'Localising' the Post-2015 Agenda: What Does It Mean In Practice?

'Localising' the Post-2015 agenda is most commonly understood as the role that regional and local governments play in the implementation of a new set of goals. Subnational governments have responsibilities (either directly or shared with central government or in partnership with other stakeholders) for service provision in many areas related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In order to deliver services effectively and help achieve the SDGs, they need to have adequate capacity and resources.In fact, the important role that local government play in a new development agenda has been recognised in a number of key inputs to the Post-2015 process. The High-Level Panel made this clear in its report to the UN Secretary-General. It stated that "the most pressing issue is not rural versus urban but how to foster a local, geographic approach to the post-2015 agenda. The Panel believes this can be done by disaggregating data by place, and giving local authorities a bigger role in setting priorities, executing plans, monitoring results and engaging with local firms and communities

Towards multiple interactions of inner and outer sensations in corporeal awareness

Under normal circumstances, different inner- and outer-body sources are integrated to form coherent and accurate mental experiences of the state of the body, leading to the phenomenon of corporeal awareness. How these processes are affected by changes in inner and outer inputs to the body, remains unclear. Here, we aim to present empirical evidence in which people experiencing a massive sensory disconnect may continue to experience feelings of their body state, suggesting that misperceptions of body awareness are determined by incomplete inner and outer signals. In these clinical populations, despite a long period of massive deafferentation, the activity of the neural structures subserving inner and outer body processing can be manipulated and tuned by means of body illusions that are usually based on multisensory stimulation. We suggest that a multisensory therapeutic approach could be adopted in the context of therapies for patients suffering from deafferentation. In this way, these individuals could regain a more complete feeling of their body state and the sensations they experience, which vary widely depending on their neurological condition

Direct Experimental Evidence of the Statistical Nature of the Electron Gas in Superconducting Films

In an Nb film an alternate electrical current is partitioned at a Y-shaped obstacle into two splitted beams. The intensity-fluctuation correlation of the two beams (cross-correlation) and the intensity- fluctuation correlation of one beam (auto-correlation) are measured within a low-frequency bandwidth as a function of the incident beam intensity, at temperatures T above or below the temperature Tc of the superconductive transition. The results of these measurements reveal the statistical nature of the electron gas in the normal film and in the superconducting film. The conceptual scheme of the present experiment is a version of the Hanbury Brown and Twiss (HBT) experiment, here adopted for a gas of particles in a solid

Projecting Progress: Are Cities on Track to Achieve the SDGs by 2030?

This report explores for the first time the scale of the challenge for 20 cities across the world to reach selected targets set out in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). More than half of the targets included will require a profound acceleration of efforts if they are to be achieved by the majority of selected cities. Targets that are not on course to be met by the majority of cities studied include ending child malnutrition, achieving full and productive female employment, access to adequate housing and access to drinking water and sanitation.The report makes a series of recommendations to increase progress towards the SDGs, including:Central governments and donors should work to strengthen local governments' capacities.Government and city administrations should invest more in ways to monitor progress on the SDGs.Statistical offices' and cities' information systems should improve the data available

Energy and technological refurbishment of the School of Architecture Valle Giulia, Rome

Modern architecture built in historical urban contexts represents a demanding issue when its energy efficiency should be improved. Indeed, the strongest efforts have to be made to maintain the architectural identity and its harmony with the surrounding cultural heritage. This study deals with the main building of the School of Architecture Valle Giulia in Rome, designed by Enrico Del Debbio in the 30’s. Further constraints are related to several interventions of airspace expansion starting from 1958 which involved the building starting from 1958. So, preservation would mean highlighting its historic change but, adapting the built environment to the contemporary users’ needs. As above-mentioned, the building belongs to the Valle delle Accademie, within the historic park of Villa Borghese, so that to acquire landscaping values. Those latter ones call for ulterior requirements when any new design process is conceived. The study provides a global renewal of the building accounting for the current low Indoor Environmental Quality in both summer and winter seasons and the lack of suitability to the contemporary University student’s needs. The interaction between building performance and HVAC systems was studied by collecting data and architectural surveys conducted by all the architects who modified the building. This procedure was chosen since thermo-physical investigations are considered destructive due to required perforations to identify the actual wall layers. Moreover, thermographic surveys were carried out to validate the modelled building response. The result of the study is the identification of viable interventions to improve the accessibility and fruition of the building as well as its energy performance. A specific cost-benefit analysis was done to prioritize the design options along with considering the measures needed to preserve all the architectural features and values

Culture, Identity, Commemorations. The language and History in the imagination of the Catalan Community of Buenos Aires (1908-1939)

Este artículo presenta la existencia y desarrollo de los certámenes literarios conocidos como Jocs Florals de la Llengua Catalana en Buenos Aires entre los años 1904 y 1921. Este análisis estudia la importancia de las conmemoraciones culturales e históricas en las prácticas del catalanismo radical de ultramar.This article presents the existence and development of the literary contests known as Jocs Florals de la Llengua Catalana (Catalonian Flower Games), held in Buenos Aires city between years 1904 and 1921. This analysis shows the importance of cultural and historical commemorations in the catalanism radical practices overseas

Partners in Community Service

Making a community connection is part of The Stafford Way at Vermont\u27s Stafford Technical Center