Sorry Not Sorry: (Non-) Apology, Satire, and the Vacuum

This essay considers the theme of apology and what happens when the demand for apology is subverted, using the Vacuum newspaper as a case study. I consider the argument that played out in 2004 between the Vacuum and Belfast City Council, which partially funded its production. The Vacuum’s publication of themed double issues entitled ‘God’ and ‘Satan’ provoked the ire of conservative Council Members who proposed that the publication's editors must apologize to Members of the Council and the citizens of Belfast for the offence they had caused. In so doing, the publication secured its place as one of the most controversial Northern Irish print publications of recent years. In their response to the Council’s demand – a themed ‘Sorry’ issue – the Vacuum’s editors struck a defiant tone. Media discourse around the ‘Sorry’ issue of the Vacuum has centred on the element of public spectacle it generated, but this essay represents a reconsideration of its importance. I read it as informed by an ethics of resistance. By refusing to be co-opted into making a sham apology, the ‘Sorry’ issue illuminates the crucial importance of apology in the place and time of its production – in a country still reeling from the violence of the Troubles.

Increased mask adherence after important politician infected with COVID-19

Objectives To quantify changes in adherence to mask and distancing guidelines in outdoor settings in Philadelphia, PA before and after President Trump announced he was infected with COVID-19. Methods We used Systematic Observation of Masking Adherence and Distancing (SOMAD) to assess mask adherence in parks, playgrounds, and commercial streets in the 10 City Council districts in Philadelphia PA. We compared adherence rates between August and September 2020 and after October 2, 2020. Results Disparities in mask adherence existed by age group, gender, and race/ethnicity, with females wearing masks correctly more often than males, seniors having higher mask use than other age groups, and Asians having higher adherence than other race/ethnicities. Correct mask use did not increase after the City released additional mask guidance in September but did after Oct 2. Incorrect mask use also decreased, but the percentage not having masks at all was unchanged. Conclusions Vulnerability of leadership appears to influence population behavior. Public health departments likely need more resources to effectively and persuasively communicate critical safety messages related to COVID-19 transmission.

A Multiview Semantic Vegetation Index for Robust Estimation of Urban Vegetation Cover

Urban vegetation growth is vital for developing sustainable and liveable cities in the contemporary era since it directly helps people’s health and well-being. Estimating vegetation cover and biomass is commonly done by calculating various vegetation indices for automated urban vegetation management and monitoring. However, most of these indices fail to capture robust estimation of vegetation cover due to their inherent focus on colour attributes with limited viewpoint and ignore seasonal changes. To solve this limitation, this article proposed a novel vegetation index called the Multiview Semantic Vegetation Index (MSVI), which is robust to color, viewpoint, and seasonal variations. Moreover, it can be applied directly to RGB images. This Multiview Semantic Vegetation Index (MSVI) is based on deep semantic segmentation and multiview field coverage and can be integrated into any vegetation management platform. This index has been tested on Google Street View (GSV) imagery of Wyndham City Council, Melbourne, Australia. The experiments and training achieved an overall pixel accuracy of 89.4% and 92.4% for FCN and U-Net, respectively. Thus, the MSVI can be a helpful instrument for analysing urban forestry and vegetation biomass since it provides an accurate and reliable objective method for assessing the plant cover at street level.

Le rôle des pȃturages communaux dans l’agriculture de Pécs à l’époque du dualisme

The purpose of the study. To show the role of pastoral animal husbandry in dualism in a large Hungarian city where the majority of the population lived from industry, trade, mining and transport. How did the city assembly approach the maintenance of the pasture that made up part of the land. Applied methods. We examined the archives of the Baranya County Archives of the Hungarian National Archives, the archives of the city assembly and the city council, the accounting office, the economic supervision, the city regulations and cadastral maps, documents and maps, and we reviewed the local press. Literature and statistical data were compared with the opinions of contemporaries. Outcomes. Research has convincingly demonstrated that pasturage was essential to the lifestyles of the poorer, more self-exploiting suburban residents in particular, and even in the 1910s, most cattle were driven out to Megyeri and Szigeti suburban pastures. In our period, however, the area of pastures decreased significantly due to the conversion of pastures into arable land and meadows, the expansion of the city, and the needs of the military (training ground, shooting range).

