15 research outputs found
The Assessment of the Authenticity and Conservation Status of Cultural Landscapes in Southern Transylvania (Romania)
No full textThe vernacular architectural style is on the verge of disappearing in Transylvania because of the depopulation of the Saxon villages of German origin as a result of massive migration to Germany. The nomination of Hărman cultural property on the UNESCO list is part of an international legal framework, and the Convention on the Vernacular Architectural Heritage protects this architectonic style because it represents the expression of a community’s culture, as well as its relations with the territory and cultural diversity. The proposed area includes a 63.47 ha perimeter of the historic centre of Hărman, consisting of a compact group of 260 houses and the entire fortified Evangelical Church. A buffer zone of 290.09 ha is included alongside this area. Thus, we propose that Hărman be nominated for the Cultural Evolutive Landscape Category under cultural criteria ii, iii, and v. The assessment of the authenticity and conservation status of Hărman cultural property was carried out by applying the following criteria: form and design, materials and substances, use and functions, and location and positioning, which apply to the tangible features of the landscape. Furthermore, the evaluation of intangible heritage was achieved by applying the following criteria: traditions, techniques and management system, language and other forms of intangible heritage, spirit, and feelings
Exploring Tangible and Intangible Heritage and its Resilience as a Basis to Understand the Cultural Landscapes of Saxon Communities in Southern Transylvania (Romania)
No full textLandscape researchers tend to reduce the diversity of tangible heritage to physical aspects of cultural landscapes, from the wealth of intangible heritage they focus on land-use practices which have a direct and visible impact on the landscape. We suggest a comprehensive assessment of both tangible and intangible heritage, in order to more accurately assess the interconnection of local identity and the shaping of cultural landscapes. As an example, we looked at Saxon culture and cultural landscapes in southern Transylvania (Romania), where we assessed features of tangible and intangible cultural heritage, identified their resilience and the driving forces of their change. Our analysis, based on 74 interviews with residents in ten villages in southern Transylvania, showed a high resilience of tangible heritage and a low resilience of intangible heritage. A major factor responsible for changes in the Saxon heritage was a decline in the population at the end of the Cold War, due to migration, driven by political and economic factors. We conclude by discussing the specific merits of such an analysis for integrated landscape management
Reliable Wind Turbine Control Design: A Study of Achievable Control Performance under Design Uncertainty
No full textWind power has proven to be one of the most versatile forms of renewable energy. Similarly, offshore wind is currently emerging as the most promising method of meeting the global target for low cost of renewable energy production, given the massive potential of wind at sea. However, from the wind turbine design point of view, the requirement of having a low cost offshore plant implies both that the energy yield of the system is maximized and that the associated operational and maintenance costs are minimized over its entire lifespan. Control systems, while certainly required for safe wind turbine operation, can also help in addressing these challenges. Offshore wind turbines are especially subject to large variations of their physical parameters due to heavy environmental conditions and the pronounced passage of time. This report provides an overview of the research approach taken towards ensuring that wind turbine control system performance, while always affected by several introduced factors that cause deviations of the model parameters from their nominal values, remains in some sense optimal. An analysis of the extent to which typical control loops within a wind turbine control system are affected by design uncertainty is first presented; subsequently, an improved design problem is formulated based on the analysis results and solved within the framework of linear parameter-varying control theory; the presented design methodology for the formulated practical problem has the potential of reducing typical design safety factors considerably thus allowing for a decrease in wind turbine production costs by up to 9%. The document is concluded with several qualitative remarks and possibilities for further development resulting from the presented information.Systems and ControlDelft Center for Systems and ControlMechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineerin
Investigating Students’ Perception of Online Assessment as a Result of the Interaction among the Extrinsic Assessment Factors on Students Psychological Characteristics
No full textSince April 2020 all schools and universities have been running online classes on e-learning platforms and teachers have gradually integrated various educational software into the teaching-learning process. Our target group consists of 114 students of the faculty and college. We wanted to find out their opinions about the geography online assessment, identifying the factors that influenced this process and any differences that occurred between the two categories of subjects. The results of the study showed that students at technical college adapted very well to online evaluation and the numerous chi-square associations with technological factors show the importance students attached to them over pedagogical and social factors. Students felt the need for digitisation of the learning process as most of the associations are between psychological learning factors and technological ones. The university students, unlike students from college, did not respond under the impact of emotions, and appreciated the software design of Kahoot and Google Forms by associating a positive, stimulating connotation with psychological features (motivation, memory, comprehension, relaxation). We conclude that both technical college and university students appreciated the benefits of online assessment through the use of Kahoot and Google Forms tools on both psychological and pedagogical levels
