It can not only greatly reduce the time, strength and risks, but can also provide high-accuracy, high-definition valuable information to support emergency responses. Short summary Immediately after an earthquake it is crucial to perform the fastest recognition of the damaged area to rescue as much people is possible and to assess and map the damage scenario. We apply the vehicle routing problem VRP to a fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles UAVs to find the shortest routes and the best take-off sites.
The simulation, performed with different autonomy ranges, is carried out in the town of Acireale Italy , where a real-time accelerometric network has been installed. Short summary We demonstrated an assessment of the sediments caused by a catastrophic avalanche, induced by the main shock of the Gorkha Earthquake in Nepal. Comparison of pre- and post-high-resolution topographic data estimates the avalanche-induced sediment volume as 5. High-resolution satellite imagery revealed that it has multiple layers of sediment with different physical properties.
Short summary A local scale GB-InSAR system was implemented for mapping and monitoring slope landslide residual deformations and for early warning purposes in case of landslide reactivations, with the aim of assuring the safety of the valley inhabitants and the personnel involved in the post-event recovery phase.
The here presented methodology could represent a useful contribution to a better understanding of landslide phenomena and decision making process during the post-emergency management activities. Short summary Landslides are a threat not only to people but also to important infrastructure, like highways. Nowadays there are several monitoring systems that are able to detect slope displacements in order to give prompt alarms. On the other hand, such instruments produce a huge amount of information, which is often not totally used and which can also represent an issue for data storage and transmission.
In this paper we explain how we dealt with the large quantity of data provided by one of these tools. Short summary Geomorphic impact of the flood of the Kinu River, which created a new crevasse splay on its floodplain, was quantified by volumetric calculations using three topographic data obtained by aerial laser scanning ALS and UAV photogrammetry. Topographic changes on the order of 0. The results suggest that a combination of ALS and UAV is useful for quantification of sudden topographic changes through disasters.
Short summary L-band SAR remote sensing data are used for identification of high potential risk and susceptible zones for natural hazards of geological origin in tropical environments.
Results of this investigation have great potential in terms of a solution to flood disaster management in tropical environments by providing important information to assess the natural hazards of geological origin. Short summary This study provides a new method for flood documentation based on user-generated flood images. We demonstrate how flood elevation and building inundation depth can be derived from photographs by means of 3-D reconstruction of the scene. With an accuracy of 0. Short summary An architectural element of the Royal Castle of Racconigi northwestern Italy, 17th century is subjected to nondestructive testing for structural integrity evaluation.
It is found that the so-called acoustic emissions — high-frequency vibrations emitted as tiny cracks that develop inside stone and concrete — correlate with those of small nearby earthquakes, suggesting new approaches to monitoring gradual damage accumulation inflicted by such earthquakes on architectural heritage and monuments. Verkade, and Jurjen Wagemaker. Short summary The increasing number and severity of floods, driven by e. At the same time social media is a source of much real-time data that is still largely untapped in flood disaster management.
This study illustrates that inherently uncertain data from social media can be used to derive information about flooding. Short summary We evaluate for the first time a new class of optical satellite images for measuring Earth surface displacements due to earthquakes — images from cubesats. Short summary Updated situational sea awareness requires an advanced technological system to make data available for decision makers, improving the capacity of intervention and supporting users in managing emergency situations due to natural hazards.
The TESSA data platform meets the request of near-real-time access to heterogeneous data with different accuracy, resolution or degrees of aggregation providing efficient and secure data access and strong support to operational oceanographic high-level services. Short summary A database of fatalities caused by natural hazards in Switzerland was compiled for the period from to The annual number of victims showed a distinct decrease over time.
In comparison to other countries, the natural hazard mortality rate in Switzerland is quite low. Short summary Water level sensors often experience unexpected gaps and outliers that cause major difficulties in detecting tsunamis. Thus, we propose a tsunami arrival time detection system applicable to discontinuous time-series data with outliers. We want to stress that the efficiency and simplicity of the system enable its wide application in tsunami monitoring areas.
Short summary Typhoon inundation forecast model for a gauging network is proposed. Model inputs are identified by cross-correlation and mutual information analysis. Optimal ARMAX model structures are searched for considering three objective functions, including the forecasting capacity in water level throughout the event, the accuracy in forecasting peak water levels and the time at which peak water levels are likely to occur.
