62 research outputs found
Spatial assessment of land degradation through key ecosystem services: The role of globally available data
No full textLand degradation is a serious issue especially in dry and developing countries leading to ecosystem services (ESS) degradation due to soil functions' depletion. Reliably mapping land degradation spatial distribution is therefore important for policy decisions. The main objectives of this paper were to infer land degradation through ESS assessment and compare the modelling results obtained using different sets of data. We modelled important physical processes (sediment erosion and nutrient export) and the equivalent ecosystem services (sediment and nutrient retention) to infer land degradation in an area in the Ethiopian Great Rift Valley. To model soil erosion/retention capability, and nitrogen export/retention capability, two datasets were used: a ‘global’ dataset derived from existing global-coverage data and a hybrid dataset where global data were integrated with data from local surveys. The results showed that ESS assessments can be used to infer land degradation and identify priority areas for interventions. The comparison between the modelling results of the two different input datasets showed that caution is necessary if only global-coverage data are used at a local scale. In remote and data-poor areas, an approach that integrates global data with targeted local sampling campaigns might be a good compromise to use ecosystem services in decision-making
A Bayesian hierarchical model for risk assessment of methylmercury
No full textThis article uses a Bayesian hierarchical model to quantify the adverse health effects associated with in-utero exposure to methylmercury. By allowing for study-to-study as well as outcome-to-outcome variability, the approach provides a useful meta-analytic tool for multi-outcome, multi-study environmental risk assessments. The analysis presented here expands on the findings of a National Academy of Sciences (NAS) committee, charged with advising the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on an appropriate approach to conducting a risk assessment for methylmercury. The NAS committee, for which the senior author (Ryan) was a committee member, reviewed the findings from several conflicting studies and reported the results from a Bayesian hierarchical model that synthesized information across several studies and for several outcomes. Although the NAS committee did not suggest that the hierarchical model be used as the actual basis for a methylmercury risk assessment, the results from the model were used to justify and support the final recommendation that the risk analysis be based on data from a study conducted in the Faroe Islands, which had found an association between in-utero exposure to methylmercury and impaired neurological development. We consider a variety of statistical issues, but particularly sensitivity to model specification. © 2003 American Statistical Association and the International Biometric Society
Book Review: Remaking Memory : Autoethnography, memoir and the ethics of self John Freeman With contributions by Rebekka Kill, Nazar Jabour, Kate Rice, Steph Brocken and Jamie Coull
No full textJohn Freeman’s Remaking Memory: Autoethnography, memoir and the ethics of self makes a significant contribution to autoethnography and memoir. The book includes a lengthy chapter on autoethnographic performance that draws upon literary and performance works pertaining to self-narrating practices. Five case studies by postgraduate students are also included in order to ‘remind the reader [and author] that a sole authorial voice is usually suspect’ (13) and to provide first-hand accounts of some of the ways in which performance and autoethnography have been applied within specific research contexts. Case studies by Rebekka Kill (UK), Nazar Jabour (Iraq/Australia), Kate Rice (Australia), Steph Brocken (UK) and Jamie Coull (Australia) stem directly from the graduate researchers’ theses, offering rich insight into transnational questions of methodology and modes of presentation
Nursing Best Practice Statements: an exploration of their implementation in clinical practice
No full textAims and objectives. To explore implementation of the first five Best Practice Statements from the perspective of nurses involved in their development. Background. Best Practice Statements were introduced in Scotland to encourage consistent evidence-based nursing practice. As a new initiative, research was required to investigate their clinical implementation. Design and methods. In this descriptive study, semi-structured interviews of a purposive sample of nurses (n ¼ 15) were undertaken. Content analysis was used to identify themes emerging from the interview data. Findings. Four main themes emerged from analysis of transcripts: variations in use of the Best Practice Statements; benefits to patients; benefits to practitioners; and, barriers and drivers to use. Amongst participants, personal users adopted the statements in their own practice but enablers also actively encouraged others to use the statements. Whether participants acted as enablers depended on individual, team and organizational factors. The ability of participants to act as leaders was influential in determining their ability both to facilitate local implementation and to encourage others to regard the Best Practice Statements as a priority for implementation. Conclusions. This exploratory study highlighted examples of patients and practitioners benefiting from the Best Practice Statements. Such findings suggest these statements could become a useful tool in promoting evidence-based nursing practice. However, implementation of the Best Practice Statements varied between participants and their organizations. Nurses who were most effective in promoting local implementation of the Best Practice Statements adopted facilitator and leadership roles within their organizations. Relevance to practice. By relating research findings to the literature on guideline and research utilization, this study gives further insight into the implementation of evidence-based practice by nurses. In particular, it supports the conclusion that to be truly effective, initiatives to promote evidence-based practice require nurses to act as local facilitators and leaders
Mapping soil profile depth, bulk density and carbon stock in Scotland using remote sensing and spatial covariates
No full textA Novel Command Activated Sandface Valve To Improve Wellbore Productivity
No full textAbstract
A novel command activated sandface valve was developed that has significantly improved productivity by enabling improved wellbore clean up, particularly in high angle and open hole completions. The sandface valve technology has now seen 35 valves installed with a functional 100% success rate. Further wells are planned for a North Sea field utilizing this technology. The command activated sandface valve development was taken from concept to installation in 5 months including operator engineering reviews.
