Examining trade-offs between social, psychological, and energy potential of urban form

Urban planners are often challenged with the task of developing design solutions which must meet multiple, and often contradictory, criteria. In this paper, we investigated the trade-offs between social, psychological, and energy potential of the fundamental elements of urban form: the street network and the building massing. Since formal methods to evaluate urban form from the psychological and social point of view are not readily available, we developed a methodological framework to quantify these criteria as the first contribution in this paper. To evaluate the psychological potential, we conducted a three-tiered empirical study starting from real world environments and then abstracting them to virtual environments. In each context, the implicit (physiological) response and explicit (subjective) response of pedestrians were measured. To quantify the social potential, we developed a street network centrality-based measure of social accessibility. For the energy potential, we created an energy model to analyze the impact of pure geometric form on the energy demand of the building stock. The second contribution of this work is a method to identify distinct clusters of urban form and, for each, explore the trade-offs between the select design criteria. We applied this method to two case studies identifying nine types of urban form and their respective potential trade-offs, which are directly applicable for the assessment of strategic decisions regarding urban form during the early planning stages

Liminal space or in limbo? Post Graduate Researchers and their personal pie charts of identity

How do postgraduate researchers (PGRs) see themselves at the start of their PhD journey? There is a duality of identity or even a triality when it comes to PGRs, since they exist in a space that is simultaneously researcher, student, and often ‘teacher’ in the broad sense of supporting other students in their learning. This report draws on data from a source originally not intended to be one: personal pie charts of identity. The activity was originally conceived as a warmer or discussion prompt for ensuing focus groups (four separate groups all completing a Teaching, Learning and Assessment strand of the mandatory elements of their PhDs). However, the pie charts themselves provided surprising insights. The pie charts presented here show considerable variance in the ways they see themselves within the academic community and raise issues about the implications for them as they exist and traverse the spaces within and between these multiple identities

The Two Hillary Clintons: how supporters and detractors describe the Democratic nominee

If it was not for Donald Trump’s presence in the 2016 race, Hillary Clinton would be the least favored presidential candidate there has ever been. At the same time, however, she is rated by fact checkers as being far more honest than Trump or any other primary candidate. Using a survey of Californians, Kim L. Nalder, Meredith Conroy, and Danielle Joesten Martin explore how voters feel about Clinton. They find that Trump’s framing of Clinton as “crooked” has stuck, with most of his supporters describing her as a “liar” and “untrustworthy”. Clinton’s own supporters on the other hand, were more likely to describe her as “experienced”, “smart” and “strong”. On gender lines, women tend to describe Clinton more positively compared to men, and also note her gender

L'évaluation d'impact de la recherche agronomique : des limites de la quantification aux innovations méthodologiques au Cirad

De nombreux travaux soulignent que les crises actuelles (environnementales, financières, sociales, énergétiques, alimentaires...) expriment une période de changement structurel des référentiels technologiques et institutionnels qui pilotent le développement. La recherche est interpellée dans sa capacité à explorer, préparer les options possibles. Un outil utilisées t l'évaluation d'impact. Comment expliciter les relations entre l'activité de recherche et ses conséquences sur le développement? Nous contribuons à répondre en explorant les controverses que soulève la trajectoire conventionnelle d'évaluation d'impact de la recherche et au regard de ces dernières, la construction de nouvelles orientations méthodologiques. Nous mobilisons pour cela respectivement une synthèse bibliographique et l'exploration d'études de cas sur des recherches finalisées dans l'agriculture des pays du sud. (Résumé d'auteur

Methods for assessing the impact of research on innovation and development in the agriculture and food sectors

The need for technological transition and the context of the privatization of public research funding both challenge the evolution of methods to assess the impact of research in the agricultural and food sectors. We analyze this evolution through a literature review and an examination of a range of case studies on research completed in developing countries. In the first part, the results stemming from the former analysis question the controversies raised by quantitative approaches. In view of these controversies, we then examine the methodological innovations taking place in a qualitative approach. A survey of case studies ultimately helps to characterize the strategic resources that research generates with a view to improving its impact on innovation and development. (Résumé d'auteur

Air pollution modelling for birth cohorts: a time-space regression model

To investigate air pollution effects during pregnancy or in the first weeks of life, models are needed that capture both the spatial and temporal variability of air pollution exposures.; We developed a time-space exposure model for ambient NO2 concentrations in Bern, Switzerland. We used NO2 data from passive monitoring conducted between 1998 and 2009: 101 rural sites (24,499 biweekly measurements) and 45 urban sites (4350 monthly measurements). We evaluated spatial predictors (land use; roads; traffic; population; annual NO2 from a dispersion model) and temporal predictors (meteorological conditions; NO2 from continuous monitoring station). Separate rural and urban models were developed by multivariable regression techniques. We performed ten-fold internal cross-validation, and an external validation using 57 NO2 passive measurements obtained at study participant's homes.; Traffic related explanatory variables and fixed site NO2 measurements were the most relevant predictors in both models. The coefficient of determination (R(2)) for the log transformed models were 0.63 (rural) and 0.54 (urban); cross-validation R(2)s were unchanged indicating robust coefficient estimates. External validation showed R(2)s of 0.54 (rural) and 0.67 (urban).; This approach is suitable for air pollution exposure prediction in epidemiologic research with time-vulnerable health effects such as those occurring during pregnancy or in the first weeks of life