40 research outputs found
Reflectivity, graphic-pictorial activities and art: A virtuous circle
No full textThe link between the reflective thought and enjoyment of works of art and other graphic-pictorial activities is examined in the light of the scientific literature, methodological issues and practical proposals. The art and graphic-pictorial productions are intended as mentalistic exercises, as they form an 'inter-mental reality' that promotes a 'meeting of minds' and trigger the hypotheses (mentalistic reasoning) about the relationship between the representations of the author of the artwork, the subject depicted in the artwork, the artwork and the viewer herself. They are therefore representational mediators for communication between minds. Their communicative function is presented in its crucial aspects: Indicate the external references and, at the same time, evoke the author's state of mind, as well as suggesting aspects of the mind of the viewer himself. In educational practice, observing or producing expressive works, discussing them, enhancing the process of construction of meanings that emerges, helps to process the narrative and reflective tendency of children and adults. Psychological research confirms that these activities support the mentalistic ability, the reflectivity and intentionality attribution and can become the means to interpret and understand the world in an intersubjective perspective: the artist's painting, but also the graphic and pictorial production of a child or an adult, are traces and clues that tell us something of their mind and of our own mind
Dynamics of Network Formation Processes in the Co-Author Model
No full textThis article studies the dynamics in the formation processes of a mutual consent network in game theory setting: the Co-Author Model. In this article, a limited observation is applied and analytical results are derived. Then, 2 parameters are varied: the number of individuals in the network and the initial probability of the links in the network in its initial state. A simulation result shows a finding that is consistent with an analytical result for a state of equilibrium while it also shows different possible equilibria.Dynamics, Network, Game Theory, Model,Simulation, Equilibrium, Complexity
Similarities and Differences in Theoretical and Methodological Approaches of Gilli and Touraine
No full textU radu se prikazuju osnovne sličnosti i razlike teorijsko-metodološfeih pristupa dvojice suvremenih sociologa, Gillia i Tourainea. Prvo se ilustrira metodologija primjenjena u knjizi G. A. Gillia »Kako se istražuje« )1972), a zatim metodologija izložena u knjiizi »Sociologija društvenih pokreta« (1978) A. Tourainea. Suočeni sa činjenicom naučne insuficijentnosti pozitivističke orijentacije u sociologiji, autori postuliraju koncept nove metodologije poznate u sociološkoj suvremenosti kao akcijsko istraživanje. Članak završava imenovanjem nekih nedostataka ove metodološke orijentacije.In the article the author shows the main similarities and üill'erences in theoretical ana methodological approaches of two contemporary sociologists, Gilli and Touraine. First the author illustrates the methodology applied in Gilli’s »Come si fa ricerca« (1972, Milano) and then in Touraine’s »La voix et le regard« (1978, Paris). Faced with the fact of scientific insufficiency of positivism, both sociologists postulate a new methodology in the contemporary sociology known as action research. Finally the author points out certain drawbacks of this methodological orientation
Uncertainty quantification in reactor physics using adjoint/perturbation techniques and adaptive spectral methods
No full textThis thesis presents the development and the implementation of an uncertainty propagation algorithm based on the concept of spectral expansion. The first part of the thesis is dedicated to the study of uncertainty propagation methodologies and to the analysis of spectral techniques. The concepts introduced within this preliminary analysis are successively used for the derivation of the spectral algorithm. In Chapter 2 we discuss the application of higher order adjoint perturbation theory for coupled problems. This method is relatively easy to implement once the first order adjoint problem is defined, however it is computationally expensive. It is shown, for example, that the number of additional adjoint calculations needed to build the Hessian matrix of a response corresponds, for nonlinear problems, to two times the number of input parameters. It is also shown that for linear problems this number can be halved. It is also discussed that for linear problems it is possible to perform a ranking of the higher order perturbation components, while for nonlinear ones this is not the case. In general, higher order adjoint perturbation theory can be a useful tool to understand uncertainty propagation phenomena. In Chapter 3 an overview of spectral techniques for uncertainty quantification is presented. The mathematical backgrounds of two approaches, defined as intrusive and non-intrusive, are discussed. These approaches are applied to perform uncertainty quantification of a simplified coupled time-dependent problem. The illustrative example