Strategic Monitoring Research Articles

Analysis of production and investment efficiency in the Mexican food industry: Application of two-stage DEA

The food industry in Mexico is a precarious sector and lags behind other manufacturing industries, it is made up mainly of small and medium-sized enterprises. Its importance in the food assurance of the country requires strategic monitoring of the yield and efficiency variables that allow successful interventions to improve results. Commonly, the efficiency in the agriculture sector is evaluated as a one-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA) process using a specific set of variables. In this article, we applied a two-stage process to evaluate the efficiency in the Mexican food industry. The first stage evaluates the efficiency of the production, whereas the second stage evaluates the efficiency of investments in the sector. The process is demonstrated on a sample of 1 672 Mexican municipalities using data from 2014 and 2019 Census. The results indicate a growth in production efficiency with significant differences between regions. Moreover, the results also revealed very low investment efficiency in the whole food sector with a negative tendency.

A strategic monitoring approach for learning to improve natural infrastructure

Natural infrastructure (NI) development, including ecosystem restoration, is an increasingly popular approach to leverage ecosystem services for sustainable development, climate resilience, and biodiversity conservation goals. Although implementation and planning for these tools is accelerating, there is a critical need for effective post-implementation monitoring to accumulate performance data and evidence for best practices. The complexity and longer time scales associated with NI, compounded by differing disciplinary definitions and concepts of monitoring necessitate a deliberate and strategic approach to monitoring that encompasses different timeframes and objectives. This paper outlines a typology of monitoring classes differentiated by temporal scale, purpose of data collection, the information benefits of monitoring, and the responsible party. Next, we provide a framework and practical guidelines for designing monitoring plans for NI around learning objectives. In particular, we emphasize conducting research and development monitoring, which provides scientifically rigorous evidence for methodological improvement beyond the project scale. Wherever feasible, and where NI tools are relatively new and untested, such monitoring should avoid wasted effort and ensure progress and refinement of methodology and practice over time. Finally, we propose institutional changes that would promote greater adoption of research and development monitoring to increase the evidence base for NI implementation at larger scales.

The competitiveness factors of photovoltaic installers companies and a BSC model

Electricity generation through photovoltaic technology is promising worldwide. The agent responsible for developing the PV system market is the installer company. The installer designs and installs PV systems for customers, and it is regularly the intermediate diffuser for this technology. In some countries, the installers are considered new and inexperienced companies. In other countries, installing PV systems is already widespread, and many companies compete to sell. In the scenario of low diffusion and high competitiveness, companies must reflect on their competitive position and attempt to maximize their profits in sales of PV systems. This article aims to identify photovoltaic energy installers' competitive factors and model them for companies' strategic monitoring. We selected 39 factors in a systematic literature review, discussing and organizing them in a strategic model, the Balanced Scorecard (BSC). We define cause-effect relationships between the factors' dimensions and develop a strategic objective for each factor. Strategic objectives that the installer company should achieve in order to increase its competitiveness. Finally, we developed suggestions from Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to quantify competitive factors. Thus, the BSC model and KPIs contribute to reflection and learning by installers companies. The installer can provide consistent improvement in their competitiveness and diffusion of PV systems by studying this BSC model.

Strategic monitoring in the judicial decisions of the European Court of Human Rights

1. Garlicki L., Artykuł 8 [Prawo do poszanowania życia prywatnego i rodzinnego] [w:] Konwencja o Ochronie Praw Człowieka i Podstawowych Wolności, t. 1, Komentarz do art. 1–18, red. L. Garlicki, P. Hofmański, A. Wróbel, Warszawa 2010. Google Scholar

Strategic environmental assessment monitoring: the enduring forgotten sibling

ABSTRACT Monitoring in Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is central to determining whether the assessment outcomes and associated mitigation measures have had the desired effect and the environment has been protected on the ground. Despite the critical role this procedural stage plays, and the international attempts to advance practice in this area, monitoring continues to be poorly performed 20 years on from the implementation of the European SEA Directive. Several frameworks and approaches can be found in the academic literature, but many are conceptual and arguably fail to provide pragmatic unsophisticated solutions that are readily implementable in practice. This paper attempts to address this by first outlining common issues reported in the academic literature in the last two decades, then highlighting ongoing issues, as identified in two recent Irish research projects, such as poor definition of monitoring indicators and lack of integration of monitoring commitments into plans/programmes. It then puts forward a set of recommendations intended to foster a practical and sensible approach to kick monitoring into action.

