Impact of gentrification processes in rural landscapes: a methodology for landscape assessment towards sustainable rural development

With an increasing demand for rural resources and land, new challenges are approaching affecting and restructuring the European countryside. While creating opportunities for rural living, it has also opened a discussion on rural gentrification risks. The concept of rural gentrification encircles the influx of new residents leading to an economic upgrade of an area making it unaffordable for local inhabitants to stay in. Rural gentrification occurs in areas perceived as attractive. Paradoxically, in-migrants re-shape their surrounding landscape. Rural gentrification may not only cause displacement of people but also landscape values. Thus, this research aims to understand the twofold role of landscape in rural gentrification theory: as a possible driver to attract residents and as a product shaped by its residents. To understand the potential gentrifiers’ decision process, this research has provided a collection of drivers behind in-migration. Moreover, essential indicators of rural gentrification have been collected from previous studies. Yet, the available indicators do not contain measures to understand related landscape changes. To fill this gap, after analysing established landscape assessment methodologies, evaluating the relevance for assessing gentrification, a new Landscape Assessment approach is proposed. This method introduces a novel approach to capture landscape change caused by gentrification through a historical depth. The measures to study gentrification was applied on Gotland, Sweden. The study showed a population stagnating while the number of properties increased, and housing prices raised. These factors are not indicating positive growth but risks of gentrification. Then, the research applied the proposed Landscape Assessment method for areas exposed to gentrification. Results suggest that landscape change takes place on a local scale and could over time endanger key characteristics. The methodology contributes to a discussion on grasping nuances within the rural context. It has also proven useful for indicating accumulative changes, which is necessary in managing landscape values.

Sostanzialismo e relazionalismo dello spaziotempo alla luce della relatività generale

Until recently the debate on the ontology of spacetime had only a philosophical significance, since, from a physical point of view, General Relativity has been made "immune" to the consequences of the "Hole Argument" simply by reducing the subject to the assertion that solutions of Einstein equations which are mathematically different and related by an active diffeomorfism are physically equivalent. From a technical point of view, the natural reading of the consequences of the "Hole Argument” has always been to go further and say that the mathematical representation of spacetime in General Relativity inevitably contains a “superfluous structure” brought to light by the gauge freedom of the theory. This position of apparent split between the philosophical outcome and the physical one has been corrected thanks to a meticulous and complicated formal analysis of the theory in a fundamental and recent (2006) work by Luca Lusanna and Massimo Pauri entitled “Explaining Leibniz equivalence as difference of non-inertial appearances: dis-solution of the Hole Argument and physical individuation of point-events”. The main result of this article is that of having shown how, from a physical point of view, point-events of Einstein empty spacetime, in a particular class of models considered by them, are literally identifiable with the autonomous degrees of freedom of the gravitational field (the Dirac observables, DO). In the light of philosophical considerations based on realism assumptions of the theories and entities, the two authors then conclude by saying that spacetime point-events have a degree of "weak objectivity", since they, depending on a NIF (non-inertial frame), unlike the points of the homogeneous newtonian space, are plunged in a rich and complex non-local holistic structure provided by the “ontic part” of the metric field. Therefore according to the complex structure of spacetime that General Relativity highlights and within the declared limits of a methodology based on a Galilean scientific representation, we can certainly assert that spacetime has got "elements of reality", but the inevitably relational elements that are in the physical detection of point-events in the vacuum of matter (highlighted by the “ontic part” of the metric field, the DO) are closely dependent on the choice of the global spatiotemporal laboratory where the dynamics is expressed (NIF). According to the two authors, a peculiar kind of structuralism takes shape: the point structuralism, with common features both of the absolutist and substantival tradition and of the relationalist one. The intention of this thesis is that of proposing a method of approaching the problem that is, at least at the beginning, independent from the previous ones, that is to propose an approach based on the possibility of describing the gravitational field at three distinct levels. In other words, keeping the results achieved by the work of Lusanna and Pauri in mind and following their underlying philosophical assumptions, we intend to partially converge to their structuralist approach, but starting from what we believe is the "foundational peculiarity" of General Relativity, which is that characteristic inherent in the elements that constitute its formal structure: its essentially geometric nature as a theory considered regardless of the empirical necessity of the measure theory. Observing the theory of General Relativity from this perspective, we can find a "triple modality" for describing the gravitational field that is essentially based on a geometric interpretation of the spacetime structure. The gravitational field is now "visible" no longer in terms of its autonomous degrees of freedom (the DO), which, in fact, do not have a tensorial and, therefore, nor geometric nature, but it is analyzable through three levels: a first one, called the potential level (which the theory identifies with the components of the metric tensor), a second one, known as the connections level (which in the theory determine the forces acting on the mass and, as such, offer a level of description related to the one that the newtonian gravitation provides in terms of components of the gravitational field) and, finally, a third level, that of the Riemann tensor, which is peculiar to General Relativity only. Focusing from the beginning on what is called the "third level" seems to present immediately a first advantage: to lead directly to a description of spacetime properties in terms of gauge-invariant quantites, which allows to "short circuit" the long path that, in the treatises analyzed, leads to identify the "ontic part” of the metric field. It is then shown how to this last level it is possible to establish a “primitive level of objectivity” of spacetime in terms of the effects that matter exercises in extended domains of spacetime geometrical structure; these effects are described by invariants of the Riemann tensor, in particular of its irreducible part: the Weyl tensor. The convergence towards the affirmation by Lusanna and Pauri that the existence of a holistic, non-local and relational structure from which the properties quantitatively identified of point-events depend (in addition to their own intrinsic detection), even if it is obtained from different considerations, is realized, in our opinion, in the assignment of a crucial role to the degree of curvature of spacetime that is defined by the Weyl tensor even in the case of empty spacetimes (as in the analysis conducted by Lusanna and Pauri). In the end, matter, regarded as the physical counterpart of spacetime curvature, whose expression is the Weyl tensor, changes the value of this tensor even in spacetimes without matter. In this way, going back to the approach of Lusanna and Pauri, it affects the DOs evolution and, consequently, the physical identification of point-events (as our authors claim). In conclusion, we think that it is possible to see the holistic, relational, and non-local structure of spacetime also through the "behavior" of the Weyl tensor in terms of the Riemann tensor. This "behavior" that leads to geometrical effects of curvature is characterized from the beginning by the fact that it concerns extensive domains of the manifold (although it should be pointed out that the values of the Weyl tensor change from point to point) by virtue of the fact that the action of matter elsewhere indefinitely acts. Finally, we think that the characteristic relationality of spacetime structure should be identified in this "primitive level of organization" of spacetime.

