scholarly journals Dynamics of mercury content changes in snow in the heating season on the example of the city of Siedlce

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-24
Author(s):  
Joanna Jabłońska ◽  
Mariusz Kluska

Abstract The paper presents the results of research on the content of mercury in snow samples with the use of isotachophoresis. Snow samples were collected in December 2017 as well as in January and February 2018. Samples were collected in Siedlce in places where the individual heating of houses, mainly by hard coal, was visible. The highest mean content of mercury amounting to 0.36 μg/dm3 of water was determined in the snow samples collected in January 2018 in the Żwirowa housing development, and the lowest – 0.25 μg/dm3 in two housing developments: Nowe Siedlce and Topolowa, also collected in January. The snow samples collected in the Żwirowa housing development were characterised by the highest contamination with mercury compared to all the other samples collected for the analysis. The research is a continuation of pollution monitoring in the town of Siedlce in connection with the European Union recommendations on environmental protection and the ‘clean air’ programme implemented in Poland.

Author(s):  
ELMIRA AYSE GUR

The Fener-Balat districts, located in the Historical Peninsula, are among the most prominent historical and cultural sites in Istanbul. The rapid growth of the city since the 1950s, mostly due to rural migration, has affected the quality of life in various sections of the city including Fener and Balat, leaving them almost completely derelict. The Rehabilitation of Fener- Balat Districts Programme is a joint program of the European Union and the Fatih Municipality (sub-municipality of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality). It was carried out during the period between January 2003 and June 2007. Regeneration, revitalization and rehabilitation of historical urban centers, which have become degraded and dilapidated due to sub-urbanization has been successful in most cases. The gentrification process has also paralleled the resulting socio-economic revitalization and regeneration process. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine and investigate the rehabilitation process and its results in these districts, with special emphasis on the gentrification that occurred as a result of this process. In order to explore how the increase in housing prices in the historical residential Fener and Balat districts after the rehabilitation program affected the social structure and how this process resulted in undesired gentrification, a survey design was conducted and social and economic aspects in Fener-Balat has been analyzed and explored in depth with respect to the individual, immediate surroundings and the urban social structure. The resulting gentrification phase is more important than the preceding phases of revitalization and renovation, because it influences the housing market the most.


2003 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-169
Author(s):  
Paul R. J. Duffy ◽  
Olivia Lelong

Summary An archaeological excavation was carried out at Graham Street, Leith, Edinburgh by Glasgow University Archaeological Research Division (GUARD) as part of the Historic Scotland Human Remains Call-off Contract following the discovery of human remains during machine excavation of a foundation trench for a new housing development. Excavation demonstrated that the burial was that of a young adult male who had been interred in a supine position with his head orientated towards the north. Radiocarbon dates obtained from a right tibia suggest the individual died between the 15th and 17th centuries AD. Little contextual information exists in documentary or cartographic sources to supplement this scant physical evidence. Accordingly, it is difficult to further refine the context of burial, although a possible link with a historically attested siege or a plague cannot be discounted.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (10) ◽  
pp. 3-18
Author(s):  
Valeriy HEYETS ◽  

Self-realization of the individual in the conditions of using the policy of “social quality” as a modern tool of public administration in a transitional society is largely related to overcoming the existing limitations of the individual in acting in such a society and economy transitioning to a market character. Given that, in particular, in Ukraine the market is hybrid (and this is especially important), the existing limitations in self-realization of the individual must be overcome, including, and perhaps primarily, through transformations in the processes of socialization, which differ from European practices and institutions that ensure its implementation. Thus, it is a matter of overcoming not only and not so much the natural selfish interests of the individual, but the existing gap in skills, which are an invisible asset to ensure the endogenous nature of economic growth. It is shown that there is an inverse relationship between the formation of socialization and the policy of “social quality”, which is characterized by the dialectic of interaction between the individual and the group and which is a process of increasing the degree of socialization. The latter, due to interdependence, will serve to increase the effectiveness of interaction between the individual and the group, which expands the possibilities of self-realization of the individual in terms of European policy of “social quality” as a tool of public administration, whose successful application causes new challenges and content of the so-called secondary sociology. The logic of Ukraine's current development shows that new approaches are needed to achieve the social development goals set out in the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union and to minimize the potential risks and threats that accompany current reforms in Ukrainian society. They should introduce new forms of public administration to create policy interrelationships of all dimensions, as proposed, in particular, by the social quality approach to socialization, the nature of which has been revealed in the author's previous publications. As a result, the socio-cultural (social) dimension will fundamentally change, the structure of which must include the transformational processes of socialization of a person, thanks to which they will learn the basics of life in the new social reality and intensify their social and economic interaction on the basis of self-realization, thereby contributing to the success of state policy of social quality and achieving stable socio-economic development.


