185 research outputs found
The relevance of social dreaming for action research: exploring jail workers’ unconscious thinking of the changes in the prison organization
No full textThe contribution focuses on how dreams can be investigated as social phenomena in a manner which illuminates the role of the individual in a particular group and elucidates unconscious group processes in an organization. The article presents an experience of adopting Lawrence’s social dreaming (SD) matrices in a new a specific field: an Italian prison which has shifted in the last two decades from a punitive to a rehabilitative mission. The aim of the experience was twofold: i) to help jail workers, through a formative experience, gaining a deeper understanding of how the new prison environment influences their emotional experience and work functioning; ii) to collect the emotional climate, the feelings, and the critical issues among the prison staff, in order to gain insights for the authorities responsible for the regulation of correctional facility. The experience of SD included 4 matrices, involving a total of 12 participants: 7 prison officers and 5 educators. The main thematic areas emerged from the matrices are related to: trust, competence, professional identity, separateness and privacy, safety, and to the gender differences. All the themes are presented and discussed, along with dreams and free associations. The present work is, to our knowledge, the first attempt to apply the tool of social dreaming to the context of correctional facility all over the world. The described experience might serve as an example of the applicability of this mode of analytic exploration to institutions or organizations, and the contribution opens to reflection and some implications
Isoprostanes in wastewater of two Italian cities as a community-level metabolism linked to SARS-CoV-2 RNA and COVID-19 cases
No full textVertical profile of the clear-sky aerosol direct radiative effect in an Alpine valley, by the synergy of ground-based measurements and radiative transfer simulations
No full textAtmospheric aerosols play an important role in Earth’s radiative balance, directly interacting with solar radiation or influencing cloud formation and properties. In order to assess their radiative impact, it is necessary to accurately characterise their optical properties, together with their spatial and vertical distribution. The information on aerosol vertical profile is often scarce, in particular in mountainous, complex terrains. This study presents the first attempt to evaluate the shortwave aerosol direct radiative effect in the Aosta Valley, a mountainous region in the Northwestern Italian Alps. Ground-based, remote sensing instruments (a sky radiometer and an Automated Lidar Ceilometer) are used to derive two descriptions of the aerosol properties and vertical distribution: a first, more accurate description, which includes the whole spectral information about the aerosol extinction coefficient, phase function and single scattering albedo; a second, more approximate one, which only relies on spectrally constant values of aerosol single scattering albedo and asymmetry factor. This information is used as input for radiative transfer simulations, which allow to estimate, in cloudless conditions, the shortwave aerosol direct radiative effect and the vertical profile of the instantaneous heating rates in the lower layers of the atmosphere. The simulations obtained with the two descriptions do not differ significantly: they highlight a strong surface dimming (between −25 and −50 W m−2) due to the presence of aerosol, with a considerable radiative absorption inside the atmospheric column (around +30 Wm−2), and an
overall small cooling effect for the Earth-atmospheric system. The absorption of solar radiation within the atmospheric column due to aerosol leads to instantaneous heating rates up to 1.5 Kday−1 in the tropospheric layers below 6 km a.s.l. These results show that, in some conditions, the shortwave aerosol direct radiative effect can be considerable even in this Alpine environment, usually considered as relatively pristine (yearly average PM10 concentration about 20 μg m−3)
Sensitivity Analysis and Investigation of the Behaviour of the UTOPIA Land-Surface Process Model : A Case Study for Vineyards in Northern Italy
No full textWe used sensitivity-analysis techniques to investigate the behaviour of the land-surface model UTOPIA while simulating the micrometeorology of a typical northern Italy vineyard (Vitis vinifera L.) under average climatic conditions. Sensitivity-analysis experiments were performed by sampling the vegetation parameter hyperspace using the Morris method and quantifying the parameter relevance across a wide range of soil conditions. This method was used since it proved its suitability for models with high computational time or with a large number of parameters, in a variety of studies performed on different types of biophysical models. The impact of input variability was estimated on reference model variables selected among energy (e. g. net radiation, sensible and latent heat fluxes) and hydrological (e. g. soil moisture, surface runoff, drainage) budget components. Maximum vegetation cover and maximum leaf area index were ranked as the most relevant parameters, with sensitivity indices exceeding the remaining parameters by about one order of magnitude. Soil variability had a high impact on the relevance of most of the vegetation parameters: coefficients of variation calculated on the sensitivity indices estimated for the different soils often exceeded 100 %. The only exceptions were represented by maximum vegetation cover and maximum leaf area index, which showed a low variability in sensitivity indices while changing soil type, and confirmed their key role in affecting model results
Land-use improvements in the weather research and forecasting model over complex mountainous terrain and comparison of different grid sizes
