Promoting Local Innovations: A tool for adaptation to climate change and sustainable development in Mountains

Throughout their history mountain communities have had to adapt to changing environmental and socio-economic conditions. They have developed strategies and specialized knowledge to sustain their livelihoods in a context of adverse climatic events and constant change. As negotiations and discussions on climate change emphasize the critical need for locally relevant and community owned adaptation strategies, there is a need for new tools to capitalize on this local knowledge and endogenous potential for innovation. The toolkit Promoting Local Innovation (PLI) was designed by the Centre for Development and Environment (CDE) of the University of Bern, Switzerland, to facilitate a participatory social learning process which identifies locally available innovations that can be implemented for community development. It is based on interactive pedagogy and joint learning among different stakeholders in the local context. The tried-and-tested tool was developed in the Andean region in 2004, and then used in International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) climate change adaptation projects in Thailand, Burkina Faso, Senegal, and Chile. These experiences showed that PLI can be used to involve all relevant stakeholders in establishing strategies and actions needed for rural communities to adapt to climate change impacts, while building on local innovation potential and promoting local ownership

Forest regeneration capacity and its enhancement by forest management and silviculture in Cabo Delgado

SDC has been involved in rural development in Cabo Delgado for more than 30 years. Shortly after the independence of Mozambique, projects in water supply and integrated rural development were initiated. The silvoagropastoral project FO9 based in Mueda was a very early experience in forestry in Cabo Delgado. Andreas Kläy was responsible for the forestry sector in FO9 for 3 years in the early 1980s and had an opportunity to initiate an exchange of ideas and experience in rural development theory and approaches with Yussuf Adam, who was doing research in human anthropology and history in the province. 25 years later, the current situation of forest management in Cabo Delgado was reassessed, with a specific focus on concessions in the North. The opportunity for a partnership between the MITI SA, the University of Eduardo Mondlane, and CDE was created on the basis of this preliminary study1. The aim of this partnership is to generate knowledge and develop capacity for sustainable forest management. The preliminary study showed that “…we have to face weaknesses and would like to start a learning process with the main institutions, organisations, and stakeholder groups active in forest management and research in the North of Cabo Delgado. This learning process will involve studies supported by competent research institutions and workshops …” The specific objectives of ESAPP project Q804 are the following: 1. Contribute to understanding of the forestry sector; 2. Capacity development for professionals and academics; 3. Support for the private sector and the local forest service; 4. Support data generation at Cabo Delgado's Provincial Service; 5. Capacity development for Swiss academic institutions (CDE and ETHZ). A conceptual planning platform was elaborated as a basis for cooperation and research in the partnership (cf. Annex 1). The partners agreed to work on two lines of research: biophysical and socio-economic. In order to ensure a transdisciplinary approach, disciplinary research is anchored in common understanding in workshops based on the LforS methods. These workshops integrate the main stakeholders in the local context of the COMADEL concession in Nangade District managed by MITI SA, and take place in the village of Namiune. The research team observed that current management schemes consist mainly of strategies of nature mining by most stakeholders involved. Institutional settings - formal and informal - have little impact due to weak capacity at the local level and corruption. Local difficulties in a remote rural area facilitate external access to resources and are perpetuated by the loss of benefits. The benefits of logging remain at the top level (economic and political elites). The interests of the owners of the concession in stopping the loss of resources caused by this regime offers a unique opportunity to intervene in the logic of resource degradation and agony in rural development and forest management.

(Tables 1, 2) Permafrost borehole characteristics in the Nordic Area during the IPY 2007-2009

This paper provides a snapshot of the permafrost thermal state in the Nordic area obtained during the International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-2009. Several intensive research campaigns were undertaken within a variety of projects in the Nordic countries to obtain this snapshot. We demonstrate for Scandinavia that both lowland permafrost in palsas and peat plateaus, and large areas of permafrost in the mountains are at temperatures close to 0°C, which makes them sensitive to climatic changes. In Svalbard and northeast Greenland, and also in the highest parts of the mountains in the rest of the Nordic area, the permafrost is somewhat colder, but still only a few degrees below the freezing point. The observations presented from the network of boreholes, more than half of which were established during the IPY, provide an important baseline to assess how future predicted climatic changes may affect the permafrost thermal state in the Nordic area. Time series of active-layer thickness and permafrost temperature conditions in the Nordic area, which are generally only 10 years in length, show generally increasing active-layer depths and rising permafrost temperatures.

