Pivot Park’s Post

Here’s the new podcast Surveilance Spectrum, by colleague Stephanie Garaglia and with my co-worker and PhD student Julie Caluwaerts involved in our Horizon project GATHERINGS Project.

Gatherings on the airwaves! 🎙️ Our researcher Julie Caluwaerts joined host Stephanie Garaglia for the premiere episode of the new Surveillance Spectrum podcast by the Crime & Society Research Group (CRiS). In this first episode (in Dutch), they dive into the everyday reality of smart camera technologies used by public authorities and examine how these tools form a wider surveillance assemblage at public events and gatherings. Grab your headphones and tune into the discussion via the link below. 👇 https://lnkd.in/exD34g6x

📢 CRiS-researcher Stephanie Garaglia has just launched the 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗲𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗺 𝗽𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁. In this podcast, you will come to understand how surveillance technologies are present in our everyday lives, who uses them, and why. 🎙️ The first episode is now online (in Dutch) and focuses on the use of smart (camera) technologies by public authorities. In this episode, Stephanie Garaglia is joined by Julie Caluwaerts, PhD researcher on the GATHERINGS Project, to discuss the use of surveillance technologies as part of the surveillance assemblage at public events. 🎧 Watch the first episode here: https://lnkd.in/exD34g6x #FWOAL1004 #Surveillance #Podcast #SmartCities #PublicSafety #GATHERINGS

🎧 Podcast | Production Site The Collaborative Research Centre "Production of Migration" at Universität Osnabrück has launched a new podcast, "Production Site." Aimed at German- and English-speaking audiences interested in migration studies, the podcast explores migration as the product of societal negotiation—shaped by categories, policies, and institutions. 📣 The first six episodes of Season 1 are already out. Tune in here: https://lnkd.in/dAhtSx2k

Part 2 of my conversation with Oliver Stauffer is out. Please enjoy and feel free to reach out with any questions or feedback!

The Thinking Competition's latest podcast episode takes on yet another hot topic in the European competition world - the much-discussed draft Merger Guidelines! Gonçalo Machado Borges is joined by the insightful Jorge Padilla to discuss their implications for the future of merger control enforcement. Click below to listen!

Very grateful to Jorge Padilla for sharing his insights on the Commission's Draft Merger Guidelines. While it's still unclear to what extent the new Guidelines will be a restatement or codification of current case law or a step in the direction of a genuinely innovative merger control policy (I'm leaning towards the former at this stage) it's great to discuss how things are moving in this arena with someone as knowledgeable as Jorge. I enjoyed this discussion very much, hope you will too.

Yesterday, the verdict of the Morandi Bridge trial was announced. 32 defendants were convicted. The former CEO of Autostrade per l’Italia received the longest sentence: 12 years. Many people lost their lives when the bridge collapsed on 14 August 2018. Severe corrosion and deterioration of the stay system were central factors. In one of the first episodes of Concretely, I spoke with Dr Yves Reuland, an expert in structural health monitoring. Yves was living in Genoa at the time and had driven across the bridge the day before it collapsed. For me, the discussion highlighted three broader challenges in infrastructure management: 🔧 Maintenance work on the stay system was already scheduled to begin around two months later. This shows how difficult it is to determine the latest acceptable time for intervention. When a structure becomes critical, rapid planning, procurement and approval are essential. ℹ️ Enough information about the bridge’s condition existed, but it came from different sources and in different forms. Some warning signs were only recognised retrospectively, including through InSAR satellite data. Digital asset management and structural monitoring are advancing, but much remains to be done to combine these sources into clear and transparent KPIs that decision-makers cannot ignore during budget allocation. 🕵️♀️ The bridge was not exceptionally old. Its age may therefore have created a false sense of security. Many asset managers still rely on fixed inspection and repair intervals that are not sufficiently adapted to the actual deterioration, exposure and loading of each structure. How do you think asset managers could better combine inspection findings, monitoring data, structural models, operational data and risk assessments into objective life-cycle cost and risk analysis? The episode with Yves includes a dedicated section on the Morandi Bridge and is available on concrete-ly.com, Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Links in the comments.

Clinical trials make a significant contribution to a country's health and economy, benefiting patients, investigators, and the healthcare system as a whole. For patients, they can provide access to innovative treatments that would otherwise not be available, close monitoring, and medical care aligned with European standards. In the latest episode of the SMall Talks podcast, Tudor Bojin spoke with Leontina Voicea, Leader of ARPIM's Clinical Trials Working Group, about a medicine's journey from the laboratory to patients, the stages of a clinical trial, patient safety and rights, and the myths surrounding this field. Watch the full episode here: https://lnkd.in/d57qM5td #ARPIM #SMallTalks #ClinicalTrials #AccessToInnovation #InnovationSavesLives

Well done, Leontina Voicea! Demystifying clinical trials for the public is important work, and few can speak about patient safety and access to innovation with this level of expertise. Proud to have you on the team. Encouraging all colleagues across the region to watch this episode – it’s a strong example of how we should communicate what we do.