Assessing the Role of Sampling Uncertainty When Predicting Behavioral Responses of Tagged Cetaceans Exposed to Naval Sonar

Concerns over cetacean mortality events coincident with maritime warfare exercises have motivated efforts to characterize the effects of anthropogenic noise on free-ranging whales and dolphins. By monitoring the movement, diving, and acoustic behaviors of individual whales before, during, and after sound exposure, behavioral response studies (BRSs) have supported significant progress in our understanding of the sensitivity of various cetacean species to high-powered naval sonar signals. However, differences in the designs and sampling capabilities of animal-borne tags typically used in BRS experiments prompt questions about the influence of data resolution in quantitative assessments of noise impacts. We conducted simulations to examine how uncertainty in the acoustic dose either measured on high-resolution multi-sensor biologging tags or modeled from position-transmitting satellite telemetry tags may affect predictions of behavioral responses in Cuvier’s beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris) exposed to low- and mid-frequency active sonar. We considered an array of scenarios representative of real-world BRSs and used posterior estimates of dose-response functions obtained under an established Bayesian hierarchical modeling framework to explore the consequences of different tag choices for management decision-making. Our results indicate that (1) the zone of impact from a sonar source is under-estimated in most test conditions, (2) substantial reductions in the uncertainty surrounding dose-response relationships are possible at higher sample sizes, and (3) this largely holds true irrespective of tag choice under the scenarios considered, unless positional fixes from satellite tags are consistently poor. Strategic monitoring approaches that combine both archival biologging and satellite biotelemetry are essential for characterizing complex patterns of behavioral change in cetaceans exposed to increasing levels of acoustic disturbance. We suggest ways in which BRS protocols can be optimized to curtail the effects of uncertainty.

Assessment of prospective memory after stroke utilizing virtual reality

Prospective Memory (PM) is the ability to remember to do something in the future. It is often impaired after stroke and can impact on an individual’s level of independence and daily functioning. PM tasks have been criticized for their lack of ecological validity wherein test results may not be related to actual performance in daily life. With ecological validity in mind, the Virtual Reality Prospective Memory Shopping Task (VRPMST) was designed to assess two types of PM, time- and event-based. This study aimed to examine the ecological and convergent validity of the VRPMST in comparison to an experimental (Lexical Decision PM Task) and clinical measure of PM (Cambridge PM Test). Twelve individuals with stroke and 12 controls were administered three PM measures, three neuropsychological measures, and two user-friendliness questionnaires, one for the experimental PM measure and one for the VRPMST. Individuals with stroke showed impairments in PM compared to controls on all three PM measures, particularly time-based PM. Individuals with stroke were found to monitor time significantly less than controls on both the experimental PM measure and the VRPMST. The VRPMST was found to be sensitive in measuring PM, have better ecological validity when compared to the experimental PM measure, and good convergent validity. The findings of this study have helped to clarify that PM impairment does exist after stroke, possibly due to a problem in strategic monitoring. In addition, we have demonstrated how VR technology can be used to design a measure of cognitive function commonly impaired after stroke.

An old problem revisited: How sensitive is time-based prospective memory to age-related differences?

Prospective memory (PM) tasks that impose strong demands on strategic monitoring decline more in late adulthood relative to tasks dependent on more automatic cue detection processes. This finding has proven robust to numerous manipulations, with one exception: time-based PM. However, conventional time-based tasks may inadvertently present time-related yet still event-based cues. At the same time, prior studies have failed to consider whether time-based age differences vary according to the degree of deliberate strategic processing required to access these cues. In this study, 53 younger and 40 older participants completed three time-based PM conditions in which a response had to be executed when a sand timer completed a cycle. In one condition, this timer could only be accessed by explicit, deliberate monitoring (by pressing a specific key), in a second, it could also be accessed more perfunctorily (simply by altering ones' visual focus)-and in the third, could not be accessed at all (forcing participants to rely solely on internal temporal estimation processes). Negative age differences emerged in both conditions where participants were able to access the timer, but not in the condition where the timer was hidden. These data provide novel evidence of age-related preservation in at least some aspects of the temporal processing required to support time-based PM. They also suggest that younger and older adults can and do engage in monitoring when given this option, but that only the former group may be able to benefit, even when this monitoring can be conducted relatively perfunctorily. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Short-term mortality from HIV-infected persons diagnosed from 2012 to 2016: Impact of late diagnosis of HIV infection.

