On Using Multiple Disabilities Profiles to Adapt Multimedia Documents

Currently, advanced technological hardware can offer mobile devices which fits in the hand with a capacity to consult documents at anytime and anywhere. Multiple user context constraints as well as mobile device capabilities may involve the adaptation of multimedia content. In this article, the authors propose a new graph-based method for adapting multimedia documents in complex situations. Each contextual situation could correspond to a physical handicap and therefore triggers an adaptation action using ontological reasoning. Consequently, when several contextual situations are identified, this leads to multiple disabilities and may give rise to inconsistency between triggered actions. Their method allows modeling relations between adaptation-actions to select the compatible triggerable ones. In order to evaluate the feasibility and the performance of their proposal, an experimental study has been made on some real scenarios. When tested and compared with some existing approaches, their proposal showed improvements according to various criteria.

Hitzeanpassung von Stadtquartieren: Akteursperspektiven und Umsetzungsansätze

Durch die projizierte globale Erwärmung werden sich Hitzeextreme verschärfen. Vor allem in den Städten wird die Lebensqualität der Stadtbevölkerung unter sommerlichen Hitzewellen leiden. Im Projekt HeatResilientCity werden bewohnerorientierte Hitzeanpassungsmaßnahmen an Gebäuden und im städtischen Freiraum entwickelt und geprüft sowie Empfehlungen für die Umsetzung gegeben.The HeatResilientCity project applied insights from natural sciences, engineering and the social sciences to develop heat adaptation measures, test their effectiveness and partially implement them in two structurally different real-world laboratories in Dresden-Gorbitz and Erfurt-Oststadt. The present article discusses interventions to plant street trees and to refurbish two different residential buildings. We describe and analyse aspects of the implementation process to identify key factors that enable or constrain adaptation action among different groups of actors. We find that adaptation measures that are objectively effective and supported by residents are most appropriate for implementation. Where residents evince scepticism about adaptation measures, information about their effectiveness and usefulness should be disseminated. Early and targeted involvement of relevant stakeholders, careful communication and the establishment of climate adaptation as a permanent interdepartmental task at municipal level can promote successful implementation of heat adaptation measures.

Climate change adaptation through spatial planning: the case study of the region of Western Macedonia

In this paper the compatibility and complementarity between the Regional Adaptation Action Plans (RAAPs) and other regional-scaled plans, such as the Regional Spatial Planning Frameworks (RSPFs), are examined, using as a case study the Region of Western Macedonia. The compatibility and complementarity of objectives, measures and tools between the RAAP and the RSPF of Western Macedonia are assessed. The analysis of the RAAP and the RSPF of Western Macedonia revealed the interconnection between spatial planning policies and adaptation to climate change policies. However, severe doubts are raised about the usability of the revised RSPF of Western Macedonia since it does not assess the crucial new conditions and priorities related to the region’s future development, including the de-lignification and the Just Transition initiatives.

Effective Communication on Local Adaptation: Considerations for Providers of Climate Change Advice and Support

HighlightsThere is a reduction in adaptation action despite science continuing to produce actionable material. Climate change adaptation advice and support must be salient, credible and legitimate among other things.

Conceptual Frameworks for Assessing Climate Change Effects on Urban Areas: A Scoping Review

Urban areas are amongst the most adversely affected regions by current and future climate change effects. One issue when it comes to measuring, for example, impacts, vulnerabilities, and resilience in preparation of adaptation action is the abundance of conceptual frameworks and associated definitions. Frequently, those definitions contradict each other and shift over time. Prominently, in the transition from the IPCC AR (International Panel on Climate Change Assessment Report) 4 to the IPCC AR 5, a number of conceptual understandings have changed. By integrating common concepts, the literature review presented intends to thoroughly investigate frameworks applied to assess climate change effects on urban areas, creating an evidence base for research and politically relevant adaptation. Thereby, questions concerning the temporal development of publication activity, the geographical scopes of studies and authors, and the dominant concepts as applied in the studies are addressed. A total of 50 publications is identified following screening titles, abstracts, and full texts successively based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Major findings derived from our literature corpus include a recently rising trend in the number of publications, a focus on Chinese cities, an imbalance in favor of authors from Europe and North America, a dominance of the concept of vulnerability, and a strong influence of the IPCC publications. However, confusion regarding various understandings remains. Future research should focus on mainstreaming and unifying conceptual frameworks and definitions as well as on conducting comparative studies.

