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Long short-term memory exploitation of satellite gravimetry to infer floods
Get PDFFlood forecasting is a vital segment of disaster risk management in that it contributes to the prediction of the magnitude, occurrence, duration and timing of floods. Owing to the nonlinear nature of atmospheric phenomena, however, forecasting becomes a challenging task that requires a multifaceted approach involving various sensors. Indeed, there exist compounding evidence that flood processes would benefit from use of various sensors. One such sensor is the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and its follow-on (GRACE-FO), which provides Total Water Storage (TWS) products that could potentially be useful for flood monitoring and forecasting. However, GRACE/GRACE-FO's coarse spatial resolution of 300 km remains a bottleneck to the full exploitation of its products for flood studies and management. Herein, a deep learning Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) method with high learning capability that optimizes the hyperparameters is proposed to downscale the coarse GRACE/GRACE-FO TWS products (from 300 km to 55 km). Its spatial and temporal learning is subjected to three different training scenarios (i.e., 60 %, 70 % and 85 %), where the one with least root-mean-square-errors (RMSE) is selected as the best-case scenario. The proposed LSTM deep learning approach is tested based on the 2019 Lorestan flood in Iran, where the results show that it successfully models the spatio-temporal behavior of TWS changes with its long-term and short-term memory capabilities. In March and April 2019, heavy precipitation caused a significant increase in TWS changes, approximately 40 ± 2 cm. This is captured by the LSTM-downscaled products but not the coarse GRACE/GRACE-FO TWS changes. Furthermore, the LSTM downscaled GRACE-FO TWS for the period after 2018 shows a strong and statistically significant mean correlation (above 0.70 at the 95 % confidence level) with both river discharge and precipitation. The original GRACE-FO on the other hand shows a correlation of 0.40, indicating the superiority of the LSTM-derived GRACE-FO's TWS changes. The coarse resolution of the GRACE satellite is a major cause of low correlation, which improves after downscaling. LSTM thus has the potential of downscaling GRACE products, providing data that are useful for flood process, management and studies.</p
Cross-cultural evidence that intergroup conflict heightens preferences for dominant leaders:A 25-country study
Get PDFAcross societies and across history, seemingly dominant, authoritarian leaders have emerged frequently, often rising to power based on widespread popular support. One prominent theory holds that evolved psychological mechanisms of followership regulate citizens' leadership preferences such that dominant individuals are intuitively attributed leadership qualities when followers face intergroup conflicts like war. A key hypothesis based on this theory is that followers across the world should upregulate their preferences for dominant leaders the more they perceive the present situation as conflict-ridden. From this conflict hypothesis, we generate and test four concrete predictions using a novel dataset including 5008 participants residing in 25 countries from different world regions (consisting of a mix of convenience and approximately representative country-specific samples). Specifically, we combine experimental techniques, validated psychological scales, and macro-level indicators of intergroup conflict to gauge people's preferences for dominant leadership. Across four independent tests, results broadly support the notion that the presence of intergroup conflict increases follower preferences for dominant leaders. Thus, our results provide robust cross-cultural support for the existence of an adaptive, tribal followership psychology, a finding that has various implications for understanding contemporary politics and international relations.</p
European Biometric ID Program in West Africa:Between European External Border Securitization and ECOWAS Free Movement
Get PDFThis article embodies a major shift from dominant Eurocentric narratives and policy analyses that over-exaggerate the benefits of the EU biometric ID system as a tool that facilitates free intra-regional movement in West Africa. The article argues that the intrusion of EU-funded biometric ID technologies in border security and migration governance seriously undermines ECOWAS Free Movement Protocols. I demonstrate how the EU biometric ID projects and border security measures in West Africa serve the ulterior interests of the two migration collaborating actors - the EU and African governments, while robbing local migrants of their freedom of movement. Basically, the EU migration-development-security nexus and its funding components have become an inducement for African governments to tighten their borders. These financial aids have been generally mismanaged by unscrupulous politicians
Shadow AI:Cyber Security Implications, Opportunities and Challenges in the Unseen Frontier
