation tool was designed in R to obtain the most similar feasible customer distribution when a viability gap is encountered. This is done by fixing the economic potential and using the customer distribution and its associated cost as a variable. Results show that in all but one municipality, providing households with basic energy services is viable, while an average grant of 75 USD per type 2 household and 515 USD per type 3 household for the entire project life-time is required. Additionally, only three municipalities suggest a feasible average customer distribution, while the rest required adaptation. However, a significant regional heterogeneity exists, suggesting that location-specific policies are required to optimise the effects of subsidies. The study also shows that while the demand for higher energy services exists in rural Nepal, there is a significant lack of available income that impedes this supply, and policy makers and energy planners should work to bridge this gap in order to foster socioeconomic developmentObjectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::7 - Energia Assequible i No Contaminant::7.1 - Per a 2030, garantir l’accés universal a serveis d’energia assequibles, confiables i modern

Just Let Us Be: Domination, the Postcolonial Condition and the Global Field of Business Schools

As the field of business schools has become a global field, where schools around the world constantly interact with each other, it becomes important to understand potential dynamics of domination. According to Bourdieusian theory, we know that in a global field, hierarchies emerge, with elite groups dominating, while others remaining oppressed. Several factors enable hierarchies, including the postcolonial condition. For postcolonial business schools, their possible submissive state, within the global field of business schools, is facilitated by local intermediaries that protect the dynamics of domination. To understand how postcolonial schools could liberate themselves, we need, therefore, to understand how local intermediaries may wake up from their obedient roles. In order to explore this phenomenon, this paper presents an in-depth study of a postcolonial case in México, which was done using autoethnographic methods. The study documents the process through which local intermediaries awakened from their obedient roles. Here, the awakening of local intermediaries occurred naturally, as they came to conceive the rules of the game as not protecting them, but felt like they existed to control them. Finally, local intermediaries perceived their awakening as the result of a betrayal, fearing that elite groups would perpetually refuse to acknowledge them fully

Caracterización del potencial de territorialización de los sistemas ganaderos de vacuno en los Valles Occidentales del Pirineo Aragonés

Premio extraordinario de Trabajo Fin de Máster curso 2021/2022. Máster en Agroecología: un Enfoque para la Sustentabilidad RuralEste trabajo presenta una caracterización del actual sistema de producción, transformación y comercialización de la ganadería de vacuno de los Valles Occidentales del Pirineo Aragonés. También se expone un diagnóstico de los retos y las potencialidades para la territorialización de estos sistemas, para así, plantear un modelo más arraigado a los recursos y las necesidades del territorio. Para poder dar respuesta a dichos objetivos, se han realizado un total de 12 entrevistas extensivas, 5 de carácter exploratorio y 7 a ganaderos de la muestra de estudio. Además, se ha realizado una sesión participativa de devolución de resultados. De esta manera, se ha podido observar cómo el sector se encuentra condicionado por trabas económicas, ecológicas y sociales que dificultan la transición hacia un modelo productivo basado en los sistemas alimentarios territoriales y los principios agroecológicos. A pesar de esto, esta transición muestra ser necesaria, dado que el actual contexto de los sistemas alimentarios globalizados amenaza la viabilidad a largo plazo del sector ganadero local, con altas dependencias en insumos externos y condiciones marcadas por mercados y políticas internacionales. De esta manera se propone cerrar las etapas productivas y de transformación en el territorio y basar la comercialización en los circuitos cortos, para así, avanzar hacia la descentralización de los sistemas alimentarios y contribuir a la preservación de un mundo rural vivo y resiliente

Realistic Egocentrism: Caring Leadership Through an Evolutionary

Romanticizing leaders as caring pastors usually benefits followers, by having someone to protect them or to blame if things go wrong. But, why would leaders want to play along and pretend they are carers? This is a theory-building manuscript, which uses a revelatory context, to explore caring leadership from a novel angle, using evolutionary theory to identify an anomaly within caring leadership theory. The revelatory context used for this study was English higher education. Here, 47 interviews were done with government/organizational leaders, including 24 university Chief Executives (i.e. university Presidents). The revelatory context evidenced that leaders sometimes develop cognitions about their impotence to control things. Thus, leaders play along the caring leadership delusion, because it is a mechanism for them to deny their impotence. The paper expands caring leadership theory, by suggesting that this is not exclusively about authentic caring, but also about convergent denial and realistic egocentrism

