Spotlight on Community Filmmaking: A report on Community Filmmaking and Cultural Diversity research

The ‘Community filmmaking and cultural diversity' project explores how cultural diversity intersects with community filmmaking. It considers the results of this intersection in terms of representations and identities as well as practices and innovation.The project is supported by the Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) as part of the Connected Communities Programme

Winning and losing in the creative industries: an analysis of creative graduates' career opportunities across creative disciplines

Following earlier work looking at overall career difficulties and low economic rewards faced by graduates in creative disciplines, the paper takes a closer look into the different career patterns and economic performance of “Bohemian” graduates across different creative disciplines. While it is widely acknowledged in the literature that careers in the creative field tend to be unstructured, often relying on part-time work and low wages, our knowledge of how these characteristics differ across the creative industries and occupational sectors is very limited. The paper explores the different trajectory and career patterns experienced by graduates in different creative disciplinary fields and their ability to enter creative occupations. Data from the Higher Education Statistical Agency (HESA) are presented, articulating a complex picture of the reality of finding a creative occupation for creative graduates. While students of some disciplines struggle to find full-time work in the creative economy, for others full-time occupation is the norm. Geography plays a crucial role also in offering graduates opportunities in creative occupations and higher salaries. The findings are contextualised in the New Labour cultural policy framework and conclusions are drawn on whether the creative industries policy construct has hidden a very problematic reality of winners and losers in the creative economy

A new perspective to model subsurface stratigraphy in alluvial hydrogeological basins, introducing geological hierarchy and relative chronology

This paper presents a novel perspective for modelling alluvial stratigraphy. It integrates the spatial geological information, geological maps and well-log descriptions, with the rules describing the hierarchy and relative chronology of the geological entities. As geological modelling tools are moving fast forward, the urgent need for expert geological input, codified as modelling rules, persists. Concerning subsurface alluvial architectures, the concepts of \u201cstratigraphic hierarchy\u201d and \u201crelative chronology\u201d provide the most relevant rules which permit to link the modelling procedure to the geo-history of a region. The paper shows how to formalize this knowledge into modelling rules. This is illustrated and implemented in a Python\u2122 module named HIEGEO which is applied on a 2-D cross-section from the Po Basin (N-Italy). The stratigraphic correlation yields 2-D pictures of the hierarchic stratigraphy and relative chronology of the units. The input are: an attribute table of stratigraphic boundaries expressing their hierarchy and chronology; contact points where these boundaries cross the control logs. Since the aim of HIEGEO is to illustrate the principle of the method but not to replace existing 3-D geological modelling tools, it implements a linear interpolation algorithm which creates joins between contact points. It plots linear joins framing polygons based on their hierarchy, at any user\u2019s desired detail. HIEGEO highlights potential inconsistencies of the input dataset, helping to re-evaluate the geological interpretation. The proposed workflow allows to: i) translate geological knowledge into modelling rules; ii) compute stratigraphic models constrained by the hierarchy of stratigraphic entities and the relative chronology of geological events; iii) represent internal geometries of the stratigraphic units, accounting for their composite nature; iv) reduce uncertainty in modelling alluvial architectures. It represents a starting point for multi-scale applications and could be easily integrated into 3-D modelling packages, to couple the hierarchical concept proposed here with existing advanced interpolation methods

Land Settlement Act Amendment Act, 1957, No. 26

In recent years, there has been a widespread interest in the economic development role played by 'Bohemian' occupations and the 'creative class'. It is believed that creative people and occupations generate external effects which foster economic growth. However, the degree to which these externalities affect production and consumption is as yet not clear. As part of this debate, we investigate the ability of creative individuals to internalize the rents accruing from creative occupations in comparison with other types of activities. In order to do this, the paper analyzes the employment opportunities and wages earned by graduates in artistic occupations (Bohemians) and compares them with those of non-Bohemians. Using a uniquely longitudinal dataset of UK university graduates, we examine these issues using a Mincer-type framework, both in the short and in medium term after graduation. Our findings suggest that there is a persistent gap between Bohemian and non-Bohemians in terms of both the wages earned and employment status. This observation sharpens the need to better understanding the nature and extent of the externalities associated with the creative class which remains an unresolved issue

The MicroBioDiverSar Project: Exploring the Microbial Biodiversity in Ex Situ Collections of Sardinia

In the last decades, biodiversity preservation has gained growing attention and many strategies, laws and regulations have been enacted by governments with this purpose. The Micro-BioDiverSar (MBDS) project, the first one regarding microbiological resources, funded by the Italian Minister of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies (Mipaaf) through the Law 194/2015, was aimed at surveying, cataloguing, and managing the microbial resources and the related information of three Sardinian collections (Agris BNSS, Uniss, and Unica). While microorganisms were reordered and inventoried, a federated database, accessible via the web, was designed by the bioinformatician of Ospedale Policlinico San Martino of Genova, according to both international standards and laboratory needs. The resulting MBDS collection boasts a great richness of microbial resources. Indeed, over 21,000 isolates, belonging to over 200 species of bacteria, yeasts, and filamentous fungi isolated from different matrices, mainly food, of animal and vegetable origin, collected in over 50 years, were included in the database. Currently, about 2000 isolates, belonging to 150 species, are available online for both the scientific community and agri-food producers. The huge work done allowed one to know the consistency and the composition of most of the patrimony of the Sardinian microbial collections. Furthermore, the MBDS database has been proposed as a model for other Italian collections that, as the MBDS partners, are part of the Joint Research UnitMIRRI-IT Italian collections network, with the aim of overcoming fragmentation, facing sustainability challenges, and improving the quality of the management of the collections

