4,723 research outputs found
At the computer's edge. The value of virtual constructions to the interpretation of cultural heritage
No full textThe title of this paper is an adaptation of Ian Hodder’s notion that interpretation starts ‘at the trowel’s edge’ (1997), as excavations should be active, reflexive and multivocal practices, during which interpretation takes place as an inextricable part of our research. The process of interpretation is a complicated issue. It has engrossed most practitioners, and is closely related to the conceptualisation of the past as reflecting contemporary social and cultural experiences through the scrutiny of cultural heritage remains. Archaeological remains are under appreciated, as they can be accessed only by specialised audiences, and any finds are presented by means of conventional illustrations and comprehensive list of artefacts. Even the most common recording method in archaeology, i.e. fieldnotes, and the subsequent site reports, have been criticised (Hodder 1989) for their distance and impersonality, as well as their attempt to demonstrate objectivity by establishing rigorous classifications and complex terminologies. For that reason, different forms of media have been used in the interpretive processes, not only in scientific research, but also for providing varied levels of engagement with the archaeological datasets by the public
Integrated geophysical investigation to detect buried structures: examples in the south-eastern part of Rome and its surroundings (Latium, central Italy)
No full textNell’ambito dell’engineering geology, il problema delle cavità antropiche che interessano centri abitati è particolarmente sentito, infatti, stando a modelli geologici recentemente sviluppati, esse possono migrare verso la superfice mettendo così a repentaglio la presenza di edifici, strade e l’incolumità degli stessi abitanti. Inoltre, i metodi d’investigazione diretti (quali sondaggi geognostici e indagini dirette del reticolo caveale) risultano essere piuttosto costosi e necessitano di numerose persone oltre di una certa quantità di tempo per essere realizzate. Al contrario i metodi indiretti (geofisici), oggetto del presente lavoro, consentono di indagare cavità di dimensioni anche ridotte in maniera estensiva oltre che generalmente rapida. Ciò premesso, nell’ambito del presente Dottorato, sono stati usati diversi metodi geofisici di near surface, integrandoli fra loro, allo scopo di caratterizzare le cavità presenti in due diversi test sites in ambito urbano ed extraurbano. La prima area test, indagata con il metodo GPR e il metodo ERT, è quella del Parco della Caffarella, in cui si ha una conoscenza solamente parziale di un esteso reticolo caveale scavato nelle pozzolane rosse dal quale si estraevano, in epoca etrusca e romana, materiali per l’edilizia. L’area indagata ha dimensioni 48 m x 30 m e la zona di sovrapposizione fra il metodo ERT e il GPR risulta essere di 48m x 14 m. Più in dettaglio, sono state eseguiti 14 profili ERT (modello Syscal Junior-Iris Instrument),aventi lunghezza 47 m con i 48 elettrodi posti ogni metro. L’array scelto è stato il doppio-dipolo poiché assicura una buona risoluzione sia in termini di variazioni verticali che orizzontali delle resistività, come ampiamente noto in letteratura. L’area in oggetto è stata indagata con il GPR (Modello SIR-3000, GSSI) usando dapprima un’antenna bistatica, ad offset costante, ad alta frequenza (400 MHz) e successivamente un’antenna monostatica a bassa frequenza (70 MHz). Nel primo caso i profili sono stati acquisiti con un’interdistanza pari a 0.5 m mentre nel secondo con un’interdistanza pari a 1 m. I dati sono stati elaborati con software specifici per estrarre delle sezioni tempo-profondità (time-slice) dell’area indagata con i dati GPR e delle sezione profondità bidimensionali (depth-slice) con i dati ERT. La seconda area è sita nel territorio di Magliano Sabina-Loc. Madonna del Giglio (Rieti), nella quale, da numerose fonti archeologiche è nota la presenza di strutture funerarie a fossa (VII-VI sec. a.C.), parzialmente collassate. L’area di dimensioni 80 m x 30 m è stata indagata, dapprima con il GPR (Modello SIR-3000,GSSI) usando un’antenna bistatica ad offset costante ad alta frequenza (400 MHz) acquisendo i profili ogni 0.5 m e successivamente con il magnetometro differenziale fluxgate (FM256-Geoscan Research), suddividendo l’area in 7 quadrati di 10 m di lato, con i profili paralleli acquisiti ogni metro e le misure lungo il profilo ogni 0.5 m. La zona di sovrapposizione fra i due metodi è stata di 70 m x 10 m. Anche in questo caso dai dati GPR sono state ricavate le time-slices mentre i dati magnetici sono stati elaborati con la crosscorrelazione normalizzata bidimesionale allo scopo di far emergere le anomalie da un contesto geologico altrimenti piuttosto rumoroso. Dopo le suddette operazioni, per entrambi i siti sono stati testati diversi metodi di integrazione sia di tipo qualitativo (Contour map overlay, RGB Colour Composite) che di tipo quantitativo (data sum, data product, binary representation) oltre di tipo statistico (Principal Component Analysis, K-mean Cluster analysis, Bayesian Maximum Entropy). I risultati, incoraggianti, mostrano come alcuni dei metodi summenzionati siano fin da ora spendibili in un contesto applicativo, mentre altri si trovino ad un livello di ricerca
The role of actor associations in understanding the implementation of lean thinking in healthcare