We investigated the temporal trends of short-term mortality (death within 1 year of diagnosis) and cause-specific deaths in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected persons by stage of HIV infection at diagnosis. We also assessed the impact of late diagnosis (LD) on short-term mortality.Epidemiological records of HIV-infected Singapore residents from the National HIV Registry were linked to death records from the Registry of Births and Deaths for observational analyses. Newly-diagnosed HIV cases with available cluster of differentiation 4 count at time of diagnosis in a 5-year period from 2012 to 2016 were included in the study. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of LD for all deaths excluding suicides and self-inflicted or accidental injuries, and HIV/ acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-related deaths occurring within 1 year post-diagnosis were calculated using Cox proportional hazards regression models with adjustment for age at HIV/AIDS diagnosis. Population attributable risk proportions (PARPs) were then calculated using the adjusted HRs.Of the 1990 newly-diagnosed HIV cases included in the study, 7.2% had died by end of 2017, giving an overall mortality rate of 2.16 per 100 person-years (PY) (95% CI 1.82–2.54). The mortality rate was 3.81 per 100 PY (95% CI 3.15–4.56) in HIV cases with LD, compared with 0.71 (95% CI 0.46–1.05) in non-LD (nLD) cases. Short-term mortality was significantly higher in LD (9.1%) than nLD cases (1.1%). Of the 143 deaths reported between 2012 and 2017, 58.0% were HIV/AIDS-related (nLD 28.0% vs LD 64.4%). HIV/AIDS-related causes represented 70.4% of all deaths which occurred during the first year of diagnosis (nLD 36.4% vs LD 74.7%). The PARP of short-term mortality due to LD was 77.8% for all deaths by natural causes, and 87.8% for HIV/AIDS-related deaths.The mortality rate of HIV-infected persons with LD was higher than nLD, especially within 1 year of diagnosis, and HIV/AIDS-related causes constituted majority of these deaths. To reduce short-term mortality, persons at high risk of late-stage HIV infection should be targeted in outreach efforts to promote health screening and remove barriers to HIV testing and treatment.

Strategic monitoring informs wilderness management and socioecological benefits

AbstractFederally designated wilderness areas in the US are mandated to fulfill social and ecological goals. Long‐term monitoring is key to this mandate, yet is seldom consistent across boundaries. Our purpose is to compile literature and data to examine the utility of a strategic forest inventory for meeting wilderness management objectives and for enabling coordinated interagency responses to boundary‐crossing challenges (e.g., pollution, wildfires, plant invasions, global changes). We provide examples from a national forest inventory (NFI), which provides nationally consistent information that helps stakeholders comply with protected‐areas policy, reduce risks to public safety, define economic opportunities, guide conservation efforts and forecast key ecological processes. For example, the NFI has helped detect long‐distance air‐pollution, document high‐elevation whitebark pine declines and evaluate the risk of wilderness fires spreading to adjacent lands and private property. We identify opportunities to improve monitoring by expanding existing measurements of nonforest ecosystems and linking supplemental monitoring efforts to the existing framework. Though the NFI alone cannot fulfill all monitoring functions, strategic monitoring enables effective wilderness management by revealing socioecological feedbacks between human communities and the wildlands on which they depend.

Hydromorphological and socio-cultural assessment of urban rivers to promote nature-based solutions in Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic

In Latin America and the Caribbean, river restoration projects are increasing, but many lack strategic planning and monitoring. We tested the applicability of a rapid visual social–ecological stream assessment method for restoration planning, complemented by a citizen survey on perceptions and uses of blue and green infrastructure. We applied the method at three urban streams in Jarabacoa (Dominican Republic) to identify and prioritize preferred areas for nature-based solutions. The method provides spatially explicit information for strategic river restoration planning, and its efficiency makes it suitable for use in data-poor contexts. It identifies well-preserved, moderately altered, and critically impaired areas regarding their hydromorphological and socio-cultural conditions, as well as demands on green and blue infrastructure. The transferability of the method can be improved by defining reference states for assessing the hydromorphology of tropical rivers, refining socio-cultural parameters to better address river services and widespread urban challenges, and balancing trade-offs between ecological and social restoration goals.

