Photogrammetric suite to manage the survey workflow in challenging environments and conditions

The present work is intended in providing new and innovative instruments to support the photogrammetric survey workflow during all its phases. A suite of tools has been conceived in order to manage the planning, the acquisition, the post-processing and the restitution steps, with particular attention to the rigorousness of the approach and to the final precision. The main focus of the research has been the implementation of the tool MAGO, standing for Adaptive Mesh for Orthophoto Generation. Its novelty consists in the possibility to automatically reconstruct \u201cunrolled\u201d orthophotos of adjacent fa\ue7ades of a building using the point cloud, instead of the mesh, as input source for the orthophoto reconstruction. The second tool has been conceived as a photogrammetric procedure based on Bundle Block Adjustment. The same issue is analysed from two mirrored perspectives: on the one hand, the use of moving cameras in a static scenario in order to manage real-time indoor navigation; on the other hand, the use of static cameras in a moving scenario in order to achieve the simultaneously reconstruction of the 3D model of the changing object. A third tool named U.Ph.O., standing for Unmanned Photogrammetric Office, has been integrated with a new module. The general aim is on the one hand to plan the photogrammetric survey considering the expected precision, computed on the basis of a network simulation, and on the other hand to check if the achieved survey has been collected compatibly with the planned conditions. The provided integration concerns the treatment of surfaces with a generic orientation further than the ones with a planimetric development. After a brief introduction, a general description about the photogrammetric principles is given in the first chapter of the dissertation; a chapter follows about the parallelism between Photogrammetry and Computer Vision and the contribution of this last in the development of the described tools. The third chapter specifically regards, indeed, the implemented software and tools, while the fourth contains the training test and the validation. Finally, conclusions and future perspectives are reported

Humorous communication in casual work relationships: Self-perceptions concerning humor orientation, loneliness, and verbal aggressiveness

In order to understand humor orientation, loneliness, and verbal aggressiveness better, 14 faculty members and 25 graduate students from the University of Nebraska at Omaha completed measures of humor orientation (HO), loneliness, and verbal aggressiveness (VA). These individuals were asked to have an acquaintance (as opposed to a close friend or relative) complete an adapted version o f the HO scale (HOA). Results indicated that faculty members and graduate students did not significantly differ in HO, loneliness, or HO A, however graduate students were more verbally aggressive than faculty members in 10 different questions concerning VA. No correlation was found between HO and loneliness. No overall correlation was found between self-reported HO and HOA. However, a significant correlation was found between faculty members\u27 HO and their acquaintance\u27s HOA scores. Unexpected significant positive correlations were found between HO and VA for the overall group and the faculty sub-group

Evolino for recurrent support vector machines

Traditional Support Vector Machines (SVMs) need pre-wired finite time windows to predict and classify time series. They do not have an internal state necessary to deal with sequences involving arbitrary long-term dependencies. Here we introduce a new class of recurrent, truly sequential SVM-like devices with internal adaptive states, trained by a novel method called EVOlution of systems with KErnel-based outputs (Evoke), an instance of the recent Evolino class of methods. Evoke evolves recurrent neural networks to detect and represent temporal dependencies while using quadratic programming/support vector regression to produce precise outputs. Evoke is the first SVM-based mechanism learning to classify a context-sensitive language. It also outperforms recent state-of-the-art gradient-based recurrent neural networks (RNNs) on various time series prediction tasks.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure

Learning dynamic algorithm portfolios

Algorithm selection can be performed using a model of runtime distribution, learned during a preliminary training phase. There is a trade-off between the performance of model-based algorithm selection, and the cost of learning the model. In this paper, we treat this trade-off in the context of bandit problems. We propose a fully dynamic and online algorithm selection technique, with no separate training phase: all candidate algorithms are run in parallel, while a model incrementally learns their runtime distributions. A redundant set of time allocators uses the partially trained model to propose machine time shares for the algorithms. A bandit problem solver mixes the model-based shares with a uniform share, gradually increasing the impact of the best time allocators as the model improves. We present experiments with a set of SAT solvers on a mixed SAT-UNSAT benchmark; and with a set of solvers for the Auction Winner Determination proble

Value Stocks and Growth Stocks: A Study of the Italian Market

This article focuses on the study of value and growth stocks in the Italian market during the period 2001-2018, trying to understand if there is a difference in terms of return between the two share classes and which could be the explanation. The analysis reveals a persistent and large value premium in the early 2000s, while after the financial crisis the premium diminished considerably. The excess return provided by value stocks was marked and persistent only in case of smaller firms, while in case of large-cap stocks the phenomenon was limited and present only in the early years of the 21st century. Finally, the analysis suggests that value stocks are not particularly riskier than growth stocks. Therefore, it seems that, at least in part, the value premium in the Italian market may present a mispricing explanation

Relaciones personales y politicas de salud en un programa municipal de VIH/Sida de la Provincia de Buenos Aires

