University of Stirling
University of Stirling: DataSTORRE (Stirling Online Repository for Research Data)Not a member yet
118 research outputs found
Sort by
Towards a better understanding of mirror-symmetry in human vision
No full textRecent studies suggest that temporal dynamics rather than symmetrical motion-direction contribute to mirror-symmetry perception. Here we investigate temporal aspects of symmetry perception by examining how symmetrical pattern elements are combined over time. Stimuli were dynamic dot patterns consisting of either an on-going alternation of two images (sustained condition) or just two images each presented once (transient condition) containing different amounts of symmetry about the vertical axis. We varied the presentation duration of the two images between 23.5ms and 294ms under five temporal-arrangement conditions: (1) ‘whole pattern’ in which a symmetric pattern alternated with a noise pattern; (2) ‘delayed halves’ – the halves of the symmetric and noise patterns were presented with temporal delay; (3) ‘matched-pairs’ – each image contained 50% of the symmetric and 50% of the noise dots; (4) ‘delayed matched-pairs’ – the same as arrangement 3, but with matched-pairs presented with temporal delay; (5) ‘static’ – both images presented simultaneously as one. Performance was poorer for transient vs sustained presentation and the effect of temporal delay between symmetrical pairs and halves was more pronounced in the transient conditions. In summary, cross-correlation across the symmetry axis can be integrated over time and symmetry detection mechanisms can tolerate delays of up to about 60ms. Dedicated UnZip software is recommended for accessing the dataset, for example, IZArc
Mechanistic bases of metal tolerance: linking phenotype to genotype
No full textThe data represent RADseq data derived from individual Lumbricus rubellus earthworms that were sampled on contaminated former mine sites or nearby, proximal control sites. Specifically, a plink file in BED format contains the SNPs used to perform all analyses, while the version of the lineage B genome is also included. Finally RAW RADseq data is included, which is in FASTQ format.File “lrubellus_lineageb.fa.gz” is the reference genome for Lumbricus rubellus, derived from a single individual from lineage B. The genome for this work was assembled using sequence data derived from Illumina fastq reads and has been submitted to NCBI under bioproject SUB2807407. Professor Pete Kille ([email protected]) at Cardiff University is the PI directing this work and any future enquiries regarding further questions should be directed to him. The archive “lrubellus_snps.zip” contains the 219,545 SNPs derived from the analysis of RADseq data, in plink bed format. Site specific data incorporates abbreviations described below followed by a "C" or an "M", representing a control and a mine site, respectively. Earthworms were sampled in 2010 from three UK sites with known histories of metal pollution as well as a local control site with low soil metal concentrations. The three sites were Devon Great Consols (DGC, n=40), a former As and Cu mine in Devon, South West England; Carrock Fell (CF, n=29) an As and W mine located on the edge of the Lakes District of North West England, and also from Cwmystwyth (CWM, n=59), which is a former Pb mine located in Mid-Wales. Individuals included are listed in Supplementary Table S4 of the BMC Genetics paper.
