Analysis of the evolution of road tunnels equilibrium conditions with a convergence-confinement approach

Since both lining structure and rock mass exhibit delayed behaviour, tunnel equilibrium conditions evolve with time. After discussing existing work done on different aspects of long-term tunnel behaviour, the aim of this paper is to "understand” the influence of rock mass and lining degradations on the long-term stability conditions of the tunnel by means of the convergence-confinement method. In order to represent the effects of degradation on tunnel long-term conditions, specific degradation models are selected according to the disorders identified during principal inspections of road tunnels in Switzerland. By simulating the reduction of the mechanical properties of both the rock mass and the lining or by using creep models, it is possible to assess the influence of the main degradation processes on tunnel stability. The results are interpreted in terms of tunnel safety factor. The presented approach for the determination of the long-term behaviour of tunnels, although valid for simple tunnel geometry and field stress conditions, allows to roughly estimate the influence of significant degradation processes that affect the rock mass and the supporting structure. Though this approach results in some simplification, it may be generalised and adopted with more refined numerical analyses for improving the assessment of tunnel long-term condition

PADTUN - using semantic technologies in tunnel diagnosis and maintenance domain

YesA Decision Support System (DSS) in tunnelling domain deals with identifying pathologies based on disorders present in various tunnel portions and contextual factors affecting a tunnel. Another key area in diagnosing pathologies is to identify regions of interest (ROI). In practice, tunnel experts intuitively abstract regions of interest by selecting tunnel portions that are susceptible to the same types of pathologies with some distance approximation. This complex diagnosis process is often subjective and poorly scales across cases and transport structures. In this paper, we introduce PADTUN system, a working prototype of a DSS in tunnelling domain using semantic technologies. Ontologies are developed and used to capture tacit knowledge from tunnel experts. Tunnel inspection data are annotated with ontologies to take advantage of inferring capabilities offered by semantic technologies. In addition, an intelligent mechanism is developed to exploit abstraction and inference capabilities to identify ROI. PADTUN is developed in real-world settings offered by the NeTTUN EU Project and is applied in a tunnel diagnosis use case with Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Français (SNCF), France. We show how the use of semantic technologies allows addressing the complex issues of pathology and ROI inferencing and matching experts’ expectations of decision support

Science Identity and Its “Identity Crisis”: On Science Identity and Strategies to Foster Self-Efficacy and Sense of Belonging in STEM

The word identity etymologically derives from the Latin expression identitas, from idem, which means same. But the identities each of us has in the same moment and across life stages can be multiple and continuously changing, and are influenced by internal (i.e., personal) and external (i.e., environmental) factors. In this manuscript, I reviewed the existing literature on the theoretical and practical aspects of science identity across school levels. I explored how it can be measured and shed light on the links between science identity, professional identity, mentoring and sense of belonging. Then, I analysed strategies to foster self-efficacy and sense of belonging in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), with the aim of creating a scientific community that is genuinely inclusive and diverse. A set of recommendations to build a community with shared goals and enhanced diversity, with beneficial effects at several societal levels, has been included

Foro y Seminario. El currículum de ciencias naturales de la educación secundaria: retos y desafíos de cara al futuro. Horizontes para la educación científica en Argentina hacia el 2030. Informe Final

Fil: Ferreyra, Horacio Ademar. Universidad Católica de Córdoba. Facultad de Educación; Argentin