Multidisciplinary Learning, Another way of Teaching Maths in Engineering

Multidisciplinary training is widely appreciated in industry and business, and nevertheless usually is not addressed in the early stages of most undergraduate programs. We outline here a multidisciplinary course for undergraduates studying engineering in which mathematics would be the common language, the transverse tool. The goal is motivating students to learn more mathematics and as a result, improve the quality of engineering education. The course would be structured around projects in four branches in engineering: mechanical, electrical, civil and bio-tech. The projects would be chosen among a wide variety of topics in engineering practice selected with the guidance of professional engineers. In these projects mathematics should interact with at least two other basic areas of knowledge in engineering: chemistry, computers science, economics, design or physics.

The use of wind pumps for greenhouse microirrigation: a case study for tomato in Cuba.

Crop irrigation is a major consumer of energy. Only a few countries are self-sufficient in conventional non-renewable energy sources. Fortunately, there are renewable ones, such as wind, which has experienced recent developments in the area of power generation. Wind pumps can play a vital role in irrigation projects in remote farms. A methodology based on daily estimation balance between water needs and water availability was used to evaluate the feasibility of the most economic windmill irrigation system. For this purpose, several factors were included: three-hourly wind velocity (W3 h, m/s), flow supplied by the wind pump as a function of the elevation height (H, m) and daily greenhouse evapotranspiration as a function of crop planting date. Monthly volumes of water required for irrigation (Dr, m3/ha) and in the water tank (Vd, m3), as well as the monthly irrigable area (Ar, ha), were estimated by cumulative deficit water budgeting taking in account these factors. An example is given illustrating the use of this methodology on tomato crop (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) under greenhouse at Ciego de Ávila, Cuba. In this case two different W3 h series (average and low wind year), three different H values and five tomato crop planting dates were considered. The results show that the optimum period of wind-pump driven irrigation is with crop plating in November, recommending a 5 m3 volume tank for cultivated areas around 0.2 ha when using wind pumps operating at 15 m of height elevation.

Scheduling Ontology Engineering Projects Using gOntt

In order to manage properly ontology development projects in complex settings and to apply correctly the NeOn Methodology, it is crucial to have knowledge of the entire ontology development life cycle before starting the development projects. The ontology project plan and scheduling helps the ontology development team to have this knowledge and to monitor the project execution. To facilitate the planning and scheduling of ontology development projects, the NeOn Toolkit plugin called gOntt has been developed. gOntt is a tool that supports the scheduling of ontology network development projects and helps to execute them. In addition, prescriptive methodological guidelines for scheduling ontology development projects using gOntt are provided.

EMBT haciendo (casi) nada en Mercaders = EMBT doing (almost) nothing in Mercaders

Cualquier indagación sobre proyectos representativos en la historia contemporánea de la vivienda, nos lleva inevitablemente a darnos cuenta como predomina en gran parte de ellos una actitud que tiene que ver con producir indiscriminadamente nuevos productos arquitectónicos. EMBT construyen su propia casa en la calle Mercaders de Barcelona, e inciden en entender la arquitectura no como la creación de nuevos productos sino como una capa más dentro de un sustrato ya informado(materia no prima), una característica puramente postproductiva. Como ellos apuntan su nueva capa de información se ‘instala’, añade sólo información precisa de su tiempo, pero no intenta volver hacia atrás ni rehabilitar o restaurar el edificio existente. Esta comunicación persigue poner de manifiesto la existencia velada de esta otra actitud dentro del campo de la vivienda, una actitud no opuesta y si complementaria, que opera desde una voluntad de no ser, de hacer con (casi) nada. ABSTRACT: Any inquiry about representative projects in the contemporary history of housing, lead us to inevitably understand how in lots of them dominates an attitude related to the indiscriminate production of new architectural products. EMBT build their own house on Mercaders street of Barcelona, and promote the understanding of architecture not as the creation of new products but as a new layer within a substrate already full of information (not a raw material), a feature purely postproductive. As they point, the new information layer is ‘installed’, adds only precise information of its time, but does not try to get back or restore the existing building. This paper aims to demonstrate the veiled existence of this different attitude within the housing field, an attitude not opposed but complementary, that works from a desire of not to do, a desire to do with (almost) nothing.