Characteristics of the resultant models subject to various objectives are examined. Short summary Future sea level rise is inevitable. In a multi-criteria analysis we analyze the quantity of infrastructure that will be inundated, and the effect of saltwater intrusion in wells. Important touristic and nature values will be strongest affected. Well salinization will greatly increase. Administrative planning is needed to prepare for changes. Short summary We examine the spatiotemporal differences between three TC databases for the southwest Pacific region. In addition, the usefulness of pre-satellite era TC data — is evaluated.
While changes in observational technologies from have undoubtedly improved our ability to detect and monitor TCs, we show that pre-satellite era TC data are not temporally or statistically different to post-satellite era data —present. Short summary Snow avalanche data in the French Alps and Pyrenees have been recorded for more than years in several databases.
In this manuscript, we present a newly developed web-based system that stores the observed data in a global avalanche database and assists the observers in their daily monitoring activity by providing coherent workflows for a wide range of users with different roles. The new system improves the quality of data and is widely used for fundamental research and operational purposes. Tallaksen, Eleni Kampragou, Anne F.
A unique research database has collected close to textual drought impact reports from 33 European countries. Consistently, reported impacts have been dominated in number by agriculture and water supply, but were very diverse across other sectors. Data and assessment may help drought policy planning at the international level. Short summary This study assesses the value of a novel technology, mobile augmented reality, for rapid damage and safety assessment of the state of buildings in the aftermath of a disaster event.
In this study, we propose and demonstrate conceptual frameworks and approaches for in situ ground-based assessment based on augmented reality using mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet PCs. Short summary We suggest a generic classification of early warning systems for natural hazards, which distinguishes alarm, warning, and forecasting systems.
On the basis of this classification, we developed a three-step framework for evaluating the effectiveness of such systems and illustrate its applicability using case studies. Our results will support practitioners in comparing the effectiveness of early warning systems with those of structural mitigation measures. Short summary This paper presents the development and application of a prototype web-GIS tool for risk analysis, in particular for floods and landslides, based on open-source software and web technologies. The aim is to assist experts risk managers in analysing the impacts and consequences of a certain hazard event in a considered region, contributing to open-source and research community in natural hazards and risk assessment.
The tool is demonstrated using a regional data set of Fella River basin, Italy. It is found positive correlation between PWV behaviour and the probability of precipitation. A least-squares fitting of a broken line tendency shows that most severe rainfall occurs in descending trends after a long PWV ascending period. A simple forecast algorithm identifies the majority of large rain events, yet with a substantial amount of false positives.
Short summary This data set contains infrasonic detection bulletin for data recorded between 1 December and 31 March by the infrasound array deployed in Ischgl, Austria, and described in the paper. This data set contains all infrasound detections that are used to derive most of the results presented in the manuscript.
Short summary In this work, we present a new semi-automatic procedure to prepare landslide inventory maps that uses GIS applications and tools for the digitization of photo-interpreted data. Results show that the new semi-automatic procedure proves more efficient for the production of landslide inventories and results in the production of more accurate maps, compared to the manual procedure. The presented work has potential consequences for multiple applications of landslide studies. Short summary The current paper intends to identify the impact of low-light conditions on traffic accidents in an urban area.
Knowing the linear dependence and the spatial relation between the low light and the number of traffic accidents, as well as the consequences of their occurrence, enabled us to identify the areas of high road traffic accident risk. It enables us to provide support to the general public and other safety stakeholders for example, voluntary associations and civil protection organizations in the prevention, mitigation and preparedness phase of a flood or landslide risk event.
READY offers tremendous value owing to its ability to integrate information coming from several sources, all into one visual framework. Short summary A pressing problem facing coastal decision makers is the conversion of "high-level" but plausible climate change assessments into an effective basis for climate change adaptation at the local scale.
Here, we describe a web-based, geospatial decision support tool DST that provides an assessment of the potential flood risk for populated coastal lowlands arising from future sea-level rise, coastal storms, and high river flows. Short summary The method for capturing two-dimensional surface displacements was applied to three pairs of pre- and post-event high-resolution TerraSAR-X intensity images of the Tohoku-Oki earthquake taken in ascending and descending paths, and the results were used for estimating the actual three-dimensional movements.
The first two were chosen because they were the most read newspapers in Italy, according to data collected by Audipress http: The last two dailies were chosen because of their political orientations: Il Manifesto is an Italian-language daily newspaper with communist leanings, while Il Giornale is centre-right oriented and owned by the family of Silvio Berlusconi, a controversial Italian political leader, three times prime minister, and media magnate. The period that was analysed regards six and a half years, beginning in , the year in which signs of the financial crisis started appearing, until June 52 weeks for every year from to , and 24 weeks for Nine salient time spans during that period, 1 that were linked to specific events related to the crisis in the world or to political events in Italy, were selected for analysis.