No full textWeather forecasts over mountainous terrain are challenging due to the complex topography that is necessarily smoothed by actual local-area models. As complex mountainous territories represent 20% of the Earth’s surface, accurate forecasts and the numerical resolution of the interaction between the surface and the atmospheric boundary layer are crucial. We present an assessment of the Weather Research and Forecasting model with two different grid spacings (1 km and 0.5 km), using two topography datasets (NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission and Global Multi-resolution Terrain Elevation Data 2010, digital elevation models) and four land-cover-description datasets (Corine Land Cover, U.S. Geological Survey land-use, MODIS30 and MODIS15, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer land-use). We investigate the Ortles Cevadale region in the Rhaetian Alps (central Italian Alps), focusing on the upper Forni Glacier proglacial area, where a micrometeorological station operated from 28 August to 11 September 2017. The simulation outputs are compared with observations at this micrometeorological station and four other weather stations distributed around the Forni Glacier with respect to the latent heat, sensible heat and ground heat fluxes, mixing-layer height, soil moisture, 2-m air temperature, and 10-m wind speed. The different model runs make it possible to isolate the contributions of land use, topography, grid spacing, and boundary-layer parametrizations. Among the considered factors, land use proves to have the most significant impact on results
Global warming and water sustainability
No full textWater is a primary element in the human diet and a necessary resource for the agriculture. In addition, industrial practices need a growing amount of water. Since human population is continuously growing at a quasi-exponential rate, water demand, for domestic, agricultural and industrial uses, is increasing too. However, considering that the water resources on the Earth are finite, even disregarding the potential threats due to the climate change, this situation appears as one of the biggest challenges of the current era. Actually, one-third of the world’s population is water-stressed, of which 12% severely: in these nations, a large portion of the population lives below the minimum threshold judged permissible for a decent life. In practice, almost every nation deals with problems related to water sustainability. In some countries, the water supply is ensured only thanks to the extraction of fossil water, which is a limited resource that will not last indefinitely. The impact on water quality has also dramatically increased. The scarcity of water resources is expected to spread to wider areas in the near future, mostly in developing countries, if the actual trends of development and population growth do not change. The rapid urbanizing rate will also create additional stress. Climate change can in turn alter both water supply and demand: increasing temperatures will reflect in increased evaporation and decreased stream flows. Rising seas could contaminate groundwater resources, and increasingly variable precipitation will likely mean more frequent high-intensity droughts and floods and less available rainfall in arid and semiarid regions. The effects of these changes will increase the natural variability of the climate, exacerbating the extreme climatic phenomena (drought and flood events), increasing the difficulty of managing water resources, especially in the most vulnerable regions, and affecting water availability even in regions that are not usually subjected to water shortage
Development and evolution of an anomalous Asian dust event across Europe in March 2020
No full textThis paper concerns an in-depth analysis of an exceptional incursion of mineral dust over southern Europe in late March 2020 (27–30 March 2020). This event was associated with an anomalous circulation pattern leading to several days of PM10 (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than 10 μm) exceedances in connection with a dust source located in central Asia; this is a rare source of dust for Europe, which is more frequently affected by dust outbreaks from the Sahara Desert. The synoptic meteorological configuration was analyzed in detail, and the aerosol evolution during the transit of the dust plume over northern Italy was assessed at high time resolution by means of optical particle counting at three stations, namely Bologna, Trieste, and Mt. Cimone, allowing for the revelation of the transport timing among the three locations. Back-trajectory analyses supported by Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) maps allowed for the location of the mineral dust source area in the Aralkum region. Therefore, the event was analyzed by observing the particle number size distribution with the support of chemical composition analysis. It is shown that the PM10 exceedance recorded is associated with a large fraction of coarse particles, which is in agreement with mineral dust properties. Both the in situ number size distribution and the vertical distribution of the dust plume were cross-checked using lidar ceilometer and aerosol optical depth (AOD) data from two nearby stations and showed that the dust plume (in contrast to those originating from the Sahara Desert) traveled close to the ground (up to a height of about 2 km). The limited mixing layer height caused by high concentrations of absorbing and scattering aerosols caused the mixing of mineral dust with other locally produced ambient aerosols, thereby potentially increasing its morbidity effects
An outstanding mineral dust transport event from Aralkum desert to northern Italy
No full textThis work presents the analysis of an exceptional event of mineral dust transport which impacted northern Italy at the end of March 2020. The event originated over the Aralkum region, a desert area formed recently owing to the almost complete drying of the Aral Lake (Jin et al., 2017). This event presents multiple unprecedented and interesting characteristics: first of all, the eastern origin and the transport of this dust plume over several kilometres is quite anomalous for mid-latitudes where the dominant circulation is characterized by a westerly component; secondly, the event occurred during the lockdown period imposed to contrast the spread of the SARS-COV2 pandemic in Italy, with relevant decrease of particulate emissions over the receptor area.
