9095 research outputs found
Sort by
The impact of mobile demersal fishing on blue carbon in seabed sediments:Fisheries Industry Science Partnerships scheme (FISP) report
Get PDFSeabed sediments are one of the largest stores of organic carbon, and as such are an important stock of natural capital as this process aids in carbon sequestration. Recent scientific papers have raised concern over the potential impacts of mobile bottom gears on sediment carbon, suggesting that bottom trawling leads to a remineralisation of this organic carbon, and therefore reducing net uptake of CO2 from the atmosphere. Empirical data on the effect of bottom fishing on seabed organic carbon and its potential to be mineralised are mixed in outcome, and so more empirical data in needed from a range of fishing gears and habitat types to fully inform any potential management decision. In April 2023 experimental fishing was conducted by a beam trawler and scallop dredger off the southwestern coast of England to measure how, and if, organic carbon in the sediment is affected if resuspended and subsequently remineralized. We found no clear evidence of reduction in organic carbon due to trawling and dredging in the low carbon (mean 0.13 % Corg), coarse sediments (sandy gravels) of the study area. Potential signals of sediment resuspension were observed, but no consistent or significant signals of clear organic carbon resuspension and remineralisation from the carbon and nutrient analysis on water samples were found. We suggest that the underlying sedimentary environment results in low organic carbon content with naturally high remineralisation rates, which made the experimental fishing conducted limited in its potential direct effect on sedimentary carbon and remineralisation, and the ability of detecting any potential fishing effect difficult to detect
My Woodland Heritage
Get PDFI’ve been talking and thinking about all aspects of sustainable woodland and land management for many years. Heritage crafts, planting and caring for trees, thevalue of local supply chains, and the importance for wellbeing of being connected to land and nature. But only recently have I got to have a go at it for myself
Simulation of Gb/s free space optical secure communication using interband cascade laser chaos
Get PDFWe theoretically explore Gb/s message encryption in free space communications exploiting synchronized mid-infrared chaos from unidirectionally coupled interband cascade lasers (ICLs) with optical feedback. The achievable message encryption rate depends on the chaos bandwidth and relaxation frequency oscillation of the ICL which in turn, are determined by the bias current and the number of stages of the ICL. It is shown that message encryption rates up to 4 Gb/s may be obtained with bit error rate (BER) compatible with regular telecommunication systems requirements
The effect of observing trained conspecifics on the performance and motivation of goldfish, Carassius auratus, in a spatial task
Get PDFSpatial and social cognition are two aspects of fish behaviour that have been subject to an increasing amount of research in recent years, but few have investigated potential behaviour overlaps. Testing the ability for an individual to socially learn a spatial task would bridge this gap in understanding. We provided naïve goldfish, Carassius auratus, the opportunity to observe a trained conspecific navigate a T-shaped maze, and then recorded how many trials it took for them to learn the maze, time taken per trial, motivation, and acceptance of the food reward. We also recorded how many trials it took a control group to learn the maze without the opportunity to observe a demonstrator. The observer group took significantly longer to learn the maze than the control group. Although the observer group were significantly less motivated (trials without a choice made), they were significantly more likely to accept the food reward. The social learning of reward acceptance was taking place, but the process of the demonstration disrupted the training of the spatial task, with possible explanations as the passenger effect and trade-off mechanism being discussed. Future studies are needed to determine whether goldfish can acquire spatial information socially; however, this study contributes to the feasibility of studying social learning of environmentally information in goldfish
A word to the wise (gair i gall): university teacher educators’ experiences of emergency response pedagogy in Wales
Get PDFThis study investigates the impact of COVID-19 on Initial Teacher Education (ITE) in Wales by examining university teacher educators’ experiences during lockdown. The pandemic significantly disrupted teacher-education partnerships, prompting rapid adaptation and changing delivery modes. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews with university teachers from eight HEIs offering teacher education in Wales in early 2022 to understand these rapid pedagogical adjustments and the transition to online teaching. Thirteen educators with varying expertise in online learning provided insights into institutional emergency pedagogy approaches. The transcribed interviews underwent a hybrid thematic analysis, initially guided by the Community of Inquiry framework and later using an open coding approach. Seven themes were identified: digital equity, assurance of professional learning, online etiquette, online teaching philosophy, design principles, meeting teaching standards, and belonging and making online connections. While the shift to online learning was transformative for Welsh academia, it highlighted a lack of digital preparedness. Cultural, linguistic and geographical factors, usually associated with fostering belonging, became obstacles during lockdown. The findings suggest that the Welsh ITE sector should adopt an outward-looking approach, leveraging existing research and proven pedagogical models to enhance professional development for university teachers and reimagining digital pedagogies to prepare for classroom realities effectively
Cold homes in Wales: Is the satisfactory heating regime appropriate for health and well-being?
No full textProtected areas and people: Understanding the links between well-being and rule breaking around the Leuser Ecosystem
Get PDFDigital entrepreneurial marketing bricolage: shaping technology-in-practice
Get PDFPurpose The use of digital marketing technologies remains low in Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs), with digital transformation being a concern for governments globally. This study reports on the human-technology interaction process, using digital entrepreneurial marketing (DEM) bricolage and a sociomateriality lens to examine more deeply organisational interaction between marketers and digital marketing technologies in these firms. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative case study and purposive sampling approach are deployed, using seven SMEs in the same UK region. A bricolage and sociomateriality framework and template analysis are used to identify digital marketing strategies and challenges, levels of digital marketing bricolage and assess the value for each firm. Findings Firms practice different levels of DEM bricolage depending on the interactions of the marketers with digital marketing tools. Those marketers in firms who had higher levels of interaction between the human and the technological provided greater long-term strategic value for the SME. Originality/value This is the first study to apply a sociomateriality lens to bricolage in an SME digital marketing context and allows us to view the way in which employees interact with digital marketing technology and create value. There is scarce empirical data in this area despite numerous calls in the developing field of entrepreneurship and digitalisation in small and growing firms