PPP in light rail transit systems in Spain

Light rail systems have proliferated in Spain in the last decade, following a tendency that is common not only in other European countries but also in other parts of the world. This paper reviews the benefits of light rail systems, both related to environmental issues and mobility issues. It analyses the evolution of light rail projects in Spain and shows that light rail systems in this country have evolved towards an extensive use of public-private partnerships. The analysis of the Spanish projects, however, does not contribute any conclusive evidence about whether public-private partnerships have been more efficient than publicly owned enterprises in building and operating light rail systems.

Multidisciplinary Design Optimization Application to Conceptual Design of University-class Microsatellite Projects

Esta tesis se ha realizado en el contexto del proyecto UPMSat-2, que es un microsatélite diseñado, construido y operado por el Instituto Universitario de Microgravedad "Ignacio Da Riva" (IDR / UPM) de la Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. Aplicación de la metodología Ingeniería Concurrente (Concurrent Engineering: CE) en el marco de la aplicación de diseño multidisciplinar (Multidisciplinary Design Optimization: MDO) es uno de los principales objetivos del presente trabajo. En los últimos años, ha habido un interés continuo en la participación de los grupos de investigación de las universidades en los estudios de la tecnología espacial a través de sus propios microsatélites. La participación en este tipo de proyectos tiene algunos desafíos inherentes, tales como presupuestos y servicios limitados. Además, debido al hecho de que el objetivo principal de estos proyectos es fundamentalmente educativo, por lo general hay incertidumbres en cuanto a su misión en órbita y cargas útiles en las primeras fases del proyecto. Por otro lado, existen limitaciones predeterminadas para sus presupuestos de masa, volumen y energía, debido al hecho de que la mayoría de ellos están considerados como una carga útil auxiliar para el lanzamiento. De este modo, el costo de lanzamiento se reduce considerablemente. En este contexto, el subsistema estructural del satélite es uno de los más afectados por las restricciones que impone el lanzador. Esto puede afectar a diferentes aspectos, incluyendo las dimensiones, la resistencia y los requisitos de frecuencia. En la primera parte de esta tesis, la atención se centra en el desarrollo de una herramienta de diseño del subsistema estructural que evalúa, no sólo las propiedades de la estructura primaria como variables, sino también algunas variables de nivel de sistema del satélite, como la masa de la carga útil y la masa y las dimensiones extremas de satélite. Este enfoque permite que el equipo de diseño obtenga una mejor visión del diseño en un espacio de diseño extendido. La herramienta de diseño estructural se basa en las fórmulas y los supuestos apropiados, incluyendo los modelos estáticos y dinámicos del satélite. Un algoritmo genético (Genetic Algorithm: GA) se aplica al espacio de diseño para optimizaciones de objetivo único y también multiobjetivo. El resultado de la optimización multiobjetivo es un Pareto-optimal basado en dos objetivo, la masa total de satélites mínimo y el máximo presupuesto de masa de carga útil. Por otro lado, la aplicación de los microsatélites en misiones espaciales es de interés por su menor coste y tiempo de desarrollo. La gran necesidad de las aplicaciones de teledetección es un fuerte impulsor de su popularidad en este tipo de misiones espaciales. Las misiones de tele-observación por satélite son esenciales para la investigación de los recursos de la tierra y el medio ambiente. En estas misiones existen interrelaciones estrechas entre diferentes requisitos como la altitud orbital, tiempo de revisita, el ciclo de vida y la resolución. Además, todos estos requisitos puede afectar a toda las características de diseño. Durante los últimos años la aplicación de CE en las misiones espaciales ha demostrado una gran ventaja para llegar al diseño óptimo, teniendo en cuenta tanto el rendimiento y el costo del proyecto. Un ejemplo bien conocido de la aplicación de CE es la CDF (Facilidad Diseño Concurrente) de la ESA (Agencia Espacial Europea). Está claro que para los proyectos de microsatélites universitarios tener o desarrollar una instalación de este tipo parece estar más allá de las capacidades del proyecto. Sin embargo, la práctica de la CE a cualquier escala puede ser beneficiosa para los microsatélites universitarios también. En la segunda parte de esta tesis, la atención se centra en el desarrollo de una estructura de optimización de diseño multidisciplinar (Multidisciplinary Design Optimization: MDO) aplicable a la fase de diseño conceptual de microsatélites de teledetección. Este enfoque permite que el equipo de diseño conozca la interacción entre las diferentes variables de diseño. El esquema MDO presentado no sólo incluye variables de nivel de sistema, tales como la masa total del satélite y la potencia total, sino también los requisitos de la misión como la resolución y tiempo de revisita. El proceso de diseño de microsatélites se divide en tres disciplinas; a) diseño