The cartography and quantification of irrigated fields in the context of decreasing rainfall constitute a key element for water resources management. Therefore, in this context, the use of remote sensing methods applied to Landsat-type images with a high spatial resolution for monitoring the changes in land use in general and irrigated crops, in particular, is highly relevant. This paper aims to present a method for mapping spatial and temporal changes in irrigated parcels in the Guigou Plain, located in the central Middle Atlas, based on Landsat images and fieldwork. For the years 1985, 1998, 2010 and 2018, the use of a supervised classification method based on the principle of machine learning, fed by precise field surveys, has made it possible to highlight a significant extension of irrigated areas to the expense of pastureland and rainfed crops. Over the entire period under consideration, the results obtained with good precision (98.5% overall accuracy) showed that the area under irrigated crops has increased from approximately 699 ha to 3988 ha, i.e. an increase of 570%. The corollary of this increase is strong pressure on the water resource, especially groundwater. This information on the total extension of irrigated plots can be taken as a reference in the perspective of reasoned management of water resources in the sector.

New computational procedures developed within the framework of international research projects „Grispe” and „Grispe Plus” are briefly presented and characterised here. Considered algorithms pertain to the verification of bearing capacity and serviceability of selected bearing structure components erected with especially shaped thinwalled sheet metal panels. Structural components of this type are so far rather absent from the codes, and as a result the unequivocal design requirements have not been developed for them. Key problems related to the detailed analysis of the following element classes: steel decks with embossments, indentations and/or outwards stiffeners; liner trays; corrugated sheeting; curved profiles; cladding and roof profile assemblies; perforated and holed profiles; external interlocking planks and their assemblies are indicated in the text. The procedures formulated as a part of the projects indicated above have been delivered to CEN as an official proposal of amendments and/or additions submitted for introduction to the new generation of Eurocodes currently under preparation, and especially as an extension to the code EN 1993-1-3.

The text deals with the counterfactual thinking of preschool children. The theoretical justification for the research can be found in the nativist concepts of Alan Leslie and Alison Gopnik, which assumes that even very young children have a natural ability to accept the strangest creations of the imagination and to connect them together into one amazing whole. During the research, recognizing children’s metaphorical meanings required me to act as an interpretively involved observer-as-participant. In doing so, educational interventions enabled me to be situated within the observed phenomena, in close relationship with the children being studied. The observation, meanwhile, embraced the spontaneous activities of the children engaged in symbolic playing and the effect of these activities (mainly artistic concretizations). The liberation of counterfactual thinking in preschoolers being induced with literary texts. The collected material has allowed me to draw conclusions applicable to educational practice.

This paper presents a finite element investigation into the proximity losses in a high-speed permanent magnet (PM) machine for traction applications. A three-dimensional (3D) finite element analysis (FEA) is employed to evaluate and identify the endwinding contribution into the overall winding power loss generated. The study is focused on the end-winding effects that have not been widely reported in the literature. The calculated results confirm that the end-winding copper loss can significantly affect the eddycurrent loss within copper and it should be taken into account to provide reasonable prediction of total losses. Several structures of the end-winding are analyzed and compared in respect to the loss and AC resistance. The results clearly demonstrate that the size of the end-winding has a significant impact on the power loss. The calculated results are validated experimentally on the high-speed permanent magnet synchronous machine (PMSM) prototype for selected various winding arrangements.