New insights into methodology and interpretation of osteoarthritis. The study of Frassetto identified skeletal collection.

Osteoarthritis (OA) or degenerative joint disease (DJD) is a pathology which affects the synovial joints and characterised by a focal loss of articular cartilage and subsequent bony reaction of the subcondral and marginal bone. Its etiology is best explained by a multifactorial model including: age, sex, genetic and systemic factors, other predisposing diseases and functional stress. In this study the results of the investigation of a modern identified skeletal collection will be presented. In particular, we will focus on the relationship between the presence of OA at various joints. The joint modifications have been analysed using a new methodology that allows the scoring of different degrees of expression of the features considered. Materials and Methods The sample examined comes from the Sassari identified skeletal collection (part of “Frassetto collections”). The individuals were born between 1828 and 1916 and died between 1918 and 1932. Information about sex and age is known for all the individuals. The occupation is known for 173 males and 125 females. Data concerning the occupation of the individuals indicate a preindustrial and rural society. OA has been diagnosed when eburnation (EB) or loss of morphology (LM) were present, or when at least two of the following: marginal lipping (ML), esostosis (EX) or erosion (ER), were present. For each articular surface affected a “mean score” was calculated, reflecting the “severity” of the alterations. A further “score” was calculated for each joint. In the analysis sexes and age classes were always kept separate. For the statistical analyses non parametric test were used. Results The results show there is an increase of OA with age in all the joints analyzed and in particular around 50 years and 60 years. The shoulder, the hip and the knee are the joints mainly affected with ageing while the ankle is the less affected; the correlation values confirm this result. The lesion which show the major correlation with age is the ML. In our sample males are more frequently and more severely affected by OA than females, particularly at the superior limbs, while hip and knee are similarly affected in the two sexes. Lateralization shows some positive results in particular in the right shoulder of males and in various articular surfaces especially of the superior limb of both males and females; articular surfaces and joints are quite always lateralized to the right. Occupational analyses did not show remarkable results probably because of the homogeneity of the sample; males although performing different activities are quite all employed in stressful works. No highest prevalence of knee and hip OA was found in farm-workers respect to the other males. Discussion and Conclusion In this work we propose a methodology to score the different features, necessary to diagnose OA, that allows the investigation of the severity of joint degeneration. This method is easier than the one proposed by Buikstra and Ubelaker (1994), but in the same time allows a quite detailed recording of the features. Epidemiological results can be interpreted quite simply and they are in accordance with other studies; more difficult is the interpretation of the occupational results because many questions concerning the activities performed by the individuals of the collection during their lifespan cannot be solved. Because of this, caution is suggested in the interpretation of bioarcheological specimens. With this work we hope to contribute to the discussion on the puzzling problem of the etiology of OA. The possibility of studying identified skeletons will add important data to the description of osseous features of OA, enriching the medical documentation, based on different criteria. Even if we are aware that the clinical diagnosis is different from the palaeopathological one we think our work will be useful in clarifying some epidemiological as well as pathological aspects of OA.

