This dissertation investigates the energy and material related impacts of the transition towards a low-carbon heating system in the Netherlands, in the context of its 2050 climate and circular... Show moreThis dissertation investigates the energy and material related impacts of the transition towards a low-carbon heating system in the Netherlands, in the context of its 2050 climate and circular economy policy goals. Multiple heating system pathways for the Netherlands from 2020-2050 based on the local availability of sources of heat are used. Four main research questions are answered in this dissertation: 1. What is the size of the material stock of the current Dutch natural-gas based heating system, and can this material be used in a circular economy? 2. What are the possible development pathways and operational GHG emissions of the Dutch heating system towards 2050? 3. What are the consequences of the heating transition for the use of materials and how can this transition contribute to the circular economy transition? 4. What is the impact on GHG emissions of the transition towards a low-carbon heating system from 2021-2050? This dissertation shows that taking into account emissions related to materials has major consequences for the achievability of the Dutch climate goals Show less
Oorschot, J. van; Sprecher, B.; Zelfde, M. van 't; Bodegom, P.M. van; Oudenhoven, A.P.E. 2021
Green infrastructure (GI) is increasingly addressed in urban planning and research to enhance urban sustainability and resilience through the provisioning of ecosystem services (ES). Yet, few... Show moreGreen infrastructure (GI) is increasingly addressed in urban planning and research to enhance urban sustainability and resilience through the provisioning of ecosystem services (ES). Yet, few applications exist of planning models for multifunctional GI in high spatial and thematic detail that simultaneously align with stakeholder interests. We address these gaps by developing and presenting a spatially explicit model to inform urban planners on priority areas for multifunctional GI development. This model was made possible by spatial analyses on multiple scales, enabling us to assess ES in sufficient detail, while simultaneously matching the preferences for scale and ES-indicators of decision makers and urban planners. The model involves a novel weighting scheme based upon the local capacity of GI to mitigate problems. We applied our model to the city of The Hague using a set of three policy-relevant problems: air pollution, the urban heat island effect and storm water flooding. Our results show that the capacity of GI to mitigate these problems varies spatially, both within and between ES, and depends on local characteristics of GI and the environmental context. We illustrate the relevance of using a multiscale approach in spatial ES analysis, and underline that GI planning measures should be assessed in high spatial detail due to their often locally distinct ES capacity. Our approach makes important strides towards the deployment of nature-based solutions for urban challenges in the light of demands for increasing resilience and sustainability. Show less
This paper addresses a database collected and constructed as part of PhD research project on the north-western coast of the Dominican Republic. The PhD was part of the ERC Synergy Grant NEXUS 1492:... Show moreThis paper addresses a database collected and constructed as part of PhD research project on the north-western coast of the Dominican Republic. The PhD was part of the ERC Synergy Grant NEXUS 1492: New World Encounters in a Globalizing World. The database was collected during fieldwork campaigns between 2014 and 2015. Fieldwork consisted of a regional survey, material culture registry and collection, test pit excavation, and processing relevant environmental variables. The archaeological data consists of a record of 102 archaeological sites, the material culture associated with them (lithic, shell and coral objects, shell mollusk species), and the relationship between site location and a set of relevant environmental variables used for statistical analysis. This database is one of the only open access archaeological databases available at the moment in the Caribbean and can be reused by any Caribbean archaeologist working in the Greater Antilles. Show less
Parsa, H.G.; Kreeger, J.C.; Rest, J.I. van der; Xie, L.; Lamb, J. 2019
This study investigated the differential effect of economic recession and recovery on restaurant failures by location, type of cuisine, restaurant density, level of service and number of health... Show moreThis study investigated the differential effect of economic recession and recovery on restaurant failures by location, type of cuisine, restaurant density, level of service and number of health code violations. Secondary data were used from a major metropolitan city in the US from 2007–2013. Economic recession and recovery were found to affect the rate of restaurant failure significantly and differently by location, restaurant density, type of cuisine, risk level, and number of citations of health code violations. Some cuisine types survived well during the recession whereas others weremore vulnerable to the economic downturn. Some types of cuisine were prone to failure in both recession and recovery at higher rates than other types of cuisine, whereas others lagged only during recovery. While some types of cuisine were more likely to survive better in dense markets, no evidentrelationship was found between location and failure of cuisine type. There is a clear pattern of restaurant failures by Postal ZIP Code. There was a strong effect of number of health code violations on business failures. Show less
There is little evidence of the routes connecting Amerindian communities in the Caribbean prior to and just after 1492. Uncovering possible canoe routes between these communities can help to... Show moreThere is little evidence of the routes connecting Amerindian communities in the Caribbean prior to and just after 1492. Uncovering possible canoe routes between these communities can help to explain the structure, capabilities, and limitations of the physical links in their social and material networks. This book evaluates how routes connecting islands indicate the structure of past inter-island networks, by using computer modeling. Computer modeling and least-cost pathway analysis is a popular approach for analyzing the physical connection between sites in archaeology. Over the past three decades researchers have explored several theories and methods to analyze least-cost pathways on landscapes. Land-based least-cost efforts have outpaced the number of works evaluating optimal travel routes across the sea’s surface. Perhaps as a result, no community standard for using computer- and GIS-based methods to model canoe or sailing routes exists. Although methods used in previous research often focus on determining the time-cost and success of specific routes, these measures have been calculated or judged in different ways. One way this book adds to the discussion of seascape modeling is by focusing on inter-island voyaging, or the process of maintained connections between island sites, a technique rarely explored in sea-based least-cost pathways analysis. Show less
