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Overview of Technology Use Against Illegal Fishing Using AIS Data
Get PDFThis presentation explores the issue of illegal fishing under the scope of Social Network Analysis. Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing is a criminal industry estimated to account for over 10 billion dollars annually, and plays a large part in the excessive exploitation of fish stocks around the world. Research has been conducted on this matter, and researchers are now able to assess suspicious activity at sea by analyzing data from the Automatic Identification System (AIS) and cross-referencing that information with other sources, such as Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imaging. However, even with the success of these technologies culminating in vessel apprehensions by law enforcement agencies, the infrastructural impact this entails is dwarfed by the profits obtained from these activities. One of the factors contributing to the difficulty in end-point monitoring for marine products of illegal origins is the use of transshipment vessels. These collect products from both legal and illegal fishing vessels and transport it to ports with more lax regulations, where they can offload their untraceable cargo into mainstream markets and generate profits for the illegal organizations that coordinate these operations. This presentation proposes that we analyze the network of transshipment vessels in the ocean by visualizing it under the scope of Social Network Analysis. We create a social network graph from the vessels at sea, and define the connections between them according to encounters between these vessels. By visualizing the vessels in this manner, we can infer which are likely to be used for transshipment purposes. Determining these interactions between vessels could provide useful information to aid law enforcement efforts around the world in understanding the structure of the illegal organizations profiting off of these activities, and contribute to a data-driven approach in combating these operations worldwide
Effects of Age, Rainfall, and Temperature on Feather Colouration in Mountain Bluebirds
No full textIn sexually dichromatic birds, ornamentation can play an important role in mate selection. Males with greater ornamentation tend to experience greater reproductive success, presumably because feather colouration provides an indicator of individual quality or is simply more attractive to females. While numerous studies have examined factors affecting ornamentation in birds that possess carotenoid-based plumage coloration (where carotenoids ingested through the bird’s diet are directly deposited into the feather, creating red, orange, or yellow plumage colour), less is known about the factors that affect birds that exhibit structural-based plumage coloration (where the color is based on microscopic feather structures). This study attempts to explore the effects of individual age, rainfall, and temperature on feather coloration in mountain bluebirds, a species with structurally-based UV-blue plumage coloration. Feathers were collected during bluebird breeding seasons (May-August) from 2011-2019 in the Kamloops area, and scanned using reflectance spectroscopy. An R-based color analysis program was used to analyze reflectance measurements, and the results were then analyzed using principal component analysis and mixed effects models to compare feather colouration on both an individual and population level. Within individuals, we found that colour decreased in older males in both rump and tail feathers, while at a population level, young males and females showed greater ornamentation as they aged. While the results from the weather models are not yet well understood, it appears that males and females were affected differently by rainfall and temperature, in terms of resulting plumage colouration
The Role of Local Temperatures in the Timing of Egress and ingress of Western Rattlesnakes (Crotalus oreganus)
No full textClimate change is projected to have various effects on plant and animal life. Considerable research has been done on how mammals may respond to climate change, yet ectotherms may be significantly affected as their body temperature is largely environmentally dependent. In particular, denning ectotherms near their northernmost limits may face challenges adjusting to new seasonal temperature patterns that will influence ingress (entering hibernation) and egress (exiting hibernation). We investigated ground, air, and den mouth temperatures using temperature-recording dataloggers at 7 western rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus) communal dens located throughout the Thompson-Okanagan, during the 2019 ingress and egress periods. As expected, correlation matrices showed that maximum, minimum, and average temperatures for individual den temperature profiles were highly correlated. Regression analysis has determined that maximum and minimum ground temperature variation between dens is not often a function of time, and temperatures between dens are usually significantly different. Ultimately, these results will be compared to the actual ingress and egress patterns of the snakes that is simultaneously being documented by cameras
An Altered Peri-Hand Space in Autism
No full textWhen an object is located near the hand (in peri-hand space) it is subject to enhanced visual processing. This is proposed to facilitate the development of accurate visually guided reach and grasp movements in childhood. For infants at risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) research suggests that impairments in reaching and grasping can be seen as early as six months of age. The cause of these deficits is largely unknown. One possibility is that abnormal multisensory integration could interfere with peri-hand space function during development. If this were the case, impaired sensory processing in near-hand space could have a cascading effect on motor development and the subsequent development of higher level social and communication abilities. Thus, we hypothesize that peri-hand space effects will be altered in individuals with Autism, compared to typically developing individuals. To test this, adults particpants with and without an ASD diganosis will complete a visual search task that requires them to locate a target object among an array of distractors on a computer screen. Each participant will complete the task under two conditions: right hand near the screen (within peri-hand space) and right hand on the lap (outside of peri-hand space). We expect to find that peri-hand sapce effects will be stronger when the right hand is placed close to the screen in typically developing particapants only. These results may indicate that processing in near hand space is altered in ASD and could lead to a reliable marker of the disorder, subsequently leading to earlier interventions
PSYC 2110: Introduction to Research Methods
No full textSleep deprivation interacts with time of day (circadian phase) to impair vigilance, reaction time, and higher cognitive processes. Previous research has shown that bright light, particularly at night, can have an immediate positive influence on subjective arousal, enhance alertness, and cognitive performance. For this assignment, students were supplied with hypothetical data that closely resembled data collected in 2010 for a study investigating countermeasures to drowsy driving. The hypothetical data represented RTs, collected using a psychomotor vigilance task, of fifty healthy, young volunteers who were randomly assigned to a night of sleep deprivation, or a night of sleep. RT was assessed for all participants under both bright light and dim light conditions on separate days. It was hypothesized that, overall, RT would be faster under the bright light condition than the dim light condition. RT would also be faster for participants who were rested compared to participants who were sleep deprived. In addition, we predicted that when participants were sleep deprived, bright light would improve RT compared to dim light.