The attitude of the local community towards the Saxon’s cultural heritage - a comparative analysis between Sibiu and Braşov counties
No full textAbstractThe purpose of the research consists in performing a comparative analysis between the counties of Sibiu and Braşov in relation to the attitude of the local population towards the cultural patrimony of the Saxons from the communities in which they live. The ten Saxon settlements analysed presently preserve a valuable cultural heritage, numerous buildings are registered on the Romanian national heritage list, and two are on the UNESCO world heritage list. The research methods used were: questionnaire and statistical analysis. The Sibiu sample includes the rural localities: Biertan, Cȃrţa, Mălȃncrav, Hosman and Şelimbăr and the one in Braşov the localities: Hălchiu, Hărman, Prejmer, Sȃnpetru and Vulcan. To compare the two samples in terms of the population’s attitude towards the Saxons’ cultural patrimony, I have applied the Kruskal-Wallis test. The test identified 15 total differences between the two samples. The differences of perception where influenced by individual as well as demographic factors. The experience, needs and expectations of the respondents were reflected in the answer choices. Sex and the locality had a high impact in the differentiation of the samples
Magnetodielectric membranes: Effects of the magnetic field on the dielectric loss tangent
No full textSport’s Specific Nature, an Excuse for Anti-Competitive Agreement and Abuse of Dominance
No full textThe development of sports within the European Union (EU) has been blooming the latest century, especially in the football sector, which has been transformed into a multi-billion industry. The development of European football has attracted investors outside the EU into heavy investing in football clubs across Europe. This has enabled purchases of new talents and high profile players for astronomical transfer fees in order to gain a competitive edge. Before the adoption of financial fair play (FFP) in 2009, UEFA, the governing body of European football, lacked rules regarding football clubs expenditures. This resulted in financial problems for some clubs spending more money than they earned. The introduction of FFP enforced by the UEFA has proven to successfully improve the financial state of football clubs across Europe. However, football clubs across the EU are continually breaching FFP, most recently in France and England, which sparked the interest of the author to research within this field. Ever since the introduction of FFP in 2009 there has been previous breaches of FFP in Spain, Italy, Portugal and Bulgaria. The breaches have affected European football in several Member States (MS). This thesis seeks to understand the interplay between FFP enforced by UEFA and EU competition law, but also to explore if football clubs may be subject to article 102 TFEU. Due to multiple breaches of FFP it seems that the consequences of the breach are insufficient, whereas an alternative could be the application of article 102 TFEU. Consequences of breaching article 102 TFEU could be more effective to solve the inequalities which European football competition currently experience. Another potential solution would be to alter or maybe abolishing the break-even requirements connected to revenue and spending. This paper will explore the benefits and disadvantages of FFP, but also if FFP could potentially create an oligopoly of dominant actors in professional European Football abusing their dominant position.The development of sports within the European Union (EU) has been blooming the latest century, especially in the football sector, which has been transformed into a multi-billion industry. The development of European football has attracted investors outside the EU into heavy investing in football clubs across Europe. This has enabled purchases of new talents and high profile players for astronomical transfer fees in order to gain a competitive edge. Before the adoption of financial fair play (FFP) in 2009, UEFA, the governing body of European football, lacked rules regarding football clubs expenditures. This resulted in financial problems for some clubs spending more money than they earned. The introduction of FFP enforced by the UEFA has proven to successfully improve the financial state of football clubs across Europe. However, football clubs across the EU are continually breaching FFP, most recently in France and England, which sparked the interest of the author to research within this field. Ever since the introduction of FFP in 2009 there has been previous breaches of FFP in Spain, Italy, Portugal and Bulgaria. The breaches have affected European football in several Member States (MS). This thesis seeks to understand the interplay between FFP enforced by UEFA and EU competition law, but also to explore if football clubs may be subject to article 102 TFEU. Due to multiple breaches of FFP it seems that the consequences of the breach are insufficient, whereas an alternative could be the application of article 102 TFEU. Consequences of breaching article 102 TFEU could be more effective to solve the inequalities which European football competition currently experience. Another potential solution would be to alter or maybe abolishing the break-even requirements connected to revenue and spending. This paper will explore the benefits and disadvantages of FFP, but also if FFP could potentially create an oligopoly of dominant actors in professional European Football abusing their dominant position
Research study concerning the 3D printing adittion (FDM-fused deposition modeling) to design UAV (UAV-unconventional aerial vehicle) structures
No full textNBER WORKING PAPER SERIES CHOICE INCONSISTENCIES AMONG THE ELDERLY: EVIDENCE FROM PLAN CHOICE IN THE MEDICARE PART D PROGRAM
No full textDuh and particularly John Graves and Natalija Novta for research assistance; and to the National Institute of Aging for financial support.The views expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research. NBER working papers are circulated for discussion and comment purposes. They have not been peer-reviewed or been subject to the review by the NBER Board of Directors that accompanies official NBER publications
