The Renewed City. New Settlement Principles for the "Re-Construction" of the Urban Form in the Disused Areas

The paper will deal with the theme of "re-construction" of the urban form in the areas made available by the industrial, military or infrastructural dismantling processes. Assumed as a "resource" for the contemporary city (often for their "strategic" position), these areas offer the opportunity to focus and experiment new settlement principles capable not only to resolve (on the morphological, spatial and functional level) the relation between the parts of city that were previously divided but, above all, to combine the compact and continuous condition of the city with the presence of wide empty spaces of "nature", intentionally re-introduced into the new urban context. Accepting the challenge of re-building our cities in order to make them corresponding to the aspirations of our time (sustainability, livability, well-being), our research proposes an alternative response to the current settlement "practices". Against the principles of "dispersion", that means the "pervasive" occupation of the urban and suburban soil and the indifference to the peculiarities of the places, it proposes the principle of "densification" and "compaction" of the built volumes in morphologic units that, besides being evocative of the urban condition, are capable to confer to the empty spaces, inside or between them, the value of public places defined by their reciprocal relation. The purpose of this approach is to subtract the empty space (natural or artificial) to its destiny of residual undefined space between "solitary" buildings, in order to give it a higher value: to contribute to the definition of form of the city of our time

Perceptions of Teachers on Instructing Remedial Mathematics Students

Approximately 12% of students at the study middle school failed to reach proficient levels on state assessments in mathematics from 2010-2012. Poor performance on assessments can limit future mathematical trajectories and opportunities for students. One of the causes for failing to meet proficient levels on mathematics assessments could be the inconsistent use of teaching practices targeted at supporting lower achieving students; according to such reasoning, a consistent use of research-supported practices could result in improved student performance. Kolb\u27s experiential learning theory, Vygotsky\u27s social development theory, and Maslow\u27s motivation theory provided a framework for this case study. Interviews and observational data were used to ascertain 5 teachers\u27 perceptions concerning instruction for students who fail to reach proficient levels on state assessments. Research questions examined teachers\u27 perceptions regarding implementing best instructional practices and regarding number sense, computational, problem-solving, working memory, and self-efficacy needs of lower level basic skills students. Data from 10 teacher interviews and 15 observations were analyzed using typological coding and thematic analysis. Results indicated that teachers perceived that homogenous groupings prevented teachers from meeting needs of students scoring below the proficient level and from using research-based strategies. The resulting position paper outlines the recommendation to de-track mathematics classrooms into heterogeneous groupings. Study results can be used to help provide teachers with research-based strategies targeted toward improving instruction for basic skills students

Learning from Las Vegas: Unions and post-industrial urbanisation

Las Vegas is often portrayed as the apogee of postmodern urbanism, but we argue that you cannot understand Las Vegas without understanding the role of unions in the City’s political economy. By focusing on the social relations surrounding workplace, class, and gender we highlight alternative versions of Las Vegas’ history. The Culinary Union, a UNITE HERE local, has introduced new institutional forms and played an active role in the local growth coalition. They have set standards around work intensity, training, and job ladders. Highlighting the ability of the union to affect these issues contributes to a counter-narrative about the City which stresses the agency of labour to actively produce Las Vegas’ cultural and economic landscapes. The postmodern narrative about Las Vegas hides these important lessons. Learning from Las Vegas can transform issues of signs and symbolism to issues of union organising and institutional structures in the post-industrial economy. This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available via SAGE at http://usj.sagepub.com/content/early/2014/06/16/0042098014536787

How Do Fairness Definitions Fare? Examining Public Attitudes Towards Algorithmic Definitions of Fairness

What is the best way to define algorithmic fairness? While many definitions of fairness have been proposed in the computer science literature, there is no clear agreement over a particular definition. In this work, we investigate ordinary people's perceptions of three of these fairness definitions. Across two online experiments, we test which definitions people perceive to be the fairest in the context of loan decisions, and whether fairness perceptions change with the addition of sensitive information (i.e., race of the loan applicants). Overall, one definition (calibrated fairness) tends to be more preferred than the others, and the results also provide support for the principle of affirmative action.Comment: To appear at AI Ethics and Society (AIES) 201

Changes in land capacities and ownership structure on family farms in Croatia

Land capacities and ownership structure on family farms in Croatia have changed greatly in the last fifty years. Land capacities are constantly decreasing, partly as the result of agrarian measures, partly also because of the long-lasting process of deagrarization. At the same time the ownership structure is changing, too, the number of small farms increasing and the number and total size of the larger ones decreasing. The process of agricultural fragmentation will certainly present a serious difficulty in efforts to stimulate the development of Croatian family agriculture

Do we need a village development strategy?

In rural areas some changes are occuring (and being announced) which affect some of the basic natural, physical and social characteristics of the rural environment. In the future these changes will increase. Thus their existence poses a whole lot of questions and dilemmas connected to the future development of rural areas. First, we think it is high time we accepted the fact that the rural environment is a specific segment of the entire environment, the entire economy and society, and its development is a constitutive part of our overall development. As a neglected part of the economy and society, the village develops spontaneously, as far as its possibilities allow and under a strong influence of the urban system of values. This kind of development is full of dangers that threaten to devalue many authentic (specific—autochthonous) and permanent values of that environment. Must we, accepting the development cliche of industial countries, repeat all their difficulties and crises (social, spatial ecological), or could we learn from their experience and give meaning to another (new) way of spatial, economic and social development. If we are not satisfied with merely the role of spectator and chronicler of changes and their consequences, but would like to take an active part in creating a new future for the rural environment and the village, then we should continuously keep abreast of and research changes (and announcements of changes) that are taking place there. On the basis of insight thus gathered, we should also think about formulating a strategy of rural development (a certain kind of codex of behaviour) that would, as a generally—accepted document, point to problems, present its views on the further development of the rural environment and propose activities and measures that would channel development in the desired direction. We consider that the rural environment, with its values and role in our overall development, merits this kind of attention