Class Research Coaches: Taryn Coleman and Devon DeVrie
Explorations of Japanese Culture: MLAN 2700
No full textThe students of MLAN 2700 Field School Japan will create and present a poster outlining their research on various aspects of Japanese culture
Using Novel Methods to Assess Instream Movement of Migrating Western Toads
No full textWestern toads are a species of conservation concern in BC; they participate in numerous ecological processes, act as an indicator species for ecosystem health and are in decline throughout much of their range. Understanding western toad movement is an important component of toad ecology and conservation; a historically overlooked element of toad migration has been instream movement. I studied the instream movements of a regionally and provincially significant population of western toads at Summit Lake, BC. I established used Fyke nets within streams to capture toads; this is a novel methodology for toad capture that has thus far only been employed in two studies, both of which occurred in Montana. I successfully captured toads in all non-larval life stages. A notable finding was the capture of a considerable number of toadlets involuntarily moving downstream during attempted migration to upland habitat. The high success rate in capturing toads and toadlets using Fyke nets suggests that there are many potential conservation applications for this methodology
Gamers Who Gamble: Examining the Relationship Between Esports Spectatorship and Event Wagering
Get PDFDuring recent years, while electronic sports (esports) has increasingly become a positive mainstream cultural phenomenon, it also may have several socio-economic implications, such as the growth of esports betting. Much like betting in sport, betting on esports has become a prominent form of gambling. However, there is still a paucity of knowledge on the demographic characteristics of this gambling cohort, particularly in regard to its relationship to video game play and spectatorship. In the present study, past-year video gamers (N = 1368) completed an online survey. Survey questions inquired about their esports event spectating, video game play, and esports betting behaviours, as well as general demographic questions. Video gamers who bet on esports were adistinct cohort from their counterparts: younger, more likely to be male, lower frequency of video game play, higher frequency of esports spectatorship, and more likely to watch esports in a social setting (e.g., with others). By providing a background on gamers’ behaviours this work contributes to the growing body of research into the dynamic profile of esports play, spectatorship, and gambling. Findings are reflective of the growing interrelation of gambling and gaming behaviours, a subject garnering increasing attention from governments, regulatory agencies, public health specialists and clinicians, and the related industries themselves
Open a new door to activities in critical analysis – engage your learners through images
No full textTRU Teaching Practices Colloquium Session Proposal (40 minutes, including discussion) Opening Up sub-theme Terryl Atkins, Marie Bartlett, Thomas Sandhoff Open a new door to activities in critical analysis – engage your learners through images TRU highlighted communications as one of the main growth areas for current career development, because we live in a world of information shaping and synthesis. Visual literacy, visual communication, and a critical emphasis on visuality have been identified as “the most important and potentially revolutionary problem in current curricular theory” in the college and university system. (Elkins 2008) No longer considered supplemental to other forms of information, The American Association of College and Research Libraries has identified visual literacy key to 21st century critical understanding in their Visual Literacy Standards Document (2011). CAISSIE (Critical Analysis of Images Site (seeing, imaging, examining)) is an OER (Open Educational Resource) developed by TRU’s faculty member, Terryl Atkins. If you are looking for a classroom activity that would inspire your learners to critically examine a topic through images, CAISSIE may be a great find. A space full of possibility, CAISSIE can accommodate group or individual projects, giving learners a platform to create and publicly share critical content. As technology advances, image-based learning moves to the forefront of pedagogy throughout the disciplines. In this workshop, we will showcase CAISSIE and discuss how it can support learning activities in your classroom. This resource can provide direct benefit to students because it provides critical understanding of the use of imagery to collect and convey information across the disciplines