Neoliberal Awakenings: A Case Study of University Leaders’ Competitive Advantage Sensemaking

Market principles in higher education seem to have generated a neoliberal awakening. A corollary of such market principles is the need for universities to develop effective strategies that give them competitive advantage. Thus, competitive advantage represents a key construct of neoliberalism, where the focus in this paper is on how university leaders, therefore, make sense of competitive advantage. Based on a comparative and instrumental case study using two close rival universities in England, three sensemaking dilemmas emerge as core elements of how university leaders conceptualize competitive advantage. The first one is about environmental fit or misfit. The second one is about seizing or missing opportunities. The third one is about finding a frame of reference. These dilemmas are valuable as they provide a possibility to understand what competitive advantage means in higher education, where the standard tenets of the concept, such as higher profits, might not always be helpful

WUNDERKAMMER, UNA COLECCIÓN DE PENSAMIENTOS SOBRE EL PAPEL DEL ARQUITECTO POSPANDÉMICO Y REFLEXIONES SOBRE LA CALIDAD DE VIDA, MEDIANTE EL ACTO DE PARTICIPACIÓN

La pandemia globale ha nettamente destabilizzato e ridefinito gli equilibri del vivere contemporaneo sia nel breve, che nel lungo periodo. La messa in discussione della “normalità” e delle forme abitative ordinarie, incentiva a ripensare al concetto di “nuovo normale” e a riprogettare i luoghi dell’abitare. Così nasce Wunderkammer, un progetto di ricerca architettonica che promuove l’atto del collezionare come strumento di riflessione e di confronto. Sono stati invitati architetti, artisti, scrittori, psicologi e professionisti sensibili al tema, a condividere il loro pensiero sui valori della resilienza e della partecipazione, riassumendolo in un’immagine e un testo di circa 1000 battute. Durante la reclusione domestica, i social media si sono rivelati l’unico strumento di comunicazione efficace e fruibile a tutti: la raccolta e la diffusione dei contributi, tramite l’utilizzo di piattaforme virtuali, ha permesso al progetto di alimentarsi e di evolversi, fino a collezionare oltre 60 riflessioni. L’interpretazione, l’analisi e il confronto degli elaborati raccolti hanno permesso di riconoscere un sentimento collettivo in corrispondenza delle diverse fasi della quarantena. In parallelo alla collezione di pensieri, che continuano ad arricchire la nostra “teca” virtuale, si analizzano i primi contributi raccolti, considerato materiale utile e propedeutico allo studio di nuove soluzioni architettoniche più consapevoli. É auspicabile dunque che i relativi elaborati e documenti possano diventare un supporto storico e sociologico prezioso per il nostro futuro; essenziali per il progetto che qui viene presentato in modo sintetico attraverso un approccio riflessivo, ottimista e partecipativo.La pandemia mundial ha notablemente desestabilizado y redefinido el equilibrio de la vida contemporánea, tanto a corto como a largo plazo. El cuestionamiento de la “normalidad” y de las formas de vida ordinarias, nos anima a repensar el concepto de lo “nuevo normal” y a rediseñar los lugares donde se habita. Así nació Wunderkammer, un proyecto de investigación arquitectónica que promueve el acto de coleccionar como herramienta de reflexión y comparación. Se invitó a arquitectos, artistas, escritores, psicólogos y profesionales sensibles al tema a compartir su punto de vista sobre los valores de la resiliencia y la participación, resumiéndolo en una imagen y un texto de unos 1000 caracteres. Durante el confinamiento doméstico, las redes sociales demostraron ser la única herramienta de comunicación efectiva accesible para todos: la recolección y difusión de contribuciones, mediante el uso de plataformas virtuales, permitió que el proyecto se alimentara y evolucionara, hasta llegar recoger más de 60 reflexiones. La interpretación, análisis y comparación de los documentos recolectados permitió reconocer un sentimiento colectivo correspondiente a las diferentes etapas de la cuarentena. Paralelamente a la recogida de pensamientos, que siguen enriqueciendo nuestro “relicario” virtual, se analizan los primeros aportes recogidos, considerados material útil y de preparación para el estudio de nuevas soluciones arquitectónicas más conscientes. Por tanto, es deseable que los relativos trabajos y documentos puedan convertirse en un valioso soporte histórico y sociológico para nuestro futuro, esenciales para el proyecto que aquí se presenta de manera concisa a través de un enfoque reflexivo, optimista y participativo