The remaining 6 compressed folders contain: Raw fastq format, paired-end sequences from RAD-sequencing of Lumbricus rubellus earthworms inhabiting contaminated former mine spoil across the UK, as well as from proximal control sites. File names consist of the acronym for a specific site, followed by a terminal initial associating those individuals with the mine (M) or control (C) soils
Data underpinning "Risk and Resilience in Scottish Charities"
No full textData underpinning the empirical work conducted during an ESRC-funded PhD scholarship - Risk and Resilience in Scottish Charities; the data sets correspond to chapters 4 - 7 in the thesis of the same name (available at: http://hdl.handle.net/1893/26114). The quantitative data stems from two sources: administrative data from the Scottish Charity Register; and a self-completion questionnaire of 420 charities conducted during summer 2015. See the accompanying documentation (README.docx) for detailed descriptions of the data collection, cleaning and preparation work. Consult the thesis or accompanying journal articles to see how the data sets were analysed.charityinvestigations_20170411 - data from Chapter Four; improvingcharityaccountability_20170411 - data from Chapter Five; charityfinancialvulnerability_mod_20170515, charityfinancialvulnerability_des_20170515 - data from Chapter Six; charitysurvey_20170515 - data from Chapter Seve
Development and adaptation of algorithms for the estimation of carbon budget in lakes
No full textThe development and validation of remote sensing-based approaches for the retrieval of CDOM concentrations requires a comprehensive understanding of the sources and magnitude of variability in the optical properties of dissolved material within lakes. In this study, spatial and seasonal variability in concentration and composition of CDOM and the origin of its variation was studied in Lake Balaton (Hungary), a large temperate shallow lake in central Europe. In addition, we investigated the effect of photobleaching on the optical properties of CDOM through in-lake incubation experiments. There was marked variability throughout the year in CDOM absorption in Lake Balaton (aCDOM (440) = 0.06 - 9.01 m-1). The highest values were consistently observed at the mouth of the main inflow (River Zala), which drains humic-rich material from the adjoining Kis-Balaton wetland, but CDOM absorption decreased rapidly towards the east where it was consistently lower and less variable than in the westernmost lake basins. The spectral slope parameter for the interval of 350–500 nm (SCDOM(350–500)) was more variable with increasing distance from the inflow (observed range 0.0161-0.0181 nm-1 for the mouth of the main inflow and 0.0158-0.0300 nm-1 for waters closer to the outflow). However, spatial variation in SCDOM was more constant exhibiting a negative correlation with aCDOM(440). DOC was strongly positively correlated with aCDOM(440) and followed a similar seasonal trend but it demonstrated more variability than either aCDOM or SCDOM with distance through the system. Photobleaching resulting from 7 days exposure to natural solar UV radiation resulted in a marked decrease in allochthonous CDOM absorption (7.04 to 3.36 m-1, 42% decrease) and an even greater decrease in the absorption of autochthonous CDOM (1.34 to 0.312 m-1, 77% decrease). Photodegradation also resulted in an increase in the spectral slope coefficient of dissolved material. Terrestrial subsidies of dissolved organic matter are known to exert a profound influence over the biogeochemistry and metabolism of lakes. The results from this study show that localized inputs of dissolved matter from wetlands can exert a strong influence over the spatial and seasonal dynamics of CDOM in lakes.1. Figure 2. Seasonal aCDOM(440), SCDOM(350-500) and DOC concentration variation in Lake Balaton between January and December 2014 and seasonal variability of runoff in Balaton region (Hungary), monthly means from 1921 to 2007 (modified from Anda & Varga, 2010).2. Figure 3. SCDOM (350-500) as a function of aCDOM (440) using the seasonal sampling data for (a) basin Kesthely, SCDOM(350-500) = -0.0005·aCDOM(440) + 0.0205, R2=0.7833, p<0.0001 and (b) basin Szigliguet, SCDOM(350-500) = -0.0114·aCDOM(440) + 0.0277, R2=0.9122, p=0.011; basin Szemes, SCDOM(350-500) = -0.0209·aCDOM(440) + 0.0209, R2=0.7932, p=0.0108 and basin Siófok, SCDOM(350-500) = -0.0507·aCDOM(440) + 0.0317, R2=0.9154, p<0.00001. 