Hydrogeochemical changes before and during the 2016 Amatrice-Norcia seismic sequence (central Italy)

Seismic precursors are an as yet unattained frontier in earthquake studies. With the aim of making a step towards this frontier, we present a hydrogeochemical dataset associated with the 2016 Amatrice- Norcia seismic sequence (central Apennines, Italy), developed from August 24th, with an Mw 6.0 event, and culminating on October 30th, with an Mw 6.5 mainshock. The seismic sequence occurred during a seasonal depletion of hydrostructures, and the four strongest earthquakes (Mw ≥ 5.5) generated an abrupt uplift of the water level, recorded up to 100 km away from the mainshock area. Monitoring a set of selected springs in the central Apennines, a few hydrogeochemical anomalies were observed months before the onset of the seismic swarm, including a variation of pH values and an increase of As, V, and Fe concentrations. Cr concentrations increased immediately after the onset of the seismic sequence. On November 2016, these elements recovered to their usual low concentrations. We interpret these geochemical anomalies as reliable seismic precursors for a dilational tectonic setting

Aplicar una distinción. Un programa sistémico-constructivista para la investigación social cualitativa

At least since the XVIII century, the ‘problem of induction’, that is, how to justify the abstractions derived from any empirical observation, has been at the core of a fiery debate both within the philosophy of science, and the praxis of social sciences. Refuting the allegation of ‘empirical closure’ raised against Niklas Luhmann’s Social Systems Theory, we claim that it delivers a privileged epistemological and theoretical platform to face such a dilemma, since it highlights the necessary conditions to produce an ‘abductive’ reasoning. By way of discussing, on the one hand, Luhmann’s understanding of knowledge and science, and on the other, diverse attempts to apply empirically the systemic approach and integrate it with other analytical tools, the paper offers a general model to understand the role and relationships of the principles of theoretical plausibility and empirical grounding within social science research. Based on that, the article identifies the criteria of ‘isomorphism’, ‘perspectivism’, transparency’ and ‘iterability’ as indicators of scientific acceptability of a systemic-constructivist research, and offers orientations for the design of such a research.Por lo menos desde el siglo XVIII, el ‘problema de la inducción’, es decir de cómo justificar las abstracciones que se hacen a partir de la observación empírica, ha estado al centro de un encendido debate tanto en la filosofía de la ciencia, como en la praxis de las ciencias sociales. Rechazando las acusaciones de ‘clausura empírica’ levantadas respecto de la Teoría de Sistemas Sociales de Niklas Luhmann, afirmamos por el contrario que esta proporciona una plataforma epistemológica y teórica privilegiada para hacer frente al citado dilema, explicitando las condiciones para producir un razonamiento de tipo ‘abductivo’. Dialogando, por un lado, con la comprensión de Luhmann respecto del conocimiento y de la ciencia, y por el otro, con diversos intentos para aplicar empíricamente la propuesta sistémica e integrarla con otros enfoques analíticos, el presente paper ofrece un modelo general para comprender el rol y la relación de los principios de plausibilidad teórica y fundamentación empírica en la investigación social. A partir de ello, el artículo identifica los criterios de ‘isomorfismo’, ‘perspectivismo’, ‘transparencia’ e ‘iterabilidad’ como indicadores de aceptabilidad científica de una investigación sistémico-constructivista, y ofrece orientaciones para el diseño de un proceso de investigación de este tipo

Participatory Energy Transitions as Boundary Objects: The Case of Chile's Energía2050

This paper analyzes the use of “participatory futures” within the context of energy transition, paying special attention to the case of Chile's long-term energy policy. Our main aim is to question the role of “participation” in such a context and particularly, to decouple the operative function of participation from its normative function. Structurally, we argue that the construction of a joint vision of desired energy futures must be understood as a deliberate attempt at governing the energy transition by way of governing the expectations of the actors and systems involved in it. Participatory approaches can promote the co-construction of such energy futures in the form of a boundary-object, able to resonate with and provide a common reference to the actors participating in its creation. On the other hand, participatory approaches can also be a way to make transitions more democratic, subjecting it to a broader influence and control from the citizenship. These two functions of “participation” are always potentially at odds with one another. Democratizing the transition, in fact, would require producing plural, dynamical imaginaries that are responsive and accountable to the public. On the contrary, the need to make transitions governable may close-up such imaginaries and narrow-down the participatory efforts to foster their normalization and acceptability on the part of the most influential actors in the self-government of the transition. To refine and exemplify our proposal, we perform a qualitative, exploratory case study of Chile's E2050 energy policy. Our findings show that “participation” may indeed have been used in the case to align partially conflicting expectations around a collectively-defined boundary object which may then act as a form of contextual, anticipatory and polycentric governance of the transition. However, from a democratic perspective, E2050 appears as a tokenization of the public in support of a pre-eminently technical and monolithic vision enacted by the Energy Ministry and the Consultative Committee. Within this context, the actual influence of the public on the policy and the possibility for political contestation are much more questionable

Diurnal and semidiurnal cyclicity of Radon (222Rn) in groundwater, Giardino Spring, Central Apennines, Italy