de órbita, b) diseño de carga útil y c) diseño de plataforma. En primer lugar, se calculan diferentes parámetros de misión para un rango práctico de órbitas helio-síncronas (sun-synchronous orbits: SS-Os). Luego, según los parámetros orbitales y los datos de un instrumento como referencia, se calcula la masa y la potencia de la carga útil. El diseño de la plataforma del satélite se estima a partir de los datos de la masa y potencia de los diferentes subsistemas utilizando relaciones empíricas de diseño. El diseño del subsistema de potencia se realiza teniendo en cuenta variables de diseño más detalladas, como el escenario de la misión y diferentes tipos de células solares y baterías. El escenario se selecciona, de modo de obtener una banda de cobertura sobre la superficie terrestre paralelo al Ecuador después de cada intervalo de revisita. Con el objetivo de evaluar las interrelaciones entre las diferentes variables en el espacio de diseño, todas las disciplinas de diseño mencionados se combinan en un código unificado. Por último, una forma básica de MDO se ajusta a la herramienta de diseño de sistema de satélite. La optimización del diseño se realiza por medio de un GA con el único objetivo de minimizar la masa total de microsatélite. Según los resultados obtenidos de la aplicación del MDO, existen diferentes puntos de diseños óptimos, pero con diferentes variables de misión. Este análisis demuestra la aplicabilidad de MDO para los estudios de ingeniería de sistema en la fase de diseño conceptual en este tipo de proyectos. La principal conclusión de esta tesis, es que el diseño clásico de los satélites que por lo general comienza con la definición de la misión y la carga útil no es necesariamente la mejor metodología para todos los proyectos de satélites. Un microsatélite universitario, es un ejemplo de este tipo de proyectos. Por eso, se han desarrollado un conjunto de herramientas de diseño para encarar los estudios de la fase inicial de diseño. Este conjunto de herramientas incluye diferentes disciplinas de diseño centrados en el subsistema estructural y teniendo en cuenta una carga útil desconocida a priori. Los resultados demuestran que la mínima masa total del satélite y la máxima masa disponible para una carga útil desconocida a priori, son objetivos conflictivos. En este contexto para encontrar un Pareto-optimal se ha aplicado una optimización multiobjetivo. Según los resultados se concluye que la selección de la masa total por satélite en el rango de 40-60 kg puede considerarse como óptima para un proyecto de microsatélites universitario con carga útil desconocida a priori. También la metodología CE se ha aplicado al proceso de diseño conceptual de microsatélites de teledetección. Los resultados de la aplicación del CE proporcionan una clara comprensión de la interacción entre los requisitos de diseño de sistemas de satélites, tales como la masa total del microsatélite y la potencia y los requisitos de la misión como la resolución y el tiempo de revisita. La aplicación de MDO se hace con la minimización de la masa total de microsatélite. Los resultados de la aplicación de MDO aclaran la relación clara entre los diferentes requisitos de diseño del sistema y de misión, así como que permiten seleccionar las líneas de base para el diseño óptimo con el objetivo seleccionado en las primeras fase de diseño. ABSTRACT This thesis is done in the context of UPMSat-2 project, which is a microsatellite under design and manufacturing at the Instituto Universitario de Microgravedad “Ignacio Da Riva” (IDR/UPM) of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. Application of Concurrent Engineering (CE) methodology in the framework of Multidisciplinary Design application (MDO) is one of the main objectives of the present work. In recent years, there has been continuing interest in the participation of university research groups in space technology studies by means of their own microsatellites. The involvement in such projects has some inherent challenges, such as limited budget and facilities. Also, due to the fact that the main objective of these projects is for educational purposes, usually there are uncertainties regarding their in orbit mission and scientific payloads at the early phases of the project. On the other hand, there are predetermined limitations for their mass and volume budgets owing to the fact that most of them are launched as an auxiliary payload in which the launch cost is reduced considerably. The satellite structure subsystem is the one which is most affected by the launcher constraints. This can affect different aspects, including dimensions, strength and frequency requirements. In the first part of this thesis, the main focus is on developing a structural design sizing tool containing not only the primary structures properties as variables but also the satellite system level variables such as payload mass budget and satellite total mass and dimensions. This approach enables the design team to obtain better insight into the design in an extended design envelope. The structural design sizing tool is based on the analytical structural design formulas and appropriate assumptions including both static and dynamic models of the satellite. A Genetic Algorithm (GA) is applied