Fire and Its Interactions With Other Drivers Shape a Distinctive, Semi-Arid ‘Mallee’ Ecosystem

Fire shapes ecosystems globally, including semi-arid ecosystems. In Australia, semi-arid ‘mallee’ ecosystems occur primarily across the southern part of the continent, forming an interface between the arid interior and temperate south. Mallee vegetation is characterized by short, multi-stemmed eucalypts that grow from a basal lignotuber. Fire shapes the structure and functioning of mallee ecosystems. Using the Murray Mallee region in south-eastern Australia as a case study, we examine the characteristics and role of fire, the consequences for biota, and the interaction of fire with other drivers. Wildfires in mallee ecosystems typically are large (1000s ha), burn with high severity, commonly cause top-kill of eucalypts, and create coarse-grained mosaics at a regional scale. Wildfires can occur in late spring and summer in both dry and wet years. Recovery of plant and animal communities is predictable and slow, with regeneration of eucalypts and many habitat components extending over decades. Time since the last fire strongly influences the distribution and abundance of many species and the structure of plant and animal communities. Animal species display a discrete set of generalized responses to time since fire. Systematic field studies and modeling are beginning to reveal how spatial variation in fire regimes (‘pyrodiversity’) at different scales shapes biodiversity. Pyrodiversity includes variation in the extent of post-fire habitats, the diversity of post-fire age-classes and their configuration. At regional scales, a desirable mix of fire histories for biodiversity conservation includes a combination of early, mid and late post-fire age-classes, weighted toward later seral stages that provide critical habitat for threatened species. Biodiversity is also influenced by interactions between fire and other drivers, including land clearing, rainfall, herbivory and predation. Extensive clearing for agriculture has altered the nature and impact of fire, and facilitated invasion by pest species that modify fuels, fire regimes and post-fire recovery. Given the natural and anthropogenic drivers of fire and the consequences of their interactions, we highlight opportunities for conserving mallee ecosystems. These include learning from and fostering Indigenous knowledge of fire, implementing actions that consider synergies between fire and other processes, and strategic monitoring of fire, biodiversity and other drivers to guide place-based, adaptive management under climate change.

Principal directions for improving the mechanism for ensuring food security of the Republic of Belarus

Food security largely determines stability of the entire economic system. The Republic of Belarus overcame the deficiency and ensured food security, as well as formed a significant export potential in the agri-food sector of the economy. In this regard, outside views on the Belarusian model of ensuring food security are of particular interest. There is an objective need to ensure undeniable competitive advantages of domestic food products in terms of quality safety, expanding the marketing potential of Belarusian products in the domestic and foreign markets, and effectively integrating the national agro-industrial complex into the global market space. The paper presents conceptual directions for improving the mechanism for ensuring food security of the Republic of Belarus. Trends of physical and economic availability of food in the domestic market, some destructive factors and potential threats have been revealed. Feasibility of developing national plan for implementation of provisions of the Doctrine and the principles of its arrangement have been substantiated, including: consistency with the model of ensuring national food security and independence; compliance with the criteria for sustainable development of the social-and-economic system of the agri-food complex; stakeholder inclusiveness and accountability; operational and strategic monitoring of the efficiency of measures, etc. The main units of measures are proposed, which cover creation of an efficient monitoring and management system; ensuring quality and safety of food in the domestic market; promotion and implementation of principles of healthy diets among population; regulation of the domestic market balance; increasing the competitiveness of the domestic agri-food complex; creation of favorable competitive environment; development of scientific, innovation and investment potential. This development will increase the efficiency of the Doctrine of National Food Security as a strategic planning document, as well as substantiate and introduce the mechanisms required for solving the assigned tasks.

Strategic management accounting in the system of information space of the enterprise

The paper deals with the peculiarities of the formation of strategic management accounting as accounting and analytical support for adopting strategic managerial decisions. The change in economic realities naturally requires the introduction of modern management technologies that it is impossible without the development of relevant accounting and analytical provision, including focusing, processing and submission of accounting and analytical information to adopt strategic decisions. The purpose of the paper is to determine the role of strategic management accounting in the enterprise information space. The problems of the functioning of strategic management accounting in Ukrainian enterprises are determined: the delimitation of analytical and accounting functions, a one-sided vision of the problem of the methodology of strategic management accounting only as a set of accounting procedures, beyond the connection with analytical functions leads to a decrease in the effectiveness of strategic management accounting and separation from intra-production management. Expert analysis is carried out in questioning two groups of respondents (managers and stakeholders) on an existing system of strategic management accounting as an information platform of trading enterprises. The results of the study confirm that in most such companies, there is a lack of or insatiable use of strategic management accounting as an information platform for strategic management. The development of a strategic approach in accounting practice determines the expansion of the accounting, analytical and control instrument for the formation of information when making strategic management decisions. The components of the management function are analyzed: strategic analysis, strategic monitoring, strategic control. The prospects for further research are determined: the choice of methods and tools for strategic management accounting in the management system of a trading enterprise, especially for the needs of strategic analysis, strategic monitoring and control.