Do best-selected strains perform table olive fermentation better than undefined biodiverse starters? A comparative study

Twenty-seven Lactobacillus pentosus strains, and the undefined starter for table olives from which they were isolated, were characterised for their technological properties: tolerance to low temperature, high salt concentration, alkaline pH, and olive leaf extract; acidifying ability; oleuropein degradation; hydrogen peroxide and lactic acid production. Two strains with appropriate technological properties were selected. Then, table olive fermentation in vats, with the original starter, the selected strains, and without starter (spontaneous fermentation) were compared. Starters affected some texture profile parameters. The undefined culture resulted in the most effective Enterobacteriaceae reduction, acidification and olive debittering, while the selected strains batch showed the lowest antioxidant activity. Our results show that the best candidate strains cannot guarantee better fermentation performance than the undefined biodiverse mix from which they originate

A hierarchical multiple-point statistics simulation procedure for the 3D reconstruction of alluvial sediments

A correct representation of the heterogeneity of porous formations and of their preferential flow paths is crucial for a reliable modelization of the contaminant transport processes. Several geostatistical tools have been developed to tackle this challenge. Many of these tools are often applied in a multi-scale framework, where the geostatistical simulation is applied fist trying to reproduce the big scale features of the sedimentary formations, and finally to reproduce their small scale features. However, many of the developed multi-scale and hierarchical techniques have a quite complex work-flow and rely on diverse simulation methods. Here a simplified hierarchical simulation procedure is proposed, where only multiple-point statistics (MPS) is used to simulate the target heterogeneities at different scales. The simulation procedure is organized in a tree-like frame, where MPS is applied at each simulation branch using a simplified binary training image and the corresponding available conditioning data. At each simulation branch, the MPS simulation is performed in a sub- domain defined by one of the two facies codes simulated at the parent branch. The proposed procedure is tested in the three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of two model blocks of alluvial sediments, using the available two-dimensional (2D) outcrop information as training images. It is compared against a non hierarchical MPS simulation procedure in terms of connectivity indicators and breakthrough curves obtained from 3D particle tracking numerical experiments. All the aforementioned tests are performed considering 100 equiprobable realizations for each simulation technique. This allows to make statistically reliable comparisons, and to extract statistical distributions of the transport parameters by fitting analytical curves to the results of the particle tracking experiments. These statistical distributions are used to perform one-dimensional transport experiments on spatial scales ten times bigger than the block scale using the Kolmogorov-Dmitriev approach in a Monte Carlo framework

Dynamics of the IFMIF very high-intensity beam

AbstractFor the purpose of material studies for future nuclear fusion reactors, the IFMIF deuteron beams present a simultaneous combination of unprecedentedly high intensity (2 × 125 mA CW), power (2 × 5 MW) and space charge. Special considerations and new concepts have been developed in order to overcome these challenges. The global strategy for beam dynamics design of the 40 MeV IFMIF accelerators is presented, stressing on the control of micro-losses, and the possibility of online fine tuning. Start-to-end simulations without and with errors are presented for the prototype accelerator. Considerations about conflicts between halo and emittance minimization are then discussed in this very high space charge context

CHARACTERIZATION OF LACTIC ACID BACTERIA ISOLATED FROM A TRADITIONAL PASTA FILATA CHEESE

In this paper are reported the results of the characterization of the lactic acid microflora isolated from Sardinian “provoletta”, a traditional pasta filata cheese obtained from cow’s milk. Cheese samples from two batches were taken in triplicate from three dairy plants after 7 and 21 days of ripening. Each sample was analyzed for mesophilic and thermophilic lactic acid bacteria (LAB). From plates, 118 isolates were identified by Rep- PCR GTG5, species-specific PCR and DNA sequencing. The identified LAB belonged to 7 different species: Lb. paracasei, Lb. rhamnosus, Lb. delbrueckii, Lb. fermentum, E. faecalis, E. faecium e Lc. Lactis. Enterococci were the most common isolates, they were recovered from all the dairy plants and from all the products analysed at 7 and at 20 days of ripening. Although with some differences within the various producers, the technology used aids mesophilic LAB growth, guaranteeing a large biodiversity protection

Project of an advanced ISOL facility for exotic beams at LNL

Abstract In the framework of the European program to define a second generation Radioactive Ion Beam facility, LNL are proposing the construction in the next five–seven years of a specialized national facility for RIB originated by fission fragments produced by secondary neutrons. It consists on a two-accelerator ISOL-type facility to provide intense neutron-rich radioactive ion beams of highest quality, in the range of masses between 80 and 160. The conceptual design is based on a high intensity 50 MeV (100 kW) proton linac as driver and on the availability of the heavy-ion accelerator ALPI as post accelerator. The estimated neutron yield is 2×1014 n/s at 0°, high enough to satisfy the demand for an advanced RIB facility. An intense R&D program on different items is actually in progress in collaboration with other Laboratories and University groups and is moving in a European context