Finally, two weeks for each year 2 were also randomly selected for analysis. If one of the random weeks had already been selected because it was a salient week, the randomization process was repeated Table 1. For every period taken into account, we considered a span of time from one week before the day of the event or the first day of the month in those cases in which only the quarter was indicated to one week after the same day of the following month. According to a study by Lacy, Riffe, Stoddard, Martin, and Chang , approximately ten two for every year randomized weeks are necessary for accurate inferences for five years of newspaper content.
It was possible to trace material regarding the long period that our investigation assessed using the online database only for La Repubblica and Il Corriere della Sera newspapers. We consulted the paper versions, which were available through a video support for the other two newspapers. When the word referred to a medical context or was used in a gossip column or in the sports pages, the cases were excluded. It is also true that beyond their role in interpreting news items, titles condense them. If titles are perfectly coined, they give the reader an essential knowledge of the news, regardless of whether excerpts of the article are read.
Titles are, moreover, homogeneous from a stylistic point of view, since, unlike the articles, they are drafted by the editor Papuzzi, , p. The corpus was first normalized cf. The produced list was used for the lexicalization procedure. This means that the sequences of words in the list became textual units. The lexicometric characteristics of the corpus Table 2 , which were analysed to evaluate its adequacy, were found acceptable cf. The time periods originally considered for analysis were unified to simplify their exposition. They were originally 21 9 linked to salient events and 14 random weeks.
Following unification, they were 9 Table 3. To examine how the phenomenon was objectified, words portraying the crisis through images were also individuated manually using a bottom-up procedure. The analysis was carried out by the first author with thorough exchanges with the others as regards criteria and choices for disambiguation. We started from a careful reading of the vocabulary created through the software list of words , excluding hapax words appearing only once , and we identified words that in our view might recall a metaphoric language. Then, we connected these words to their context; that is, we re-read the words within the titles.
Identified metaphors were thus classified into mutually exclusive categories. Their frequency in the periods examined and across the newspapers analysed was observed. A total of 6, titles were identified: As explained above, the study attempted to delineate the evolution of the way the crisis was depicted over time, paying close attention, in particular, to differences between the four newspapers that were considered.
Beginning in b second period considered in the analysis in , coinciding with the bankruptcy of the Lehman Brothers , a higher number of titles linked to the crisis with respect to precedent periods was noted. Unlike the other newspapers, there was a higher number of titles in La Repubblica with respect to precedent periods up to and including , although the quantity fell throughout coinciding with a fall in the spread between Italian and German year benchmark bonds.
The number of titles referring to specific salient events was also examined Figure 1. Figure 1 does not include data for b with regard to Il Giornale , as this newspaper for that period was not present in the archive that we utilized. Moreover, it has to be taken into account that the online database was only available for La Repubblica and Il Corriere della Sera , and this influences the quantity of detected titles even if, according to Wurff and Lauf , this does not necessarily influence the contents.
As can be seen in the figure, there are few titles in the first period which was chosen because of a palpable financial crisis that already existed according to economic indexes. Generally, what stands out is the quantity of titles referring to the crisis that appear not only when the more acute phase of sovereign debt in Italy began, but also when the Berlusconi government resigned and the Monti government took office. Besides the number of titles, we also studied how their content changed over time and from newspaper to newspaper. A synthesis of the results of this analysis is outlined below.
In the first two periods and week 1 , lexical items refer to political topics such as government crisis crisi di governo. Beginning in week 2, lexical items make reference to the American context, the stock market, and subprime mortgages. The word anticrisis anticrisi , as can be seen, becomes characteristic before the word crisis alone. During the period coinciding with the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, the lexicon that was utilized revolves around that particular situation and frequently referred to the name of that specific firm, the names of banks, economic aspects, and the names of American politicians.
During that same period, words linked to preoccupation, such as fears, storm, financial blizzard , and so on timori, tempesta, bufera finanziaria , ecc. In the following period which includes much of , words connected to the workplace, the construction industry, and the family frequently appeared. Beginning in week 1 and throughout a the first salient period considered in , the names of Italian politicians and terms such as preoccupation, emergency, decline, debt, contagion preoccupazione, emergenza, declino, debito, contagion became frequent.
