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- Blösch, Günter, et al.
(author)
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Twenty-three unsolved problems in hydrology (UPH) - a community perspective
- 2019
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In: Hydrological Sciences Journal. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0262-6667 .- 2150-3435. ; 64:10, s. 1141-1158
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper is the outcome of a community initiative to identify major unsolved scientific problems in hydrology motivated by a need for stronger harmonisation of research efforts. The procedure involved a public consultation through online media, followed by two workshops through which a large number of potential science questions were collated, prioritised, and synthesised. In spite of the diversity of the participants (230 scientists in total), the process revealed much about community priorities and the state of our science: a preference for continuity in research questions rather than radical departures or redirections from past and current work. Questions remain focused on the process-based understanding of hydrological variability and causality at all space and time scales. Increased attention to environmental change drives a new emphasis on understanding how change propagates across interfaces within the hydrological system and across disciplinary boundaries. In particular, the expansion of the human footprint raises a new set of questions related to human interactions with nature and water cycle feedbacks in the context of complex water management problems. We hope that this reflection and synthesis of the 23 unsolved problems in hydrology will help guide research efforts for some years to come.
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- Faridghasemnia, Mohamadreza, 1991-, et al.
(author)
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Capturing Frame-Like Object Descriptors in Human Augmented Mapping
- 2019
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In: AI*IA 2019 - Advances in Artificial Intelligence. - Cham : Springer. - 9783030351656 - 9783030351663 ; , s. 392-404
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The model of an environment plays a crucial role in autonomous mobile robots, by providing them with the necessary task-relevant information. As robots become more intelligent, they need a richer and more expressive environment model. This model is a map that contains a structured description of the environment that can be used as the robot’s knowledge for several tasks, such as planning and reasoning. In this work, we propose a framework that allows to capture important environment descriptors, such as functionality and ownership of the robot’s surrounding objects, through verbal interaction. Specifically, we propose a corpus of verbal descriptions annotated with frame-like structures. We use the proposed dataset to train two multi-task neural architectures. We compare the two architectures through an experimental evaluation, discussing the design choices. Finally, we describe the creation of a simple interactive interface with our system, implemented through the trained model. The novelties of this work are: (i) the definition of a new problem, i.e., addressing different object descriptors, that plays a crucial role for the robot’s tasks accomplishment; (ii) a specialized corpus to support the creation of rich Semantic Maps; (iii) the design of different neural architectures, and their experimental evaluation over the proposed dataset; (iv) a simple interface for the actual usage of the proposed resources.
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4. |
- Nardi, Andrea
(author)
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Constructing agro-ecology in Northeast Argentina. Food production and local farmers’ markets in the province of Misiones
- 2015
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In my presentation I will seek to describe, analyse and reflect on the challenges and opportunities of agroecology in the province of province of Misiones, Northeaster Argentina, and the territorial dynamics generated from the promotion of a particular way to produce and trade food. My focus will be on the discourses and practices around food production for family consumption and for local markets and about ecological agriculture (or agro-ecology): its promises and constrains to be implemented. What kind of territorial dynamics are put forward by these new ideas and practices of agriculture production, environmental concern and small-scale agriculture? More specifically, what kind of society - nature relation is intended to be constructed and what does it means in terms of space - power production? In order to do so, I will explain the importance attributed to the discourse and practice of food production and agro-ecology by local actors and how they link it to poverty reduction and sustainable rural development. I present the actors involved, their discourses, practices and contradictions. I take into consideration as well the constraints to put forward this project and the construction of an ‘alternative rural development’. The food production proposal in Misiones takes place and need to be understood in the context of internationalization of the provincial economy and landscape (international agreements of biodiversity preservation) among other processes that link the local economies and politics to international interests (“globalization”). The advance of international capitals in the forestry and tourism sectors along with the increase in tobacco plantation commanded by international tobacco corporation and the end of public land to be occupied by family farmers have created different conflicts over natural resources (particularly land) that the alternative strategies of rural development and food production seek to address.
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5. |
- Nardi, Andrea, et al.
(author)
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Eco-friendly business or environmental injustices? : International energy investments and indigenous struggles in Oaxaca, Mexico
- 2017
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- In diverse countries of the continent, environmental transformations -and the injustices connected- have traditionally been studied in the case of extractive industries, such as mining, oil or agriculture. However, in the present study we want to discuss these concerns in the context of mega-projects that are commonly considered part of a “sustainable development”. Renewable, clean or green technology is not usually framed as ‘extractive’. We argue here that in some contexts large scale wind-parks might be working against sustainable development, when producing environmental injustices and generating social discontent and protest. We propose to use an environmental justice approach in order to understand why the Zapotecas and Huaves communities are opposing the wind energy park project, or ‘clean energy’. We aimed at exploring and discussing different ways in which eco-friendly projects or green energy investments result in (re)new environmental injustices.
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6. |
- Nardi, Andrea, et al.
(author)
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La importancia de la escala territorial en los análisis de conservación de la biodiversidad y explotación de los recursos naturales : Una discusión a partir del Parque Nacional Korup (Camerún)
- 2017
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We discuss in this paper the relevance of the territorial scalar approach in the analysis of biodiversity conservation and natural resource exploitation. We do this by using an empirical case study focused on the use of the forest ecosystems by diverse stakeholders in Korup region, South West Cameroon.Our aim is to contextualize biodiversity conservation in Korup National Park in a larger territorial/environmental context of transformations resulting from natural resource exploitation in the Korup region. We do this by moving between two territorial scales, a local and a regional one. The local scale refers in this study to the Korup park and its buffer zone, while the regional one expands to focus on the Korup region, where the park is located. We claim that any analysis and policy of biodiversity conservation in parks cannot be done without considering the regional context of territorial/environmental transformation. In addition, the analysis shows that, increasingly, the global scale is necessary to consider in order to understand transformations in regional and local environments.
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8. |
- Nardi, Maria Andrea, et al.
(author)
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Nature of Peace: An Interdisciplinary Enquiry into Research at the Intersection of Nature, Peace and Post-Conflict
- 2019
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The nexus between the environment, natural resources and (armed) violence has been researched since the end of the nineties, however major theoretical and empirical gaps still exists in research on the precise role of nature or the natural environment during post-conflict and/or peacebuilding, particularly in relation to those countries that have undergone internal armed conflict.This paper presents a state of the art in research conducted at the intersection of nature, peace and post-conflict. It is based on a systematic research review of more than a hundred articles published in English on conceptual and theoretical questions and case studies from all over the world.The aim here is to contribute to enhance the knowledge we have about the relevance of nature or natural environment in peace and post-conflict studies. We seek to do so by trying to answer the following questions:a. What are the main theoretical and empirical gaps in current research in the intersection of peace, post-conflict and nature?b. Is it necessary to develop alternative notions of nature and / or peace in order to expand the academic research field and the political possibilities of peace?The study presented here is the result of the interdisciplinary research project “The Nature of Peace: exploring links between the natural environment and peace in post-conflict societies”, supported by the Pufendorf Institute for Advanced Studies at Lund University, Sweden, between September 2017 and April 2018.
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