to the design space for both single and multiobejective optimizations. The result of the multiobjective optimization is a Pareto-optimal based on two objectives, minimum satellite total mass and maximum payload mass budget. On the other hand, the application of the microsatellites is of interest for their less cost and response time. The high need for the remote sensing applications is a strong driver of their popularity in space missions. The satellite remote sensing missions are essential for long term research around the condition of the earth resources and environment. In remote sensing missions there are tight interrelations between different requirements such as orbital altitude, revisit time, mission cycle life and spatial resolution. Also, all of these requirements can affect the whole design characteristics. During the last years application of the CE in the space missions has demonstrated a great advantage to reach the optimum design base lines considering both the performance and the cost of the project. A well-known example of CE application is ESA (European Space Agency) CDF (Concurrent Design Facility). It is clear that for the university-class microsatellite projects having or developing such a facility seems beyond the project capabilities. Nevertheless practicing CE at any scale can be beneficiary for the university-class microsatellite projects. In the second part of this thesis, the main focus is on developing a MDO framework applicable to the conceptual design phase of the remote sensing microsatellites. This approach enables the design team to evaluate the interaction between the different system design variables. The presented MDO framework contains not only the system level variables such as the satellite total mass and total power, but also the mission requirements like the spatial resolution and the revisit time. The microsatellite sizing process is divided into the three major design disciplines; a) orbit design, b) payload sizing and c) bus sizing. First, different mission parameters for a practical range of sun-synchronous orbits (SS-Os) are calculated. Then, according to the orbital parameters and a reference remote sensing instrument, mass and power of the payload are calculated. Satellite bus sizing is done based on mass and power calculation of the different subsystems using design estimation relationships. In the satellite bus sizing, the power subsystem design is realized by considering more detailed design variables including a mission scenario and different types of solar cells and batteries. The mission scenario is selected in order to obtain a coverage belt on the earth surface parallel to the earth equatorial after each revisit time. In order to evaluate the interrelations between the different variables inside the design space all the mentioned design disciplines are combined in a unified code. The integrated satellite system sizing tool developed in this section is considered as an application of the CE to the conceptual design of the remote sensing microsatellite projects. Finally, in order to apply the MDO methodology to the design problem, a basic MDO framework is adjusted to the developed satellite system design tool. Design optimization is done by means of a GA single objective algorithm with the objective function as minimizing the microsatellite total mass. According to the results of MDO application, there exist different optimum design points all with the minimum satellite total mass but with different mission variables. This output demonstrates the successful applicability of MDO approach for system engineering trade-off studies at the conceptual design phase of the design in such projects. The main conclusion of this thesis is that the classical design approach for the satellite design which usually starts with the mission and payload definition is not necessarily the best approach for all of the satellite projects. The university-class microsatellite is an example for such projects. Due to this fact an integrated satellite sizing tool including different design disciplines focusing on the structural subsystem and considering unknown payload is developed. According to the results the satellite total mass and available mass for the unknown payload are conflictive objectives. In order to find the Pareto-optimal a multiobjective GA optimization is conducted. Based on the optimization results it is concluded that selecting the satellite total mass in the range of 40-60 kg can be considered as an optimum approach for a university-class microsatellite project with unknown payload(s). Also, the CE methodology is applied to the remote sensing microsatellites conceptual design process. The results of CE application provide a clear understanding of the interaction between satellite system design requirements such as satellite total mass and power and the satellite mission variables such as revisit time and spatial resolution. The MDO application is done with the total mass minimization of a remote sensing satellite. The results from the MDO application clarify the unclear relationship between different system and mission design variables as well as the optimum design base lines according to the selected objective during the initial design phases.