Words linked to Europe, such as Eurogroup, European crisis eurogruppo, crisi europea , continued to appear frequently. It should be remembered that while that period was chosen because it was the beginning of the most acute period of sovereign debt in Italy, it was also characterized by tensions in the government of the time. The following period week 2 was characterized by lexical items regarding action and protests, such as indignant, manifestation, take to the streets, demonstration, to act indignati, manifestazione, in piazza, protesta, corteo, agire.
In b, other terms regarding Europe, such as Europe, Euro, Eurozone, Bruxelles, Berlin Europa, Euro, Eurozona, Bruxelles, Berlino , were frequently found, and the name Monti surfaced for the first time, as did the Italian crisis crisi italiana. Names linked to Italian politics Brunetta and Letta were mentioned frequently, probably because the specific time span was an election period.
Il catalogo dei maremoti italiani
The lexicon of the four newspapers considered was analysed to identify differences. A lexicon specific to the economic sphere stock markets, trend, finances , etc. A lexicon regarding different subjects linked to the crisis stores, families , etc. Il Manifesto and Il Giornale were filled with terms referring to political subjects. Consistent with its declared political leanings, Il Manifesto was characterized by terminology regarding action and protest rights, general strike , etc.
Lexical items referring to work were commonplace both in L a Repubblica and in Il Manifesto. There were numerous references to foreign problems in all the newspapers studied, with the exception of La Repubblica , which contained fewer allusions. Unlike Il Corriere della Sera and Il Giornale , in which only names of countries belonging to the Eurozone were mentioned, Il Manifesto made reference to a wider context global crisis—crisi globale.
Specific terminology referring to actions that could be carried out to counter the crisis situation was found in all of the newspapers, but preponderantly so in Il Corriere della Sera. It was interesting to note how terminology having negative connotations was utilized by the different newspapers: Il Giornale commented on the abyss baratro or threats minacce , and Il Manifesto made mention to victims vittime.
As mentioned above, expressing concepts through images is part of the objectifying process in constructing SR Moscovici, ; Wagner et al. We then examined how these metaphors were used over time during the various periods analysed Figure 2 and in the different newspapers considered Figure 3 , in which, to facilitate reading, percentages are reported.
- Un lexique raisonné de la compétence: Fragments de praxéologie (Action et savoir) (French Edition).
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- Echocardiography in Mitral Valve Disease.
- Journal metrics.
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It was noted that image-making language became noticeable beginning in the second half of BN , which coincided with the time the crisis appeared preponderantly in newspapers despite the fact that it was present even earlier. In subsequent periods, these two metaphors remained the most frequently found. As far as their occurrence in the different newspapers, metaphors linked to illness were more commonly used by Il Corriere della Sera in comparison to the others.
With regard to a lexical analysis of image-making language during the a period, Il Corriere della Sera frequently made reference to contagion contagio. During that same period, the image of abyss baratro was frequently used in Il Giornale. Reference was often made to images referring to a storm and blizzard tempesta and bufera in week 2 and b.
Crisis as a Social Representation
The global financial crisis is a phenomenon that has been debated for several years now, and numerous scholars have already attempted to analyse its causes and its implications. The current research examined how the Italian crisis was constructed by the mass media from a psychosocial point of view. The temporal evolution of the current Italian economic crisis as portrayed by several newspapers has been presented.
This was done by examining the phenomenon in terms of the frequency of titles dedicated to it and the distinctive lexical items used along time and across newspapers. As has been noted in the literature, much attention was dedicated to the crisis by newspapers beginning in the fall of cf.
INGV Roma2 | Il catalogo dei maremoti italiani
In accordance with studies cf. On the one hand, this study has made it possible to use diverse methods to confirm some results already presented in the literature, and, on the other, it has provided new data in the light of the long period of time that has been analysed. During the first period, the phenomenon was described using specific words, such as anticrisis or American crisis anticrisi or crisi americana , apparently indicating that at the beginning it was thought that a situation defined in negative terms fall, trouble, fears—caduta, guai, timori could be kept at bay.
The storm thus seemed distant and of interest primarily to the American economy. Then the contagion contagio took place; the metaphor gives the impression that the crisis could be transmitted in the same way as a virus. There is no doubt that the financial crisis was triggered, according to many scholars, by the inappropriate use of subprime mortgages and, more generally, to some economic factors regarding the American economy. In the attempt to observe whether and how the crisis was objectified, the language articulating the phenomenon through images was identified.