shows how non-intrusive approaches are relatively easy to apply while intrusive approaches are quite challenging from the implementation point of view. The curse of dimensionality affecting spectral techniques is also discussed. The example also demonstrates that for time-dependent problems, the convergence of spectral expansions required to represent stochastic outputs varies considerably during the transient. From this point of view, non-intrusive approaches allow the usage of different expansion orders at different times, thereby reducing the computational requirements. Using these initial conclusions as a starting point, an algorithm based on the definition of Polynomial Chaos Expansion is developed. Chapter 4 introduces this new algorithm for the application of quadrature based spectral techniques. This algorithm is based on the notion of sparse grid and its application is divided into two main steps. Firstly, the algorithm adds quadrature points exclusively along the main axes of the stochastic domain. During this phase the convergence of the PCE is assessed and a reduced multi-dimensional PCE is defined. Secondly, this reduced PCE is then used within the second part of the algorithm which focuses on the addition of higher dimensional sub-grids to the final quadrature rule. The adaptive sparse grid algorithm is tested for a reference stochastic case defined by using a simple source detector problem. The algorithm is first validated by comparing it to another sparse grid integration approach found in literature. It is successively shown how the particular construction of the spectral basis, based on a convergence check performed considering each random direction to be independent, can further reduce the number of realizations needed to build the spectral outputs. In Chapter 5 two cost reduction techniques which take advantage of the peculiar definition of the algorithm are presented. These techniques are proven to be effective in the reduction of quadrature points needed to reach convergence. Two uncertainty propagation examples are also considered. The method has been proven to be particularly effective for reactor physics applications, mainly because of the fact that higher order propagation phenomena are usually dominated by a limited set of input parameters. It is also shown, with the first example, that the convergence rate of the adaptive quadrature algorithm directly depends on the differentiability of the response surface. Chapter 6 shows another application of the adaptive sparse grid algorithm, this time to a time-dependent multi-physics problem. This problem is formulated in order to reproduce the type of system that arises when performing safety analysis. Two reference transients simulating an accident scenario of fast reactors are considered. Even in this case the adaptive algorithm proves to be very effective, being capable of reproducing all the stochastic outputs of interest with a relatively low number of realizations. In conclusion, adaptive spectral methods represent a computationally efficient uncertainty quantification technique when in presence of a moderately large set of random input parameters. However, this number strongly depends on the regularity of the response surface. Several strategies could be adopted in order to increase this number and make the method more appealing for a larger set of problems. An overview of these possibilities is presented in the final recommendation section of the thesis.Radiation Science and TechnologyApplied Science
Unipolarity, technological change and arms manufacturing : explaining industrial alliances in the European defense industry
No full textDefence date: 11 June 2014Examining Board: Professor Anand Menon, King’s College London Professor Ulrich Krotz, European University Institute Dr. Antonio Missiroli, European Union Institute for Security Studies Professor Pascal Vennesson, European University Instiute/Rajaratnam School of International Studies (Supervisor).The European Defence Agency and the Egmont Institute awarded Andrea Gilli, author of the EUI PhD thesis, the 2015 EDA-Egmont PhD prize for his research work on armaments cooperation.The EDA-Egmont PhD prize was created in 2013 to stimulate research in the field of European defence, security and strategy. The prize rewards research work undertaken as part of a PhD thesis carried out at a recognised academic institution.Why do countries cooperate for the production of some weapon systems and not some others? Existing IR theories cannot fully answer these questions. In this thesis, I focus on Europe – the area in the world where armaments cooperation has been pursued more extensively. Drawing from the existing literature in international relations theory, in management studies and industrial organization, I make two claims. First, the stability of the post-Cold War era has generally given European countries – although to different extents – an incentive to gear their defense policies towards the protection of domestic jobs and the promotion of military export rather than towards capabilities development. Second, in order to achieve these goals, EU countries have strategically cooperated on the production of some specific weapon systems rather than others. By altering the structure of the market, and thus creating winners and losers, technological change can explain this variation. In my dissertation I show that European countries were more likely to pursue cooperation in armaments production when either an exogenous and relatively major technological change made their defense industries less competitive in export markets (architectural change) or when extremely advanced components were necessary to compete in global armament markets (modular innovations). Conversely, European countries were less likely to cooperate when either an industry was characterized by linear improvements (evolutionary change) – and thus cooperation could only harm domestic industry and employment – or when a revolutionary innovation emerged (radical change). In this latter instance, each country had a strong interest in pursuing its own program so to create a domestic industrial base and, eventually, establish the industry’s dominant design, thus becoming market leader. 2 I test my theory on three case studies. Building on industry statistics, specialized publications and structured and unstructured interviews
Diurnal Cycle of Non-Orographic Gravity Waves' Source Altitudes and Its Impacts: Tests With Mars Planetary Climate Model
No full textThe transfer of momentum due to non-orographic Gravity Waves (GWs) significantly regulates the Martian middle-upper atmospheric dynamics. Thus, these waves influence the transport of tracers and escape in the thermosphere. However, models assume that the non-orographic GWs are emitted from a constant source level that approximates the averaged Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL). We move on to impose that the emission of the waves follows the top of a real-time evaluated PBL to account for the diurnal cycle of the waves' source altitudes and implement this improvement in the Mars Planetary Climate Model (Mars PCM). In the absence of the PBL during the night, the non-orographic GWs are assumed to be launched at altitudes near the surface following Hinson and Wilson (2023, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2022.115420)'s results. Sensitivity tests with the Mars PCM show that non-orographic GWs are built up efficiently during the (polar) night. With the new scheme, the angular momentum in the upper atmosphere is enhanced. Additionally, simulations recover the "cold pockets" in temperature observed by the Mars Climate Sounder at 80–100 km and capture "deep drops" of the atmospheric species recorded by the Neutral Gas and Ion Mass Spectrometer in the polar night. © 2025. The Author(s).J. Liu acknowledges that this research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant 42241115). G. Gilli acknowledges Junta de Andalucia through the program EMERGIA 2021 (EMC21 00249). The IAA team (G. Gilli and F. G. Galindo) also acknowledges financial support from the Severo Ochoa Grant CEX2021-001131-S funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033. The Mars PCM simulations were performed using the High-Performance Computing (HPC) resources of the Centre Informatique National de l’Enseignement Supérieur (CINES), provided under allocation No. A0160110391 by the Grand Équipement National de Calcul Intensif (GENCI).With funding from the Spanish government through the "Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence" accreditation (CEX2021-001131-S).Peer reviewe
Art Made by Artificial Intelligence: The Effect of Authorship on Aesthetic Judgments
No full textHuman-robot interaction requires that competent robot partners have a multiplicity of human characteristics. Can we accept that these competencies extend to the artistic domain, where humans have always expressed their uniqueness as a species? This study investigated whether aesthetic judgments evoked by abstract artworks vary depending on whether the author was believed to be a human or a robot. Adult participants were asked to give beauty (BJ) and liking (LJ) judgments, where BJ reflected artistic competence and LJ a more idiosyncratic, affective facet associated with the stimuli. Aesthetic judgments were made in a blind-baseline condition, devoid of authorship information, and a primed condition, where authorship information (human or robot) was provided. A significant variation was found in LJ and BJ between the blind and primed conditions. The human-authored paintings received a higher liking rating in the primed than the blind and robot conditions; opposite, the robot-authored paintings received a lower beauty rating in the primed than the blind condition. These results suggest a resistance to accepting artificial intelligence in the production of art and highlight the emotional component associated with human art-making. Furthermore, aesthetic judgments were correlated with the attribution of mental states to a human and a robot to evaluate what mental characteristics are most related to aesthetic judgments. Both BJ and LJ of robot-authored art were significantly associated with the mental ability of creativity, thus pinpointing this skill as a marker of human art-making
Art made by artificial intelligence: The effect of authorship on aesthetic judgments.