3. Figure 4. CDOM absorption spectra for all stations (per basin) and Kis-Balaton. Note the different y-axis scale for basins Szemes and Siófok. 4. Figure 5. Spatial aCDOM(440) variation in Lake Balaton per station. b) Spatial SCDOM(350-500) variation in Lake Balaton per station. c) Spatial DOC concentration in Lake Balaton per station. 5. Figure 6. Scatterplots against distance to the main inflow [Km] with loess curve fitted to data. (a) Variation of CDOM absorption coefficient at 440 nm (aCDOM (440)) [m-1], (b) CDOM slope coefficient between 350 and 500 mm (SCDOM (350-500)) [nm-1] variation, (c) DOC concentration [mg/L] variation, (d) specific UV absorptivity at 254nm (SUVA254) [m-1] and e) E2/E3 ratio as a function of distance from the Zala River during the summer 2014 campaign. 6. Figure 7. SCDOM(350-500) as a function of aCDOM(440) spatial variation. a) Kis Balaton, SCDOM (350-500) = 0.019266*aCDOM(440)-0.017362; basin Keszthely, SCDOM (350-500) = 0.019817*aCDOM(440)-0.070820 and basin Szigliget, SCDOM (350-500) = 0.020418*aCDOM(440)-0.070820. b) Basins Szemes, SCDOM(350-500) = -0.01252·aCDOM(440) + 0.02521 and Siofok, SCDOM(350-500) = -0.03330·aCDOM(440) + 0.027900. 7. Figure 8. Scatterplot of aCDOM(440) plotted as a function of DOC concentration (mg/L). Line is a regression curve by least squares fit. 8. Figure 9. Ultraviolet irradiance during the photobleaching experiment. b) Variation of SCDOM (350-500) per day. c) Variation of aCDOM (400) accumulated UV radiation. d) Variation of aCDOM (400) per day. Note that the error bars represent ± standard deviation and exist for every data ponint corresponding with exposed samples in sub-figures b), c) and d), dark samples not included. 9. Figure 10. Changes of Humic-like fluorescence (Fn(355)) and protein-like fluorescence (Fn(280)) for allochthonous CDOM samples with time during photobleaching experiment. Bars = ±Standard Deviation
Narrating Scottish Devolution: Literature, Politics and the Culturalist Paradigm
No full textThis podcast explores the difficulty of making a cohesive story out of Scottish devolution, and the competing narratives and perspectives brought to the question by writers, historians, parliamentarians and constitutional experts. It emerges from a research workshop held at the University of Stirling to examine the idea of ‘cultural devolution’ – the notion that writers and artists made Holyrood possible – and revisits a side of the story which is less about taxation powers than the management of national feeling. With thanks to BBC Scotland, the Scottish Political Archive, Billy Kay and Stuart Platt for use of archival audio. Other recordings from ‘Narrating Scottish Devolution’ research workshops held at the University of Stirling, supported by a British Academy/Leverhulme Small Research Grant. Recording, editing and production assistance from Peter Geoghegan, with support from the Stirling Centre for Scottish Studies.This is an audio podcast, freely available online.This podcast was featured in the Guardian's Scotland blog on 26 February 2016: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/scotland-blog/2016/feb/26/nobodys-dream-stories-of-scottish-devolutio
The cartography of computational search spaces
No full textThe dataset contains landscape data for "Additional dimensions to the study of funnels in combinatorial landscapes", G. Ochoa, N. Veerapen. The 2016 Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference (GECCO 2016), 20-24 July 2016, Denver, Colorado, USA. The dataset describes the network structure of the local optima networks for the eight Traveling Salesman Problem instances that are sampled in the paper.The dataset contains landscape data for "Additional Dimensions to the Study of Funnels in Combinatorial Landscapes", G. Ochoa, N. Veerapen. The 2016 Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference (GECCO 2016), 20-24 July 2016, Denver, Colorado, USA. The dataset describes the network structure of the local optima networks for the eight Traveling Salesman Problem instances that are sampled in the paper.