A large-scale, cross-sectional investigation into the efficacy of brain training

Brain training is a large and expanding industry, and yet there is a recurrent and ongoing debate concerning its scientific basis or evidence for efficacy. Much of evidence for the efficacy of brain training within this debate is from small-scale studies that do not assess the type of “brain training,” the specificity of transfer effects, or the length of training required to achieve a generalized effect. To explore these factors, we analyze cross-sectional data from two large Internet-cohort studies (total N = 60,222) to determine whether cognition differs at the population level for individuals who report that they brain train on different devices, and across different timeframes, with programs in common use circa 2010–2013. Examining scores for an assessment of working-memory, reasoning and verbal abilities shows no cognitive advantages for individuals who brain train. This contrasts unfavorably with significant advantages for individuals who regularly undertake other cognitive pursuits such as computer, board and card games. However, finer grained analyses reveal a more complex relationship between brain training and cognitive performance. Specifically, individuals who have just begun to brain train start from a low cognitive baseline compared to individuals who have never engaged in brain training, whereas those who have trained for a year or more have higher working-memory and verbal scores compared to those who have just started, thus suggesting an efficacy for brain training over an extended period of time. The advantages in global function, working memory, and verbal memory after several months of training are plausible and of clinically relevant scale. However, this relationship is not evident for reasoning performance or self-report measures of everyday function (e.g., employment status and problems with attention). These results accord with the view that although brain training programs can produce benefits, these might extend to tasks that are operationally similar to the training regime. Furthermore, the duration of training regime required for effective enhancement of cognitive performance is longer than that applied in most previous studies

The centrality of the machine in the thought of Jacques Lafitte

Jacques Lafitte occupies an odd place in the philosophy of technology. He was a French engineer who made a significant and conceptually innovative contribution to this field, yet his influence has been elusive and largely ignored until relatively recently. Many of Lafitte’s ideas find echoes in the work of later philosophers (particularly Gilbert Simondon), yet, notably in the case of Simondon, apparently without any direct line of influence. Lafitte placed the machine at the centre of his thinking about technology and articulated various layers of analysis around it; for example, he considered machines in the broader context of an artificial world or “mechanosphere”, which encompassed certain aspects of philosophical anthropology (namely, how to think the human in the context of human–machine relations, in the context of socio-political organizations). In this work we seek to reconstruct Lafitte’s ideas and briefly trace some of their later impact. We identify three dimensions (or theses) in Lafitte’s analysis: epistemological, ontological and anthropological. We argue that the most remarkable fact about Lafitte’s thought is the way it inaugurates, and anticipates, the approach of later currents, not just in the “French tradition”, who also made an effort to integrate machine theory into broader philosophical, anthropological and political aspects, in terms that echo Lafitte’s. In particular, we will focus on Gilbert Simondon and cybernetics.Fil: Sandrone, Darío Rubén. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Humanidades. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto de Humanidades; ArgentinaFil: Vaccari, Andrés. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Río Negro; ArgentinaFil: Lawler, Diego. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Filosóficas. - Sociedad Argentina de Análisis Filosófico. Instituto de Investigaciones Filosóficas; Argentin

La coexistencia de las técnicas y los modos del olvido

Desde que Heidegger escribió hasta hoy se han fortalecido tendencias que parecen confirmar sus pronósticos. Se presentan como datos contemporáneos: la estandarización de los procesos tecnológicos; la concentración de poder alrededor de los criterios de diseño y uso; la conjunción da la ciencia y la técnica para el dominio y explotación de los recursos naturales. Sin embargo, la nueva sociología de la tecnología y las nuevas corrientes historiográficas afines ponen el acento en fenómenos menos notorios y mentados: coexistencia de artefactos y prácticas modernas y antiguas; multiplicidad de actores relevantes para el contenido de la técnica; diversidad de métodos y saberes al interior de las tecnologías. Este recorte alternativo no modifica el carácter provocante de la técnica actual pero sí nos desafía a repensar la manera en que realizamos esa caracterización y las posibilidades teóricas y prácticas que podemos proyectar a partir de ella. Olvidar que los aspectos sociales y culturales son constitutivos de los fenómenos técnicos lleva a considerar a las observaciones sociológicas como elementos externos a la reflexión filosófica y no como empalmes de un proceder filosófico que indaga el problema de la técnica, para cuyo abordaje la filosofía no se basta a sí misma. En todo caso, esta incorporación es una nueva invitación a repensar la cuestión de la técnica, del peligro y de lo que salva.Fil: Sandrone, Darío Rubén. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Filosofía y Humanidades. Centro de Investigaciones Maria Saleme Burnichón; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin