3,117 research outputs found
Reconstructing temporal changes and prediction of channel evolution in a large Alpine river: the Tagliamento river, Italy
No full textThis paper focuses on the temporal elements of
the REFORM hydromorphological framework, illustrating
these elements with an analysis of information from the
lower Tagliamento river, Italy. It presents an analysis of
historical channel adjustments at segment and reach scales
over the last two centuries, reflecting human pressures that
are summarised but not fully developed in this paper, and
an analysis of data from aerial photographs, topographic
surveys, and river flow records. This is followed by an
assessment of likely future changes over the period
2012–2035 based upon both a conceptual model founded
on the historical analysis and numerical modelling. The
Tagliamento river has gone through three main phases of
adjustment. The first two phases, characterized by narrowing
and incision, were driven primarily by human
interventions (i.e. sediment mining and channelization).
The most recent phase represents an attempt of the river to
achieve a new equilibrium condition and is mainly controlled
by flow regime (i.e. frequency and magnitude of
formative discharges) and vegetation establishment. As for
future channel evolution, both models showed that slight
width changes are likely to occur over the period
2012–2035. Channel widening, that could be expected as a
response to an excess of unit stream power, will be hampered
by vegetation establishment. Finally, the ‘‘no intervention’’
strategy seems to be the best option for leading
the river towards a new equilibrium condition and to
achieve different goals (e.g. flood mitigation, conservation
or improvement of ecological status)
Foreknowledge, caring, and the side-effect effect in young children.
No full textChildren and adults often judge that the side effects of the actions of an uncaring story agent have been intentional if the effects are harmful but not if these are beneficial, creating an asymmetrical “side-effect” effect. The authors report 3 experiments involving 4- and 5-year-olds (N ! 188) designed to clarify the role of foreknowledge and caring in judgments of intentionality. Many children showed the side-effect effect even if agents were explicitly described as lacking foreknowledge of the outcome. Similarly, when agents were described as possessing foreknowledge but their caring state was unspecified, children more often judged that the negative, compared with the positive, effects of agents’ actions were brought about intentionally.Regardlessofforeknowledge,childreninfrequentlyjudgedpositiveoutcomesasintentional when agent caring was unspecified, and they gave few attributions of intentionality when agents were described as having a false belief about the outcome. These results testify to the robustness of the side-effect effect and highlight the extent to which children’s intentionality judgments are asymmetrical. The findings suggest developmental continuity in the link between reasoning about morality and intentionality
The contact principle and utilitarian moral judgments in young children
No full textIn three experiments involving 207 preschoolers and 28 adults, we investigated the extent to which young children base moral judgments of actions aimed to protect others on utilitarian principles. When asked to judge the rightness of intervening to hurt one person in order to save five others, the large majority of children aged 3 to 5 years advocated intervention in contrast to another situation with the reverse cost⁄benefit ratio. This course of action was seen as acceptable by most children only when it did not require the agent to havephysical contact with thevictim and thevictim’s harm was intended to produce the greatest good for the greatest number. Overall, the children’s responses were remarkably similar to those reported in adult studies. These findings document the extent to which some constraints on moral judgment are present in early human development
Beliefs and moral valence affect intentionality attribution: The case of side-effects.
No full textDo moral appraisals shape judgments of intentionality? A traditional view is that individuals first evaluate whether an action has been carried out intentionally. Then they use this evaluation as input for their moral judgments. Recent studies, however, have shown that individuals’ moral appraisals can also influence their intentionality attributions. They attribute intentionality to the negative side effect of a given action, but not to the positive side effect of the same action. In three experiments, we show that this asymmetry is a robust effect that critically depends on the agent’s beliefs. The asymmetry is reduced when agents are described as not knowing that their action can bring about side effects, and is eliminated when they are deemed to hold a false belief about the consequences of their actions. These results suggest that both evaluative and epistemic considerations are used in intentionality attribution
On the interpretation of scalar implicatures infirst andsecond language
No full textWe investigated the effect of presenting items in a foreign language (L2) on scalar- implicatures computation. To ensure that L2 processing was more effortful than the pro- cessing of the native language (L1), participants were late learners of L2 immersed in an L1 environment and they were presented with oral stimuli under time constraints. If scalar- implicatures computation requires cognitive effort one should !nd that people are more likely to compute scalar implicatures in L1 than in L2. In two experiments, participants were asked to perform a Sentence Evaluation Task either Italian, their native language, or in a foreign language (English or Spanish). The task included underinformative statements such as “Some dogs are animals” that, if interpreted in a pragmatic way (i.e., “Some but not all dogs are animals”) should be rejected as false. In both experiments, we found more rejections in the native language condition than in the foreign language conditions. These results provide support for models that maintain that scalar-implicature computation is effortful
Integrated Multi-Scale Hydrogeophysical Characterisation of a Coastal Phreatic Dune Aquifer: The Belvedere–San Marco Case Study (NE Italy)
No full textLow-lying coastal plains are increasingly threatened by saltwater intrusion, yet the extent
of the phenomenon and the role of coastal dune systems remain unevenly assessed. In the
northern Adriatic Sea (NE Italy), salinisation has been documented, but systematic, spatially
resolved studies are lacking. This work investigates the Belvedere–San Marco relict dune
system to assess its hydrogeological function and vulnerability to seawater intrusion. An
integrated methodology combining borehole and core stratigraphy, in situ water electrical
conductivity (EC) measurements, and multi-method geophysical surveys (FDEM, ERT,
GPR, active seismics) was tested. Results reveal a consistent stratigraphy of permeable
aeolian sands overlying clay-rich units, with groundwater EC values in the dune sector
always remaining well below thresholds for brackish or saline conditions. Geophysical
imaging reveals that the dunes are low-conductive bodies contrasting sharply with the
conductive surrounding lowlands, thus indicating the persistence of a freshwater lens
sustained by local recharge within the dunes. The Belvedere–San Marco dunes therefore
act as both freshwater reservoirs and natural hydraulic barriers, buffering shallow aquifers
against salinisation. This study demonstrated the applicability of integrated geophysical
methods to extensively investigate shallow phreatic aquifers lying a few metres below the
surface, and establishes a baseline for monitoring future changes under rising sea levels,
subsidence, and increased groundwater exploitation
An assessment of the impact of possible CAP reform scenarios on Romanian agriculture
No full textUsing a simplified model, with key-variable the prices of two different possible scenarios of CAP reform after 2013 (moderate and radical), this paper present a comparison between the price effects of implementation of each reform scenario at 2015 horizon on Romanian agriculture. This short analysis shows that, under the presented hypotheses, the net welfare effect, due to the price changes, for the selected products, is positive in both reform scenarios, yet greater in the case of the radical reform. Integrated in the large context of Romanian development, it seems that the influence of CAP reform upon agriculture and rural areas will be most likely a gradual one: an interpenetration between the two scenarios is foreseeable, starting with the moderate reform that will dominate the period around 2013, the reform measures acquiring a more radical character afterwards.CAP reform, Romania, welfare effects, Agricultural and Food Policy,
Rich, Sturmian, and trapezoidal words
No full textIn this paper we explore various interconnections between rich words, Sturmian words, and trapezoidal words. Rich words, first introduced by the second and third authors together with J. Justin and S. Widmer, constitute a new class of finite and infinite words characterized by having the maximal number of palindromic factors. Every finite Sturmian word is rich, but not conversely. Trapezoidal words were first introduced by the first author in studying the behavior of the subword complexity of finite Sturmian words. Unfortunately this property does not characterize finite Sturmian words. In this note we show that the only trapezoidal palindromes are Sturmian. More generally we show that Sturmian palindromes can be characterized either in terms of their subword complexity (the trapezoidal property) or in terms of their palindromic complexity. We also obtain a similar characterization of rich palindromes in terms of a relation between palindromic complexity and subword complexity
Bed material transport estimate in large gravel-bed rivers using the virtual velocity approach
No full textThis paper reports on a first attempt of using the virtual velocity approach to assess sediment mobility and transport in
two wide and complex gravel-bed rivers of northern Italy. Displacement length and virtual velocity of spray-painted tracers were
measured in the field. Also, the thickness of the sediment active layer during floods was measured using scour chains and postflood
morphological changes as documented by repeated survey of channel cross-sections. The effects of eight and seven floods
were studied on the Tagliamento and Brenta Rivers, where 259 and 277 spray-painted areas were surveyed, respectively. In the
Tagliamento River 36% of the spray-painted areas experienced partial transport, whereas in the Brenta River this accounted for
20%. Whereas, full removal/gravel deposition was observed on 37% and 26% of these areas on the Tagliamento and Brenta Rivers,
respectively. The mean displacement length of particles, the thickness of the active layer and the extent of partial transport are well
correlated with the dimensionless shear stress. The virtual velocity approach allowed calculation of bed material transport over a
wide range of flood magnitudes. Annual coarse sediment transport was calculated up to 150 for the Tagliamento, and
30 × 103 m3 yr1 for the Brenta. The outcomes of this work highlight the relevance of partial transport condition, as it could represent
more than 70% of the total bed material transported during low-magnitude floods, and up to 40% for near-bankfull events. Results
confirm that bed material load tends to be overestimated by traditional formulas
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