Within GECCO2016-data.zip, the data are organised into eight folders, one for each of the eight instances analysed in the paper: att532, d657, gr666 and u574 (from TSPLIB, http://comopt.ifi.uni-heidelberg.de/software/TSPLIB95/) and C570.0, C670.0, E570.0 and E670.0 (included in the zip file and generated using the DIMACS TSP instance generator, http://dimacs.rutgers.edu/Challenges/TSP/download.html). Full details are given in the README.txt file
FAIME: A Feature based Framework to Automatically Integrate and Improve Metaheuristics via Examples
No full textModel coefficients for the models that are analysed in the paper, and predicted/true fitness values for the validation data. As described in the paper: Surrogate fitness functions are a popular technique for speeding up metaheuristics, replacing calls to a costly fitness function with calls to a cheap model. However, surrogates also represent an explicit model of the fitness function, which can be exploited beyond approximating the fitness of solutions. The paper proposed that mining surrogate fitness models can yield useful additional information on the problem to the decision maker, adding value to the optimisation process. An existing fitness model based on Markov networks was presented and applied to the optimisation of glazing on a building facade. Analysis of the model revealed how its parameters point towards the global optima of the problem after only part of the optimisation run, and revealed useful properties like the relative sensitivities of the problem variables.Documentation in README.txt: Data sets for the paper "Mining Markov Network Surrogates for Value-Added Optimisation"
by Alexander E.I. Brownlee [email protected] www.cs.stir.ac.uk/~sbr
Presented in the SAEOpt Workshop at GECCO 2016
DOI:10.1145/2908961.2931711
Files:
10runs-cost-biuni-1000-sel400.txt
10runs-cost-uni-400-sel140.txt
10runs-energy-biuni-1000-sel400.txt
10runs-energy-uni-400-sel140.txt
These are the aggregated model coefficients for the four MFMs mentione in the paper (cost/energy univariate/univariate+bivariate).
Columns are: coeffNumber mean stdDev
biuni-cost-predicts.txt
biuni-energy-predicts.txt
uni-cost-predicts.txt
uni-energy-predicts.txt
These are the predicted and true fitness values for the test solutions used to compute r^2 for the four MFMs mentione in the paper (cost/energy univariate/univariate+bivariate).
coefficients.xlsx
These are the model coefficients for the ten repeat runs of each model.
Each tab's rows are:
rowNumber
120 columns for univariate alphas
240 columns for bivariate alphas if applicable
1 colum for constan
Informal Learning and Citizen Science
No full textThis dataset contains a random sample of 951 participants in UK citizen science projects. Two citizen science projects were identified by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) to be the settings for this research, which was undertaken in 2015. The Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS) is the main monitoring scheme for non-breeding water birds in the UK, providing the data to evaluate the conservation of their populations and habitats. It began in 1947, and in 2015 had around 3000 volunteers participating in monthly counts at specific locations around the UK. The data collected are used to assess the size of water bird populations, determine trends in numbers and distribution, and assess the importance of individual sites. The Nest Record Scheme (NRS) gathers data on the breeding success of UK birds. Project volunteers find and follow the progress of individual birds' nests. The data collected are used to monitor trends in breeding performance among bird populations. These help to identify species that may be declining because of problems at the nesting stage. The NRS started in 1939 and in 2015 had around 660 active volunteers.
