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The Gnu Frontier: deploying machine learning and open-source electronics for the study of ungulate movement in the Anthropocene
Get PDFThe Anthropocene epoch has ushered in unprecedented and irreversible changes in many biomes, resulting in the disruption of ecological functions and processes. These changes are largely driven by the increased human footprint on a planetary scale and global warming. Consequently, various impacts have been documented, including the extinction of flora and fauna, modification of ecosystems into more homogeneous covers (e.g., farmlands), increase in human-dominated landscapes, disruptions of animal migrations, species range shifts, invasions leading to the extermination of native species, and encroachment of protected areas. These widespread ecosystem changes have become a primary concern for researchers and policymakers who must maintain a delicate balance between the persistence of species and their habitats and the promotion of sustainable development. Furthermore, the rate at which these changes are occurring outpaces the evolutionary response of many species. Consequently, gaining insight into how species respond to various ecological disruptions, both within and outside protected areas, is imperative. However, a thorough understanding of animal behaviour and their responses to rapid ecosystem changes remains challenging due to the lack of robust tools for collecting fine-grained data.
To address this methodological gap, I first use camera trap data to demonstrate how migratory species in the Serengeti ecosystem are spatially distributed in relation to human activities occurring in the immediate landscapes adjoining protected areas. The results reveal that the species tend to avoid areas transitioning into human-dominated landscapes as opposed to those bordering buffer zones. The results hold significant conservation value and illuminate population-level responses to anthropogenic disturbances. However, camera trap data does not provide individual-level behavioural insights. Consequently, it remains unclear which additional factors and social cues animals may be observing when traversing across habitats with varying threat levels and how these factors influence their behaviour. Camera traps and telemetry tools such as GPS alone cannot provide data required to answer such questions; therefore, a different set of tools is necessary. Leveraging the capabilities of open-source electronics, I present a low-cost system for automated and repeated observation of collared animals. This system consists of a GPS collar, a long range network (LoRa) radio transmitter, and a commercially available low-flying unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), taking advantage of its built-in capacity to track a stream of GPS points. The system was tested on a small group of ponies and demonstrated its efficacy and performance by collecting data on focal individual as well as information about its nearest neighbours.
Furthermore, automated tracking system collects data in bursts of approximately 20 minutes, aligning with the flight time capacity of a fully charged battery. As such, obtaining behavioural data for longer periods is difficult which necessitates a different approach. Given the rapid ecological changes, it is crucial to understand animal behaviour and its perception of the immediate surroundings. For instance, where do animals spend more time being vigilant as opposed to engaging in other restorative activities like resting? Such areas could be regarded as risky from an animal’s perspective. In this study, I developed a near real-time animal behaviour classifier using low-cost open-source electronics, a low-power long-range wide-area network (LoRaWAN) for connectivity, and edge machine learning. The custom-designed animal tracking system records behavioural data, preprocesses it, and classifies it into four classes: grazing, lying, standing, and walking. The predicted behaviour classes are transmitted to the end-user via servers in near real-time. The tracking tool was tested on Serengeti wildebeest and demonstrated its performance by sending both behavioural classes alongside positional data of the collared animal.
In this study, I have demonstrated the utility of existing remote tracking tools as well as their limitations in addressing evolving ecological questions in relation to animal behaviour and response to ecosystem perturbations. The methodological approaches presented here have the potential to greatly enhance our understanding of animal ecology. Importantly, the application of novel technologies will empower scientists to enhance existing tools, generate complementary data streams, improve data resolution and quantity, and enrich their overall capabilities to study complex questions. For instance, it improves our ability to collect behavioural and positional data, monitor focal individuals, and track nearest neighbours, and potentially opens up other avenues for scientific applications. The application of open-source electronics creates an opportunity for other researchers to customise the tools as an alternative to commercial devices to address specific questions and potentially result in other valuable innovations
Windows to the universe: mapping the values of the Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park
Get PDFThis thesis critically explores the cultural values of an International Dark Sky Park (IDSP) through an interdisciplinary research practice composed of site-based ethnography, qualitative research methods and creative enquiry. IDSPs are internationally designated areas where communities have pledged to conserve the natural darkness of the night sky through light pollution abatement programmes and educational outreach. This research focuses on one such place: the Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park (GFDSP) in southwest Scotland, which was awarded dark sky status in 2009.