Analyzing intergibles in rural development project management

Facing the frequent failure of projects in rural areas with top-down approaches, there has been a promotion of participation of the local people in decisions that affect their territories (bottom-up approach) to promote sustainable regional development (Chambers, 1997; Lusthaus et al., 1999; Horton, 2004; Vazquez-Barquero, 2000). In fact participation was deemed necessary to ensure the success and sustainability of projects (UNDP, 2006; WRI, 2008; Davies, 2009). Hence, the progressive strengthening of the local population should be promoted so that they can acquire a range of skills and knowledge that allow them to manage resources properly and undertake productive activities in their territory (Contreras, 2000). These are intangibles and therefore difficult to measure. Hence, in this research a model of integration of intangibles in rural development projects management is proposed. The model designed supplements and enriches the conceptual framework ?Working with People? WWP (Cazorla et al, 2013).

Explaining light vehicle demand evolution in interurban toll roads: a dynamic panel data analysis in Spain

Tolls have increasingly become a common mechanism to fund road projects in recent decades. Therefore, improving knowledge of demand behavior constitutes a key aspect for stakeholders dealing with the management of toll roads. However, the literature concerning demand elasticity estimates for interurban toll roads is still limited due to their relatively scarce number in the international context. Furthermore, existing research has left some aspects to be investigated, among others, the choice of GDP as the most common socioeconomic variable to explain traffic growth over time. This paper intends to determine the variables that better explain the evolution of light vehicle demand in toll roads throughout the years. To that end, we establish a dynamic panel data methodology aimed at identifying the key socioeconomic variables explaining changes in light vehicle demand over time. The results show that, despite some usefulness, GDP does not constitute the most appropriate explanatory variable, while other parameters such as employment or GDP per capita lead to more stable and consistent results. The methodology is applied to Spanish toll roads for the 1990?2011 period, which constitutes a very interesting case on variations in toll road use, as road demand has experienced a significant decrease since the beginning of the economic crisis in 2008.

Quality and productivity analysis in a very small enterprise using TSPi

This article shows the benefits of developing a software project using TSPi in a "Very Small Enterprise" based in quality and productivity measures. An adapted process from the current process based on the TSPi was defined and the team was trained in it. The pilot project had schedule and budget constraints. The workaround began by gathering historical data from previous projects in order to get a measurement repository, and then the project metrics were collected. Finally, the process, product and quality improvements were verified

A small settings case study using TSPi in a software project

This article introduces a small setting case study about the benefits of using TSPi in a software project. An adapted process from the current process based on the TSPi was defined. The pilot project had schedule and budget constraints. The process began by gathering historical data from previous projects in order to get a measurement repository. The project was launched with the following goals: increase the productivity, reduce the test time and improve the product quality. Finally, the results were analysed and the goals were verified