The online survey instrument for this project was devised by the project team in discussion with BTO staff. It drew upon existing surveys in the citizen science and informal science learning field, but additional questions were added to gather data on prior subjects studied, the influence of family and friends on participation in citizen science, and any impacts upon engagement in other science-related activities. The survey was piloted with a small number of BTO volunteers and revised in response to feedback. It was made available to volunteers between April and November 2015. A link to the survey was sent by the BTO to all volunteers contributing to WeBS and NRS. Two reminders were sent during the period that the survey was live. The response rate for NRS was around 38% and 23% for WeBS volunteers.citizenscience_20160829.dta Informal Learning and Citizen Science - Survey responses - 12/01/2016. File from Data Analysis and Statistical Software (STATA) version 13
Television framing of the 2014 Scottish independence referendum
No full textThis dataset contains the coding of the frames that appeared in all news and current affairs items about the 2014 Scottish independence referendum which were produced for a Scottish audience (i.e. excluding the UK-wide coverage of the referendum) and were broadcast on BBC Scotland and STV between 18 August and 18 September 2014. The file records the date, duration, channel, and type of each item in this coverage and whether or not the following frames were present: policy, strategic game, social justice, divorce, democratic achievement, constitutional change, national division, self determination, and national identity. The programmes themselves are available from the respective broadcasters.Television coverage analysis.sav. Indicators of game frame: emphasis on political strategy; war, game and horse-race metaphors; emphasis on who is winning or losing; reports of how the two sides are doing in polls; analyses of politicians’ performance. Indicators of policy frame: focus on policy problems, politicians’ proposals for their solution and their implications for the public. Indicators of identity frame: references to Scottish distinctiveness; references to the common features and history that Scots share with the rest of the UK. Indicators of self-determination frame: references to Scotland making decisions separately from the rest of the UK (not specifying what decisions); references to Scotland getting the governments it votes for. Indicators of divorce frame: marriage, relationship and/or breaking up metaphors; representation of Scotland and England as human partners or friends falling out. Indicators of national division frame: reports on current division in Scotland, emphasis on conflictive nature of the referendum. Indicators of democratic achievement frame: references to the referendum as a major achievement for democracy, reports on high involvement of citizens in debate, reports on high turnout, praise for the civility with which the referendum was carried out. Indicators of social justice frame: references to Scotland becoming a more fair and prosperous society; general references to resolving social injustices. Indicators of constitutional change frame: emphasis on achieving more powers for Scotland, references to changing the constitutional status of Scotland; reports on proposals for a federal UK, devo-max.
.SAV is a file extension used for saved data of SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences). SPSS is used for statistical analysis. SAV files contain binary data which can only be used on the platform that created the file. If migrating the file to another platform, it would have to be converted into the appropriate format. SPSS Version 21.0 used.The television programmes analysed are BBC Reporting Scotland, Scotland 2014, STV News at Six, Scotland Tonight, and all special referendum programmes shown on BBC Scotland and STV about the referendum between 18 August and 18 September 2014. Only the items on these programmes that were about the referendum were included in the analysis. The above recordings can be obtained from the broadcasters' archives
Data from: Niche partitioning in a sympatric cryptic species complex
No full textData for phenology, weather sensitivity and niche overlap analyses and for forage use analyses
Abstract from related journal article: Competition theory states that multiple species should not be able to occupy the same niche indefinitely. Morphologically, similar species are expected to be ecologically alike and exhibit little niche differentiation, which makes it difficult to explain the co-occurrence of cryptic species. Here, we investigated interspecific niche differentiation within a complex of cryptic bumblebee species that co-occur extensively in the United Kingdom. We compared the interspecific variation along different niche dimensions, to determine how they partition a niche to avoid competitive exclusion. We studied the species B. cryptarum, B. lucorum, and B. magnus at a single location in the northwest of Scotland throughout the flight season. Using mitochondrial DNA for species identification, we investigated differences in phenology, response to weather variables and forage use. We also estimated niche region and niche overlap between different castes of the three species. Our results show varying levels of niche partitioning between the bumblebee species along three niche dimensions. The species had contrasting phenologies: The phenology of B. magnus was delayed relative to the other two species, while B. cryptarum had a relatively extended phenology, with workers and males more common than B. lucorum early and late in the season. We found divergent thermal specialisation: In contrast to B. cryptarum and B. magnus, B. lucorum worker activity was skewed toward warmer, sunnier conditions, leading to interspecific temporal variation. Furthermore, the three species differentially exploited the available forage plants: In particular, unlike the other two species, B. magnus fed predominantly on species of heather. The results suggest that ecological divergence in different niche dimensions and spatio-temporal heterogeneity in the environment may contribute to the persistence of cryptic species in sympatry. Furthermore, our study suggests that cryptic species provide distinct and unique ecosystem services, demonstrating that morphological similarity does not necessarily equate to ecological equivalence.Data for phenology, weather sensitivity and niche overlap anlayses;
Data for forage use analyse