Get PDFThe progression of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies has reached a level that greatly enhances the different organizational sectors by facilitating them with the means to advance and improve systems and processes. Shadow AI implies the usage of AI tools and systems by individuals within an entity, respectively, without permission thereby implying that these tools were not directly monitored or controlled by the centralized IT or security department. It also contributes to significant cyber risks such as data and security breaches, abuse of compliance, and, in general, an increased threat landscape. This paper highlights into the emerging global security trends and Shadow AI while also covering the unique positioning within the threat landscape concerning unauthorized computation of sensitive data, safety vulnerabilities of the unmonitored AI models, and model poisoning alongside data leakage-marked out. Moreover, this paper covers how Shadow AI distracts the attack landscape while increasing the level of security problem for the organization. Shadow AI, however, can be employed to increase the ability to respond to threats, locate irregularities, and increase the range of options available for cyber solutions even with all its risks.</p
Bandung Conference 70 Years On:Visions of Decolonisation for a Multipolar World Order
Get PDFThis special issue aims to reflect on the legacies of the Bandung Conference in its 70th anniversary for the emerging multipolar world order. Seven articles in this special issue unpacks the many legacies of the Bandung Conference: from the epistemic visions of a new international order based on self-determination, sovereign equality, and postcolonial justice to the reshaping of the foreign policy of the ‘global south’ countries. We build on the legacies and pitfalls of the Bandung Conference to rethink what it means by, and what should be done for, the decolonisation agenda in world politics. We argue that the Bandung Conference has been able, primarily, to rethink the structure of international politics by embracing three visions of decolonisation: a political vision of territorial sovereignty and self-determination, an economic vision of equality and justice, and an epistemic vision for cultural and intellectual liberation from colonial legacies. However, these visions of decolonisation are threatened by the return of great power politics, sphere of influence, and the further marginalisation of the global south in an emerging multipolar world order. We argue that the global south needs to use opportunities from the multipolar world order to reassert their voices and agencies while at the same time critical of, and rejecting, the underlying imperial logic of the great powers. This special issue lays out some lessons from the Bandung Conference for a multipolar world order in three key sites of new global struggle: a political struggle to defend sovereignty, an economic struggle for global justice, and an intellectual struggle for equal knowledge production. These are the new Bandung visions for a multipolar world order
Missing the bus:Impacts of loss of bus services on the wellbeing of older adults
Get PDFBackgroundFor many people, buses play a crucial role in connecting them with friends and family, and to opportunities such as employment, education, retail, leisure, and healthcare.During autumn 2023 sections of the North East region of England endured seven weeks without usual bus services due to industrial action. This study explores the impact of the loss of bus services on older adults living in the borough of Gateshead.MethodsQualitative interviews with 15 older adults (aged 50–82 years) living in Gateshead explored their experiences of loss of bus services. Analysis of interview transcripts used an inductive approach to develop themes.ResultsFour main themes were identified: a shrinking world, striking at the heart of life, an unequal impact, and buses as a lifeline. The loss of bus services meant people could not reach their usual range of destinations, travelled less often, and felt a sense of entrapment in their homes. They missed healthcare appointments, social interactions, and were restricted to more localised services. People experienced a loss of freedom, independence, and control over their lives. The impacts fell disproportionately on people with existing social or economic disadvantages.ConclusionsOlder people described harmful consequences for their physical, mental, and social wellbeing. Impacts were unequally distributed and exacerbated underlying inequalities. Buses play a vital role in supporting health and wellbeing, enabling independence, and addressing inequalities. This research adds evidence for transport policymakers to support the social wellbeing case for improving public transport
Enhancing Accuracy In EMCCD Measurements Of Luminescence From Single Grains Through Minimising Signal Crosstalk