Windows to the universe maps the lifeworlds of the GFDSP and its unique approach to dark skies. I discuss the impact of the designation on the region and its communities, and explore how the GFDSP and its values are variously imagined, experienced and enacted by its stakeholders as conservation model, novel tourist destination and place of residence. From recreational programming and planning to more informal gatherings of local residents and contingent encounters with other nocturnal inhabitants, the project presents a rich ethnography of the social lives and landscapes of the GFDSP. The research presented in this thesis was conducted during 2016–2020, a period leading up to and including the GFDSP's ten-year anniversary in 2019. It engages with stakeholders in a process of critical reflection that casts forward to possible new futures for IDSP practice.
Through an interdisciplinary research practice composed of site-based ethnography, qualitative research methods and arts-based approaches such as long-exposure photography, audio recording and embodied, participative practice, Windows to the universe engages the GFDSP as an evolving assemblage, co-constituted by a diverse range of agents, practices, and experiences. A commitment to non-representational practice further guides this research. Through an aesthetic attention to the affective, situated and relational dimensions of dark sky stewardship, Windows to the universe demonstrates how the values and ‘stakes’ of IDSPs are neither fixed nor stable, but emergent and co-produced through practice and in-place. I affirm IDSPs as important sites of cultural and socioecological encounter with dark skies and dark landscapes, and further, that IDSPs could be more directly engaged as important sites of knowledge production about the night, darkness and light. My approach is realised in the form of the thesis through the deployment of a ‘distributed methodology’ that interrupts and interpolates the linear narrative of the thesis to make visible – and tangible – the generative relationships between researcher, site and practice, and to continually re-situate my discussions in the material, social and ecological context of my research site: the Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park
Scotland’s Hikikomori: estimating patterns of extreme social withdrawal in young people following COVID19
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Dunbar’s provocation: literary criticism, text-audience relationships, and textual instability in The Tretis of the Twa Mariit Wemen and the Wedo
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Formal analysis of communication protocols for wireless sensor systems
Get PDFSensor technology is an increasingly popular area of research due to the prevalent use of sensor devices. With the need for accurate, detailed data sensors are increasingly often used together in sensor networks. As the size of these sensor networks grows, so does the importance of efficient methods for their analysis for the prevention of system errors and discovery of design flaws. The increasing number of sensor devices leads to an exponential increase is the state space of the associated model. As such models of realistic systems are decreasingly often small enough for their verification to be feasible. Symmetry reduction techniques developed over the last 30 years, have been shown to be effective in reducing the state space explosion problem, particularly in the case of heterogeneous sensor systems, which contain many identical sensor devices.
In this thesis we present our approach to verifying Ctrl-MAC, a novel wireless network protocol that supports bidirectional communication of multiple simultaneous physical properties. We explore the extent to which symmetry reduction can aid the model checking process for a sensor network communication protocol. We present our results, and suggest statistical approaches based on our observations of the protocol.
We investigate the use of automated tools for the application of symmetry reduction, in particular GRIP, which is well suited for symmetry reduction of wireless sensor network systems. Models of communication protocols often require the use of synchronisation to model the interaction between devices. We present GRIP 3.0, a new version of the tool, which provides support for the use of synchronised transition statements. We provide results from practical work, coupled together with a discussion of drawbacks and future improvements
“I’ve got nothing tae dae with the climate”. Exploring ethical consumption in deprivation
No full textAbstract not currently available
Awareness and attitude towards cervical cancer risk, screening, and HPV vaccination in West Africa
Get PDFBackground: Cancer is a major global public health problem. Cervical cancer is the fourth most diagnosed cancer and the fourth leading cause of death in women. Cervical cancer incidence and mortality is higher in sub–Saharan Africa (SSA) compared to the rest of the world. There is a paucity of research on the burden of cervical cancer in West Africa. To contribute towards reducing the burden of cervical cancer in West Africa, understanding the various factors contributing to higher risk burden of cervical cancer in West Africa is pertinent. This thesis focused on two main aims: (1) Review evidence on the knowledge, attitudes, and barriers of HPV vaccination and cervical cancer screening among healthcare professionals. (2) Examine the risk burden of cervical cancer, awareness and participation in cervical cancer screening and its determinants among women aged 15 – 49 years.
