Search results for "technologies"
showing 10 items of 2976 documents
Esplorare la povertà urbana in una prospettiva mediterranea: il caso del quartiere CEP a Palermo
2020
The paper addresses the issue of the multiple dimensions of urban poverty through mixed analyses carried out in the CEP neighborhood of Palermo. The article tries to avoid incurring the dichotomy between the Global North and South and adopts a Mediterranean perspective, attempting to describe the neighborhood from below and starting from the voices of its youngest inhabitants. In light of the most recent pandemic events, the issue of urban poverty deserves to be explored with renewed academic debates.
Novel biomass fly ash-based geopolymeric mortars using lime slaker grits as aggregate for applications in construction: Influence of granulometry and…
2019
Abstract This work discusses the influence of the aggregate granulometry and the binder/aggregate ratio on the engineering properties of novel green geopolymeric mortars. Two wastes generated by a Portuguese Kraft pulp industry are employed to manufacture the material: lime slaker grits (used as aggregate) and biomass fly ash (to partially replace the metakaolin − 70 wt% substitution). The novel geopolymeric mortars could find innovative applications as sustainable construction materials. The studied mix design foresees the use of several grits granulometric ranges and ratios binder/aggregate to discuss workability, water sorptivity, and mechanical performance of the novel mortars. To date,…
Exploiting historical rainfall and landslide data in a spatial database for the derivation of critical rainfall thresholds
2017
Critical rainfall thresholds for landslides are powerful tools for preventing landslide hazard. The thresholds are commonly estimated empirically starting from rainfall events that triggered landslides in the past. The creation of the appropriate rainfall–landslide database is one of the main efforts in this approach. In fact, an accurate agreement between the landslide and rainfall information, in terms of location and timing, is essential in order to correctly estimate the rainfall–landslide relationships. A further issue is taking into account the average moisture conditions prior the triggering event, which reasonably may be crucial in determining the sufficient amount of precipitation.…
The Camorra and protection rackets: the cost to business
2016
Based on the observations from the judicial and investigative evidence provided by prosecutors in Camorra areas in Italy, this investigation provides an estimate of the economic impact of extortion racket to businesses. In particular, the estimates refer to the total and average withdrawal of monetary amounts from the businesses victimised by Camorra clans. Further insights are provided in terms of economic activities mostly victimised, and specifically the construction sector, which is subject to a different type of extortion racket.
Acoustic Emission Waveform Picking with Time Delay Neural Networks during Rock Deformation Laboratory Experiments
2020
Abstract We report a new method using a time delay neural network to transform acoustic emission (AE) waveforms into a time series of instantaneous frequency content and permutation entropy. This permits periods of noise to be distinguished from signals. The model is trained in sequential batches, using an automated process that steadily improves signal recognition as new data are added. The model was validated using AE data from rock deformation experiments, using Darley Dale sandstone in fully drained conditions at a confining pressure of 20 MPa (approximately 800 m simulated depth). The model is initially trained by manual picking of five high-amplitude waveforms randomly selected from t…
Digital Pandemic - Tecnologie alla prova delle pratiche
2020
Le tecnologie alla prova del Lockdown Covid: quali tecnologie, quali emergenze e quali orizzonti Technologies to the test of the Covid Lockdown: which technologies, which emergencies and which horizons
Firms’ Absorptive Capacity for Research-Based Collaboration—an Analysis of a Norwegian R&D Brokering Policy Program
2017
The objective of this article is to explore how policy supported instruments aimed to stimulate research-based innovation influence long-term innovation activity in firms with different knowledge bases. In an effort to contribute to the renewal of existing industry, some policies aim to stimulate firms to adopt and apply research-based knowledge in innovation processes. This article includes a qualitative study of a specific ‘R&D brokering policy instrument’ in Norway aimed at increasing R&D-based innovation processes in firms. R&D brokering policy instruments include funding schemes that are designed to foster and transfer technology and knowledge between firms and research communities. Th…
From C–S–H to C–A–S–H: Experimental study and thermodynamic modelling
2015
Abstract It has long been known that the stoichiometry of C–S–H varies with the calcium hydroxide concentration in solution. However, this issue is still far from understood. We revisit it in both experimental and modelling aspects. A careful analysis of the solubility confirms the existence of three different C–S–H phases, defined as Ca 4 H 4 Si 5 O 16 , Ca 2 H 2 Si 2 O 7 and Ca 6 (HSi 2 O 7 ) 2 (OH) 2 , respectively. The variation of the Ca/Si ratio of the three phases has been described by surface reactions: the increase of the Si content is accounted for by silicate bridging, the increase of calcium content and the surface charge are accounted for by reactions involving silanol groups v…
Reconstruction of the Rib Vaults of the Hypostyle Hall in the Maniace Castle of Siracusa After the 1693 Earthquake
2016
ABSTRACTBuilt in the first half of the 13th century on behalf of the Emperor Frederick II, the Maniace Castle of Siracusa focuses its enigma in the hypostyle hall (which was composed of 25 quadripartite rib vaults) and the design criteria adopted for its implementation. Recent research and a careful rereading of the documentary “restoration project” after the earthquake of 1693 have offered new tools to understand the construction techniques and building procedures for the entire organism. It has been possible to demonstrate that the different material (white limestone and volcanic stone) used for the vaults is, in fact, a product of reconstruction. The constructive node, which historiograp…
Calibrating the effective scattering albedo in the SMOS algorithm: some first results
2016
International audience; This study focuses on the calibration of the effective scattering albedo (ω) of vegetation in the soil moisture (SM) retrieval at L-Band. Currently, in the SMOS Level 2 and 3 algorithms, the value of ω is set to 0 for low vegetation and ∼ 0.06 – 0.08 for forests. Different parameterizations of vegetation (in terms of ω values) were tested in this study. The possibility of combining soil roughness and vegetation contributions as a single parameter (“combined” method) leads to an important simplification in the algorithm and was also evaluated here. Following these assumptions, retrieved values of SMOS SM were compared with SM data measured over many in situ sites worl…