O artigo analisa, do ponto de vista etnográfico, como as políticas públicas de HIV / aids são desenvolvidas em um município do primeiro cordão populacional do nordeste da Gran Buenos Aires (Argentina). Atendemos especificamente ao que os profissionais do Programa Municipal de Prevenção e Assistência chamam de "contatos e redes de amizade" e sua relação com as respostas locais à epidemia. Contamos com a reconstrução e análise de entrevistas, observações, conversas e interações cotidianas com profissionais cadastrados entre 2016 e 2018. A partir da análise, percebe-se que as relações pessoais são um componente central nas políticas de saúde de resposta ao HIV/AIDS no município , estabelecendo e mantendo condições particulares de atenção e gestão da epidemia.This article analyzes, from an ethnographic scope, the ways in which HIV/Aids policies are developed in a municipality located in the northeast of Gran Buenos Aires (Argentina). It focuses specifically on what the professionals from the Municipal Program for HIV/Aids Assistance and Prevention call “contacts and friendship networks” and its relation to local responses given to the epidemic. It is based on the reconstruction and analysis of interviews, observations, conversations and quotidian interactions with the professionals registered between 2016 and 2018. From this analysis we convey that personal relationships are a central component of HIV/Aids related sanitary policies in this municipality, and that they establish and maintain particular conditions for HIV/Aids epidemic management and healthcare.El artículo analiza, desde una mirada etnográfica, los modos en que las políticas públicas de VIH/Sida se desarrollan en un municipio del primer cordón poblacional del noroeste del Gran Buenos Aires (Argentina). Atendemos específicamente a lo que los profesionales del Programa Municipal de Prevención y Asistencia denominan “contactos y redes de amistad” y su relación con las respuestas locales a la epidemia. Nos basamos en la reconstrucción y análisis de entrevistas, observaciones, conversaciones e interacciones cotidianas con los profesionales registradas entre 2016 y 2018. Del análisis se desprende que las relaciones personales constituyen un componente central en las políticas sanitarias de respuesta al VIH/Sida dentro del municipio, instaurando y manteniendo condiciones particulares para la atención y la gestión de la epidemia

Transnationalism and Belonging: The Case of Moroccan Entrepreneurs in Amsterdam and Milan

Research on migrant transnationalism has mostly focused on particular transnational activities, their salience in various contexts and populations, and their relationship with migrant incorporation. Less attention has been paid to the interplay between the different domains of transnationalism (economic, political, and socio-relational) and to the way in which they affect migrants’ identity. This study investigates whether and how one domain of migrant transnationalism—transnational entrepreneurship—influences migrants’ (1) transnational involvement in other domains and (2) sense of belonging to different social groups and places. Focusing on the case of Moroccan entrepreneurs in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and Milan, Italy, we compare transnational migrant entrepreneurs, whose business is based on cross-border relationships and exchanges, with domestic migrant entrepreneurs, who are active exclusively in the destination country. Combining quantitative and qualitative data, we find that transnational entrepreneurs differ from domestic entrepreneurs mostly in terms of socio-relational transnational involvement. On the other hand, transnational entrepreneurship does not substantially change transnational practices in other domains or sense of belonging among Moroccan migrants

PHOTOGRAMMETRIC PROCESSING AND FRUITION OF PRODUCTS IN OPEN-SOURCE ENVIRONMENT APPLIED TO THE CASE STUDY OF THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL PARK OF POMPEII

Abstract. The paper presents the geomatic survey campaign carried out in the Domus V of Pompeii Archaeological site, the photogrammetric processing of the collected images and the following fruition of the deriving products deploying open-source software. Among all the produced results, the orthophotos of the vertical walls of one of the Domus V rooms are made available through a "master/slave" GIS environment, where each orthophoto is uploaded in a "slave" project whose visualization is triggered by querying the corresponding geometry representing the wall in the "master" project. This strategy allows to include the display of the third dimension, i.e., the altimetric one, within a traditional GIS environment, so to constitute a 3D GIS representation. This is particularly useful to realize a catalogue of all the archaeological site in the future to be viewed, queried and exploited also by non-specialists in geomatics or archaeology fields of knowledge

Innovations in geomatics teaching during the COVID-19 emergency

The approach in the teaching process is changing, thanks to the increased awareness that a higher students\u2019 involvement leads to a better quality of their learning. The aim is to make the students more participative, avoiding a unidirectional lesson and encouraging their wish to keep updated on the course advancements. However, innovative teaching methodologies are not yet widespread, mainly in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) disciplines. At the University of Genoa, the experimentation of innovative teaching techniques has been significant and worthy especially because it was planned before the COVID-19 emergency and applied in the scenario of forced remote teaching. Thanks to the introduc- tion of novel technological instruments, several techniques have been exploited to realize interactive lessons and promoting students\u2019 involvement. The present work discloses the employed techniques and frames them within the state of the art of innovative teaching, highlighting their contribution in the teaching activities related to the Geomatics field of knowledge. The acquired experiences in Geomatics dissemination and a critical analysis, including teachers\u2019 and students\u2019 perception about the tested innovative teaching/learning tools, are also reported. In general, the innovations introduced in teaching and learning processes during the COVID-19 sanitary emergency were warmly received by the entire community, including teachers, students, and teaching assistants

U.ph.o and mago: Two useful instruments in support of photogrammetric uav survey

In emergency and critical scenarios, the UAV could play a key role in accessing unreachable sites in a safe and rapid way, guaranteeing at the same time the necessary accuracy and precision of the survey. In this context, UAV survey campaigns have been performed by the authors in Norcia (Italy), hit by tragic seismic events in August and October 2016. The surveys were motivated by the artistic and historical value of monuments, the need to plan and design the restoring and retrofitting of buildings, and also to quantify and manage the ruins. Goal of such surveys was the description of the structures geometry with a centimetric precision and a high level of reliability. Recently, the authors have conceived two tools, U.Ph.O (Unmanned Photogrammetric Office) and MAGO (Adaptive Mesh for Orthophoto Generation), dedicated to the planning and restitution phases of the survey, respectively. U.Ph.O. and MAGO are here applied to two different buildings in Norcia, i.e. the Civic Tower of Norcia and San Salvatore Church of Campi di Norcia. The former is a standing-out structure, surrounded by the complex of the historical centre, while the latter is located in an isolated site in the countryside. These features make the survey planning and the orthophoto reconstruction completely different, mainly due to the different optimal shooting geometry and the presence or absence of obstructions