47 research outputs found
Combining stress transfer and source directivity: the case of the 2012 Emilia seismic sequence
No full textThe Emilia seismic sequence (Northern Italy) started on May 2012 and caused 17 casualties, severe damage to dwellings and forced the closure of several factories. The total number of events recorded in one month was about 2100, with local magnitude ranging between 1.0 and 5.9.
We investigate potential mechanisms (static and dynamic triggering) that may describe the evolution of the sequence. We consider rupture directivity in the dynamic strain field and observe that, for each main earthquake, its aftershocks and the subsequent large event occurred in an area characterized by higher dynamic strains and corresponding to the dominant rupture direction. We find that static stress redistribution alone is not capable of explaining the locations of subsequent events. We conclude that dynamic triggering played a significant role in driving the sequence. This triggering was also associated with a variation in permeability and a pore pressure increase in an area characterized by a massive presence of fluids
The importance of earthquake interactions for injection-induced seismicity: Retrospective modeling of the Basel Enhanced Geothermal System
Full text linkWe explore the role of earthquake interactions during an injection-induced seismic sequence. We propose a model, which considers both a transient pressure and static stress redistribution due to event interactions as triggering mechanisms. By calibrating the model against observations at the Enhanced Geothermal System of Basel, Switzerland, we are able to reproduce the time behavior of the seismicity rate. We observe that considering earthquake interactions in the modeling leads to a larger number of expected seismic events (24% more) if compared to a pressure-induced seismicity only. The increase of the number of events is particularly evident after the end of the injection. We conclude that implementing a model for estimating the static stress changes due to mutual event interactions increases significantly the understanding of the process and the behavior of induced seismicity
Napoli in Francia? L'arco di Alfonso e i portali monumentali del primo Rinascimento francese
No full textBasato su fonti in larga parte inedite saggio evidenzia i legami strutturali, funzionali e formali tra il castello di Gaillon in Normandia e l'arco di Castelnuovo a Napoli, individuando nel fiesolano Giacomo Paciarotto (Jérome Pacherot) il possibile autore dei portali di Gaillon.The essay points to the structural, functional and formal connections between the Château de Gaillon and the Castelnuovo arch in Naples, identifying Giacomo Paciarotto from Fiesole as the possible author of the Gaillon portals
"Thrilling Empire": Indian history and questions of genre in Victorian popular fiction
Full text linkThe article focuses on the features of a subgenre rather popular with the Victorians, neglected (although evoked) by major, canonic novelists. The Mutiny novel has been identified by recent criticism as one of the pieces of the mosaic in the construction of British identity.
This model of identity supports the national imperialist vocation, extolling British qualities and representing historical events in mythical, stereotypical and racist fashion, according to clear, and closely monitored, ideological values. At the same time these novels offer fertile ground to explore the uncertainties and the contradictions that complicate the pattern, warning against any simplistic attitude towards Victorian Weltanschaaung. An interesting author in this regard is George Chesney, mostly known for his The Battle of Dorking or for his works about Indian administration. Chesney is the author of a Mutiny novel, The Dilemma (1876), that sets a plot typical of the sensational novel against the background of the Rebellion, revealing the powerful anxieties inherent the colonial adventure. Other novelists who wrote on the Rebellion (G. Henty, J.F. Fanthorne among them) are equally interesting to explore the ambiguities of identity construction
An imperfect resistance: Kureishi’s rhetorical strategies as critique in the short-story "My Son the Fanatic".
No full textHanif Kureishi’s work has widely focused on the depiction of multiethnic cultural attitudes and on the shortcomings of the British multicultural project. Well before the recent dramatic events, the author especially concentrated on Islamic fundamentalism in the UK in the novel The Black Album (1995) and in the short story “My Son the Fanatic” (1997), a year later a successful film.
The paper focuses on the analysis of the narrative and rhetorical strategies deployed by Kureishi to deal with the issue of fundamentalism, rising the question of the ethic responsibility of the author in working out his representational practices.
While providing a portrait of contemporary British society and hinting at the reasons that can explain why the fundamentalist version of Islam is so appealing for young generations in the UK, Kureishi enacts a literary strategy that furthers the sociological exploration of the phenomenon, to include and ponder on its linguistic features. He also provides a critique of the communicative model on which the fundamentalist attitude rests. Caricature and satire prevail in The Black Album, but the risk of naturalizing stereotypes of religious and cultural attitudes is real, so it raises the question of the writer’s responsibility in dealing with fundamentalism in literature, since rhetorical strategies impinge on the ethic rather than on the aesthetic side of this delicate topic. The short story “My Son the Fanatic” undermines stereotypes, foregrounding and questioning the stereotypical phrasing that voices fundamentalist issues. The use of point of view and the open paradoxical ending of the short story prove to be effective instruments to enhance awareness of the risks connected to embracing highly ideological representational strategies
Development and application of a physical model for the estimate of the rate and probability of earthquake occurrence
Full text linkNew insights into the application of the Coulomb model in real-time
No full textISSN:0956-540XISSN:1365-246XISSN:1365-246
ProMCDA : a Python package for probabilistic multi-criteria decision analysis
No full textMulti-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) is a formal process used to assist decision-makers in structuring complex decision problems and providing recommendations based on a comprehensive evaluation of alternatives. This evaluation is conducted by selecting relevant criteria and subcriteria, which are then aggregated according to the preferences of the decision-makers to produce a ranking or classification of the alternatives (Bouyssou et al., 2006; Roy, 1996). A wide range of MCDA methods are available in the literature for integrating information to classify alternatives into preference classes or rank them from best to worst (Cinelli et al., 2022). Among these, composite indicators (CIs) are commonly used synthetic measures for ranking and benchmarking alternatives across complex concepts (Greco et al., 2019). Examples of CI applications include environmental quality assessment (Oţoiu & Grădinaru, 2018), resilience of energy supply (Gasser et al., 2020), sustainability (Volkart et al., 2016), and global competitiveness (Klaus Schwab, 2018).
However, the final ranking of alternatives in MCDA can be influenced by various factors such as uncertainty in the criteria, the choice of weights assigned to them, and the selection of methods for normalization and aggregation to construct CIs (Cinelli et al., 2020; Langhans et al., 2014). To address these challenges, the ProMCDA Python module has been developed to allow decision-makers to explore the sensitivity and robustness of CI results in a user-friendly manner. This tool facilitates sensitivity analysis related to the choice of normalization and aggregation methods and accounts for uncertainty in criteria and weights, providing a systematic approach to understanding the impact of these factors on decision outcomes
New insights into the application of the Coulomb model in real-time
No full textThe Coulomb model for stress change estimation is considered one of the most powerful physics-based forecasting tools, even though its calculations are affected by uncertainties due to the large number of a priori assumptions needed. The aim of this paper is to suggest a straightforward and reliable strategy to apply the Coulomb model for real-time forecasting. This is done by avoiding all dispensable assumptions, thus reducing the corresponding uncertainties. We demonstrate that the depth at which calculations are made is a parameter of utmost importance and apply the Coulomb model to three sequences in different tectonic regimes: Umbria-Marche (normal), Landers (strike-slip), and Chi-Chi (thrust). In each case the results confirm that when applying the Coulomb model: (i) the depth of calculation plays a fundamental role; (ii) depth uncertainties are not negligible; (iii) the best forecast at a given location is obtained by selecting the maximum stress change over the whole seismogenic depth rang