Design of a Solar Microgrid for the Community of Mpaga, Gabon based on its social and economic context

Energetic isolation is one of the most wide-spread problems amongst rural communities in many regions of the planet. Solar off-grid installations stand out as one of the best solutions to help these communities obtain access to electricity. The project consists in the design of a solar micro-grid for the community of Mpaga in Gabon, managed and funded by ESPACE AFRIQUE FONDATION. The aim has been to design and dimension a viable project that considers all the phases and factors involved in the planning, development and operation of a solar energy system in a remote area. These combine social, economic, infrastructural, logistical and technical considerations and requirements. The first step is to find a suitable community upon which the study will be based. After a period of contacting many organisations in Africa, a collaboration agreement was reached with Engineers Without Borders in Gabon to carry out this project in the community of Mpaga, which is built around a boarding school. The first section of the thesis consisted in the study of the community with the aim of understanding its energy needs. These included researching on its location, access, number of inhabitants, villagers’ habits, facilities, infrastructure, solar resources, etc... A load profile has been determined based on the devices and loads present in Mpaga and the villager’s lifestyle. For the design and dimensioning of the electrical installation, the general structure of the circuit has first been determined, only to proceed to the election of each electrical component based on costeffectiveness and performance indicators. Several energy-system optimizers have been useful to carry out the dimensioning of several components in the site. Acquisition, maintenance and replacement costs have been considered for every device. Other less obvious factors have proven to have a relevant impact on the total cost of the project, such as container ship transportation from Barcelona’s port to Mpaga or installation costs. The creation of a local institution in charge of managing the operation and maintenance of the site, as well as other less technical activities such as tariff design and collection or dealing with overconsuming villagers has proven to be an essential task if the installation is to operate successfully. Finally, after undergoing a 25-year long cashflow predictive analysis, the project has been confirmed as economically viable, and therefore the recommendation for ESPACE AFRIQUE is to proceed with the installation of the designed microgrid

The senior management sensemaking paradox

Purpose – From a complexity leadership theory perspective, leadership stops being seen as residing in an individual, and comes to be conceived as emergent from the myriad interactions among organizational members. However, in spite of this reconceptualization, organizations still have senior managers (e.g. the CEO) who are supposed to be leading, and thus, the purpose of this paper is to explore, then, who are these senior managers and what challenges emerge for them under a complexity leadership perspective. Design/methodology/approach – This paper reviews first the literature on complexity theory and leadership, and then, conceptually develops an understanding of the challenges that senior managers might face under complexity. Findings – The main finding and focus of the paper is that, from a complexity perspective, a paradox emerges regarding senior managers. On the one hand, senior managers might need to make sense of their limitations and the unowned essence of the processes that surround them. On the other hand, their subordinates might still insist on portraying senior managers as final causes of all success or failure. Originality/value – This paper presents a novel way to re-conceptualize senior managers, under a complexity perspective, where they come to be perceived as trapped in a paradox of contradictory sensemaking processes: as they come to find out all that is outside of their control their subordinates insist on making them responsible for everything as if they had control

Managerial learning challenges in a complex world

Purpose: Managers’ work is surrounded by complex environments, from which they need to learn, in order to understand them. However, complexity poses several challenges to managerial learning, for which usually management educational programs have not prepared managers. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to explore such challenges and possible ways to overcome them. Design/methodology/approach: This is a conceptual paper that explores in depth the issue of managerial learning challenges in a complex world. Managers face these challenges during their practice, yet sometimes management education has not prepared them for this. Findings: Three managerial learning challenges due to complexity are identified. First, through cognition and cognitive structures, managers simplify the world around them. Nevertheless, biases, inertia and inaccuracy emerge, as managers’ mental models are not truly capable of capturing complexity. Second, managers look for information to aid them in their learning processes, but the information they gather is sometimes bogus, invalid or unfounded. Third, managers could seek for support from management research to improve their learning. However, given management research intricacies, limitations and particularities, a learning challenge emerges as well, as management research has been rarely capable to capture complexity. Originality/value: Having explored these managerial learning challenges due to complexity, this paper discusses a carefulness-based management learning ideal, which by being underpinned by the quality of carefulness and the related concepts of critical thinking, negative capability and a deep learning style, suggests a potential new way to approach management learning in light of complexity