Author(s):  
I. V. May ◽  
A. A. Kokoulina ◽  
S. Yu. Balashov

Introduction. The city of Chita of Zabaikalsky region is one of the cities of Russia, priority on level of pollution of atmosphere. Of the order of 130 impurities emitted by the sources of the city, 12 are monitored at 5 posts of the Roshydromet network. Maximum monthly average concentrations are formed by benz (a) pyrene (up to 56.8 MPC), hydrogen sulfide (12.3 MPC), suspended particles (up to 4PDC), phenol (up to 3.6 MPC). Significant emissions (59.73 thousand tons in 2018) are aggravated by the use of coal as a fuel by heat and power enterprises and the private sector, climatic and geographical features. Within the framework of the Federal project “Clean Air” of the national project “Ecology”, it is envisaged to reduce the gross emission of pollutants into the atmosphere of Chita by 8.75 thousand tons by 2024, which should lead to a significant improvement in the safety and quality of life of citizens. It is necessary to identify the most “risky “components of pollution for health.It is important to understand: whether the environmental monitoring system reflects the real picture of the dangers posed by pollution of the city’s atmosphere; whether there is a need to optimize the monitoring system for the subsequent assessment of the effectiveness and efficiency of measures; what impurities and at what points should be monitored in the interests of the population, administration and economic entities implementing air protection measures.The aim of the study is to develop recommendations for optimizing the program of environmental monitoring of air quality in the city of Chita, taking into account the criteria of danger to public health for the subsequent evaluation of the effectiveness and effectiveness of the Federal project “Clean Air”.Materials and methods. Justification of optimization of monitoring programs was carried out through the calculation of hazard indices, considering: the mass of emissions and toxicological characteristics of each chemical; the population under the influence. A vector map of the city with a layer “population density” was used as a topographic base. The indices were calculated for regular grid cells covering the residential area. For each cell, the repeatability of winds of 8 points from the priority enterprises and the population within the calculated cell were taken into account. As a result, each calculation cell was characterized by a total coefficient, taking into account the danger of potential impacts of emissions. Based on the results of the assessments, recommendations were formulated to optimize the placement of posts in the city and the formation of monitoring programs.Results. Indices of carcinogenic danger to the health of the population of Chita ranged from 584,805. 96 to 0.03 (priorities: carbon (soot), benzene, benz (a) pyrene); indices of non-carcinogenic danger — from 1,443,558. 24 to 0.00 (priorities: sulfur dioxide, inorganic dust containing 70–20% SiO2, fuel oil ash). The greatest danger to public health stationary sources of emissions form in the North-Western, Western and South-Eastern parts of the city. Roshydromet posts in these zones are absent.Conclusions. As part of the objectives of the project “Clean Air”, it is recommended to Supplement the existing state network of observations of atmospheric air quality in Chita with two posts; to include manganese, xylene, vanadium pentoxide in the monitoring programs, to carry out the determination of Benz(a)pyrene et all posts, which will allow to fully and adequately assess the danger of emissions of economic entities, as well as the effectiveness and efficiency of the provided air protection measures.


Author(s):  
John Gray ◽  
Mike Baynham

This chapter considers the phenomenon of queer migration from a linguistic perspective, paying particular attention to the constitutive role of spatial mobility in narrative and its role in the construction of queer migrant identities. The chapter begins by looking at the way in which queer migration has been discussed in the literature and then moves on to address three different types of queer migration in greater depth: migration within national borders from the village/countryside to the city; migration between cities in member states within the context of the European Union; and finally, asylum-seeking within the context of migration from the Global South to the Global North. The chapter concludes by suggesting that queer migration is a complex phenomenon in which the intersection of sexuality, gender identity, desire, affect, abjection, economic necessity, class, politics, and fear for one’s life combine in ways that are unique in the lives of individual migrants.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (7) ◽  
pp. 2030
Author(s):  
Marianna Jacyna ◽  
Renata Żochowska ◽  
Aleksander Sobota ◽  
Mariusz Wasiak

In recent years, policymakers of urban agglomerations in various regions of the world have been striving to reduce environmental pollution from harmful exhaust and noise emissions. Restrictions on conventional vehicles entering the inner city are being introduced and the introduction of low-emission measures, including electric ones, is being promoted. This paper presents a method for scenario analysis applied to study the reduction of exhaust emissions by introducing electric vehicles in a selected city. The original scenario analyses relating to real problems faced by contemporary metropolitan areas are based on the VISUM tool (PTV Headquarters for Europe: PTV Planung Transport Verkehr AG, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany). For the case study, the transport model of the city of Bielsko-Biala (Poland) was used to conduct experiments with different forms of participation of electric vehicles on the one hand and traffic restrictions for high emission vehicles on the other hand. Scenario analyses were conducted for various constraint options including inbound, outbound, and through traffic. Travel time for specific transport relations and the volume of harmful emissions were used as criteria for evaluating scenarios of limited accessibility to city zones for selected types of vehicles. The comparative analyses carried out showed that the introduction of electric vehicles in the inner city resulted in a significant reduction in the emission of harmful exhaust compounds and, consequently, in an increase in the area of clean air in the city. The case study and its results provide some valuable insights and may guide decision-makers in their actions to introduce both driving ban restrictions for high-emission vehicles and incentives for the use of electric vehicles for city residents.