Remembering the future: Age-related differences in schoolchildren’s prospective memory depend on the cognitive resources employed by the task

Recent research indicates that schoolchildren’s prospective memory (PM) success and age-related improvements vary as a function of the cognitive resources employed by different PM task requirements. In a sample of eighty-two 6- to 10-year-olds, we aimed to investigate age-related differences in PM, looking for specific contributions from executive functions (updating, inhibition, shifting) and episodic future thinking (EFT). A second aim was to investigate whether these contributions vary as a function of PM type (event- or time-based), while also exploring their convergence across tasks measuring the same PM abilities. Age-related improvements were found across all task versions. However, on PM tasks requiring more self-initiation processes and strategic monitoring, age-related progress was accounted for by children’s executive resources (updating, inhibition) and/or specific time-monitoring abilities. Although associated with PM scores on the same type of tasks, EFT did not predict children’s PM when accounting for age and/or other cognitive processes.

Рейтингова оцінка рівня самозабезпечення господарських формувань в аграрному секторі

The purpose of the article – development of a rating assessment of the level of self-sufficiency of economic entities in the agricultural sector as a toolkit for strategic monitoring of sectors of the national economy. Research methods. It is based on the concept of an active policy for the implementation of entrepreneurial potential in the countryside, the components of which are measures for the development of farms and family farms, in particular, from the transformation mechanisms of formalizing personal peasant farms into a market economy environment. The following scientific methods were used: dialectical method of scientific knowledge of processes and phenomena; monographic (analysis of scientific achievements of Ukrainian and foreign scientists, analysis of the stages of business development); graphic (to obtain a synthesized representation of the object of research, identify its components, establish cause-and-effect relationships); empirical (based on a comprehensive assessment of the current state of the research object); abstract-logical (theoretical generalizations and formulation of conclusions). Research results. Assessment of the level of self-sufficiency of economic entities in the agricultural sector made it possible to establish that, first of all, it is necessary to increase competitive advantages in resource potential, namely, to increase the number of cattle, pigs, sheep and goats, to expand the sown area for vegetables, potatoes, grain and fodder crops. All this can be realized by injecting additional financial resources and appropriate state support for the agrarian sector of the economy. Scientific novelty. The methodological presentation and identification of the category of small agribusiness as structured and defined by law, institutional and economic criteria of the form of organization of farming in the countryside were further developed, with the appropriate definition of priority contours of possible organizational and economic performance of functioning due to employment in agricultural entrepreneurship. Practical significance. Analysis of the current economic situation and rating assessment of the level of self-sufficiency of economic entities in the agricultural sector made it possible to assess the prospects for the development of economic entities in the agricultural sector, as well as to carry out predictive calculations of their formation and development. Tabl.: 6. Figs.: 5. Refs.: 19.

MANAGEMENT OF THE MINING ENTERPRISES IN A SUSTAINABLE WAY

Sustainable development of a mining company is affected significantly by principals of external economic environment that is local, national and global economies. The problem of choosing a model of sustainable development of a mining enterprise is determined, which makes it possible to predict the trajectory of its development in the short and long term, the choice of optimal solutions. The actual balance between economic, ecological and social sectors of mining company development is influenced by many factors intrinsic to developing countries. The following impact factors can be outlined among others. A vertical between lowest company level and highest national economy level of sustainable development is not introduced yet. Rapid changes of politics that are as unexpected as close to uncertainty usually come with changes of current pattern of stakeholders’ diversity that has negative impact on strategic planning. As a consequence sustainable development framework need to be improved for the mining company purposes. In turn achieving its sustainability requires a new approach to strategic planning, monitoring and reviewing activities of the mining company as sustainable development applies for sustainable management. Therefore running mining company in a sustainable way means that interests of all economic agents are met optimally subject to constraints on sustainable development principals, lifecycle of the company is as long as possible and its profitability is resilient to unfortunate costs. It is proposed to manage the mining enterprise in order to ensure its sustainable development on the basis of the principle of sustainable development based on the value of the object. The main purpose of this method is to monitor production costs in order to reduce them and redistribute overhead costs. In this case, the object of cost accounting (function, process, cost generation center) differs from the object of costing, which represents products and services. Thus, the integration of these provisions in order to adapt to the harmonious development of the mining company can help resolve the conflict between the principles of sustainable development and the rules of a market economy.