Severity: a QoS-aware approach to cloud application elasticity

While a multitude of cloud vendors exist today offering flexible application hosting services, the application adaptation capabilities provided in terms of autoscaling are rather limited. In most cases, a static adaptation action is used having a fixed scaling response. In the cases that a dynamic adaptation action is provided, this is based on a single scaling variable. We propose Severity, a novel algorithmic approach aiding the adaptation of cloud applications. Based on the input of the DevOps, our approach detects situations, calculates their Severity and proposes adaptations which can lead to better application performance. Severity can be calculated for any number of application QoS attributes and any type of such attributes, whether bounded or unbounded. Evaluation with four distinct workload types and a variety of monitoring attributes shows that QoS for particular application categories is improved. The feasibility of our approach is demonstrated with a prototype implementation of an application adaptation manager, for which the source code is provided.

Climate effects on US infrastructure: the economics of adaptation for rail, roads, and coastal development

Changes in temperature, precipitation, sea level, and coastal storms will likely increase the vulnerability of infrastructure across the USA. Using models that analyze vulnerability, impacts, and adaptation, this paper estimates impacts to railroad, roads, and coastal properties under three infrastructure management response scenarios: No Adaptation; Reactive Adaptation, and Proactive Adaptation. Comparing damages under each of these potential responses provides strong support for facilitating effective adaptation in these three sectors. Under a high greenhouse gas emissions scenario and without adaptation, overall costs are projected to range in the $100s of billions annually by the end of this century. The first (reactive) tier of adaptation action, however, reduces costs by a factor of 10, and the second (proactive) tier reduces total costs across all three sectors to the low $10s of billions annually. For the rail and road sectors, estimated costs for Reactive and Proactive Adaptation scenarios capture a broader share of potential impacts, including selected indirect costs to rail and road users, and so are consistently about a factor of 2 higher than prior estimates. The results highlight the importance of considering climate risks in infrastructure planning and management.

Severity: A QoS-aware approach to cloud application elasticity

While a multitude of cloud vendors exist today offering flexible application hosting services, the application adaptation capabilities provided in terms of autoscaling are rather limited. In most cases, a static adaptation action is used having a fixed scaling response. In the cases that a dynamic adaptation action is provided, this is based on a single scaling variable. We propose Severity, a novel algorithmic approach aiding the adaptation of cloud applications. Based on the input of the DevOps, our approach detects situations, calculates their Severity and proposes adaptations which can lead to better application performance. Severity can be calculated for any number of application QoS attributes and any type of such attributes, whether bounded or unbounded. Evaluation with four distinct workload types and a variety of monitoring attributes shows that QoS for particular application categories is improved. The efficacy of our approach is demonstrated with a prototype implementation of an application adaptation manager, for which the source code is provided.

A rising tide of adaptation action: Comparing two coastal regions of Aotearoa-New Zealand

Diverse and contested local interests and the complexity of climate change make adaptation to climate change risks at the coast challenging. Even in similar settings, adaptation experiences and prospects can differ markedly. Why? This paper provides empirical evidence of comparative adaptation experiences in two regions of Aotearoa-New Zealand - the Coromandel Peninsula and the Hawke's Bay coast. We critically examine how local barriers and enablers influence the trajectory of adaptation in two regions that face similar risks, have essentially the same institutional architecture, and yet have had very different adaptation experiences. We investigate the situational differences and similarities, and their implications for adaptation in each region. We found that the evolution of adaptation is shaped by the perceptions of the actors, especially local authority leaders, and opportunities that arise at a context-specific point in time. Such perceptions and opportunities can amount to barriers in one location and enablers in another. Growing concern about coastal hazard risk, improving levels of trust and legitimacy, community engagement, and collaborative governance were key to innovative long-term adaptation planning in the Hawke's Bay but their absence has led to short-term business as usual practices in the Coromandel. Yet even in the latter case, change is underway and longer-term adaptation planning is commencing. We conclude that there is a ‘rising tide’ of adaptation action in the face of escalating climate risk – with long-term planning and local action triggered by cumulative hazard experience and / or extreme events that raise public concern and make climate change salient to local community members and leaders. Both local and regional interests and concerns shape local response appetites. Proactive, local authority-led engagement and long-term strategic planning are foundational for mobilizing effective adaptation responses. Enabling national policy, guidance and institutional provisions are key to prompting and sustaining such efforts, and to facilitating broad consistency in locally appropriate responses. Notwithstanding efforts to foster locally appropriate but nationally aligned adaptation responses, our research shows that coastal communities and their local authorities follow pathways consistent with local risk appetites, understanding about climate change, and the political will and capacity of local government to mobilize key governance actors around long-term strategic planning.

Defining the solution space to accelerate climate change adaptation

Decision makers need better insights about solutions to accelerate adaptation efforts. Defining the concept of solution space and revealing the forces and strategies that influence this space will enable decision makers to define pathways for adaptation action. [Figure not available: see fulltext.].