Methods: To address the research objectives, two approaches were taken: (1) A systematic review (study 1) of quantitative studies on evidence relating to the knowledge, attitudes, and barriers of healthcare professionals in West Africa toward HPV vaccination and cervical cancer screening, using a narrative synthesis. (2) empirical analyses (studies 2-4) was used to examine the risk burden of cervical cancer, awareness and participation of cervical cancer and screening and its determinants among women aged 15-49 years across eight West African countries. The study (studies 2-4) analysed a secondary data (N = 128,173), using the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) which included Benin, Cameroon, The Gambia, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone. Statistical analyses were conducted in R statistical software using Poisson and logistic regression. Total number of risk factors of common risk factors for cervical cancer were analysed and factors associated with increased or decreased total number of risks were discussed. Also, demographic and media factors associated with awareness and participation in cervical cancer and screening were established.
Results: In study 1, twenty-five (25) studies were identified from the systematic review, and they varied based on country of study, outcome of interest, and population of study. Only studies from five West African countries were represented in the analysis with most considering nurses or midwives than doctors. Awareness varied across the countries, willingness to recommend HPV vaccine and cervical screening were high among HCPs, but recommendation of HPV vaccine or cervical cancer screening were low. Participation in pap smear was low among HCPs. Barriers of HPV vaccination as reported by the HCPs included limited information, poor knowledge or awareness of the vaccine and doubt about the efficacy of the vaccine. Psychological barriers were commonly reported by the HCPs as reasons for not participating in cervical screening. This included fear or scared of the result, stigmatization, and beliefs (religious, cultural), among other reasons. Cost was a system barrier for both HPV vaccination and cervical screening while availability of the vaccine was also a system barrier for HPV vaccination. The media was the major source of information of HCPs about HPV vaccination and cervical screening.
Study 2 showed that the risk factors for cervical cancer with the highest prevalence across the eight West African countries included: age of first sexual intercourse (≤ 17 years), age of first birth (≤ 19 years), and parity greater than two children. Liberia had the highest prevalence of early age of first sexual intercourse ≤ 17 years (84.1%) and early age of first birth ≤ (67.2%) while Mali had the highest prevalence of parity greater than two children (54.1%). Women in the older age group in Nigeria, Benin, Cameroon, and Sierra Leone had an increased number of risk factors from 30 years, but in the other countries there were no clear pattern. Liberian women aged 30-34 years had the highest number of risk factors (adjusted incidence risk ratio aIRR: 1.30; 95% CI: 1.18-1.42) among all the countries and age groups. Increased educational level was associated with lower number of risk factors compared to women with no education. The risk was lowest in women with higher education in The Gambia (aIRR: 0.59; 95% CI: 0.51-0.69) and Nigeria (aIRR: 0.59; 95% CI: 0.56-0.63).
Study 3 found awareness of cervical cancer was very low in Benin (9.5%) compared to women in Cameroon (46.1%). Women aged 45+ were two and three times more aware of cervical cancer in Benin and Cameroon respectively. Awareness of cervical cancer was six times more in Benin and about nine times more in Cameroon among women with higher education, compared to women with no education. The odds of cervical screening awareness varied with age. Women aged 25-34 years in Benin and 45+ in Cameroon had almost twice the odds of cervical screening awareness. In women with higher education in Benin the odds of cervical screening awareness were four times and in Cameroon almost three times compared to women with no education. Study 4 found that the prevalence of cervical screening participation was extremely low (<5%) in Benin and Cameroon. In Benin, the odds of women who were aware of cervical cancer and participating in cervical screening was six times higher, while women aware of both cervical cancer and screening had odds ratio of 39 times, compared to women not aware of cervical cancer or screening. In Cameroon, the odds were about 15 times in women aware of cervical cancer and screening. Also, in Cameroon older age, and having health insurance and reading the newspaper or magazine and using the internet were associated with increased odds of cervical screening participation while living in a rural area had a reduced odd.