Get PDFThis study addresses the challenge of signal crosstalk in luminescence measurements from single sand-sized mineral grains, utilising Electron-Multiplying Charge-Coupled Devices (EMCCD) for imaging. Crosstalk, or signal interference between adjacent grains, may significantly hamper the accuracy of luminescence analysis of signals emitted by single mineral grains. The research aims to minimise crosstalk, thereby enhancing the integrity of the luminescence data from each grain. The effects of altering the aperture size and the spacing between grains on the sample disc are investigated using the 110◦C thermoluminescence (TL) peak of quartz as an example. Specifically, the introduction of a newly designed sample disc with increased spacing between grain holes shows promising results in mitigating signal overlap, as evidenced by the experimental data. In particular, we demonstrate that the new design dramatically decreases signal crosstalk, enabling reliable automatic data analysis with minimal interference. The study offers practical solutions for enhancing the reliability of single-grain based luminescence chronologies and dosimetric assessments. By minimising signal crosstalk, more precise and reliable analyses of thermoluminescence and OSL signals can be obtained. To demonstrate the potential of the new design, for the first time, we show the estimation of trap parameters of the 110◦C peak in quartz at a single-grain level using an EMCCD camera, comparing it with the lifetime of the electrons in the 110◦C trap measured directly through storage experiments.</p
‘The Way Enthusiasm Builds’:Frame Amplification and Emotional Reinforcement in Participatory Policymaking
Get PDFTo create policies about complex environmental challenges, it is vital to involve multiple stakeholders. Whilst research has shown how emotions may influence multi-stakeholder collaborations, the role of emotions in participatory policymaking is not sufficiently understood. This study focuses on the role of emotions during a series of citizen workshops that feed into urban tree management policies. Specifically, we explore how emotions are related to the deliberation of citizens’ frames (i.e. sensemaking schemata). Our findings demonstrate inherent interconnections between participants’ frames and emotions. We identify a chain of mechanisms by which the expression of frames and associated emotions during interactions led to an intertwined amplification of citizens’ frames and reinforcement of their emotions. We also explain the cases of ‘separation’ where this did not occur. Our model extends prior insights into the relationship between frames and emotions and demonstrates how citizen workshops serve not only to gain citizens’ input into public policies, but also to cultivate their frames through emotional reinforcement.</p
How Can We Make Scientific Events More Inclusive? :Insights From Q&A Sessions and Surveys From an International Conference
Get PDFDespite growing awareness of the importance of researcher diversity, barriers to inclusion and equity persist in science and at academic conferences. As hosts of the 37th International Ethological Congress, “Behaviour 2023”, we studied gender disparities that unfold during question-and-answer (Q&A) sessions using observational and experimental behavioural data and surveys. We further used the surveys to investigate broader equity, diversity and inclusivity (EDI) issues at conferences in general. Attendees perceived as women asked fewer questions than those perceived as men because they raised their hands less often to ask questions, and not because they were chosen less often by the session host. Self-reports indicated that self-identified women felt more comfortable asking questions when their own gender was represented (in the audience, by the speaker, and/or by the host) and when the setting was smaller. However, this pattern was not reflected in the observational data as perceived women asked fewer questions regardless of the situation. We report potential reasons why women asked fewer questions using survey data, and experimentally tested whether we could reduce gender disparity in question-asking. Our results indicate that session hosts cannot mitigate the gender disparity in question-asking by actively selecting perceived women to start the Q&A session. We addressed further inclusivity barriers of underrepresented minorities beyond gender in a post-congress survey, which showed that underrepresented minorities did not have a more positive or negative congress experience but did perceive EDI issues as more severe. We conclude by providing recommendations for organising more inclusive scientific events.</p
"More than Friends":Bisexual Perspectives in Roberta M. Graham's Fallen Angel and Helen Chadwick's Lofos Nymphon
Get PDFThis article traces Roberta M. Graham's and Helen Chadwick's creative and loving friendship through close readings of Graham's *Fallen Angel* (1986) and Chadwick's *Lofos Nymphon* (1987), exploring how these photographic installations illustrate what Clare Hemmings has described as a "bisexual perspective". While the discourse around both artists' work thoroughly documents their male collaborators, their relationship with, and influence on, one another has remained unexamined. When and why does bisexuality disappear, and with what effects? How does partiality and in-betweenness pose problems for the present-day imperative of queer artistic production to be visible? Deploying an embodied approach that draws on interviews with Graham and research on Chadwick's archive, I narrate my longing for a bisexual genealogy through a series of "scenes" that expose the erotic and ethical terrain that often characterises such queer archival encounters. What insights does a bisexual perspective offer queer art history in its attempts to resist the discipline's normative, canonising tendencies