1,051 research outputs found
Urban surface uses for climate resilient and sustainable cities: A catalogue of solutions
Abstract In the current scenario of massive urbanization and global climate change, the urban surfaces and their characteristics have a key role, as they significantly influence the quality of life in urban areas, as well as their environmental conditions. To shed light on the role of urban surfaces in fostering climate resilient and sustainable cities, this paper proposes a catalogue of solutions for the urban surface use. The catalogue presents the main surface uses suitable for the built environment, and discusses the potential conflicts and synergies among them in the view of a multiple and integrated utilization of urban surfaces. Reviewing studies published in the last 15 years, this study aims to answer three major questions: (i) which solutions do exist, (ii) where can these be applied, and (iii) which benefits do they provide. The discussion demonstrates that the use of urban surfaces might lead the development of multiple opportunities for improving the existing urban environments and supporting not only environmental, but also social and economic resilience. Finally, it emphasizes the need for specific quantitative and qualitative approaches to address the multi-disciplinary challenges posed by the design and implementation of surface uses, and the evaluation of their contribution to site-specific objectives
Santi, eroi e lâunitaÌ delle virtuÌ. Una proposta esemplarista di educazione morale
This article sheds light on moral education from an exemplarist perspective. Following Linda Zagzebski's Exemplarist Virtue Theory, we relate several fundamental exemplarist intuitions to the classical virtue ethical debate over the unity-disunity of the virtues, to endorse a pluralistic exemplar-based approach to moral education ("Empe"). After a few preliminary remarks, we argue that Empe amounts to defending "a prima facie" disunitarist perspective in moral theory, which admits both exemplarity in all respects (moral sainthood) and single-domain exemplarity (moral heroism). Then, we evaluate the effectiveness of heroes and saints for moral education, according to four criteria derived from Empe. This analysis allows us to conclude that moral education should value both kinds of exemplars and, therefore, adopt weaker standards of exemplarity than the unitarist's ones
Dal Mediterraneo allâAmerica Latina. Del MediterrĂĄneo a AmĂ©rica Latina
This volume collects a set of expositions developed within the framework of the
DIASPORE International Conference. From the Mediterranean to Latin America. Art, Language
and Literature in Migration, co-organised by the Instituto Interdisciplinario de
Estudios e Investigaciones de América Latina (INDEAL) of the Faculty of Philosophy
and Letters (University of Buenos Aires, Argentina) and the Archivio Scritture Scrittrici
Migranti and the Department of Linguistics and Comparative Cultural Studies of Caâ
Foscari University of Venice, in September 2021.
The purpose of the conference was to investigate the cultural ties existing between
places linked together by the journey and to understand the ways in which migrants
can impact the places of departure and arrival.
The book consists of four parts. The first, âItalians in Argentina: The Language in Transitâ,
studies the works of the linguists Benvenuto Terracini and Salvador Bucca, continues
with the writer Mariangela Sedda and culminates with the typical pasticcio of piamaontéis
merican in the Pampa Gringa.
The second part, âSpaniards in Mexicoâ, is dedicated to the paintings and the literary
work of Luis Abad Carretero, the surrealist productions of Remedios Varo and the poeticmusical
collaboration of JosĂ© BergamĂn and Rodolfo Halffter.
The third segment, âMigratory Dispositions and Compositionsâ, develops a phenomenology
of exile through the fictional game with Latin American writers who emigrated
to France in the second half of the 20th century and it rethinks the role of Italian music
in Argentina between the 19th and 20th centuries.