Conclusions: The findings from this research observe that recommendations from HCPs are important in the implementation of HPV vaccination and cervical screening program in West Africa. Early age of first sexual intercourse (≤ 17 years), early age of first birth (≤ 19 years), and parity greater than two children are some of the risk factors for cervical cancer that might be of more importance than others in West Africa. In contrast to the high knowledge of cervical cancer and screening among HCPs, awareness was low among women. Lastly, while screening participation was low among HCPs, it was much lower among the women population in the study
Corporate finance in the digital age
Get PDFThis thesis, structured into three chapters, delves into novel and significant research questions in corporate finance within the digital age, employing advanced quantitative methodologies: 1. Social Connectedness and Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions; 2. Remote or Face-to-Face: CEO Interviews and Investor Disagreement; 3. Climate Change Exposure and Mutual Fund Ownership. Chapter 1 investigates the role of social connectedness in cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As). Using Facebook’s Social Connectedness Index, the chapter shows that social connectedness induces higher stock returns to acquirers’ M&A announcements. Social connectedness works through an information dissemination channel, which reduces target premiums, increases the completion rate, and facilitates long-run success. Chapter 2 examines the financial implications of CEOs’ information disclosure modalities. Using CEOs’ televised media interviews on CNBC, the chapter finds that, compared to face-to-face interviews, remote interviews are associated with larger investor disagreement around the interview date. The lack of medium richness in remote interviews can lead to increased dispersion in information interpretation among investors, resulting in larger investor disagreement. Chapter 3 documents a negative implication of firms’ climate change exposure on their mutual fund ownership, using Sauter et al. (2023)’s climate change exposure index. This thesis provides insights into the evolving corporate finance in the digital age, by employing diverse and dynamic data sources and analytical tools, such as textual analysis and bridging sociological concepts, CEO behaviors, and environmental concerns with corporate finance
Flourishing or floundering? Exploring Ukrainian elementary schoolteacher understandings of their professional experience
Get PDFThis empirical study investigated Ukrainian elementary (in the UK, known as primary) schoolteacher perceptions of their professional flourishing within the current education environment in Ukraine. It involved 12 teachers from different parts of the country and explored the relationship between professional and personal flourishing. In addition, the research attended to the contexts of state and society within conditions of ongoing neoliberal education reform since Ukraine declared independence in 1991. Teacher opinions were also solicited about the relationship between professional flourishing and continuous professional development (CPD) in this dynamic climate. Their views were elicited as well about a preferred educational future for the evolving democracy of Ukraine under the impact of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic and the Russian invasion in 2022. The study took a qualitative approach and employed narrative inquiry using visually based data collection techniques (‘river of experience’ and autophotography/photo elicitation), along with semi-structured focused group discussions and individual interviews. It responds to a gap in the broader literature about drivers of work engagement (disengagement) and meaningfulness (Long, 2014). Additionally, the discourse remains scant in the studies of post-communist/post-totalitarian education systems and is underrepresented in the literature (Oleksiyenko, 2016). Findings revealed that three fundamental confluences contributed to the teacher-participants’ journeys of professional flourishing, individually and collectively: perseverance: managing personal and practitioner difficulties, field challenges, and societal crises; innovation: embracing and creating new techniques and technologies; and identity: transitioning from a centralized to a capitalist economy and balancing the new forces of neoliberalism, Europeanism, and globalization while educating children for Ukraine. The implications of these findings are discussed, and topics for further research are proposed
Culture, crisis and salvation on the Isle of Lewis
Get PDFThe historical resilience of communities such as those found in the Gàidhealtachd, with their long traditions of communal living and self-sufficient means of subsistence, can provide a model from which to derive alternative modes of living equipped to deal with crises. The Isle of Lewis is a small scale social formation that is at odds with the world of unchecked expansion of industry and commerce. This particular Gàidhealtachd culture places value on sustainability, peacefulness and maintaining their distinct cultural heritage. These values are sustained through communal reinforcement that partly comes from religious conviction as well as spiritual connection to the community and the environment. This thesis will investigate the role of religion in the resilience and survival of this culture through a variety of local and global crises. Field interviews with tradition bearers inform the analysis, drawing on a grounded theory approach. By considering how religion has contributed to this resistance and survival, this thesis will investigate how this unique cultural identity operates as a living religion. Consequently, asking if this cultural identity operates in a similar way to liberation theology in the ways that it helps to sustain the indigenous islander way of life
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