University of St Andrews Research Portal
Not a member yet
81329 research outputs found
Sort by
'The Peepshow' review: the monster downstairs
No full textReview of 'The Peepshow: The murders at Rillington Place' by Kate Summerscal
Behavioural response thresholds for the assessment of noise impact on Antarctic marine mammal species
No full textIncreasing levels of anthropogenic noise in our oceans is concerning, especially in Antarctic waters where marine mammals are more naïve to sound sources, compared to those residing in industrialised ocean basins. Marine mammals are vulnerable to anthropogenic noise, due to their dependence on underwater sounds for their survival. The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty stipulates that anthropogenic activities in Antarctic waters must be assessed in advance, for the comprehensive protection of the natural environment and its dependent ecosystems. There are few quantitative studies on the behavioural responses of Antarctic marine mammals. Furthermore, the absence of agreed upon thresholds for marine mammal behavioural responses has created difficulties in conducting impact assessments in a standardised manner. In instances where knowledge gaps persist amidst high priority management issues, the expert elicitation approach can be implemented to utilise an expert's qualitative knowledge. This study elicited probability distributions of noise levels which would lead to a significant behavioural response, when received under specific acoustic exposure scenarios. The sound sources examined include vessels, research seismic survey activities and hydroacoustic research equipment. The expert judgements exhibited substantial variability amongst thresholds due to limited data on marine mammals in Antarctic waters, with low frequency cetaceans eliciting a threshold of Lp = 137 dB re 1 µPa for vessel noise, compared to Lp = 145 dB re 1 µPa for hydroacoustic research equipment. These thresholds are an initial tool in the assessment process, whilst guiding priorities for future research to quantitatively address this pressing management issue.</p
Flyin’ Solo: Evaluating Language Learner Autonomy in Undergraduate Slang Research
No full textThis teacher-student co-authored article evaluates the implementation of a student-led research project designed to foster language learner autonomy in a Japanese university classroom. The article outlines the pedagogical approach taken by Thomas, the teacher, and presents work by two undergraduate language learners, Mina and Nao, whose research proposals and final projects serve as examples. The evaluation compares student performance to established criteria for autonomy-based learning environments, as outlined in Little et al. (2017). As such, the article examines how the activity supported the development of learner autonomy, with a focus on language use, collaborative knowledge construction, planning and self-management, and evaluation of learning. While the activity was broadly successful in promoting autonomous behaviors, the analysis reveals areas for improvement, particularly in the need for more continuous and inclusive assessment throughout the classroom stage. Although the findings are specific to this classroom, the study offers insights that may inform similar activities in other contexts
Ferroelectric polarization in 2D halide hybrid perovskites:influence on bulk crystals, thin films, and applications
No full textFerroelectric materials undergo spontaneous polarization that can be reversed by applying an external electric field. This property plays the most important role in applications such as logic gates, microwave communications, piezo energy harvesting, memory storage such as ferroelectric random-access memory (FeRAM), and ferroelectric sensors and actuators. Recently, hybrid halide perovskites (HHPs) have started demonstrating impressive ferroelectric properties in addition to their excellent photovoltaic performance. Compared to traditional oxide perovskites and organic ferroelectric materials, HHPs have the advantage that they can be simple solution-processed yet with immaculate crystal quality which is suitable for realizing next-generation thin film flexible electronics and FeRAM in neuromorphic computing. This review focuses on the current status of ferroelectric properties of two-dimensional (2D) halide perovskite single crystals and covers the limited reports available on thin film HHPs. Furthermore, we explain the challenges in the ferroelectric characterization of thin film HHPs and compare them with those of single crystals
A dataset for expert reviewer recommendation with large language models as zero-shot rankers
No full textThe task of reviewer recommendation is increasingly important, with main techniques utilizing general models of text relevance. However, state of the art (SotA) systems still have relatively high error rates. Two possible reasons for this are: a lack of large datasets and the fact that large language models (LLMs) have not yet been applied. To fill these gaps, we first create a substantial new dataset, in the domain of Internet specification documents; then we introduce the use of LLMs and evaluate their performance. We find that LLMs with prompting can improve on SotA in some cases, but that they are not a cure-all: this task provides a challenging setting for prompt-based methods.</p
<i>habtools</i>:an R package to calculate 3D metrics for surfaces and objects
No full text1. Technological advances in three imaging techniques have opened the door to advanced morphological analyses and habitat mapping for biologists and ecologists. 2. At the same time, the challenge of translating complex 3D data into meaningful metrics that can be used in conjunction with biological data currently hinders progress and accessibility. 3. We introduce habtools, an R package that provides R functions to efficiently calculate complexity and shape metrics from DEMs, 3D meshes and 2D shapes as well as some helper functions to facilitate workflow. 4. We expect the functionality of habtools to continue to expand as new metrics and faster methods become available, and we welcome new contributions and ideas
Education for sustainable development:definitions, debates and design
No full textThe aim of this chapter is to explore what Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is and might be. ESD is for and not merely about sustainable development, going beyond the concept of literacy. There are different understandings of this term, and whilst a lack of clarity can impede action, it also enables different groups to develop their own contextualised understanding. ESD is the process of creating curricula, including subject-relevant content and pedagogy, to support sustainable development, which is an aspirational ongoing process of addressing social, environmental and economic concerns to create a better world. In higher education, it includes a deeper critical analysis and resolution of some real-world problems. Much of the research underpinning ESD has derived from the global north, and there is a need to incorporate more concepts from the global south. ESD is relevant to all disciplines and all institutions. The concept and practice of education for sustainable development overlap with other agendas for a quality education, entrepreneurship and decolonisation of the curriculum
Icons and paintings:differences in psychological distance, empathy, and the feeling of personal communication
No full textBackground: There exists a long history of claimed qualitative differences between experiences of Western and Eastern religious art. Our study sought to examine empirically and quantitatively whether those reports are veridical and, if so, to what extent. We explored psychological distance, empathy, and the feeling of personal communication that humans experience when viewing Western paintings and Eastern icons. Method: We recruited three groups of self-identifying participants: Western Christians, Eastern Orthodox Christians, and non-believers. Participants viewed 15 digital images of artworks depicting events of the Gospels. Using self-report measures, we assessed temporal and spatial distance between participants and the depicted Gospel events, the feeling of personal communication, and cognitive and emotional empathy towards the depicted figures. Results: Across all participants, temporal and spatial distance were greater for Eastern icons compared to Western paintings. Cognitive and emotional empathy were higher for paintings compared to icons. No differences in the feeling of personal communication were found between icons and paintings. Among non-believers, temporal and spatial distance related to both icons and paintings were greater compared to Western and Eastern Christians. On the other hand, the feeling of personal communication was greater among Western and Eastern Christians, as well as emotional and cognitive empathy, compared to non-believers. Conclusions: Aesthetic properties of icons and paintings, as well as individual differences in religious backgrounds, influence the way viewers experience psychological distance, empathy, and the feeling of personal communication when observing religious art