The fourth part, âVisual Strategies in Transatlantic Itinerariesâ, deals with the cinema
of Luis Buñuel, the muralism of Luis Seoane, the comics of Hugo Pratt and the âroad
movieâ book of Valeria Luiselli in order to account for routes going from Spain or Italy
to the two main destinations in Latin America, Buenos Aires and Mexico. The conclusion
is provided by the testimony of a key aspect of culture usually neglected in academic
meetings, the culinary culture
Civility in the Post-truth Age: An Aristotelian Account
This paper investigates civility from an Aristotelian perspective and has two objectives. The first is to offer a novel account of this virtue based on Aristotleâs remarks about civic friendship. The proposed account distinguishes two main components of civilityâcivic benevolence and civil deliberationâand shows how Aristotleâs insights can speak to the needs of our communities today. The notion of civil deliberation is then unpacked into three main dimensions: motivational, inquiry-related, and ethical. The second objective is to illustrate how the post-truth conditionâin particular, the spread of misinformation typical of the digital environments we inhabitâobstructs our capacity to cultivate the virtue of civility by impairing every component of civil deliberation. The paper hopes to direct virtue theoristsâ attention to the need to foster civic virtues as a means of counteracting the negative aspects of the post-truth age
Saints, heroes and the unity of the virtues. An exemplar-based approach to moral education
This article sheds light on moral education from an exemplarist perspective. Following Linda Zagzebski\u2019s Exemplarist Virtue Theory, we relate several fundamental exemplarist intuitions to the classical virtue ethical debate over the unity-disunity of the virtues, to endorse a pluralistic exemplar-based approach to moral education (Empe). After a few preliminary remarks, we argue that Empe amounts to defending a prima facie disunitarist perspective in moral theory, which admits both exemplarity in all respects (moral sainthood) and single-domain exemplarity (moral heroism). Then, we evaluate the effectiveness of heroes and saints for moral education, according to four criteria derived from Empe. This analysis allows us to conclude that moral education should value both kinds of exemplars and, therefore, adopt weaker standards of exemplarity than the unitarist\u2019s ones
Towards new European snow load map: Support to policies and standards for sustainable construction
The Mandate M/515 of the European Commission to CEN requested the assessment of the climate change implications for the Eurocodes, the European standards for structural design. The European Commission Mandate M/526 requested the European Standards Organisations (ESOs) to contribute to building and maintaining a more climate resilient infrastructure throughout the EU in the three priority sectors: transport infrastructure, energy infrastructure, and buildings/construction. To proceed with the envisaged adaptation of the European standards to the implications of climate change, the expected changes in the climatic loading shall be assessed in terms of the Eurocodes concept for the characteristic values of the variable climatic actions. The present report justifies the need of a European research project to develop an advanced procedure for deriving snow load on structures, taking into account climate change projections, and to set up a new European snow load map based on this procedure
The snow load in Europe and the climate change
It is often assumed that, as a consequence of global warming, a reduction of snow load on the ground should be expected. In reality, snow load is often depending on local orographic situations that can determine an increase of its height, even when the average snow height over the surrounding areas is reduced. Large snow loads on roofs during the winter season of 2005â2006 led to over 200 roof collapses in Central Europe. To proceed with the adaptation of the European standards for important buildings and infrastructures to the implications of climate change, the expected changes in the climatic loading shall be assessed in terms of the Eurocodes concept for characteristic values of variable climatic actions. The paper presents a procedure for derivation of snow load on ground from data on daily temperatures and precipitation. In addition, it allows to derive the characteristic snow loads from climate change projections and thus to evaluate the future trends in variation of snow loading. Analysis of these trends for the Italian territory is performed by comparing the results for several subsequent time periods of thirty years, with those obtained for the reference period 1951â1980. Results presented show a significant increase in the snow loading for the period 1981â2010 in many regions in north and east Italy in comparison with the reference period. It is suggested that a European project on snow load map shall be started, in order to help National Competent Authorities to redraft the national snow load maps for design with the Eurocodes