Inefficient wellbore clean up of highly deviated completions is common in production wells. Current solutions include Smart well technology or time consuming clean up procedures that are both expensive and difficult to implement. Poor clean up can lead to loss in well productivity, restricted access to reserves and in some cases a requirement to sidetrack the well.
An operator in the UK had observed no flow from the toe of the well while experiencing high drawdown at the heel section due to the dominance of high productive intervals.
The command activated sand face valve was developed from an operator’s requirement for more time control when selectively cleaning up/flowing the reservoir sections. The key objectives of the valve were to allow sequential clean up of the reservoir section from the toe to the heel without intervention or incremental rig time. The valve would be activated by a pressure recognition signal and also had to deliver the functionality of a sliding side door for future water shut-off capability along the well bore. The paper will present an overview of the technical challenges, detail development of the tool and processes used for assurance, and include results of the field trials.
The valve design combines a field proven timer activation mechanism, a transducer and conventional sliding sleeve technology. The tool was developed without external resource and cost often required for product development. Development of the valve was closely monitored by the operator which included a technical assurance review and failure mode and effects analysis process. The result is a successfully field proven completion tool that is the basis for a new completion technique that has application in high angle wells in all oilfield applications.</jats:p
URI Disambiguation in the Context of Linked Data
No full textThe Linked Data initiative has given rise to an increasing number of RDF datasets, many of which are freely accessible online. These resources often arise as a result of database exports; however sufficient consideration may not be given to the unseen implications caused when they are used in the wider context of the Semantic Web. This paper investigates two popular resources, DBLP and DBpedia, and discusses whether the issues regarding identity management and co-reference resolution have been suitably addressed. We find that a large percentage of authors in DBLP have been conflated, and that disambiguation pages have been incorrectly linked using owl:sameAs within DBpedia. Systems for dealing with these issues are presented, and directions are given for future research
The advantages and limitations of global datasets to assess carbon stocks as proxy for land degradation in an Ethiopian case study
No full textLand degradation leads to ecosystem degradation, reducing ecosystem functioning and depleting ecosystems' resilience. The majority of factors linked to land degradation are closely related with the depletion of below- and above-ground stocks of organic carbon. Organic carbon stock is important for climate change mitigation and for restoring soil functions such as those crucial to support food security. In this study, we mapped carbon stocks to infer land degradation in a small area in the Ethiopian Great Rift Valley. The study aimed to assess carbon stock status and to identify limitations and advantages of using global data in mapping at local scale relative to using local data. Two different datasets were developed; i) a “global dataset” characterised by data from datasets with global coverage data, and ii) a “hybrid dataset” that coupled data from global datasets, soil data derived from a local survey, and land cover data derived from a supervised classification of satellite images. The results showed that i) global datasets introduced inaccuracy that must be taken into account for advocating interventions at a local scale, and ii) global datasets could be used at a small catchment level for decision-making, if a simple rank of values is sufficient, but they might provide an optimistic picture of land degradation because they overestimate stocks
E-SMART: Environmental Sensing for Monitoring and Advising in Real-Time
No full textPart 2: Smart and Mobile Devices Used for Environmental ApplicationsInternational audienceSmart monitoring, using real-time environmental sensing with links to server-side data processing/modeling, allows progression from data acquisition to useful information generation. The use of modern technology such as mobile phones to provide imagery and other types of data along with GPS-derived coordinates enables researchers and stakeholders to integrate ground-based observations with existing datasets. We have developed an infrastructure linking mobile communications, server-side processing and storage of data and imagery, and field-based access to existing spatial datasets. This infrastructure has been used for the development of a number of mobile phone apps (applications) and web-based applications, and has proved useful for stakeholders in agriculture, science and policy. In addition to giving information on the capacity development, we demonstrate useful applications relating to the upload, interpretation and integration of data (e.g. automated interpretation of soil profile imagery, carbon content estimation from soil colour) while focusing on the technical aspects of the underpinning system
Digital mapping of soil ecosystem services in Scotland using neural networks and relationship modelling—Part 1: Mapping of soil classes
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