1,720,987 research outputs found
Investing in prevention in the workplace: an experimental survey for the analysis of return of prevention in Italy in the construction sector
No full textActivities aimed at the prevention and reduction of work-related accidents can, if implemented, be effective in improving the Health and Safety of Workers (OSH) as an investment for companies. A systemic approach to OSH management can reduce occupational accidents and diseases and support the competitiveness of companies. Assessing the effects of OSH investments can be very complex; as heterogeneous factors often have an indirect impact on the productivity of the work process, in par-ticular the construction process, (the construction sector in Italy has the highest incidence rate of fatal accidents among all sectors). With the aim of assessing employers’ perceptions of OSH prevention investments in German companies operating in different sectors, the Istitut Arbei und Gesundheit der Deutschen Gesetzichen Unfallver-sicherung (BGAG) proposed in 2009 an evaluation tool based on a cost-benefit approach summarized by the Return of Prevention (ROP). In 2010, the International Social Security Association (ISSA) supplemented and expanded the BGAG’s experimentation with an international survey in which, in addition to quantitative data, qualitative data are also considered with the same approach. The employers of the companies involved were invited to express (subjectively) through a questionnaire the economic effects (costs and benefits) that investments in OSH in the workplace may have on the company’s balance sheet. The synthetic indicator used (ROP) to define the economic return on investment in prevention is borrowed from the Return of Investment (ROI) which traditionally expresses the profitability index of an investment with a cost-benefit approach. The aim of the paper is to investigate the perception of the effects of prevention investments in Italy in the construction sector in the Province of Rome, with the experimental release of a questionnaire, similar in structure to the ISSA’s survey, but adapted to the Italian context and to the sector in question. The results describe a reality in which investments in prevention are perceived qualitatively as very important, while their effectiveness in terms of return on initial investment is considered less consistent than in the international survey
Un modello a logica fuzzy per valutare gli interventi di recupero urbano
No full textNei processi decisionali relativi agli interventi di recupero urbano la chiarezza e la trasparenza giocano un ruolo primario. In questi contesti, pur trovando un’ampia applicazione, le tecniche multicriterio non sempre si di-mostrano adeguate nella rappresentazione e misura degli effetti qualitativi degli interventi come pure nel confronto delle alternative per la scelta della soluzione migliore, fasi in cui di solito le regole logiche seguite dal decisore non sono esplicitate. Nel presente lavoro viene proposta una soluzione a questi aspetti attraverso l’impiego di un sistema a logica fuzzy. Utilizzando variabili linguistiche ed espressioni del linguaggio comune sono formalizzate le regole logiche seguite del decisore nel compiere le valutazioni. Ne risulta un processo decisionale chiaro e di immediata comprensione, con ricadute positive sulla legittimazione delle scelte della Pubblica Amministrazione
Urban rent control: A decision support tool for the optimal resources allocation between urban Forest Projects
No full textGreen areas in urban agglo merations are strategic resource for the sustainable city development. The implementation of Urban Forestry Projects (UFP) allows on the one hand to raise the environmental quality level, improving the microclimate and preserving biodiversity, on the other hand to promote urban regeneration and promote socio-economic development by creating eco-systemic services for the population. The result is a more rational land use and an increase in real estate values. Although the EU Directives show the need to promote the sustain able territory growth through the recovery and redevelopment of the built environment, the implementation of investments based on eco-system logic is rarely counted as a priority action for the city, often preferring a different allocation of available resources. The present work aims first to define an indicators set useful to express the value components - financial, social, cultural and ecological- environmental - for the UFP. These indicators are the reference terms for the characterization of an innovative protocol of multicriteria analysis for the public operator who wants to establish the optimal distribution of funds between UFP units in limited areas of the urban fabric. The protocol uses the algorithms of mathematical programming and is tested on a case study about urban areas to be redeveloped
An Economic Model for Urban Watershed Forestry Investments
No full textAs recognized at the international level, the principal aims of watershed investments consist in regulating water supply and ensuring the permeability of the territory. If properly designed, they can produce other effects—ecosystem services—such as protection of existing blue infrastructures, soil erosion prevention, groundwater-level preservation, and renewable energy-food provision for local community in the city. Especially in contexts with different urbanization levels, these interventions play an important role in the production of hydrological services (e.g., household utilities of drinking water) and renewable energies. To ensure sufficient water resource level in urban area, the implementation of forestry projects allows obtaining more permeable soil surface for better water supply and quality, that can also be used for household practices. In literature, the integration of forestry practices with watershed planning is known as urban watershed forestry