The event was observed through aerosol number concentrations retrieved by optical particle counters (OPCs) located at three different sites in north-eastern Italy, namely Bologna (44°29’58’’N, 11°21’14’’E, 62 m a.s.l.), Trieste (45°37’29’’N, 13°46’46’’E, 30 m a.s.l.), and the WMO-GAW (World Meteorological Organization-Global Atmosphere Watch) station located on top of Mt. Cimone (MTC; 44°11’37’’N, 10°42’02’’E, 2165 m a.s.l.). The analysis of aerosol number concentration at the three sites (Fig. 1) shows how the event impacted firstly on 27th March the city of Trieste and arrived in Bologna and MTC the day after. The analysis of the vertical distribution of aerosol concentration suggests how mineral dust impacted differently at the higher height site of MTC and was transported at relatively low atmospheric layers. This observation is confirmed by the visual investigation of lidar-ceilometer data collected in Milan and by analyzing back-trajectories calculated for the period at the three receptor sites.
The thorough synoptic analysis of the period suggests that the intense easterly winds were originated by a low pressure system to the South of the Aralkum desert, as opposed to the high pressure system observed to the North of the desert; moreover, the analysis of tropopause pressure and specific humidity values over the area between 24th and 27th March 2020 suggest that the intense vertical motions suspending the dust plume over the desert were favored by a tropopause folding event
Air pollution, aeroallergens and admissions to pediatric emergency room for respiratory reasons in Turin, northwestern Italy
No full textAbstract Background Air pollution can cause respiratory symptoms or exacerbate pre-existing respiratory diseases, especially in children. This study looked at the short-term association of air pollution concentrations with Emergency Room (ER) admissions for respiratory reasons in pediatric age (0–18 years). Methods Daily number of ER admissions in a children’s Hospital, concentrations of urban-background PM2.5, NO2, O3 and total aeroallergens (Corylaceae, Cupressaceae, Gramineae, Urticaceae, Ambrosia, Betula) were collected in Turin, northwestern Italy, for the period 1/08/2008 to 31/12/2010 (883 days). The associations between exposures and ER admissions were estimated, at time lags between 0 and 5 days, using generalized linear Poisson regression models, adjusted for non-meteorological potential confounders. Results In the study period, 21,793 ER admissions were observed, mainly (81 %) for upper respiratory tract infections. Median air pollution concentrations were 22.0, 42.5, 34.1 μg/m3 for urban-background PM2.5, NO2, and O3, respectively, and 2.9 grains/m3 for aeroallergens. We found that ER admissions increased by 1.3 % (95 % CI: 0.3-2.2 %) five days after a 10 μg/m3 increase in NO2, and by 0.7 % (95 % CI: 0.1-1.2 %) one day after a 10 grains/m3 increase in aeroallergens, while they were not associated with PM2.5 concentrations. ER admissions were negatively associated with O3 and aeroallergen concentrations at some time lags, but these association shifted to the null when meteorological confounders were adjusted for in the models. Conclusions Overall, these findings confirm adverse short-term health effects of air pollution on the risk of ER admission in children and encourage a careful management of the urban environment to health protection
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