No full textPurpose: The importance of networks in effecting the outcomes of change processes is well-established in the literature. Whilst extant literature focuses predominantly on the structural properties of networks, our purpose is to explore the dynamics of network emergence that give rise to the outcomes of process interventions. We show how Actor Network Theory (ANT) may be used as a lens for interrogating the way in which management interventions play out in the complex organisational setting of a UK National Health Service Trust, providing insights for management of process change initiatives. Design/methodology/approach: This is a rich qualitative study in the Pathology Unit of a UK National Health Service Trust, using ANT as the theoretical lens for tracking the emergence and transformation of networks of individuals over the course of a management intervention to promote “lean thinking” for performance improvements.Findings: ANT is useful for explicitly tracking how organisational players shift their positions and network allegiances over time, and identifying objects and actions that are effective in engaging individuals in networks enabling transition to a lean process. It is important to attend to the dynamics of the process of change and devise appropriate timely interventions enabling actors to shift their own positions towards a desired outcome.Research limitations/implications: We make the case for using of theoretical frameworks developed outside the operations management to develop insights for designing process interventions.Originality/value: By understanding the role of shifting networks managers can use timely interventions during the process implementation to facilitate the transition to lean processes: e.g. using demonstrable senior leadership commitment and visual communication.<br/
The 2010 UK Home Office ‘Sexualisation of Young People’ Review: a discursive policy analysis
No full textThis paper offers a discursive policy analysis of the 2010 UK Home Office Sexualisation of Young People Review, authored by Linda Papadopoulos (2010a). It will scrutinise the narrative presented by the text of the danger posed by cultural representations to healthy development, and trace the way that the text links this danger to catastrophic outcomes: child sexual abuse, exploitation and trafficking. Examining this narrative, the article will propose that the UK Review deploys spatial metaphors to naturalise a gendered account of childhood, sexuality and danger, evoking the creeping influence of a corrupting culture on a girl's most private self. The article will also demonstrate that this spatial narrative underpins the epistemological structure of the text – its separation of the primary from the secondary, the real from the artificial
Stakeholder dynamics and the implementation of process innovations: the case of Lean thinking in a UK NHS Hospital Trust
No full textThis paper addresses the dynamics and mechanisms underpinning the trajectories and outcomes of process innovation. It deploys actor-network theory to explore the role of emergent stakeholder dynamics and networks in shaping the trajectory and outcomes of a project to implement Lean thinking (Lean) in a theatres unit of a UK National Health Service hospital. It traces the process of network formation, stabilisation and maintenance over time, and shows that different meanings for Lean become manifest during the implementation process, manifested through the emergence and mobilisation of a global and a local network that interact with each other using the project as a negotiation space in order to achieve their diverse interests
Structural Design of an Adaptive Wing Trailing Edge for Large Aeroplanes
No full textThe structural design process of an adaptive wing trailing edge (ATED) was addressed in compliance with the demanding requirements posed by the
implementation of the architecture on large aeroplanes. Fast and reliable elementary methods combined with rational design criteria were adopted in order to preliminarily
define ATED box geometry, structural properties, and the general configuration of the embedded mechanisms enabling box morphing under the action of
aerodynamic loads. Aeroelastic stability issues were duly taken in account in order to safely assess inertial and stiffness distributions of the primary structure as well as
to provide requirements for the actuation system harmonics. Results and general guidelines coming from the preliminary design were then converted into detailed
drawings of each box component. Implemented solutions were based on designer’s industrial experience and were mainly oriented to increase the structural robustness of the device, to minimize its manufacturing costs, and to simplify assembly and maintenance procedures. The static robustness of the executive layout was verified by means of linear and nonlinear stress analyses based on advanced FE models;
dynamic aeroelastic behaviour of the stress-checked structure was finally investigated by means of rational analyses based on theoretical mode association
Reseña/Review (Papadopoulos, Dimitris, “Experimental practice: technoscience, alterontologies, and more-than-social movements”, Durham, Duke University Press, ISBN: 9781478000655-, 344 págs., 2018).
No full textObra ressenyada: Dimitris PAPADOPOULOS, Experimental practice: technoscience, alterontologies, and more-than-social movements. Durham : Duke University Press, 2018. ISBN: 9781478000655-, 344 pág
Integrated design roof planted in office buildings and residences (Ολοκληρωμένη μελέτη φυτεμένου δώματος σε κτίρια γραφείων και κατοικιών)
No full textRefugees, trauma and adversity-activated development
No full textThe nature of the refugee phenomenon is examined and the position of mental health professionals is located in relation to it. The various uses of the word 'trauma' are explored and its application to the refugee context is examined. It is proposed that refugees' response to adversity is not limited to being traumatized but includes resilience and Adversity-Activated Development (AAD). Particular emphasis is given to the distinction between resilience and AAD. The usefulness of the 'Trauma Grid' in the therapeutic process with refugees is also discussed. The Trauma Grid avoids global impressions and enables a more comprehensive and systematic way of identifying the individual refugee's functioning in the context of different levels, i.e. individual, family, community and society/culture. Finally, I discuss implications for therapeutic work with refugees
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