The crisis, which was naturalised, acquired its own autonomy. There were also many images comparing the crisis to a natural catastrophe, all high-impact metaphors evoking a representation of an event that, like a storm, we can only wait out and hope for the best. In their study, the crisis was portrayed in Spanish and English newspapers as a force of nature or with the characteristics of an agent.
As a turning point or as a transition period, a crisis can be seen as an opportunity for change and transformation, but the metaphors identified here, linked to illness and natural disasters, evoked events against which we are helpless. An examination of the lexicon described above seems to bear out this interpretation of the crisis as an autonomous phenomenon that has fallen upon the society, an inevitable disaster arriving from afar. SRs are strictly correlated to practices that condition and in turn are conditioned by how we move and act in our everyday interactions Jovchelovitch, A study conducted by Kondilis et al.
In general, a rhetorical construction and, consequently, the perception that is generated of an event can be instrumental in the decision to respond to it in an active rather than in a disheartened way. The lexicon of Il Corriere della Sera was largely associated to economic aspects. Il Giornale often used the crisis for policy-making, in fact in this newspaper the most distinctive lexicon concerns politics.
In Il Manifesto , differently from Il Corriere della Sera in which terminology concerning action referred to policies against the crisis, there is a call for action in terms of protest. Nevertheless, it seems that the different detected rhetorical strategies converge, conveying messages which change over time and imply—contributing to co-construct them—different attitudes and views by people in everyday life. First the crisis appears to refer to a distant context, suggesting indifference by citizens. Later the metaphor of contagion seems to involve individuals, but leaving them unprepared and stunned.
Lastly, the overwhelming crisis raises feelings of helplessness. As a word of caution, we have to take into account that our kind of analysis, focused on the lexicon, does not permit to identify some rhetorical devices and semantic nuances intrinsic to communication, such as irony. Different analyses could highlight these aspects, possibly pointing out major differences among the newspapers.
From this viewpoint, it would be useful to also examine stylistic differences between press and online news in the daily press in depth. Furthermore, although we focused on titles considering that their stylistic and content characteristics fit better with our purpose of analysis, we acknowledge that taking into account the entire text of the articles could highlight further nuances.
Finally, we raise the importance of reflecting on the risk of an uncritical use of metaphors in Italian newspapers. Indeed, the metaphors highlighted by our study can be considered a kind of iatrogenic communication tout court. Once these forms of language are hosted and shared within everyday thinking as ways to organize the understanding of events and to respond to them, negative self-fulfilling prophecies risk to be generated.
Therefore, a vicious circle might negatively affect several levels: If this scenario is the one which the rhetoric conveyed by media leads to, pragmatic psychosocial inquiries should also identify whether and how people succeed in challenging these constructions in their daily lives, expanding possible counter narratives. This research was focused on the SR of crisis as depicted and constructed in and by daily newspapers. Further studies could explore the SR of the economic crisis in everyday discourses, thus expanding our knowledge on the issue in relation to and possibly in contrast with the voice of media.
Quantitative and qualitative analysis of Romanian newspapers concerning the topic of global economic crisis. Sviluppi, esperienze ed elementi essenziali di analisi automatica dei testi [TaLTaC 2. La fabbrica delle notizie.
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Constructing social representations of science and technology: The role of metaphors in the press and the popular scientific magazines. Public Understanding of Science 13 4: Facing the economic crisis in Greece: The effects of grievances, real and perceived vulnerability, and emotions towards the crisis on reactions to austerity measures. Journal of Social Science Education 12 1: The role of the iconic-imaginary dimensions in the modelling approach to social representations.
Papers on Social Representations Social representations, metaphors and rhetorical figures in the media discourse from autumn until spring ]. Les Cahiers Internationaux de Psychologie Sociale Penser la vie, le social, la nature. La stampa quotidiana in Italia. I sociologi di fronte alla crisi: Democrazia, lavoro, disuguaglianze [Introduction. Sociologists in the face of the crisis: Sociologia del Lavoro The crisis of the money civilization]. Media images and the social construction of reality.
Annual Review of Sociology I is an other: The secret life of metaphor and how it shapes the way we see the world. Il ruolo dei media nella rappresentazione sociale della procreazione assistita [The role of the media in the social representation of assisted procreation]. Studi di Sociologia 36 3: La situazione del Paese [Annual report The situation of the country]. Linking science to common sense.