Author(s):  
Dimitris Zavras

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in significant uncertainty for the global population. However, since not all population groups experience the impacts of the pandemic in the same way, the objective of this study was to identify the individual characteristics associated with the feeling of uncertainty during the lockdown that commenced in March 2020 in Greece. The study used data from the “Public Opinion in the European Union (EU) in Time of Coronavirus Crisis” survey. The sample consisted of 1050 individuals aged between 16 and 54 years. According to the analysis, which was based on a logistic regression model, the emotional status of older individuals, those who experienced income and job losses since the beginning of the pandemic, and middle-class and high-class individuals, is more likely to be described as a feeling of uncertainty. In addition, the emotional status of individuals with less concern for their own health and that of family and friends is less likely to be described as a feeling of uncertainty. Although the results related to age, income, and job losses, as regards concern for health, agree with the international literature, the limited health literacy of lower-class individuals may explain the reduced likelihood of their experiencing feelings of uncertainty. The results confirm the international literature describing several aspects of uncertainty due to the COVID-19 crisis.


Buildings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 168
Author(s):  
Alessandra Cireddu

New vertical housing developments in Guadalajara (Mexico) are reaching the city center as a response for redensification after many years of expansion of the urban area characterized by a suburban, low density and fragmented pattern. This horizontal growth, dominated by use of the automobile as prevailing mode of transport, has proven to be unsustainable not only from an environmental point of view, but also from a social perspective where the “human scale” of the city has been affected, same as the daily life of its inhabitants. On the other hand, vertical housing proposals are by their very nature associated with concepts of redensification, compact city and collective living; the aim of this article is to analyze some new housing developments in Guadalajara downtown in order to evaluate to what extent the new buildings embody a more sustainable, livable and collective dwelling, to discuss findings, successes and failures and thus be able to contribute some conclusions and open a broader reflection about contemporary housing, urban density and downtown redevelopment in Latin America cities through collective and sustainable dwelling.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jakub Jurasz ◽  
Jerzy Mikulik

Polish energy sector is (almost from its origin) dominated by fossil fuel feed power. This situation results from an abundance of relatively cheap coal (hard and lignite). Brown coal due to its nature is the cheapest energy source in Poland. However, hard coal which fuels 60% of polish power plants is picking up on prices and is susceptible to the coal imported from neighboring countries. Forced by the European Union (EU) regulations, Poland is struggling at achieving its goal of reaching 15% of energy consumption from renewable energy sources (RES) by 2020. Over the year 2015, RES covered 11.3% of gross energy consumption but this generation was dominated by solid biomass (over 80%). The aim of this paper was to answer the following research questions: What is the relation of irradiation values to the power load on a yearly and daily basis? and how should photovoltaics (PV) be integrated in the polish power system? Conducted analysis allowed us to state that there exists a negative correlation between power demand and irradiation values on a yearly basis, but this is likely to change in the future. Secondly, on average, daily values of irradiation tend to follow power load curve over the first hours of the day.


2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ioannis Chorianopoulos ◽  
Naya Tselepi

This paper explores the urban politics of austerity in Greece, paying particular attention to ‘local collaboration’. It revisits the key austerity periods noted in the country since accession to the European Union (1981), and marks their impact in redefining central–local relations, amidst a broader rescaling endeavour. A direct link is identified between austerity-oriented pre-occupations and the introduction of territorial regulatory experimentations that rest heavily on local-level collaboration and competitiveness. The overall record of partnerships, however, has been appraised, up until recently, as underdeveloped. From this spectrum, we look at the latest re-organization of state spatial contour (2010). The influence of this rescaling attempt on local relational attributes is explored in Athens, in light of the emergent re-shuffling in the scalar balance of power rendering austerity pre-occupations a firm trait of the emerging regulatory arrangement. Examination focuses on key social policy programmes launched recently by the City in an attempt to ameliorate extreme poverty and social despair. In Athens, it is argued, a financially and regulatorily deprivileged local authority is opening up to the influence of corporate and third sector organizations. It adopts a partnership approach that is best understood as a form of ‘elite pluralism’, undermining local political agency and falling short in addressing social deprivation.


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