Etica delle virtĂč. Un'introduzione
ll volume Ăš la prima trattazione in lingua italiana, introduttiva ma il piĂč possibile completa e aggiornata, dellâEtica delle virtĂč (Virtue Ethics), una corrente dellâetica contemporanea ancora poco conosciuta e coltivata nellâEuropa continentale, che pone al suo centro proprio la nozione di virtĂč. Nonostante questo termine non sia oggi particolarmente usato e apprezzato sul piano del linguaggio comune, lâinteresse che esso ha suscitato da qualche decennio permette di presentare la Virtue Ethics come un vero e proprio filone dellâetica contemporanea con radici classiche, che si distingue da quelli deontologico e utilitarista-consequenzialista. Dopo un excursus sui principali autori riconducibili alla Virtue Ethics, il libro ne prende in esame i piĂč rilevanti e dibattuti snodi concettuali da una prospettiva tematica o problematica, ed evidenzia i nessi tra le virtĂč e altre dimensioni dellâagire umano. Segue, infine, unâampia e aggiornata bibliografia
Predictors of cardiovascular disease in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a common comorbidity in patients with chronic airway obstruction, and is associated with systemic inflammation and airway obstruction. The aim of this study was to evaluate the predictors of CVD in two different conditions causing chronic airway obstruction, asthma and COPD. METHODS: Lung function tests, clinical and echocardiographic data were assessed in 229 consecutive patients, 100 with asthma and 129 with COPD. CVD was classified into: pressure overload (PO) and volume overload (VO). Sub-analysis of patients with ischemic heart disease (IHD) and pulmonary hypertension (PH) was also performed. RESULTS: CVD was found in 185 patients (81%: 51% COPD and 30% asthmatics) and consisted of PO in 42% and of VO in 38% patients. COPD patients, as compared to asthmatics, had older age, more severe airway obstruction, higher prevalence of males, of smokers, and of CVD (91% vs 68%), either PO (46% vs 38%) or VO (45% vs 30%). CVD was associated with older age and more severe airway obstruction both in asthma and COPD. In the overall patients the predictive factors of CVD were age, COPD, and male sex; those of PO were COPD, BMI, VC, FEV(1) and MEF(50) and those of VO were age, VC and MEF(50). In asthma, the predictors of CVD were VC, FEV(1), FEV(1) /VC%, and PaO(2), those of PO were VC, FEV(1) and FEV(1) /VC%, while for VO there was no predictor. In COPD the predictors of CVD were age, GOLD class and sex, those of VO age, VC and MEF(50), and that of PO was BMI. Sub-analysis showed that IHD was predicted by COPD, age, BMI and FEV(1), while PH (found only in 25 COPD patients), was predicted by VO (present in 80% of the patients) and FEV(1). In subjects aged 65 years or more the prevalence of CVD, PO and VO was similar in asthmatic and COPD patients, but COPD patients had higher prevalence of males, smokers, IHD, PH, lower FEV(1) and higher CRP. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study indicate that cardiovascular diseases are frequent in patients with chronic obstructive disorders, particularly in COPD patients. The strongest predictors of CVD are age and airway obstruction. COPD patients have higher prevalence of ischemic heart disease and pulmonary hypertension. In the elderly the prevalence of PO and VO in asthma and COPD patients is similar
Educating through Exemplars: Alternative Paths to Virtue
This paper confronts Zagzebskiâs exemplarism with the intertwined debates over the conditions of exemplarity and the unity-disunity of the virtues, to show the advantages of a pluralistic exemplar-based approach to moral education (PEBAME). PEBAME is based on a prima facie disunitarist perspective in moral theory, which amounts to admitting both exemplarity in all respects and single-virtue exemplarity. First, we account for the advantages of PEBAME, and we show how two figures in
recent Italian history (Giorgio Perlasca and Gino Bartali) satisfy Blumâs definitions of âmoral heroâ and âmoral saintâ (1988). Then, we offer a comparative analysis of the effectiveness of heroes and saints with respect to character education, according to four criteria derived from PEBAME: admirability, virtuousness, transparency, and imitability. Finally, we conclude that both unitarist and disunitarist exemplars are fundamental to character education; this is because of the hero's superiority to the saint with respect to imitability, a fundamental feature of the exemplar for character
education
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