INFORMATION AND ANALYTICAL PROVISION OF STRATEGIC MONITORING OF BUSINESS REPUTATION OF WATER SUPPLY AND SEWERAGE ENTERPRISES

The article is devoted to the formation of analytical support for strategic monitoring of the business reputation of water supply and sewerage companies. It is established that the current management models and methods, in particular analysis, control, planning, forecasting in modern business conditions are not able to respond quickly and adequately to changes in the internal and external environment of the enterprise. The imperfection of the systems of collecting, processing, and systematization of financial information does not allow to fully use the above methods and techniques, as well as to formulate objective conclusions. Based on the systematization of evaluation methods, the indicators of the level of business reputation (reputation indices) of the surveyed enterprises are calculated and interpreted. It is proved that the system of information-analytical support allows to form the general list of strategies of the enterprise taking into account its features – adaptation to the environment or formation of influence on it. A system of management decisions is proposed, which contains two blocks. The information-analytical block identifies the main subjects of interaction for each parameter of business reputation, identifies the available labor and financial resources to implement measures to improve business reputation. If these conditions are met, the implemented measures are implemented, if not – there is a return to the initial stage. Next, the effectiveness of the proposed measures is analyzed. If measures to improve business reputation have achieved their goal, those responsible for their implementation are selected. The implementation of measures to increase the level of business reputation of water supply and sewerage companies is also constantly monitored. If the selected measures are not effective enough or not effective at all, they direct the adjustment by changing the input data. Then the whole process is repeated again, starting from the first stage, but taking into account the adjustments. The second block contains the overall effect of the implementation of the measures proposed in the first block for certain groups of stakeholders. It is proved that taking into account the specifics of the water supply and sewerage companies, it should be noted that increasing the area of reputable radar will not lead to an immediate increase in profitability. However, the management of business reputation will achieve some stabilization through the formation of trusting and mutually beneficial relationships with stakeholder groups. Flexibility of interaction and feedback contribute to the achievement of the company's strategy. As a result of the study, a strategic monitoring of the business reputation of water supply and sewerage companies is proposed, the implementation of which will increase the importance of services provided, attract more qualified employees of all levels, – private partnerships, plan payments, effectively manage accounts payable and increase resilience to adverse impacts and crises.

“I can’t skip it”: does free report improve accuracy in false memories?

ABSTRACT Strategic monitoring of recognition memory by children and adults was examined using a semantic DRM procedure. Children (7- and 10-year-olds) and adults (overall N = 393) studied lists of semantically related words either incidentally or intentionally and were tested with old items, new items and critical lures to judge as old or new. Participants either made a decision about every item they saw (forced report), or they had the opportunity to withhold answers they were uncertain about (free report). Children were less likely to withhold an answer than adults. However, 7-year-olds were more able to resist false memories when given the opportunity to withhold an answer compared to 10-year-olds or adults. In contrast, adults were unable to improve false memory accuracy. These data suggest that once semantically induced false memories have been encoded they are amenable to strategic monitoring at retrieval in children but not adults.

Implementation of a seismic monitoring network of relevant and strategic public buildings in the Marche region (Italy)

A seismic monitoring infrastructure for relevant and strategic public buildings has been developed thanks to the agreement between the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) and Marche Region. The project was founded by European projects for the assessment of seismic risk for strategic public buildings, prevention and monitoring - European Territorial Cooperation Project Holistic (EU IPA-Adriatic) and READINESS (INTERREG Italy-Croatia). The project was born by taking advantage of the presence of MEMS accelerometers installed at the base of municipal buildings. The project aims to implement low-cost technologies and non-invasive methods to extend the seismic monitoring of the sites where the structures are located and characterize the seismic action in correspondence of them with a rapid estimate of the damage through relationships between acceleration and macroseismic intensity or fragility curves and construction features. Among the various activities, environmental seismic noise measurements were carried to investigate the fundamental vibration of the structures and soils, semi-automatic procedures were developed for the calculation of the strong motion parameters of seismic events and a web portal was implemented for the collection and rapid dissemination of information to local Civil Protection.An important part of the activities concerned the testing of new MEMS accelerometers through collaboration with the Polytechnic University of Marche (UNIVPM) and the headquarter of the Osservatorio Nazionale Terremoti (ONT) in Palermo. Moreover, new monitoring sites are being prepared in some municipalities affected by the 2016 seismic sequence. Since the beginning of the project, the strong motion parameters relating to 95 seismic events of magnitude greater than 3 and with ground motion accelerations greater than or equal to 0.001 g have been stored in the database.