No full textHuman–robot interaction requires that competent robot partners have a multiplicity of human characteristics. Can we accept that these competencies extend to the artistic domain, where humans have always expressed their uniqueness as a species? This study investigated whether aesthetic judgments evoked by abstract artworks vary depending on whether the author was believed to be a human or a robot. Adult participants were asked to give beauty (BJ) and liking (LJ) judgments, where BJ reflected artistic competence and LJ a more idiosyncratic, affective facet associated with the stimuli. Aesthetic judgments weremade in a blind-baseline condition, devoid of authorship information, and a primed condition, where authorship information (human or robot) was provided. A significant variation was found in LJ and BJ between the blind and primed conditions. The human-authored paintings received a higher liking rating in the primed than the blind and robot conditions; opposite, the robot-authored paintings received a lower beauty rating in the primed than the blind condition. These results suggest a resistance to accepting artificial intelligence in the production of art and highlight the emotional component associated with human art-making. Furthermore, aesthetic judgments were correlated with the attribution of mental states to a human and a robot to evaluate what mental characteristics are most related to aesthetic judgments. Both BJ and LJ of robot-authored art were significantly associated with the mental ability of creativity, thus pinpointing this skill as a marker of human art-making
Reuse of building products and materials – barriers and opportunities
No full textBRE have been working with the reclamation sector in the UK for around 20 years to promote the reuse of end-of-life building products and materials in preference to recycling and recovery. Much of this has been dedicated to the promotion of pre-demolition and prerefurbishment audits to facilitate targets being set and markets for reusable resources sourced prior to work commencing. Against this backdrop the surveys undertaken to measure levels of reclamation in the UK over a 15 year period showed a significant decline. The cause of this decline was investigated and revealed a number of challenges which were affecting both the supply and demand for reclaimed products and materials. Many of the challenges to reuse are connected to the availability and robustness of data. Therefore, the work currently being undertaken as part of the H2020 funded project BAMB (Building As Material Banks) provides a great opportunity to address such gaps in buildings of the future. However, since the existing built environment will have a major impact on resource flows for many years, it is also important to consider approaches to improve data in this context also. Therefore, this presentation will summarise the challenges for reuse of building products and materials in existing and future buildings. It will then briefly describe the opportunities and solutions to address these challenges in the context of improved data access, management and evaluation. Finally, the BAMB research which should contribute to providing solutions will be explored
Challenging the current approach to end of life of buildings using a life cycle assessment (LCA) approach
No full textLife cycle thinking has been applied in the construction industry for more than 20 years for the environmental evaluation of construction products and processes. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is the tool that enables the quantification of environmental impacts using parameters appropriate to the various potential environmental impact categories. Standards have developed alongside to support this process, under the ISO 14000 series, ISO 21930 and 21931 for construction products, and lately European standards aimed at harmonising approaches to LCA in construction in Europe, specifically EN 15804 for product level assessments, and EN 15978 for building level assessments. EN 15978 provides a modular approach through which the environmental impacts are reported for different life cycle stages across the processes for the provision of the products and services used in the construction (A1 to A3), the delivery of the products and services to site and the actual construction process (A4 and A5), the use of the building including maintenance, repair and replacement, and energy and water use (B1 to B7), and the demolition/deconstruction and end-of-life management processes for the building (C1 to C4). There is also a further life cycle stage (D) which is aimed at evaluating the benefits or burdens resulting from any potential future reuse of components of the building which would otherwise have been disposed of as wastes from either the construction, use, or endof- life of the building. On the whole this represents a linear approach to assessing buildings, to which a paradigm shift will be needed to apply the principles and benefits posed by circular economy thinking to the construction sector. Part of the H2020 funded project BAMB (Building As Materials Bank) will be to develop a methodology to assess the potential circularity of a building and, in particular, will investigate the potential role of LCA in circular economy