A Design Methodology for Computer Security Testing

The field of "computer security" is often considered something in between Art and Science. This is partly due to the lack of widely agreed and standardized methodologies to evaluate the degree of the security of a system. This dissertation intends to contribute to this area by investigating the most common security testing strategies applied nowadays and by proposing an enhanced methodology that may be effectively applied to different threat scenarios with the same degree of effectiveness. Security testing methodologies are the first step towards standardized security evaluation processes and understanding of how the security threats evolve over time. This dissertation analyzes some of the most used identifying differences and commonalities, useful to compare them and assess their quality. The dissertation then proposes a new enhanced methodology built by keeping the best of every analyzed methodology. The designed methodology is tested over different systems with very effective results, which is the main evidence that it could really be applied in practical cases. Most of the dissertation discusses and proves how the presented testing methodology could be applied to such different systems and even to evade security measures by inverting goals and scopes. Real cases are often hard to find in methodology' documents, in contrary this dissertation wants to show real and practical cases offering technical details about how to apply it. Electronic voting systems are the first field test considered, and Pvote and Scantegrity are the two tested electronic voting systems. The usability and effectiveness of the designed methodology for electronic voting systems is proved thanks to this field cases analysis. Furthermore reputation and anti virus engines have also be analyzed with similar results. The dissertation concludes by presenting some general guidelines to build a coordination-based approach of electronic voting systems to improve the security without decreasing the system modularity.

A numerical methodology for the multi-objective optimization of the DI Diesel engine combustion

DI Diesel engine are widely used both for industrial and automotive applications due to their durability and fuel economy. Nonetheless, increasing environmental concerns force that type of engine to comply with increasingly demanding emission limits, so that, it has become mandatory to develop a robust design methodology of the DI Diesel combustion system focused on reduction of soot and NOx simultaneously while maintaining a reasonable fuel economy. In recent years, genetic algorithms and CFD three-dimensional combustion simulations have been successfully applied to that kind of problem. However, combining GAs optimization with actual CFD three-dimensional combustion simulations can be too onerous since a large number of calculations is usually needed for the genetic algorithm to converge, resulting in a high computational cost and, thus, limiting the suitability of this method for industrial processes. In order to make the optimization process less time-consuming, CFD simulations can be more conveniently used to generate a training set for the learning process of an artificial neural network which, once correctly trained, can be used to forecast the engine outputs as a function of the design parameters during a GA optimization performing a so-called virtual optimization. In the current work, a numerical methodology for the multi-objective virtual optimization of the combustion of an automotive DI Diesel engine, which relies on artificial neural networks and genetic algorithms, was developed.

Symbolic Dynamics Analysis: a new methodology for foetal heart rate variability analysis

Cardiotocography (CTG) is a widespread foetal diagnostic methods. However, it lacks of objectivity and reproducibility since its dependence on observer's expertise. To overcome these limitations, more objective methods for CTG interpretation have been proposed. In particular, many developed techniques aim to assess the foetal heart rate variability (FHRV). Among them, some methodologies from nonlinear systems theory have been applied to the study of FHRV. All the techniques have proved to be helpful in specific cases. Nevertheless, none of them is more reliable than the others. Therefore, an in-depth study is necessary. The aim of this work is to deepen the FHRV analysis through the Symbolic Dynamics Analysis (SDA), a nonlinear technique already successfully employed for HRV analysis. Thanks to its simplicity of interpretation, it could be a useful tool for clinicians. We performed a literature study involving about 200 references on HRV and FHRV analysis; approximately 100 works were focused on non-linear techniques. Then, in order to compare linear and non-linear methods, we carried out a multiparametric study. 580 antepartum recordings of healthy fetuses were examined. Signals were processed using an updated software for CTG analysis and a new developed software for generating simulated CTG traces. Finally, statistical tests and regression analyses were carried out for estimating relationships among extracted indexes and other clinical information. Results confirm that none of the employed techniques is more reliable than the others. Moreover, in agreement with the literature, each analysis should take into account two relevant parameters, the foetal status and the week of gestation. Regarding the SDA, results show its promising capabilities in FHRV analysis. It allows recognizing foetal status, gestation week and global variability of FHR signals, even better than other methods. Nevertheless, further studies, which should involve even pathological cases, are necessary to establish its reliability.