Erosion of Professional Integrity: The Collapse of the Canterbury TV Building in Christchurch on 22 February 2011

From 4 September 2010 on, a series of earthquakes shattered New Zealand for more than one year the most devastating of which caused the Canterbury TV (CTV) building in downtown Christchurch to collapse on 22 February 2011. One hundred and fifteen people were killed. A Royal Commission found out that, in 1986, the Christchurch City Council (CCC) had granted a building permit despite concerns about structural design issues. Moreover, the authority did not insist on structural analyses of the building after the initial earthquake of 4 September 2010. Thorough investigations after the disaster of 22 February 2011 revealed that the early concerns about insufficient joints between floors and shear walls had been entirely justified since the failure of the joints, according to all likelihood, had triggered the collapse of the building.

3D survey and virtual reconstruction of heritage. The case study of the City Council and Lonja of Alcañiz

With current data acquisition techniques, exhaustive documentation of patrimonial goods is generated, which allows obtaining a 3D geometric model, on which data from research from research is generated. As in other fields of architecture, the latest graphic techniques and manipulation of the image, allow a working methodology other than the current one in the patrimonial field. The information systems have been evolving towards technologies developed with open source software, the use of standards, ontologies and the structuring of information and of the 3D model itself under a semantic hierarchy. Interoperability between databases is favored and the maintenance of applications is ensured. The purpose is to support decision-making related to the model and simultaneously, serve multiple purposes such as cataloging, protection, restoration, conservation, maintenance or dissemination, among others. The research carried out for the realization of the survey of the City Council and Lonja of Alcañiz (Teruel), has the aim of expanding the historical knowledge of the buildings and delimiting its possible constructive phases, in order to obtain the geometric reality of the buildings. In this way, provide greater instruments to carry out the drafting work of the set restoration project.

Hepatitis E outbreak in Namibia

Hepatitis E is a deadly infectious disease that can easily spread in a community that has poor sanitary conditions. Cases of hepatitis E infection has been reported in the informal settings of Windhoek, Namibia and the City Council swoop in to improve the sanitary conditions in these areas. The current study sought to know the knowledge of residents of the city concerning issues surrounding hepatis E infection.

El distrito cultural y creativo del Digbeth (Birmingham, Reino Unido) y sus planes de regeneración urbana

The object of study of this research is the Digbeth cultural and creative district, located in Birmingham, United Kingdom. The main objective is to analyze the urban regeneration processes and the different plans proposed by different entities to restore and revitalize the area. To achieve this, different data collection techniques have been used, such as in-depth interviews, in which the model developed by Charmaz and Belgrave (2014) was followed; the bibliographic review of primary and secondary sources and the participant observation as a complete observer. As a result, a scrupulous analysis is carried out of the urban regeneration plans that the Birmingham City Council has proposed regarding the Eastside area, where Digbeth is located, such as the Big City Plan (Birmingham City Council, 2011), the Birmingham Development Plan 2031 (Birmingham City Council, 2017) and specific redevelopment plans for the area, such as the Curzon Investment Plan (Birmingham City Council, 2016). Likewise, the different regeneration plans developed by private initiatives such as Oval Real Estate for Digbeth are considered, analyzed and detailed, as well as the strategic visions and specific proposals for the regeneration of the area. Esta investigación tiene como objeto de estudio el distrito cultural y creativo del Digbeth, situado en Birmingham, Reino Unido. Su principal objetivo es analizar los procesos de regeneración urbana y los diferentes planes propuestos por diferentes entes con la finalidad de rehabilitar y revitalizar el área. Para ello, se han usado diferentes técnicas de recolección de datos, como las entrevistas en profundidad, en las que se siguió el esquema de preguntas desarrollado por Charmaz y Belgrave (2014); la revisión bibliográfica tanto de fuentes primarias como secundarias y la observación participante, con carácter de observador completo. Como resultado, se realiza un escrupuloso análisis de los planes de regeneración urbana que el Ayuntamiento de la Birmingham plantea vinculados a la zona del Eastside, en la que se encuentra el Digbeth, como son el Big City Plan (Birmingham City Council, 2011), el Birmingham Development Plan 2031 (Birmingham City Council, 2017) y planes específicos para la remodelación para el área, como el Curzon Investment Plan (Birmingham City Council, 2016). Igualmente, se consideran, analizan y detallan los diferentes planes de regeneración desarrollados por iniciativas privadas como Oval Real Estate para el Digbeth, así como las visiones estrategias y las propuestas específicas de regeneración del área.