projects (UWFPs). Although the International and European directives highlight the requirement to promote sustainable practice to improve water quality and supply for the community requirements, the UWFPs are rarely considered as priority action. In the present research work, an economic evaluation model for UWFP was proposed. The model aimed to individualize the optimal location of urban forestry projects in order to maximize the permeable soil useful to regulate the water resource management taking into account the specific socio-economic situation and the water supply quality and level. The use of multi-criteria evaluation logic allows characterizing the proposed case through a mathematical system with algebraic linear function between financial variables and parameters on ecosystem services regarding water resources regulation and renewable energies production. The mathematical system is written in the programming environment using optimization algorithms. The advantages and limits of the analysis tool as well as future research perspectives were described in the last part of the paper
Suitable Evaluation Models for Resilient-Sustainable-Inclusive Cities
No full textThe sustainability has a central role in the urban policies of cities in Europe and worldwide. The United Nations, Europe and Member States suggest guidelines to make cities and human settlements more inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. The European Commission upholds initiatives aimed at improving the city’s resilient status and the migrants’ inclusiveness by means of Eco-Resilient Projects for the economic development, community's well-being and safeguarding of urban ecosystems. To reduce the theoretical-practical gap between ERP planning and design in terms of “Resilient-Sustainable-Inclusive” (RSI) city development, the present contribution outlines a framework to arrange the main scientific contributions concerning the sustainability in its three components, and the evaluation of projects in view of urban resilience and social inclusiveness. The proposed framework is aimed at the identification of the most suitable evaluation models based on RSI principles. Following the systematic review, the main methods and evaluation tools are outlined and discussed with respect to resilience, inclusiveness and sustainability targets
Proposal of an Environmental-Economic Accounting System for Urban Renewal Projects
No full textThe multiple features of the urban systems require actions designed according to integrated logics. In line to current European dispositions on ecological transition and digital innovation, worldwide attention is focused on the programming-planning interventions in view of intergenerational equity. The valorization of existing built-natural environment by eco-systemic services is a strategic asset by European cities (and not ones) to become greening. Nowadays, the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) constitutes the reference framework at international level that integrates economic and environmental data to provide a more comprehensive and multipurpose view of the interrelationships between the economy and the environment in urban contexts. Few applications and logical-operational transpositions of the framework, like the SEEA one, in decision-making systems are found in the literature, especially to support the design of nature-solutions initiatives in urban contexts from the environmental, economic and social points of view. In this view, the aim of this work is to favor urban interventions analyzed with an integrated logic namely that of ecosystem services. The objective consists in the descriptions of logic-operative framework of multi-criteria matrix for supporting the feasibility of design proposals evaluated in terms of trade-off concerning the environmental-social and economic frame of reference urban context. Expectations on possible operative transcription of the proposed ecosystem workflow assessment for urban projects will be outlined
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
A Strategic Multidirectional Approach for Picking Indicator Systems of Sustainability in Urban Areas
Full text linkIn a global context, the identification of frameworks and assessment tools for achieving sustainable development requires the study of urban sustainability at different scales. While sustainability can be quantified more precisely on a larger scale, it is challenging to adapt these accounting techniques to smaller sites. Measuring becomes more challenging when researching urban sustainability from several viewpoints, especially when constructing an acceptable set of measurements while taking into account the several issues of the unique decision-making apparatus from theoretical and geographical perspectives. Which sorts of indicators should be prioritized above others? How many indicators should be used? Which criteria should be employed to choose the best indicators for the location of interest? This study addresses the aforementioned research problems by proposing a systematic, multidirectional approach to defining an adequate collection of indicators for sustainability accounting in urban situations. A top-down strategy, which provides a literature study to identify regularly used indicators in essential sustainability categories, is joined by a bottom-up approach, which creates indicators based on real-world circumstances. The combination of these two methodologies seeks to produce a set of relevant sustainability measurements. A neighborhood rehabilitation project for public housing in Le Lignon (Switzerland) serves as a pilot case for calibrating the proposed multidirectional technique. The final findings can support the public and private parties involved in sustainable urban planning procedures in assessing urban projects based on location-specific features
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