Grouping techniques employ similarities within data to create new entities,which lend themselves to the interpretation process. This article presents three different grouping approaches, each... Show moreGrouping techniques employ similarities within data to create new entities,which lend themselves to the interpretation process. This article presents three different grouping approaches, each originally developed independently, and applied to a common dataset of archaeological finds. The aim is not to search for the right approach or results, in a competing way, but rather to present the methods as complementary. It is also our intention to stress that a tight connection between theory and statistical modelling is indispensable. Indeed, the use of a particular methodology must be supported by an adapted theory; similarly, a theory without a proper methodological realisation will often not have any actual utility. The integration of theory and method is exemplified in the three case methods. The first method uses metal objects as cultural indicators. The study area is divided into a set of identical geographical units, characterized according to the type and proportions of indicators and grouped using hierarchical clustering. The second approach deals with cultures as standardisations between individuals, using ‘Typenspektrum’ as significant data for identifying different cultures. Groups are defined through kernel density estimation and a cluster analysis, followed by internal and external validation techniques. A third method characterizes the funerary ritual and grave-goods, using a similarity algorithm coupled with clustering procedures to compare the graves with one another. The outcome is validated with exploratory methods and compared to patterns from different contexts. The complementarity of the results shows that each approach sheds light on a certain facet of the same whole. Show less
Lacustrine localitieswere attractive environments for Palaeolithic hominins, since they provide a large and broad spectrumof resources. Moreover, they are excellent archives that allowfor high... Show moreLacustrine localitieswere attractive environments for Palaeolithic hominins, since they provide a large and broad spectrumof resources. Moreover, they are excellent archives that allowfor high-resolution environmental, chronological and archaeological analyses. However, these deposits are often subject to complex formation and postdepositional factors, including water-related processes. Evaluating the influence of hydrological processes in site formation is thus essential to more accurately reconstruct the duration, intensity and types of hominin behaviour within these environments. In this paper we present the orientation analysis of archaeological material from the Last Interglacial site Neumark-Nord 2, Germany. Orientation analysis was done using GIS to calculate the orientation of artefact from digital plans of the excavation surface, which were subsequently tested using circular statistics. The results of the orientation analysis are compared with a hydrological model to check the relation between preferred orientations and reconstructed areas of water flow and accumulation. Results suggest that low-energy hydrological processes could have affected certain areas of the find-bearing deposits at Neumark-Nord 2 but, overall, there is no evidence for either high-energy hydrological processes or a significant movement of parts of the archaeological assemblage. Show less
The aim of this paper is to examine the relation between monumentality and connectivity of the cities on the Iberian Peninsula during the High Empire, using spatial and social network analyses.... Show moreThe aim of this paper is to examine the relation between monumentality and connectivity of the cities on the Iberian Peninsula during the High Empire, using spatial and social network analyses. Firstly, the presence of the monuments under scrutiny (amphitheatre, circus and theatre) will be treated by a critical analysis of the different sources. Secondly, a social network analysis will be used to illuminate the role of Centrality in relation to the monumentality of cities. Naturally, the history of specific cities can explain their individual situation. However, large patterns cannot be understood by individual study of cities. Show less
Barrows, as burial markers, are ubiquitous throughout North-Western Europe. In some regions dense concentrations of monuments form peculiar configurations such as long alignments while in others... Show moreBarrows, as burial markers, are ubiquitous throughout North-Western Europe. In some regions dense concentrations of monuments form peculiar configurations such as long alignments while in others they are spread out extensively, dotting vast areas with hundreds of mounds. These vast barrow landscapes came about through thousands of years of additions by several successive prehistoric and historic communities. Yet little is known about how these landscapes developed and originated. That is what this research set out to do. By unravelling the histories of specific barrow landscapes in the Low Countries, several distinct activity phases of intense barrow construction could be recognised. Each of these phases contributed to how the barrow landscape developed and reveals shifting attitudes to these monuments. By creating new monuments in a specific place and in a particular fashion, prehistoric communities purposefully transformed the form and shape of the barrow landscape. Using several GIS-techniques such as a skyline-analysis, this research is able to demonstrate how each barrow took up a specific (and different) position within such a social landscape. While the majority of the barrows were only visible from relatively close by, specific monuments took up a dominating position, cresting the horizon, being visible from much further away. It is argued in this research that these burial mounds remained important landscape monuments on the purple heathlands. They continued to attract attention, and by their visibility ensured to endure in the collective memory of the communities shaping themselves around these monuments. Show less
Aim of the work is to illustrate a possible way of dealing with a regional landscape and its long-term settlement history based on the integration of archaeological data applying a GIS based... Show moreAim of the work is to illustrate a possible way of dealing with a regional landscape and its long-term settlement history based on the integration of archaeological data applying a GIS based approach to the social dimension of the landscape. The large province area (ca 2,500 sqkm) of Boeotia (Central Greece) is examined by means of GIS (Geographical Information System), processing data from different archaeological, historical and environmental sources. The methodology established, dealing jointly with material culture and the environment, follows a critical comparative regional approach and opts for both region and micro-regions as the analytical unit. It aims mainly to assess landscape characters and the interface between human and social actions and landscape by critically assessing, first of all, the available archaeological record constituted by diverse, variegate and often incoherent data sets. Main periods of interest are the historical periods from Archaic to Late Roman, while earlier (Neolithic to Geometric) and later periods are taken into account for the analysis and understanding of diachronical processes which took place at the micro-regional and regional levels. Show less