Understanding natural variations of Rn (222Rn) concentrations is the fundamental prerequisite of using this radioactive gas as a tracer, or even precursor, of natural processes, including earthquakes. In this work, Rn concentrations in groundwater were continuously measured over a seven-month period, during 2017, in the Giardino Spring, Italy, together with groundwater levels in a nearby well installed into a fractured regional aquifer. Data were processed to reduce noise, and then analyzed to produce the Fourier spectra of Rn concentrations and groundwater levels. These spectra were compared with the spectrum of tidal forces. Results showed that diurnal and semidiurnal cycles of Rn concentrations, and filtered oscillations of groundwater levels, in the nearby well, are correlated with solar and luni-solar components of tidal forces, and suggested no correlation with the principal lunar components. Therefore, influencing factors linked to solar cycles, such as daily oscillations of temperature and atmospheric pressure, and related rock deformations, may have played a role in Rn concentrations and groundwater levels. An open question remains regarding the correlation, which is documented elsewhere, of Rn concentrations and groundwater levels with the lunar components of the solid Earth tides

Unsupervised Factor Extraction from Pretrial Detention Decisions by Italian and Brazilian Supreme Courts

Pretrial detention is a debated and controversial measure since it is an exception to the principle of the presumption of innocence. To determine whether and to what extent legal systems make exces- sive use of pretrial detention, an empirical analysis of judicial practice is needed. The paper presents some preliminary results of experimental re- search aimed at identifying the relevant factors on the basis of which Ital- ian and Brazilian Supreme Courts impose the measure. To analyze and extract the relevant predictive-features, we rely on unsupervised learn- ing approaches, in particular association and clustering methods. As a result, we found common factors between the two legal systems in terms of crime, location, grounds for appeal, and judge’s reasoning

Sustainability as a meta-narrative: the semantics of global governance? A systems-theoretical and concept-historical analysis

El concepto de “sustentabilidad” se ha vuelo casi omnipresente, pero su inherente ambigüedad lo convierte en una constante fuente de controversia. Mientras el relato dominante se ha esforzado por convertirlo en el telos fundamental de toda actividad humana, numerosos contrarrelatos lo han etiquetado como un lema retórico y vacío, potencialmente utilizable para justificar los imperialismos. Tomando distancia de ambas interpretaciones, este artículo profundiza en cómo la sustentabilidad es, se convierte en y se mantiene como concepto, y en los efectos performativos que genera en la sociedad moderna. En particular, argumentamos que el concepto de sustentabilidad ha funcionado como un horizonte semántico y una metanarrativa, permitiendo la emergencia y consolidación de la gobernanza como una nueva racionalidad global. Para fundar el argumento, el manuscrito emplea un enfoque analítico basado en la historia conceptual y la sociología, observando los conceptos como redes de sentido en relación con estructuras sociales latentes. Sobre esta base, el documento proporciona una reconstrucción histórica del surgimiento, significado central y desempeño comunicativo del concepto de “sustentabilidad”, seguido de una reflexión sobre su relación con la gobernanza. Se concluye, primero, que esta semántica y metanarrativa surge como una forma de superar la paradoja comunicativa involucrada en la interdependencia recíproca entre la sociedad y su entorno. Segundo, que el éxito comunicativo del que aquella goza actualmente se deriva de su capacidad para combinar flexibilidad y coherencia, en términos tanto cognitivos como normativos. Y tercero, que esta capacidad la convierte en un horizonte común de sentido, otorgando a su vez legitimidad y coherencia a un régimen emergente de gobernanza que coordine los esfuerzos globales para dirigir y gobernar la interacción entre la sociedad y su entorno.Sustainability has become a ubiquitous concept in modern society, but its inherent ambiguity makes it a source of enduring controversy. While the mainstream narrative has striven to make it the fundamental telos of all human activities, counter-narrative accounts have tended to treat it as an empty, rhetorical catchword potentially used to justify imperialism. Not siding with either of these interpretations, this manuscript delves into how sustainability is, becomes, and endures as a concept, in addition to the performative effects it engenders in modern society. In particular, we argue that sustainability has functioned as a semantic horizon and meta-narrative that allowed modern governance to emerge and become the new global rationality. The paper takes an analytical approach based on conceptual history and sociology, observing concepts as webs of meanings in relation to latent social structures. On this basis, the paper provides a conceptual-historical reconstruction of the emergence, core meaning and communicative performance of sustainability semantics, followed by a reflection on its relation to governance. The manuscript concludes, first, that sustainability emerges as a way to overcome the communications paradox involved in the reciprocal interdependence between society and its environment. Second, that the current communicational success of sustainability semantics derives from its ability to combine flexibility and coherence across the cognitive and normative dimensions. And third, that this ability makes sustainability a common horizon of possibility (of meaning), in turn granting legitimacy and coherence to an emerging governance regime coordinating global efforts at steering and governing the interaction between society and its environment.&nbsp

Argumentation and Defeasible Reasoning in the Law

Different formalisms for defeasible reasoning have been used to represent knowledge and reason in the legal field. In this work, we provide an overview of the following logic-based approaches to defeasible reasoning: defeasible logic, Answer Set Programming, ABA+, ASPIC+, and DeLP. We compare features of these approaches under three perspectives: the logical model (knowledge representation), the method (computational mechanisms), and the technology (available software resources). On top of that, two real examples in the legal domain are designed and implemented in ASPIC+ to showcase the benefit of an argumentation approach in real-world domains. The CrossJustice and Interlex projects are taken as a testbed, and experiments are conducted with the Arg2P technology